Conduct Guidlines for Forum/Facebook Needed

[Solus Hospes]

Please note, I am posting this only to prompt productive action. I thought to make it easier by starting threads in appropriate groups with proposals that need work. Anyone can help with these; please, and thank you. -M.E.

2. Tabled 10-31 : “Web Team will find a list of guidelines used by other sites and offer it at the next GA for consensus and implementation for all to follow on FB and the MB.”
Guidelines for dealing with harassers, but not the other guidelines yet. Web team will look into this.

What we need from this Work Group:
A set of guidelines we can offer as a proposal for consensus to then apply to our forum and facebook pages.

Any guidelines we currently have, can we post them here as well?

Anything else you can think of.

[Mireille]

I plan to look into this. Not sure when. Soon. Would like to enlist James too if he has time.

[Mireille]

I have compiled these conduct guidelines for the Facebook accounts from various sources. These are pretty standard and common sense guidelines. It is hard to spell out with great detail what is considered bad behavior or abusive. Most leave room for administrator discretion, which is why I recommend we have an appeal process to keep admin powers in check for all our online activities.

User guidelines for Facebook Groups and Communities

1. First and foremost your posts should adhere to Facebook’s terms: www.facebook.com/terms.php

2. Exercise courtesy, especially in regards to the tone of your posts. Treat our community members with respect.

3. Excessive profanity and abusive language are absolutely not permitted.

4. We can not check every post for its veracity or usefulness. Each member must be responsible for how he/she interprets and uses the information posted on the community/group site.

5. It is recommended that you never post your address or phone number.

6. If for any reason you harass other members or are unable to abide by these guidelines, or Facebook’s terms, you will be removed from the group effective immediately. You may also be reported in accordance to Facebook’s abuse and policy violations procedures at the administrator’s discretion: www.facebook.com/help/?page=178608028874393

7. If you wish to appeal any action taken by an administrator, please contact (who, what?) and (do this?)

Any recommendations on #7? I was thinking we should have a formal grievance/appeal request process for any actions taken by administrators and perhaps evaluated by the group, at GA? Maybe we should have an appeal team or some sort of internal policy enforcing team.

Please advise.

EDIT: I have added the following to the forum rules & guidelines. We really don't have many rules in the forum but when the few we have are violated, we really should take action to avoid problems and nuisances. I have given one member a 10% warning after PM'ing him several times to please stop posting the same thing in multiple threads. He is a repeat violator, is not heeding my suggestions, and is cluttering the forum.

UPDATE: 11/15/2011 - Warning system/banning. If you are shown to consistently violate the above stated minimal guidelines the following actions may be taken by administrators:

1. You will be sent a personal message cautioning your behavior and offered suggestions for maintaining good standing within the forum

2. If the behavior is not corrected and continues, you will be given a public warning, which will appear as designated below:

10% - LOW - first official warning; one type of offense
25% - MEDIUM - second warning/violation continues; new offense exhibited
50% - HIGH - third warning/violation continues with multiple types of offenses
75% - FINAL - final warning
100% - banned from forum

Although I took it upon myself to do this, it can be changed/modified/undone. Let me know what you all think. We can have an appeal process for this as well.

[Solus Hospes]

So far I agree with all that you posted and the words you used. It's pretty simple.

As for who to contact, I'd say they should contact the main e-mail with their side of the story and the mod who warned/banned them and that way the mod and the individual can bring their facts to the table at a GA and let the people decided if it was banworthy and/or to offer them another chance to obey the guidelines. (which really aren't that hard.)

Realistically, as listed we're not asking anything that isn't already being asked by the service (facebook and proboards) and not anything that either wouldn't ban for too.

Thank you for doing this!

[Mireille]

Great, thanks. I will add information on the "appeal" process shortly. Where do you think we can add the facebook rules?