Community Guidelines

Scope

These guidelines will evolve as the Tackling Loneliness Hub community develops and grows. The guidelines refer to online discussions and using the Tackling Loneliness Hub. You are responsible for familiarising yourself with these guidelines. The moderator [Community Manager] will notify members of any significant updates and changes to the guidelines.

Aims

The Tackling Loneliness Hub aims to be home to a wide range of voices, from across sectors and at different levels of involvement in the loneliness agenda. You may find opinions that you disagree with and some that you may find offensive. It is not our intention to censor opinion.

The views expressed on this website do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, the Campaign to End Loneliness at Sheffield Hallam University, or Neighbourly Lab.

We try to be as fair as we can when moderating content, but in a large community with many different viewpoints, there will always be some people who will not be happy with our moderation policies. While we regret that this happens, we have to make decisions based on what is best for the community overall.

Guidelines

To help create a collaborative space, we have designed opportunities for you to connect, discuss and share your work with other members. We have developed functions within the site for you to do this and there are opportunities to take part in and lead activities. It is only with the involvement of all members that the Hub can flourish.

By joining the Tackling Loneliness Hub, all members are agreeing to:

• be respectful to other users and the moderator
• offer constructive and encouraging feedback
• be mindful of how other members may interpret your comments and views
• stay on topic and share information and resources relevant to loneliness
• familiarise yourself with the community guidelines
• report others who do no not follow the community guidelines

Moderation

Members can report any activity in the Hub that breaks the community guidelines. Our Community Manager can also take action when community guidelines are violated. We will usually:

• Investigate any reported activity in a timely and comprehensive manner.
• Provide a written notice to a member who violates the guidelines, explaining how their activity violated community guidelines, and the actions that will be taken.
• Edit, hide or delete any content that has been found to violate these guidelines.

If a member violates the community guidelines more than once, the Community Manager reserves the right to suspend or delete that member, following investigation of the actions of that member.

We will do our best to moderate any posts or comments in a timely manner, but we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. Nor can guarantee to moderate any post or topic completely.

Ownership and liability of posts

Content and messages posted on this are the sole opinion and responsibility of the poster.

Inappropriate behaviour

The moderator may take action if members are found to be:

• Posting personal insults.This does not contribute to the conversation or a collaborative working environment members want to be part of. If somebody insults you, please report this rather than responding.
• Posting off topic and hijacking conversation or activity. We expect to see a variety of discussion due to the breadth of the topic and interests but posts which hijack discussion will be moderated.
• Inciting illegal behaviour. We have a duty to remove any content deemed to be encouraging or facilitating illegal behaviour.
• Making personal or organisational attacks, threats or defamatory comments.
• Sharing inappropriate or graphic imagery. This may include images depicting nudity, violence, sex or death.
• Posting unsolicited advertisements. This may be in the form of service offers, advertorial content or sales pitches.
• Using inappropriate language or hate speech. Based on race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
• Sharing private or sensitive data or information.
• Violating copyright or sharing resources that may be confidential.

If you believe another user is not acting appropriately and within the guidelines, you may use the reporting function in your activity feed, or you can send a screenshot directly to community.manager@neighbourlylab.com

The moderator may or may not accept that the issue you highlight violates the community guidelines.

Libellous content

If you feel you have been defamed or libelled in the Hub, your first step should be to contact the moderator to have the offending post removed: community.manager@neighbourlylab.com

What to do if your post is moderated

If your post is edited or deleted because it violates the community guidelines, you will be contacted by the moderator confirming the action.

You should not:

• post the same message again
• taunt the moderator
• taunt other members of the website community for reporting you

Ending your membership

If you decide to end your membership of the Tackling Loneliness Hub, we will not delete your old posts as it makes the discussions difficult to follow for the remaining readers. Instead, these posts will be attributed to an anonymous ‘Deleted member’, and your personal information will not be visible.

Privacy Policy

Who is collecting my data?

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) helps to drive growth, enrich lives and promote Britain abroad.

DCMS protects and promotes our cultural and artistic heritage and helps businesses and communities to grow by investing in innovation and highlighting Britain as a fantastic place to visit. We help to give the UK a unique advantage on the global stage, striving for economic success.

DCMS are instructing the Neighbourly Lab (NL) and their host organisation the Campaign to End Loneliness at Sheffield Hallam University (CtEL/SHU) to process data on our behalf as the delivery provider for the Tackling Loneliness Hub.

The Campaign to End Loneliness at Sheffield Hallam University is an independent collaborating centre that develops and shares robust and accessible wellbeing evidence to improve decision making. Their vision is of a future where the wellbeing of people and communities improves year on year and wellbeing inequalities are reduced.

Neighbourly Lab believes that people of all ages need connections that matter. They have been experts in the field of loneliness and connection since 2011 and their vision is that everyone can live a life free from chronic loneliness.

Purpose of this privacy notice

This notice sets out how the Neighbourly Lab (NL) will process your personal data, on behalf of DCMS, as part of our legal obligations with regard to data protection.

DCMS’s personal information charter explains how NL deals with your information. It also explains how you can ask to view, change or remove your information from our records.

The Tackling Loneliness website is to provide information on tackling loneliness and the Hub is a place for:

• Connecting with others working to reduce loneliness
• Share the latest research and insight on what works
• Collaborate on new initiatives

What personal data does Neighbourly Lab collect?

The personal information NL collects and processes is provided to us directly by you or collected on an automated basis, as explained below.

For all website users, including non-members of the Tackling Loneliness Hub, we collect information on how you use this website, including automatically generated analytical cookies of how you use this website (see the cookie policy for further details).

If you do register to be a member of the Tackling Loneliness Hub, the additional data we collect includes:

• Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (name, email address, the organisation you work for and your role in it).
• Any personal data included in posts, comments or messages sent via the site.
• If you consent, we will also hold a photograph of yourself.
• Information you provide if you register to attend a Hub workshop or event, such as accessibility requirements.

We may also receive personal information indirectly, from the following sources in the following scenarios:

• If you attend an online, or in-person event and supply your personal information to our Community Manager, or another staff member at DCMS, CtEL/SHU, or NL for the purpose of finding out about, or joining the Hub.
• If you email or contact our Community Manager, or another staff member at DCMS, CtEL/SHU, or NL for the purpose of finding out about, or joining the Hub.
• If a Hub member sends you an email invite from the Hub. In this instance, we will only use the information to confirm whether you received the invite, and if you are able to join. If you do not activate your Hub membership, your personal data will be deleted from our database after one month.

How will The Campaign to End Loneliness use your data?

We use this personal information, to enable you to log into, and use the Hub securely.

If you post anything on our site and you have provided a photograph of yourself, it will show next to your post. The platform remembers settings, so you don’t have to keep re-entering them whenever you visit a new page e.g., your details when commenting on posts.

Legal basis for processing your data

Our legal basis for processing any personal data is set out in Article 6(1)(e) of the UK GDPR as the processing is necessary for us in our work as a public body and in the public interest. In particular, the processing is necessary for the exercise of our function as the government department delivering the Tackling Loneliness strategy as permitted under section 8(d) of the DPA 2018.

What will happen if I do not provide this data?

Registration to the Tackling Loneliness Hub is completely voluntary. If you do not provide your name, email address, and organisation, you will not be able to create an account and access the online community of practice.

Who will your data be shared with?

For the purpose of delivering the Tackling Loneliness Hub, NL will share your data with DCMS and SU. A limited number of staff from these organisations manage the running of the Hub, and support Hub members. When we share your data with these organisations, we will ensure there are proper controls in place. We will not make your personal data available for commercial use.

How long will my data be held for?

Your personal data will be retained for the duration of time that NL delivers the Tackling Loneliness Hub. During that time, if you make a request for your account to be deleted, we will do so within one month, in line with DCMS retention policy. It is necessary for archiving, research, or statistical purposes – so long as certain conditions are met, namely that the information is:

• stored in a secure environment
• anonymised
• not used for any other purpose

Will my data be used for automated decision making or profiling?

The information you provide through the Tackling loneliness website and hub will not be used for automated decision making or profiling.

Will my data be transferred outside the UK and if it is how will it be protected?

CEL does not intend to share your data overseas. If we need to do so, we will make sure we have the right controls in place to protect the data.

What are your data protection rights?

You have rights over your personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the supervisory authority for data protection legislation, and maintains a full explanation of these rights on their website.

DCMS will ensure that we uphold your rights when processing your personal data.

How do I complain?

The contact details for the data controller’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) are:

If you’re unhappy with the way we have handled your personal data and want to make a complaint, please write to the department’s Data Protection Officer or the Data Protection Manager at the relevant agency. You can contact the department’s Data Protection Officer using the details above.

How to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office

If you believe that your personal data has been misused or mishandled, you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner, who is an independent regulator. You may also contact them to seek independent advice about data protection, privacy and data sharing.

Any complaint to the Information Commissioner is without prejudice to your right to seek redress through the courts.

Changes to our privacy notice

Changes may be made to this Privacy Notice. In that case, the ‘last updated’ date at the bottom of this page will also change. Any changes to this notice will apply to you and your data immediately. If these changes affect how your personal data is processed, DCMS will take reasonable steps to let you know. For further information please see DCMS personal information charter.

This notice was last updated on 28 August 2024.