Social Media participation guidelines

Please note that during the pre-election period (26 March 2024 – 3 May 2024) our social media channels are governed by the pre-election period. You can read more about publicity during the pre-election period here: Pre-election period | Local Government Association

We will be monitoring our social media accounts and will delete any content and block accounts for the duration of the pre-election period where our platforms are tagged into and used for content which is politically controversial or that could be deemed to sway public opinion in voting.

Scope

This document covers all aspects of interaction on www.tameside.gov.uk and our Facebook and Twitter sites.

Moderation aims

Through our social media sites we aim to create an environment where people are able to discuss content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Our aim is to ensure this platform is inclusive and safe.

Guidelines

1. We welcome debate and dissent, but personal attacks, persistent trolling and mindless abuse will not be tolerated. The key to maintaining our social media sites as a useful space for comment is to focus on intelligent discussion of topics.
2. We understand that people often feel strongly about issues debated on the site, but we will consider removing any content that others might find offensive or threatening. Please respect other people's views and beliefs and consider your impact on others when making your contribution.
3. We may like or follow users who provide information that is pertinent to our work as a local authority. If we don't like or follow you, this doesn't mean we don't like you or are not interested in what you have to say; it's just that the numbers can get too high for us to manage. Please remember that while we may like or follow someone, retweet or share their information, it doesn't mean that we endorse them.
4. We will not tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia or other forms of hate-speech, or contributions that could be interpreted as such. We recognise the difference between criticising a particular government, organisation, community or belief and attacking people on the basis of their race, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age.
5. We will remove any content that may put us in legal jeopardy, such as potentially libellous or defamatory postings, or material posted in potential breach of copyright.
6. We will remove any posts that are obviously commercial or otherwise spam-like. Our aim is that our sites should provide a space for people to interact with our content and each other, and we actively discourage commercial entities passing themselves off as individuals, in order to post advertising material or links. This may also apply to people or organisations who frequently post propaganda or external links without adding substantively to the quality of the discussion on our sites.
7. Keep it relevant. We know that some conversations can be wide-ranging, but if you post something which is unrelated to the original topic ("off-topic") then it may be removed, in order to keep the thread on track. This also applies to queries or comments about moderation, which should not be posted as comments.
8. Be aware that you may be misunderstood, so try to be clear about what you are saying, and expect that people may understand your contribution differently than you intended. Remember that text isn't always a great medium for conversation: tone of voice (sarcasm, humour and so on) doesn't always come across when using words on a screen.
9. The platform is ours, but the conversation belongs to everybody. We want this to be a welcoming space for intelligent discussion, and we expect participants to help us achieve this by notifying us of potential problems and helping each other to keep conversations inviting and appropriate. If you spot something problematic, please report it. When we all take responsibility for maintaining an appropriate and constructive environment, the debate itself is improved and everyone benefits.

In short:

• If you act with respect and consideration for other users, you should have no problems.
• Don't be unpleasant. Demonstrate and share the intelligence, wisdom and humour we know you possess.
• Take some responsibility for the quality of the conversations in which you're participating. Help make this an intelligent place for discussion and it will be.
• As a council, we will also act with respect and consideration for all users.

 Moderation approach

Participants who seriously, persistently or willfully ignore the above guidelines will have their posting privileges withdrawn.

This is not an action that we take lightly or arbitrarily. However, we are aiming to create and maintain a positive online experience, and we reserve the right to make decisions which we feel support that. Please be aware that moderators may contact you by email in relation to your participation, especially where an issue comes up in relation to our guidelines. Any advice they give/request they make should be adhered to, as our moderators are employed to enforce these community standards and create a constructive environment for everyone who contributes to our site.

We will, when necessary, remove user postings or comments from our sites.*

If a contribution to our site is perceived as breaching the guidelines set out above, then it will be removed in the interests of keeping the site appropriate for the vast majority of the people who visit.
(*NB: We will not edit user posts to change the meaning, spelling, or anything else intended by the user. Even if only part of a comment or posting is perceived as breaching the guidelines, the whole post may be removed. Also, when a comment or post is removed for any of the reasons above, it is sometimes necessary to delete subsequent messages which refer to explicitly or quote from the original (removed) comment, in order to preserve some notion of conversational thread. This may also happen because a later comment quotes directly the problematic bits of the original comment, which just perpetuates the problem. In such cases not every deletion will be marked individually.)

We reserve the right to take steps or implement measures which we hope will benefit all users of our social media channels.

Because we are ultimately responsible for everything which appears on this site, all actions and decisions taken by our moderators are final. Unfortunately, the large (and growing) number of user content on sites means that we can't enter into correspondence regarding specific moderation activity, although all correspondence will be read.

Please note, if your comments refer to a request for service or you wish to contact the council formally, please use the contact details at www.tameside.gov.uk/contactus. If you wish to submit a formal request for information please visit www.tameside.gov.uk/freedomofinformation. To make a formal complaint please visit www.tameside.gov.uk/complaints.