Hi, goSupermodels.
We want to start by apologising. This apology is extended to everyone we have let down, but especially to our BIPOC users. goSupermodel is supposed to be a safe space, a place where we foster creativity, connections, and community.
We acknowledge that this is not the experience everyone is having, and that is something we need to change. This is not a recent development; time and time again, BIPOC voices have been dismissed, forgotten, and even punished.
We need to emphasise that we do not expect anyone's trust to be rebuilt by statements and promises. Actions are needed. Visible actions. Change takes time, and we are long overdue. So we do not ask you to be patient, because you have been, more so than anyone should have expected you to be.
And no, this is not just suddenly an issue we are reacting to now, just because you are speaking out on it. However, what we have done already has not nearly been sufficient. It is not only about bettering in areas where we are lacking, but it is also about acknowledging that we are lacking, taking accountability, and actively and efficiently working on improvements.
Feeling heard and feeling safe as a BIPOC in our community is the bare minimum, and we should and need to be able to accommodate that.
Proactive Measures
Goal: Stop harm before it escalates:
- Ensure that our policy for zero tolerance for racism, colourism, and microaggressions is enforced and that we are equipped to ensure consistency.
- Ensure that guidelines and educational material are sufficient, accessible and being used.
Safeguard and Protect BIPOC Voices
Goal: Reduce defensive use of power and make reporting safer:
- Handle reports from BIPOC users with full credibility, no minimisation or neutralisation through false balance.
- Communicate outcomes when possible ("action was taken").
- No retaliation or punishment for speaking up.
Centre BIPOC Voices in Decision-Making
Goal: Create and foster a safe-space for BIPOC:
- Build trust with current BIPOC volunteers, ensure that they feel seen and heard.
- Collaboration with BIPOC volunteers should not feel like a liability write-off.
Educate the Whole Community
Goal: Reduce harm by raising awareness, not placing the burden on BIPOC:
- Clear explanations of why certain behaviour is harmful.
- Educational responsibility does not rest with BIPOC users.
- Address issues publicly when patterns emerge.
Acknowledge Mistakes Openly and Honestly
Goal: Build trust through accountability:
- Own up to mistakes.
- Apologise without defensiveness or excuses.
- Explain what will change going forward.
- Follow words with visible action.
What we have been working on so far:
Going through topics:
https://gosupermodel.com/community/forum_thread.jsp?id=2182151
https://gosupermodel.com/community/forum_thread.jsp?id=2181939
https://gosupermodel.com/community/forum_thread.jsp?id=2185094
In order to get a better understanding of the situation, we recomend that you read up on the topic above. BIPOC users have shared good and valuable feedback. While we continue our efforts behind the scenes, we will continue to work with the feedback shared in those topics, and other valuable feedback that has been shared with us on the platform and internally.
Our attempt at an update:
https://gosupermodel.com/community/forum_thread.jsp?id=2185086
We want to further reiterate that this forum was not the solution. Moving forward, we will impose clearer internal guidelines for how to handle situations. We want our userbase to know what to expect, and in what format. Information should be visible and accessible, and not hard to find.
We had a meeting where we discussed our next steps:
Lack of sustainable guidelines and educational material usage.
What can we do to ensure that the guidelines and educational material we provide are being used and understood? Good guidelines only go so far, and if they are not being cohesively applied, they have little to no value.
Current solution: The material should be accompanied by exercises that let us check if the material is being read and understood.
We will maintain ongoing dialogue with IG supervisors and BIPOC volunteers who choose to contribute, collaborating on educational materials, guidelines, and approaches to building a space that does not place undue emotional labour on BIPOC users.
Sanction appeal.
Everyone can dispute a sanction; that is not something new. However, in general, we tend not to go into reevaluations of older sanctions, due to the time having passed, potential lack of context remaining in our system, no longer being able to contact the staff or moderator who issued the sanction, and older sanctions in general not being taken into consideration for newer sanctions.
With our recent guideline changes, we did change our system from a strike-based system, over to a more context reliant sytem. Although with severe rule violations, we do still take history into account to some degree. But what we mostly use your sanction history for is if you apply for a badged role.
For marginalised users, we are committed to re-evaluating sanctions with the involvement of an expanded review team. This applies regardless of how much time has passed, as we aim to correct cases where BIPOC users were wrongfully handled.
Requests for re-evaluation must be submitted through Support (gosupermodel@watagame.com) to ensure proper documentation, archivability, and accessibility.
There is no availability limitation for this, meaning that this can be done at any time. This offer does not expire. We also understand that not everyone has access to their sanction history, and we are working on getting a sanctions overview page availible for our users. In the meantime, if you wish to receive a copy of your sanction history, you can reach out to the moderator inbox, or you can reach out to support.
We apologise for the mistakes we have made and the hurt we have caused. This is only the start, and our work is far from finished. We hope we will be able to regain your trust, and we know that transparency and actions are needed for that to start happening.
Thank you for speaking out. Thank you for holding us accountable. We truly appreciate it and you. We are sorry.
