I have put together a community guidelines document based on the feedback I have received. I think it captures the general viewpoint fairly well, but would like your feedback as to whether there is anything major that is unclear/wrong or even just bad grammar or spelling.

The first section will go into the sidebar, which will also have links to posts for the full guidelines, plus links for FAQs and ongoing discussion posts once they actually exist.

@lodion@aussie.zone & @briongloid@aussie.zone will these work for you?

Melbourne@Aussie.Zone Community Guidelines

What is this community about?

This community is a place created for the people of Melbourne and Victoria. We are a positive, welcoming and inclusive community. We might not agree about everything, but we always strive to stay civil and respectful.
The focus of our discussions is based around things that effect Victoria, but we are also free to discuss our local perspective on wider issues. Or head to the regular Daily Random Discussion thread to talk about anything.

What are you allowed to do here?

The overarching rule for the Melbourne@Aussie.Zone community is “Be excellent to each other”. As part of the wider Aussie.Zone we also adhere to the wider rules of the instance:

1. Golden rule - don’t be a dick. If you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandmother, don’t post it.
2. No bigotry - including racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or xenophobia.
3. Be respectful. Everyone should feel welcome here.
4. No porn.
5. No Ads / Spamming.
6. Nothing illegal in Australia.

What can you post about?

The focus of posts should be on things happening in and effecting Melbourne and Victoria. That can include wider issues, but you should include something about how it relates to people more locally. For example general discussion of World news is outside the scope of this community, but talking about the impact on people locally is relevant.
Contributing to ongoing discussion posts is recommended over making a new post. Before posting check to see if there is already something similar you can join in, or check the list of ongoing discussion topics (to be linked to here once it is developed)

What can’t you post about?

Anything that is against the community or instance rules will be removed. This includes posts selling things and selling or rehousing pets.
Personal attacks, bigotry and harassment are not tolerated. Disagreements are allowed, but you should focus on maintaining a civil discourse and being open to listening to other points of view. If a disagreement becomes heated and you don’t think you can continue to do that you should leave the argument and agree to disagree.

What should you think carefully about before posting?

It is very easy and quick to share things, but it is a good idea to think about whether what you are posting really adds value to the community. It is easy for a post to get overwhelmed with things like memes or an excessive amount of pictures. Before posting, ask yourself is it likely to spark some discussion or provide helpful information? Would it be better to post as part of an ongoing post on a similar theme instead of a new post?

**Accessibility **is something that can be improved for everyone with a little bit of thought. If you do post a picture, adding some words as well can make your post more accessible for the blind and visually impaired. Animated gifs can cause migraines or seizures for some people and can be hard to tolerate for some neurodiverse people and those with sensory issues.

What happens when rules are broken?

If you see a post or comment that you believe is against the community guidelines and requires the attention of a moderator please use the report function. Posts and comments that are against the guidelines will be removed. If you post content that strongly violates the rules, or break the rules repeatedly, you may be removed from the community entirely.

Will things change in the future?

Any healthy community is a growing and evolving place and the community guidelines will also change to accommodate that. The moderators of this community will strive to maintain the community within the guidelines laid out, and to seek feedback from the community before making major changes to the guidelines. In any diverse group there will be a multitude of viewpoints and there will always need to be compromises made, but this community is built by and for the members and any future changes will be made with this in mind.

This is RustyDog and RavenCat.
I'd love to see your furry, feathery and scaly family members too.

Welcome everyone to our new Melbourne-flavoured slice of the internet! I am RustyRaven one of the moderators of this community (AKA BrightFadedDog). I am working to develop some community guidelines so we can make sure that the community stays a productive and welcoming place, and would like to hear what you want. What would you like the group to focus on? Do you like to dip into the group for a quick update on the latest local news and carrot man sightings, or do you want to spend time with deeper ongoing discussions? Would you prefer to keep the posts strictly to things concerning Melbourne, or would you prefer to be able to be able to get a local perspective on wider issues? Suggestions for the best way to arrange posts are also welcome – particularly if we should separate some areas of discussion into separate regular or ongoing posts. We could for example have a post for restaurant recommendations or activity suggestions.
I’d also like to know whether you would value having a wiki or other reference source connected to the community.
Feel free to add any ideas, suggestions or things to aim for.

This is a new tour the library has released, available any time.

Is is still hump day if Monday is a public holiday?

I solomnly swear that I will apply the rules (shown in the sidebar) fairly and impartially.

There's no breakfast buffet at this new place, so if you could all bring a plate to share that would be fabulous.

I've brought potatoes, help yourself to the microwave 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

More media lies. There is no way Triple-0 budget extends to sticky notes for calltakers, and definitely not name brand Post-its.