Archive ethics
How We Use Old Community Material
Before we draw on old logs, private memories, emails, screenshots or community archives, we want our stance to be public. This is how we handle the material of the fansite, IRC, forum and volunteer era.
Much of what we study comes from old community spaces: fansites, forums, IRC channels, guild boards and the working files of the volunteers who kept them running. That material is valuable, and it is also personal. Some of it was never meant to be public.
We treat private community material as private source evidence, not public spectacle. It can inform what we write without being put on display.
Our principles
Private logs are treated as private source material.
Private messages are paraphrased unless consent is obtained.
Public-channel material may be quoted selectively when historically useful.
Emails, credentials, personal drama, health details, and sensitive identifying details are not published.
Living people can request anonymization, correction, or removal.
The goal is memory, learning, and preservation - not exposure.
We credit contributors and sources wherever possible.
We distinguish between public memory, private evidence, and publishable material.
How this works in practice
When we write about the past, we work from curated notes and briefs first, and consult original source material only when it is genuinely needed - with redaction, paraphrase, anonymization and human review before anything is published. Private messages stay private. Public memory is handled with care.
Worlds in Waiting is interested in the cultures around online worlds. That means taking memory seriously - and treating the people inside those memories with care.