Community guidelines and moderation policy

Community guidelines and moderation policy

Scope

This guidance is a live document that will evolve as use and membership of the Tackling Loneliness Hub develops and grows. It refers to online discussions and posting of content using the Tackling Loneliness Hub. You are responsible for familiarising yourself with this policy. The Hub Community Manager will email all Hub members with any significant updates and changes to this policy, as well as via the Hub community feed.

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 Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport; What Works Centre for Wellbeing; or the Campaign to End Loneliness.

We try to be as fair as we can when moderating but in a large community of users, 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 cannot suit all of the people all of the time and have to make decisions based on what is best for the community overall.

Guidelines

To help create a collaborative space we have designed opportunities to connect, discuss and share your work with other members; we have developed functions within the site for you to create working groups; and there will be increasing opportunities to take part in and lead activities on and off line. It is only with the commitment of all members that the Hub can flourish.

By joining as a Hub member, 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 these guidelines
• report others who do no not follow these guidelines.

How to Report abuse

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@campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk

Inappropriate behaviour

The moderator may take action if members are found to be

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Inciting illegal behaviour.
   We have a duty to remove any content deemed to be encouraging or facilitating illegal behaviour.
4. Making personal or organisational attacks, threats or defamatory comments.
5. Sharing inappropriate or graphic imagery.
   By this we mean imagery that is disturbing to other members. This may include images depicting nudity, violence, sex or death.
6. Posting unsolicited advertisements.
   This may be in the form of service offers, advertorial content or sales pitches. 

7. Using inappropriate language or hate speech.
   Based on race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
8. Sharing private or sensitive data or information. 
9. Violating copyright or sharing resources that may be confidential.

Moderation

The Hub is a new community space, and we are all finding our way around. If you have any questions about whether something you want to post might break community guidelines, please feel free to contact the community manager at community.manager@campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk

Members can report any activity in the Hub that breaks these community guidelines. Even if a member is not reported by another members, 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.

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. The Moderator’s email address is community.manager@campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk

Why was my report not accepted?

The Moderator may or may not accept that the issue you highlight is actually abusive under our rules.

 What to do if your post is moderated

If your post is edited or deleted, you will be sent a message from the moderator confirming the action. If you still don’t understand why you were moderated you can contact community.manager@campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk.

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

Timeliness

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.

Completeness

We cannot guarantee to moderate any post or topic completely.

Ownership and liability of posts

Messages posted at this site are the sole opinion and responsibility of the poster.

Privacy Notice

Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Privacy Notice for Tackling Loneliness Hub

Who is collecting my data?

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

We protect and promote our cultural and artistic heritage and help 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.

The What Works Centre for Wellbeing is an independent collaborating centre that develops and shares robust and accessible wellbeing evidence  to improve decision making. Our vision is of a future where the wellbeing of people and communities improves year on year and wellbeing inequalities are reduced.

The Campaign to End Loneliness believe that people of all ages need connections that matter. Our vision is that everyone can live a life free from chronic loneliness.

We’ve been experts in the field of loneliness and connection since 2011. We share research, evidence and knowledge with thousands of other organisations and the public to make a difference to older people’s lives.

We inspire everyone to connect and bring communities together across the UK.

Purpose of this Privacy Notice

This notice sets out how we will use your personal data as part of our legal obligations with regard to data protection.

DCMS’s personal information charter explains how we deal 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
• finding that latest research and insight on what works
• bringing in the perspectives of those with lived experience of loneliness.

What is personal data?

Personal data is any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural living person, otherwise known as a ‘data subject’. A data subject is someone who can be recognised, directly or indirectly, by information such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or data relating to their physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity. These types of identifying information are known as ‘personal data’. Data protection law applies to the processing of personal data, including its collection, use and storage. You can find more about what constitutes personal information on the ICO website.

What personal data do we collect?

The personal information we collect and process is provided to us directly by you or collected on an automated basis, as explained below.

If you do not register with the Tackling Loneliness website the data we collect includes:

• Automatically generated information on how you use this website. This includes your IP address and details of your activity on the site including pages visited and searches and also the use of analytical and other cookies (please see the cookie policy for details about cookies).

If you do register with the Tackling Loneliness website the 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 and comments on or messages sent via the site.
• If you consent, we will also hold a photograph of yourself.

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, What Works Centre for Wellbeing, or the Campaign to End Loneliness 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, What Works Centre for Wellbeing, or the Campaign to End Loneliness 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 two months.

How will we use your data?

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

We use your email address to send you automatically generated notification emails when someone messages or tags you on the Hub and an e-newsletter every 2 weeks which summarises activity that has been happening on the Hub. You can unsubscribe from the notification emails and the newsletter at any time.

If you post anything on our site and you have provided a photograph of yourself, it will show next to your post.

We remember 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.

We remember information you’ve given (e.g., your postcode) so you don’t need to keep entering it.

 Legal basis for processing your data

Our legal basis for collecting IP addresses and other automatically generated data is “legitimate interests”, e.g., to manage and improve our service including tracking usage patterns and preventing or detecting fraud or abuse.

Our legal basis for collecting other personal data is: consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting our Community Manager, at community.manager@campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk

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?

We will share this information with the Campaign to End Loneliness CIC and the What Works Centre for Wellbeing CIC. A limited number of staff from these organisations manage the running of the Hub, and support Hub members.

 We will not make your personal data available for commercial use.

How long will my data be held for?

We will retain your personal data for the period that you have created an account on the Hub. After you have requested your account to be deleted, we will retain your data for one month in line with DCMS retention policy if:

• it is needed for the purposes set out in this document,
• the law requires us to, or
• 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?

We do not use the information you provide through the Tackling loneliness website and hub for automated decision making or profiling.

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

We will not send your data overseas. If we need to do so, we will let you know and we will ensure that there is a legal basis to make the transfer.

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?

Director, Civil Society and Youth

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

100 Parliament Street

London

SW1A 2BQ

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

Data Protection Officer

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

100 Parliament Street

London

SW1A 2BQ

Email: DCMSdataprotection@dcms.gov.uk

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.

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Website: www.ico.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

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

Changes to our privacy notice

We may make changes 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.

This notice was last updated on 07/05/2021.