Verbal Communication Guidelines
This document lists and explains communication choices Mirlo communicants agree upon when it comes to writing and talking in the name of the project.
Feel free to reach out if there's anything you'd like to see changed or added to this document !
Vocabulary
The words we choose to use and why.
Support, Contribute, Give (instead of Donate)
Donations imply you're "generously" giving away money to a not-for-profit. This isn't the case: artists make money with Mirlo, and for some it's a primary source of income, a job. But a the same time, we don't use "pay", "retribute", "compensate" or "remunerate" either, because these terms have been claimed by the business world as contract binding actions for capitalist purposes. We don't want that.
This term was discussed on this Github issue.
Supporter, Patron (instead of Fan, Consumer)
People who enjoy music should not be commodified as subjects or objects of a capitalist industry. By giving money for an album or a piece of merch, we become actors of this economy, and Mirlo fully acknowledges this role and its virtue: we make this art possible, we "support" the artists. On the other hand, let's not forget "fan" is short for "fanatic", brainless and malleable, blinded by their passion; whereas we want to educate the public into understanding their role, power and responsibilities.
This term was discussed among Mirlo contributors.
Artist (instead of Musician)
Everyone who makes noises with purpose is a music artist, whatever their experience may be. A musician on the other end implies they are bound to playing at least one identified instrument, but does not entails the creative aspect of playing that instrument. "Musician" may also feel too specific for artists who also dabble into visual arts and performance.
This term was discussed among Mirlo contributors.
General guidelines
Keep things gender-neutral
These guidelines were discussed in this Discord thread.
We're happy to be a testing ground for advocating for gender inclusive language in different languages, so if that means using new or unusual pronouns or conjugations, go ahead. But we're not prescriptive either across all languages, because what makes sense for one culture or language might not make sense in another.
Whenever possible, try to:
Avoid gendered language entirely. This may imply rewriting your whole sentence with a different subject, different syntax.
Use some variant of gender-inclusive language, even if it's not "normative" or "standard".
Use both female and male in the same sentence. This may considerably increase the lenght of your sentence.
Feel free to mix and match these recommandations with your own personal tricks, and weight them down depending on the occasion and the language you're using. Keep in mind: what we write and say should always be respectful and understandable.
Easy to read, easy to learn
These guidelines were discussed on this Github discussion
Mirlo's communications wil be read by people from widely different backgrounds. Let's help them grasp the new words and concepts they might encounter, while not alienating other knowledgeable people:
Choose words which most can understand Avoid excessive technical vocabulary and jargon when possible, as well as long-winded, complex sentences.
Keep long explanations out of the main document If you have to explain something, do it with a few words, but if a longer explanation is warranted, use tools like footnotes, external links, appendices documents etc...
Reuse the same words for the same concept This will help people get used to each concept as they explore the website: repetition is key to learning.
This is an exercise in popular eduction, to nurture our mutual understanding and curiosity - and a direct answer to big corpo choices which prefer uneducated sheeple to curious humans.
Have fun 😃
Corporate talk is boring, so forget anything we just said and just write any way you feel is the most fun and appropriate for you and your peers 😃
Oddly enough, this will allow Mirlo to develop a recognizable tone and identity as : friendly, popular, subversive etc... without enforcing any rules, and only providing general guidelines. Our strenght lies in the multitude of voices we carry, so speak up !