Tips And Info-Sharing Practices! A Thread!
https://twitter.com/RoseCityAntifa/status/1278736865789571073

Various folks have been asking us for a while if we would make a publicly viewable version of some of the basic suggestions we've offered community members and allies about what constitutes a useful tip, how we decide to share info, etc.

Part 1! What makes a useful tip or "spotted" post? Concrete physical and descriptive details of *both* the individuals in question *and* their behavior, the time, and the place. No suspected affiliation (i.e. "they look like Proud Boys,") is ever more useful than actual details.

Physical details include: clothing, height, approximate age, hair and skin color, tattoos, etc. Behavior details (and/or group details) are things like, "Were they with a group?," "Were they threatening ppl?," and any other actions that brought them to your attention initially.

Remembering things is hard! And unless you're really experienced at it, grabbing details from a brief snippet of stressful memory is extra hard. When trying to recall, it helps to find a friend and have them lead you through a series of "X or Y" type questions. Write it all down.

Start from the top if it helps: "Hat or no hat?" "Long hair or short?" "Glasses or no glasses?" and make your way through physical appearance. Let yourself be less than perfect--just focus on getting a real good handle on the couple details that really drew your attention.

With cars, if you are not a car person, do not let a car person try and talk you through what kind of car it might have been. You will end up very annoyed. Just do the same as above for recalling details about people: "Truck, SUV, sedan...?"; "Older or newer?"

If you are a car person, IDK, live your life I guess.

License plate numbers are great for distinguishing one car from other very similar looking other cars. We are not cops, your average antifascist cannot instantly find out who owns or was driving a car based on the plate number.

One thing *anyone* can do is look up a plate number (and the state) on one of many free online databases and find out if there is a car currently registered with that number in that state, and what make and model that car is. Useful for confirming you got a plate number right.

When thinking about how to describe or recall someone's demeanor or behavior, examine what your initial reaction was to seeing them and how it made you feel. Then assess what it might have reminded you of to provoke that reaction. Did the person seem out of place? Why?

Sometimes it is because the person's behavior seemed out of control and they are someone you felt potentially in danger from. This definitely is relevant to your (and their) safety in that moment, but does not make them a fascist. We aren't just cops for people who hate cops.

Also, other than maybe the literal name/history of a specific, recognized fascist, the most pressing information is almost always what the person was doing, when, where, (especially if it was actively threatening or invasive) and whether or not they are still doing it.

Which leads nicely into Part 2! Public information sharing practices! There is no guidebook for how to be a community information resource, and lots of different groups do it their own way. All we really want to do is talk about what guides our own decision-making processes.

We view "tip"-style or threat-related information put out for our community as something intentionally shared to provide people with actionable details they can use to keep themselves and others safe. Being able to inform yourself and others helps us all have a sense of agency.

There's lots of ways information can be actionable, and different people might use it different ways. "Stay away from here, there's Proud Boys!" can maybe be useful...for people who aren't already "here" and have the ability to leave.