Animation - "INVENT YOUR TERMS AND GENERAL CONDITIONS OF USE"

x Understand how Fediverse works (a form of dispersed social network that relies on interconnection between different servers located in different spaces 

x Understand the decentralization of networks and the possibilities of interconnection and moderation. It is proposed to create rules for several local social networks and to test their operation, in particular their ability to accept or not content according to its rules of use. 

Complexity Level 

(in terms of equipment, materials, time)

• Material required : Paper, sheets, pens, scotch tape, post-it notes, a sample CGU
• Number of participants : Minimum 4 participants to make at least two groups of two or 4 individual groups 
• Participant profile : Age 13 and over

Step 1 - Draw Up terms and conditions of use 

In small groups of 3 to 4 persons, draft the General Terms of Use (Rules of the game) for your social network with profile chosen according to the group's areas of interest, for example : 

• Starts ups 
• Librists 
• Political movement 
• Safe space 

We could also propose a far-right group, a feminist movement...

Each participant draws one of the roles at random (from a basket) to form his or her group. Each group has 30 minutes to draw up its own rules of the game, based on a suggested framework. 

To draw up these rules of the game or GCU, the moderators can provide ideas such as : 

• Paying/Free
• Repescting the law or not 
• Inclusive writing allowed/forbidden/tolerated/mandatory
• Main language 
• Anonymity, pseudonyms, identified...
• Message size in number of characters 
• Message limited per day, month, week 
• Add media to message (Videos, images...)
• ....

Step 2 - Writing a message or an instance 

Each group writes a message (according to its social networks) that will be posted on all the different social networks, as these networks are federated. These messages will be displayed in the room to simulate being sent to all the social networks. 

Step 3 - Moderating incoming messages 

Moderation : it's up to the group that created the rules to moderate the messages received, by placing a post-it note with its reactions. Each group then moves to read each message and react : 

• Reject the message only 
• Black the original social network on your own : all future message will be rejected 
• Alert the moderator of the network concerned 
• Accept the message 
• Accept but reply 
• Accept and modify / adapt the rules -GCU

Step 4 -Debate 

Large group feedback and discussion 

Ask participants about their reactions to receiving messages 

Identify their ability to tolerate and moderate messages recived on their social networks 

Additional information is provided 

Opening up to questions about the use of proprietary social networks and the limits on people's freedom of expession and action 

Open source social networks enable you to create interconnected networks by creating "instances" (services installed on a server) that will be able to connect to each other

Alternatives of decentralized networks that can be suggest : 

• Mastodon, decentralized and federated miccroblogging social media
• Peertube, decentralized, federated social video network 
• Mobilizon : a platform for organizing and publishing events that respects anonymity, with several possible identifies for each person. Decentralized and federated network.