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Social media house rules

The following rules apply to all Dumfries and Galloway 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 enviroment 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
  • get your parent/guardian's permission if you are under the age of 12 before participating (users without this consent are not allowed to participate)
  • 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
  • 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 contributions
  • make 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 or party political debate. 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
     

How we moderate comments

We actively moderate our channels. 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. 

We may remove content and block users without notice where posts breach our rules (for example: abuse, hate speech, threats, doxxing, spam, impersonation, illegal content). Blocks are reviewed periodically.

In some cases, we may disable comments on specific posts or across entire channels (where function allows). This may be done to:

  • prevent the spread of misinformation or harmful content
  • protect staff and users from abuse or harassment
  • maintain focus on service delivery during high-volume or sensitive periods

Disabling comments is not a decision we take lightly. We’ll only do this when necessary, and we’ll always aim to explain why.

Our goal is to keep the conversation respectful – so everyone feels comfortable participating in a safe and respectful online environment.

Last, in line with the principles underlying the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (2014), published by the Scottish Government, our staff may report a concern to the relevant authorities if they come across an issue in the course of their work that causes them to think that a child may be at risk of abuse or harm. 

Emergencies

Our council social media accounts are monitored from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Our channels cannot deal with emergencies. If you have an emergency and need assistance out-of-hours, contact our contact centre on 030 33 33 3000.

Complaints

Social media should not be used for formal complaints. You can make a complaint online.

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.

Our new WhatsApp Channel

Dumfries and Galloway Council uses its WhatsApp Channel to share updates, news and service information with the public. When you choose to follow our WhatsApp Channel, your personal data (such as your WhatsApp profile name and phone number) is not visible to the council. We do not collect or store any personal information from followers of our WhatsApp Channel.

Processing your data

Dumfries and Galloway Council is a data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We process personal data according to the requirements of the 2018 Act and the GDPR. 

Full details about the privacy and protection of your data can be found in our data protection policy and our privacy statement.