Course Policies

Grading

Pre-Read Quizzes

There will be a short quiz on the pre-read content due at the beginning of each lecture period. This quiz is open-notes and open-content and we intend for everybody to get 100% as the questions will be drawn directly from the materials. We will drop the two reading quizzes with the lowest scores.

Attendance Policy

You are allowed to miss two classes without any grade penalty — no questions asked. The bottom two attendance and bottom two pre-read quizzes will be dropped automatically by the gradebook. We highly encourage you to only use these misses in case of sickness, extreme discomfort with the material that day, etc. Additionally, we will not take attendance during the first lecture (lecture on 3/31). We will not excuse any additional missed quizzes.

This classroom does not have video recording equipment, so if you miss a class please get notes from a classmate.

Sections

We will be hosting TA-led sections focused on completing each project milestone beginning in week 2.

We will assign project teams immediately after the add/drop deadline. Beginning the second week of the quarter, you will be required to attend section with your group. Section will be primarily a work period, a way to collaborate and stay on top of the project during the quarter. During section, your TA will be available to answer project questions and provide support. Each group will have a channel in the class Discord server (link TBD).

Recording and AI Policy

For the privacy of your classmates and to encourage open discussion, and in accordance with University policy, full audio/video recording is prohibited. However, you are welcome to use an AI notetaker that outputs text and does not retain audio recordings. The instructors may experiment with using an AI notetaking app and uploading those notes for the class.

AI coding tools are allowed to be used for the coding portions of the class and a variety of AI/ML algorithms should be used as part of your final project. Generative AI can be used for research purposes, to create test data and to summarize results, but should not be used to generate final written output submitted in your project as human written (such as the Product Requirements Document or the text of the poster). The project milestone assignments will explicitly lay out which components can and cannot be created with AI, please follow those guidelines. In the end, this class is meant to be a learning experience and overreliance on AI is only stealing from yourself.

A Note on Difficult Content

The subject matter of this course can be difficult intellectually and emotionally. We will read about and discuss difficult topics, including (but not limited to) sexual exploitation of adults and minors, harassment, bullying, hate speech, domestic abuse, suicide, terrorism, and more.

If you anticipate acute distress as a result of encountering a particular topic you may skip the lecture. As noted above, you can skip two lectures without it affecting your attendance grade, no questions asked. If you become so distressed that you need to leave during class, feel free to do so. If you need to leave a class, talk to the teaching team afterward and we can arrange an alternate reading or assignment. We will not warn students about particular topics, because sensitivity to different topics varies from person to person, and because topics may arise unexpectedly in class discussion. Please refer to the course agenda to see the list of course topics.

Additionally, as you may know, there is a difference between being triggered (in the sense of post-traumatic stress disorder) and feeling uncomfortable. One of the goals of this class is to help students develop empathy for victims of online abuse. Feeling uncomfortable (and sometimes even angry or offended) is part of intellectual growth. Feeling triggered or psychologically traumatized is not. Please take care of yourselves and each other, and let the teaching team know if we can do anything at all to help.

Classroom Disruption Policy

It is a violation of University policy for a member of the faculty, staff, or student body to: 1) prevent or disrupt the effective carrying out of a class, or 2) obstruct the legitimate movement of any person about the campus or in any University building or facility.

Our Class Disruption Policy: If there is a disruption, we (the instructors) may record the incident for one minute (individuals in violation of the university policies may be referred to the Office of Community Standards). If the disruption continues past one minute, please leave the classroom. We will continue the class on Zoom that evening, and it will be recorded for those who can’t make the rescheduled time.

Students with Documented Disabilities

Students who may need an academic accommodation based on the impact of a disability must initiate the request with the Office of Accessible Education (OAE). Professional staff will evaluate the request, review appropriate medical documentation, recommend reasonable accommodations, and prepare an Accommodation Letter for faculty dated in the current quarter in which the request is being made. The letter will indicate how long it is to be in effect. Students should contact the OAE as soon as possible since timely notice is needed to coordinate accommodations. The OAE is located at 563 Salvatierra Walk (phone: 650-723-1066, oae.stanford.edu).

This class has no timed exams, and the project deadlines are firm as they apply to entire teams, so most OAE accommodation requests relevant to other courses are not relevant here. This is something we can discuss once we have your OAE letter.