by GenStack Coterie
Creative Content Lab: Guidelines
These guidelines are designed to ensure an equitable and productive environment where everyone receives valuable feedback and contributes to the growth of their peers.
I. General Principles:
- Respect and Professionalism: All feedback should be delivered constructively, respectfully, and professionally. Focus on the writing and research, not the individual.
- Confidentiality: The content of submitted genealogy writing and discussions within the group is confidential. Do not share information or discussions outside the group without explicit permission from the author.
- Learning Focus: The primary goal is to help each other improve our genealogy writing. Approach feedback with a desire to learn and to help others learn.
II. Submission & Participation Requirements:
- "Give to Get": To submit an article for feedback, you must commit to critiquing at least one other member's submission within a specified time frame (e.g., for every report you submit, you critique one or two).
- Writers can only submit (1) Ticket per calendar month.
- Scheduling Submissions: Review requests run a 3-week cycle.
- WEEK 1 Submission Week: When a writer submits a Ticket, Week 1 commences.
- The Saturday following the submission, requests will be assigned by the Coterie Content Lab.
- All Tickets should be submitted by 12:00 AM (Pacific Time - US/Canada) Saturday morning.
- WEEK 2 Accept or Decline Week: All Tickets received are sent out to Reviewers that Saturday.
- Reviewers have 72 hours to accept or decline the assignment.
- If the review is declined by the first reviewer, a 2nd reviewer will be assigned to review it by Wednesday of that week.
- If the 2nd reviewer declines the request, the Ticket will be returned to the writer as a declined request.
- WEEK 3 Review Week: If the review is accepted, the Reviewer has until Saturday of Week 3 to complete it.
- The maximum length of any submission is 2500 words.
- Submission Format:
- Requests for feedback through the Content Lab should be submitted via Notion using a Ticket. See “Submit a Ticket” on your Content Lab page.
- Feedback Deadlines:
- Feedback from a Reviewer for a submitted Ticket must be returned to the author within the time limits set above. See Scheduling Submissions
- Failure to provide feedback on an accepted submission may result in your own future submissions being deferred.
- After you decline 3 assignments, your ability to participate in the Coterie Content Lab will be reconsidered. If you are going on vacation or have a week that you have a reason for not being able to participate, please email robin@cuzens.com. This will not count as a Decline — within reason. Please give 1 month notice.
III. The Feedback Process:
- All Feedback will be Attributed: Attributed feedback can foster direct dialogue.
- Focus on the Questionnaire: All reviews should address the questions outlined in the questionnaire section of the Ticket. This ensures consistency and comprehensive feedback.
- Provide Specific Examples: General statements like "this is confusing" are not helpful. Instead, pinpoint specific sentences, paragraphs, or sections and explain why they are confusing or what could be improved.
- Offer Solutions/Suggestions: Where possible, offer concrete suggestions for improvement rather than just identifying problems.
- Identify Strengths: Don't just focus on weaknesses. Highlight what the author does well. This encourages good practices and builds confidence.
- Writer's Role:
- Be prepared to provide a brief overview of your report and any specific areas where you would like feedback.
- Receive feedback with an open mind. It's okay to clarify or ask questions, but avoid becoming defensive.
- You are not obligated to implement every suggestion, but consider all feedback carefully.