The following rules apply to all Dundee City Council social media accounts, online forums and any digital engagement tools we use. In addition to our rules, remember that all social media platforms and websites have their own terms of service, too.
Our goal
We want our online channels to be a space where everyone, regardless of personal circumstances, feels comfortable and is able to participate. We want to foster a friendly, open and lively environment that encourages you to share your views and to listen to those of others.
General guidelines
We always welcome debate, but it is important to remain respectful to other commenters. Focus on sharing and discussing your views, rather than on personal attacks. You can help us foster this kind of positive space by following the rules.
Remember, all our social media platforms are open to the public - that means your comments are public, too. They can be seen by anyone, so think before you post. Be kind - if you have a criticism, think about how you would say it in person, and think about how to convey your tone (how the comment sounds and how it might come across). It is possible to have a robust disagreement and still be respectful.
Dos
When engaging with the council and other people, please:
- ensure you've read and understood all our discussion rules first
- keep your contributions relevant to the discussion topic
Don'ts
Please do not:
- swear
- make contributions that are unlawful, inflammatory, harassing, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexual or racist
- post links
- make contributions that are offensive to others with regard to religion or belief, gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, nationality or other personal (protected) characteristics
- spam or resubmit the same or similar contributionsmake defamatory contributions (untrue and capable of damaging the reputation of a person or organisation)
- condone illegal activity or incite people to commit any crime, including incitement of hatred
- make contributions that could prejudice ongoing or forthcoming court proceedings (contempt of court) or break a court injunction
- use these channels for campaigning. This includes posting on behalf of an organisation, group or social media account
- make contributions containing someone else's copyright material
- make contributions containing personal information that could identify people without their permission (last names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, usernames)
- impersonate other people or falsely claim to represent a person or organisation
- advertise or promote products or services
- make contributions containing false news designed to spread misinformation or manipulated images/videos designed to mislead
Comments
We reserve the right to take action where we consider contributions to be in breach of these rules. Actions can include:
- hiding your comment
- deleting your comment
- reporting your comment to a platform for breaking its community standards
- banning commenters from our channel on a temporary basis
- permanently banning commenters from our channel
- reporting your comment to law enforcement bodies
Although we appreciate that the use of language, and how this is perceived by others, is subjective, we take a hard line on offensive content that includes hate speech. This is to safeguard a friendly and open environment and promote a culture of mutual respect.
Emergencies
Our council social media accounts are monitored from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Our channels cannot deal with emergencies. If you have an emergency and need assistance out-of-hours, contact our contact centre on 01382 434343.
Complaints
Social media should not be used for formal complaints. You can make a complaint via our website.
Our team
Please remember to be kind. There are real people operating our social media sites. Anyone who is repeatedly rude and/or aggressive to members of our team - or site users - will be banned from commenting and posting on our channels.
Endorsement
Following or liking another organisation or individual doesn't mean that our council endorses them.
Although we try to ensure that the information on our sites is current, we can't guarantee that the information provided on our social media accounts will be complete, accurate or up to date.