If you have arrived here after receiving a communication from the moderators, then please read this page carefully. After that, if you still feel that your post has been removed unreasonably then please contact enquiries@forestschoolassociation.org.
Introduction
The FSA provides a number of digital platforms for communication. These are owned and controlled by the FSA and individuals are allowed to use them at our discretion. The FSA board have agreed the following guidelines and rules for these platforms.
The FSA provides a number of digital platforms for communication. These are owned and controlled by the FSA and individuals are allowed to use them at our discretion. The FSA board have agreed the following guidelines and rules for these platforms.
Guidelines
1. Whilst humour is a welcomed part of the discourse on the website it has to be balanced with a professional attitude.
1. Whilst humour is a welcomed part of the discourse on the website it has to be balanced with a professional attitude.
2. Remember your face doesn’t show. Words alone can convey sentiment, but without benefit of inflection or facial expression, they can be misconstrued. Use descriptive wording to ensure your meaning is clear. By the same token, don’t jump to conclusions about another person’s intent in posting an unclear comment. When in doubt, ask for clarification.
3. Say online exactly what you would say in person. In other words, if you wouldn’t say it to the person’s face in front of your Grandmother, you shouldn’t type it on our platform.
4. Where you have a concern about a member of FSA staff, an FSA director, or an individual acting on behalf of the FSA, it is not appropriate to express this publicly on our digital platforms. Instead, the FSA CEO, Chair or another FSA director should be contacted directly so that the matter can be brought to the board’s attention.
5. Third party individuals and organisations should not be discussed on our digital platforms. This amounts to gossip, which is not considered professional, and could lead to charges of defamation of character. We don’t want members getting themselves into trouble because of what they say on our digital platforms.
6. Contributors must use common sense when communicating on our digital platforms and are legally responsible for the content of their submissions, particularly if their submissions contain derogatory comments.
7. Personal relationship issues – These are public forums and not the place for discussing specific personal relationship issues. We will not tolerate the practice of starting a thread under the pretext that it is a general relationship discussion, yet in reality it refers to a specific issue between two or more individuals.
8. Looking for a fight – Threads which set out to look for trouble, invariably create trouble. Don’t start them. We don’t want them on our platforms.
9. Members need to respect that people may have different views from themselves and should be courteous when challenging these differences.
10. Off topic comments do not improve the clarity of the threads, website staff may move or edit off topic posts.
11. Comments that are intended for the platform audience may not be intended for wider circulation. Postings to the platform should not be forwarded to another party without the consent of the originator (or other participants in the case of a conversational ‘thread’).
12. Remember that email is not a secure medium and you should never send any confidential information. As a general rule (guidance), never send anything that you would not write on the back of a postcard.
13. Type in lowercase or standard case NOT IN CAPS. By the rules of etiquette, all caps equates to shouting. If you type with all caps, you will annoy and possibly offend other forum members.
14. The written word may lack nuance and expression. Therefore, good faith should be assumed. If you are unsure about the meaning please contact the person directly to establish their true position. Professional disagreements may be better handled outside of chat threads even if they relate to the topic at hand.
15. Conversations created on a thread as a pretext to introduce self-promotion, training, courses, updates, marketing or political or ideological issues are not welcomed.
16. Issues with the FSA – Social Media is a public forum and not the place for discussing your relationship issues with the FSA. This can be seen as both aggressive and harmful. We have a complaints procedure that can be obtained by emailing enquiries@forestschoolassociation.org
Rules
1. Messages must not be abusive, obscene, defamatory or libellous, inflammatory, vulgar, sexually orientated, racial, political, hateful, shaming, bullying, threatening, in violation of any laws or good morals and practice.
1. Messages must not be abusive, obscene, defamatory or libellous, inflammatory, vulgar, sexually orientated, racial, political, hateful, shaming, bullying, threatening, in violation of any laws or good morals and practice.
2. Racial, ethnic, minority or gender-based insults or any form of discrimination is prohibited.
3. Insulting (irony and sarcasm can be insulting), trolling, flaming, harassing or threatening anyone is prohibited.
4. Posting of material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, hateful, accusitory or invasive of a person’s privacy is prohibited.
5. Provocation for the sake of provocation is prohibited.
6. ‘Coded’ expletives in messages are not permitted (ie non-alphabetic characters disguising bad language).
7. Messages deemed to contain commercial advertising or unsolicited messages for the purpose of advertising a product or service, are not permitted. – No chain letters, spam or junk messages may be transmitted to other users.
8. Members may not post or distribute files, articles or other information subject to trademark, copyright, or other proprietary rights, except with the express consent of the owner of the rights.
10. Lobbying and campaigning.
The Forest School Association (FSA) is a charitable organisation and professional body for Forest School in the UK.
We are legally required to be apolitical in nature and are bound by rules imposed on us by the Charity Commission. We are required to remain independent and not take sides in political issues unless doing so supports the delivery of our charitable purpose, which is
‘the advancement of education for public benefit through promotion and support of quality Forest School in the United Kingdom using any means to enable all children, young people and adults to benefit from increased opportunities for high quality and varied educational experiences in the natural world’.
The FSA cannot respond to calls for our opinion on events that are not directly related to our charitable purpose, nor can we allow other parties (including our members, trustees and staff) to use FSA resources to further their personal political, social, economic, or ideological interests.
Any lobbying undertaken by the FSA should fit with charity commission rules, be aligned with the FSA’s charitable purpose and strategy and be directed by the FSA board.
The rules are not designed to anticipate any given situation, and consequently, we reserve the right to take any actions we deem appropriate to ensure this community or the FSA are not disrupted or abused in any way (see guidelines for applying the rules below).
Monitoring and Enforcement Across Platforms
The FSA’s digital communication platforms, encompassing both the FSA website and our social media channels, are diligently managed by our Web Admins and/or moderators. All posts, comments, and interactions should adhere to the FSA digital communication guidelines (1-16).
The FSA’s digital communication platforms, encompassing both the FSA website and our social media channels, are diligently managed by our Web Admins and/or moderators. All posts, comments, and interactions should adhere to the FSA digital communication guidelines (1-16).
Actions Against Non-compliance
- First Instance: For any initial violation across all platforms, moderators will request the user to comply with the rules. The suspect post will be removed and replaced with a link to our rules and guidelines. The original content of the post will be permanently deleted.
- Second Instance: If a user fails to comply after the first warning, on the website, they will be banned from logging in for 1 month. For social media and other digital platforms, similar temporary sanctions may apply.
- Third Instance or Major Offense: Occurring within 18 months, will result in a permanent ban from the website and potentially all associated digital platforms. This includes the deletion of the user’s account.
Moderation Practices
Moderators reserve the right to remove any posts that contravene our guidelines. If a post is not in keeping with our standards, not only will it be deleted, but depending on the severity of the breach, it might lead to temporary or permanent removal of the user’s account. Repeated or nuisance posts will invoke sanctions such as blocking, barring, or removal from our feeds.
Handling Complaints
Complaints may be made to enquiries@forestschoolassociation.org.
If FSA volunteers and staff cannot resolve matters then the complaint may be referred to the FSA board.
Adherence to Guidelines
All members and users must uphold the spirit of these guidelines to maintain a respectful and productive digital environment. Violations of these rules will be taken seriously and could significantly affect your ability to interact within the FSA community.
