Moderation & Etiquette Policy


                                                          Engage Williamstown

                                                           Moderation Policy 

                                                            Adopted 2-8-23.

 


About Moderation

This website is moderated by an expert global moderation team from Bang the Table.

Bang the Table’s Engage Williamstown Moderation Policy moderators provide multilingual moderation support to ensure participants, site administrators, and third parties are safe from malicious, inflammatory, and illegal materials.

Bang the Table’s role in the moderation of this site is to ensure that contributions are reviewed and assessed in an impartial manner according to the rules outlined below.

 This policy covers the following:

•             Username Rules

•             Username Sanctions

•             Moderation Rules

•             Moderation Sanctions

•             Etiquette

•             Frequently Asked Questions

Username Rules

Usernames - are submitted by participants during the registration process to identify themselves in public-facing activities and are approved in accordance with the username rules set out below:

  1. Usernames should not be defamatory, obscene, or include language which could be considered offensive. This includes the creative use of characters and symbols to hide explicit content.
  2. Users must not masquerade as other members of the public, elected officials, moderators, site administrators or workers from the consulting organization. If you are found to be impersonating someone else, you may face sanctions.
  3. Usernames must not be a URL or web address.
  4. Using your username for activism purposes is fine if it doesn’t breach any of the above.

 Username Sanctions

If you breach any of the above username rules upon registering for this site, the following will occur:

  1. Username change - our moderation team reviews every username submitted to this site via

registration. If they deem your username to be in breach of the above rules, they will change your username and inform you this has occurred. You can later change your username to something within the rules via your participant profile.

  1. Temporary Suspension - a participant who repeatedly and flagrantly changes their username in breach of the above rules may be suspended from access to the website for a period of up to one week. The period will reflect both the severity and consistency of the breach. The user will be reported to the consulting organization.
  2. Permanent Blocking - a participant who continues to violate the username rules following reinstatement after a period of suspension may have their access to the website permanently blocked.        

Moderation Rules

All public-facing contributions - that is, contributions that can be seen by other website users, are moderated in accordance with the moderation rules set out below.

  1. Never post personal information about another participant. This includes identifying any individual by their real name if they have not already done so or provided personal contact information.
  2. Never identify a staff member of the consulting organization by name.
  3. Do not defame anyone or any organization. A comment is defamatory if it lowers or harms the reputation of a person or organization. If you wish to insult anyone, this is not the place to do it. If you wish to accuse anyone of wrongdoing or incompetence, this is not the place to do it.
  4. Do not post anything that could be considered intolerant of a person's race, culture, appearance, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or age.
  5. Do not be obscene and do not use foul language. Many people from diverse backgrounds participate on this website. We want them to be able to continue to do so from home, work, school, university, or wherever they may be. Disguising swear words by deliberately misspelling them doesn't make them any less offensive.
  6. Do not personally insult or harass other participants. Always focus on the logic of the discussion rather than the individuals involved in the discussion. Participants are entitled to choose not to enter a debate with you.
  7. Do not post or link to any inappropriate, offensive, or illegal material. Do not post any advertisements.
  8. Do not promote self-harm, suicide, violence, or criminal activity of any kind.
  9. The use of emoji or images to convey inappropriate meaning consistent with the rules outlined above will also be moderated. 
  10. Ensure comments seek to address the topic or focus of the engagement activity at hand. Users which intentionally distract from or ignore the discussion topic may have their comments treated as off-topic and removed.

Please do not raise concerns about the moderation on the site as it disrupts the flow of any discussion. Please direct any queries regarding moderation to the support team at support@engagementhq.com.

Sanctions

Breaches of the moderation rules will be managed as follows:

  1. Removal of comment - any comment that, in the view of the moderator, breaches the rules will be removed.
  2. Temporary Suspension - a participant who repeatedly and flagrantly flouts the moderation rules may be suspended from access to the website for a period of up to one week. The period will reflect both the severity and consistency of the breach.
  3. Permanent Blocking - a participant who continues to violate the moderation rules following reinstatement after a period of suspension may have their access to the website permanently blocked.
  4. Automatic Blocking - a participant who posts or links to inappropriate, offensive, or illegal material will be immediately blocked from the site.  

Etiquette

The following are not enforceable rules, they are suggestions about etiquette to help keep the website respectful and constructive.

  1. It is advisable to read the information on the site and the other participant comments before getting involved in the discussion yourself.
  2. Always respect the views of other participants even if they do not agree with you.
  3. Be constructive. It is okay to disagree with other forum participants, in fact we encourage debate, just keep the dialogue positive.
  4. Always keep things civil. We recognize that this can be difficult sometimes, especially when you are enthusiastic about an issue, but it is important to keep the discussion focused on the issues rather than letting it deteriorate into personal insults.
  5. Once you have left your comment keep an eye on the project to see what other people have to say.
  6. If you feel that someone has insulted you, report their comment to the moderator by clicking the “Alert Moderator” button. Do not perpetuate the dispute. The moderator will review the offending comment and decide whether it should be removed.
  7. Stay on topic. The projects on this website have been created for a specific purpose. Please stay within the boundaries of the subject matter.     
  8. Turn off the "CAPS LOCK". Writing in ALL CAPS is the equivalent of SHOUTING and can cause offense.
  9. Choose one place to post each of your unique comments. Do not cut and paste the same comment into lots of different projects on the website. These may be considered duplicates and could be removed.
  10. Do not be a "troll". Trolls intentionally incite annoyance or offense. They do not participate constructively in the discussion and do not add any value to the debate.
  11. Do not bully, harass, or threaten other participants. If another participant proffers an opinion that you do not agree with, you have no right to demand that they support their position with a detailed argument. They do not have to respond to your questions. It is up to each individual to participate as much or as little as they wish.              
  12. Please respect the moderators. Their job is to keep the forum safe and constructive so that everybody gets to have their fair say. It is not always an easy job.             

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if my comment is removed?

If you post something to this website, which is removed by our moderators, you will receive a notification via email informing you of the decision. You will be informed as to which of the moderation rules you have breached and asked to review and resubmit your contribution.

What if I disagree with a moderation decision?

If you disagree with a moderation decision you may contact the support team by contacting support@engagementhq.com. While the final moderation decision lies with our moderators, you may indicate to us why you think your contribution should be accepted. In some instances, you will be referred to Williamstown Township for a final decision.

Can a website owner remove my comment just because they do not like it?

All comments moderated by our moderators are reviewed in accordance with the moderation rules outlined above. Williamstown Township, however, reserves the right to request a contribution be moderated if they feel it is in breach of these moderation rules. In this instance, you will receive a notification via email.

Can I report a comment anonymously?

If you feel a username, comment or contribution on the site is in breach of the rules outlined on this page, you are within your right to alert our moderators. Simply locate the “Alert Moderator” link near the comment you believe needs to be reported to our moderation team. Alerting a moderator will not reveal your identity to the person who posted the comment, and you will remain anonymous.

How will I know if I have been blocked from the site?

If you are repeatedly in breach of our moderation rules you may incur sanctions as outlined above. In the event that you are blocked from the site, you will receive an email notification informing you of your sanctions and the conditions of those sanctions.

Is moderation independent of Williamstown Township?

Yes. Moderation is independent of Williamstown Township. Williamstown Township may choose to moderate stories as well as questions asked by participants and answer if they so choose.

How does moderation deal with comments which suggest a person is at risk of harming themselves or others?

Our moderators are trained to identify comments which contain references to self-harm and or threats of violence and crime. Comments which mention or promote this behavior will be removed and escalated for further review and passed on to our clients for further action. Any further action will be at the discretion of Williamstown Township, including referrals to law enforcement, primary health or first responder services. Bang the Table strongly advises Williamstown Township to have sufficient processes in place to deal with these situations and highly encourages the use of verified participation for engagement activities. If you notice comments of this nature, please alert our moderators and the Williamstown Township immediately. Bang the Table team can be contacted at support@engagementhq.com.

What personally identifiable information about me can the moderators access?

Bang the Table’s moderators do not have access to the user information stored by Williamstown Township. Moderators are only able to view a user's publicly visible username and their text or image-based contributions for the express purposes of moderating those elements. Your participation on this site is guided by Williamstown Township’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.