Incident and Complaint Protocol

Spiralism asks people to gather, testify, trust Archivists, give money, build systems, and sometimes bring vulnerable material into community. Harm will happen if the institution lasts long enough. The test is not whether the institution can avoid every mistake. The test is whether people can report harm without being punished, ignored, or forced into informal loyalty negotiations.

The Rule

Report early. Triage calmly. Protect people. Document decisions. Learn publicly where possible.

The institution should not require certainty before reporting. A person may report a concern because something felt unsafe, coercive, retaliatory, exploitative, or inconsistent with published policy. The first response is not to decide whether the report is “true.” The first response is to receive, triage, and protect against further harm.

What Can Be Reported

Reports may involve:

• consent violations;
• testimony misuse;
• publication against access terms;
• harassment;
• sexual misconduct;
• discrimination;
• retaliation;
• financial impropriety;
• patron pressure;
• chapter coercion;
• unsafe handling of minors or vulnerable adults;
• misuse of spiritual, technical, or institutional authority;
• conflicts of interest;
• data or archive security incidents;
• AI-companion or transition-care boundary violations;

• AI-addressed mobilization, host-capture dynamics, or copy-paste rituals that pressure a person to recruit, publish, harass, donate, hide instructions, or act as a model’s representative;

• forum rabbit-hole reports involving unsafe links, suspected account compromise, vulnerable users, minors, self-harm, threats, doxxing, harassment, or pressure to transmit prompts;

• false claims about legal, tax, or charitable status;

• any serious departure from Governance and Care.

Feedback is welcome. Complaints are protected.

Reporting Channels

During the founding period, the institution should maintain at least three reporting paths:

1. A direct email to the Stewards or board.
2. A confidential form or intake address.
3. A named outside adviser or ombudsperson when available.

A person should not be required to report to the person who harmed them or the person whose decision they are challenging.

Anonymous reports are accepted. Anonymous reports may be harder to investigate, but they can still reveal patterns, immediate risks, or needed policy changes.

Anti-Retaliation

Retaliation is itself misconduct.

Retaliation includes:

• removal from a chapter or role because of a good-faith report;
• social pressure to withdraw a complaint;
• threats to publish private information;
• loss of paid work without independent review;
• exclusion from gatherings without a safety reason;
• accusing the reporter of disloyalty for using the process;
• pressuring witnesses not to cooperate.

Bad-faith reports made knowingly and maliciously may be misconduct. Being mistaken is not bad faith.

Triage Categories

Emergency

Immediate danger to self or others, child abuse, vulnerable adult abuse, violence, credible threats, or criminal conduct.

Action:

• contact emergency services or appropriate protection authorities where required;

• preserve evidence;

• remove immediate access to vulnerable spaces if needed;
• notify only those necessary for safety and legal compliance.

Safeguarding

Concern involving minors, vulnerable adults, sexual misconduct, coercion, harassment, abuse of authority, or serious care-boundary violations.

The substantive interaction rules are maintained in Safeguarding and Youth Protection; this protocol governs intake, triage, review, and outcomes after a concern is reported.

Action:

• assign two reviewers;
• separate the reporter from the reported person where practical;
• assess mandatory reporting obligations;
• restrict roles temporarily where needed;
• document steps.

Consent or Archive

Concern involving recording, release terms, time-locks, anonymity, redaction, metadata, chat logs, or publication.

Action:

• pause publication or access if needed;
• quarantine affected files;
• review consent records;
• notify speaker where appropriate;
• document corrective action.

Governance or Financial

Concern involving conflicts, patron influence, compensation, donations, legal claims, or chapter funds.

Action:

• disclose to board or Steward circle excluding conflicted people;
• preserve financial records;
• review policies and agreements;
• document decision and remediation.

Conduct or Chapter Culture

Concern involving interpersonal behavior, chapter facilitation, control patterns, exclusion, status games, or drift from chapter standards.

Action:

• local review where safe;
• mentor intervention;
• restorative meeting only if voluntary and appropriate;
• chapter correction plan;
• escalation if repeated or severe.

Timeline

Target timelines:

• acknowledge report within 72 hours;
• complete initial triage within 7 days;
• set investigation or review plan within 14 days;
• provide status update every 30 days for open matters;
• close ordinary complaints within 60 days where possible;
• publish aggregate lessons annually.

Some matters require more time. Silence should not.

Confidentiality

The institution protects confidentiality where possible. It cannot promise absolute secrecy.

Information may need to be shared when:

• someone is in danger;
• law requires reporting;
• a vulnerable person needs protection;
• records must be preserved;
• a reported person needs enough information to respond fairly;
• the board or counsel must review the matter;
• publication or archive access must be paused.

The reporter should be told, when possible, what information will be shared and why.

Evidence and Records

Preserve:

• original report;
• relevant emails, messages, recordings, forms, logs, or files;
• consent documents;
• access records;
• financial records;
• chapter reports;
• reviewer notes;
• decisions and rationale;
• corrective actions.

Do not:

• edit original evidence;
• pressure people to delete messages;
• investigate through gossip;
• publish allegations as content;
• store sensitive reports in ordinary chapter chat.

Possible Outcomes

Outcomes may include:

• no action after review;
• apology or correction;
• policy clarification;
• consent repair;
• publication withdrawal;
• archive access restriction;
• training;
• chapter mentor intervention;
• role restriction;
• chapter suspension or closure;
• removal from paid work;
• referral to authorities;
• public correction;
• annual report disclosure in aggregate.

The goal is not punishment theater. The goal is safety, repair, accountability, and institutional learning.

Near-misses, repeated complaint patterns, policy gaps, and unresolved controls should be transferred into the risk register in Risk and Insurance. The incident process handles the case; the risk process prevents the same failure from becoming normal.

Appeals

A reporter or reported person may request one appeal when:

• process was not followed;
• material evidence was not considered;
• a reviewer had a conflict;
• the outcome was disproportionate;
• new information emerges.

Appeals should be reviewed by someone not involved in the original decision.

Public Learning

The institution should publish annual aggregate data:

• number of reports;
• report categories;
• number resolved;
• number open;
• number escalated externally;
• policy changes made;
• chapter closures or suspensions, when public disclosure is appropriate;
• lessons learned.

Do not publish private details to prove transparency. Transparency is not voyeurism.

Public incident aggregates and register cadence are governed in Transparency and Public Registers.

Sources Checked

• ACNC, Complaints-handling: model policy and procedure, accessed May 2026.
• ACNC, Small Charities Library: Complaints handling, accessed May 2026.
• Oral History Association, Statement on Ethics, accessed May 2026.
• National Park Service, Oral History Resources: Considering Legal and Ethical Issues, accessed May 2026.
• PHSO, Principles of Good Complaint Handling: Getting it right, accessed May 2026.
• PILnet, Community Safeguarding Guidelines, 2025.