Our social media house rules
These rules explain the how we moderate the comment and reply sections of Chelmsford City Council online presences. This includes Facebook, Instagram, our account on X, Nextdoor, LinkedIn and YouTube.
As well as friendly conversation, we welcome constructive criticism, differing opinions and healthy debate. We ask everyone to follow these rules to keep our online spaces safe for everyone.
Rules
Do not make personal attacks or threats toward anyone, including other commenters, council staff, council representatives, or public figures.
Do not make comments that generalise about, or discriminate against, groups, including based on race, nationality, sex, gender or sexuality.
Do not post anything unlawful, or that encourages unlawful behaviour. This includes hate speech. We may report unlawful comments to the police.
Do not identify council staff online. If you have a complaint about a member of staff, use our complaints process.
Do not post libellous or defamatory comments against people or organisations, including Chelmsford City Council.
Do not swear or post explicit content. Replacing letters with symbols and other kinds of obfuscation is not a way around this rule.
Do not post incorrect or misleading “information”.
Do not share personal information such as addresses and phone numbers, including your own.
Do not post information that compromises the privacy of others. This may include photos, websites, email addresses, and presences on other social platforms.
Do not post comments for the purpose of annoying or provoking argument with others.
Do not repost the same or similar comments multiple times. Find the most relevant place to have your say.
Do not post self-promotional comments. Do not advertise products and services.
Do not post off-topic comments.
Do not flood the comments. We may remove comments by voices that are taking over the conversation.
Do not use Chelmsford City Council images and branding without permission. We will work to shut down any accounts or pages falsely claiming to represent Chelmsford City Council or any of our venues or services.
In summary: Treat others as you’d like to be treated. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t say face to face.
Action against rule-breakers
We will remove comments that breach any of these rules. Bear in mind that although you may be able to see your comment, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are visible to others.
We will consider banning accounts that repeatedly break these rules.
We may immediately ban accounts that have violated a rule in an egregious way.
We may be stricter with profiles that are new, anonymous, under a false identity, identify as an organisation rather than an individual, contain false information, or have no connection with Chelmsford.
We maintain the right to limit or turn off comments on posts that see excessive rule-breaking or are about topics that have seen excessive rule-breaking in the past.
Tips
Think before you post.
Accept differing opinions.
Read the whole post and, ideally, existing comments before commenting.
Remember that anything you post anywhere online can be screenshot and shared in public by others.
Only click links in other comments that you’re sure are safe.
Resources
We encourage everyone to report content and comments in breach of a platform’s terms and conditions directly to the social platform in question. You can usually do this from the menu on the content or comment itself.
If you’re experiencing online bullying and harassment, seek advice from the National Bullying Helpline. Feel free to alert us to any rule-breaking comments you’ve seen.