This website is moderated by Sanderson Stewart. Sanderson Stewart provides moderation support to ensure participants, site administrators, and third-parties are safe from malicious, inflammatory and illegal materials. Sanderson Stewart’s role in moderation of this site is to ensure that contributions are reviewed and assessed in an impartial manner according to the rules outlined below. This policy covers the following:

• Username Rules and Sanctions
• Moderation Rules and Sanctions
• Etiquette
• Frequently Asked Questions

Username Rules and Sanctions

Usernames are approved in accordance with the following rules:

1.Usernames should not be defamatory, obscene or include offensive language. This includes using characters and symbols to hide explicit content.

2. Users may not impersonate other members of the public, elected officials, moderators, site administrators, or anyone other than themselves. If you are found to be impersonating someone else you will face sanctions.

3. Usernames must not be a URL or web address.

If you breach any of the above username rules the following will occur:

• Username Change: Our moderation team will change your username and inform you this has occurred.
• Temporary Suspension: A participant who changes their username in breach of the above rules may be suspended from access to the website. The suspension period will be determined by the moderators.
• Permanent Blocking – a participant who continues to violate the username rules will have their access to the website permanently blocked.

Moderation Rules and Sanctions

All contributions that can be seen by other website users are moderated in accordance with the following moderation rules:

1. Never post personal information about another participant. This includes identifying any individual by their real name if they have not already done so or providing personal contact information.
2. Don’t defame anyone or any organization. This is not the place to insult anyone or accuse them of wrongdoing or incompetence.
3. Don’t post anything that could be considered intolerant of a person’s race, culture, appearance, gender identification, sexual preference, religion or age.
4. Don’t be obscene, don’t use foul language, and don’t disguise swear words by deliberately misspelling them or using special characters.
5. Don’t insult or harass others. Focus on the logic of the argument, not the people involved.
6. Don’t post or link to any inappropriate, offensive or illegal material.
7. Don’t post any advertisements.
8. Don’t promote self-harm, suicide, violence or criminal activity.
9. Don’t use emoji or images to convey inappropriate meaning consistent with the rules outlined above.
10. Stay on topic. Users who intentionally distract from or ignore the discussion topic may have their comments treated as off-topic and removed.
11. Please direct any queries regarding moderation directly to the moderation team at branding@sandersonstewart.com. Do not include moderation concerns in site discussions as it distracts from the topic at hand (see #10).

Breaches of the moderation rules will be dealt with as follows:

• Removal of Comment: Any comment that breaches the rules will be removed.
• Temporary Suspension: A participant who repeatedly and flagrantly flouts the moderation rules may be suspended from access to the website for a period of time determined by the moderator. The period will reflect both the severity and consistency of the breach.
• Permanent Blocking: A participant who continues to violate the moderation rules may have their access to the website permanently blocked.
• Automatic Blocking: A participant who posts or links to inappropriate, offensive, illegal, or advertising material will be immediately blocked from the site.

Etiquette

The following are suggestions about etiquette to help keep the website respectful and constructive:

1. Read through the information on the site and the other participant comments before getting involved in the discussion.
2. Respect the views of other participants; remember these are your actual neighbors and community members.
3. Be constructive. It’s okay to debate, just keep the dialogue positive.
4. Don’t bully, harass or threaten others.
5. Keep things civil. It is important to keep the discussion focused on the issues rather than insults.
6. Once you’ve left your comment keep an eye on the project to see what other people have to say.
7. If someone has insulted you, don’t perpetuate the dispute; report their comment to the moderators by emailing branding@sandersonstewart.com. The moderator will review the comment and decide whether it should be removed.
8. Stay on topic. This website has been created for a specific purpose. Please stay within the boundaries of the subject matter.
9. Turn off the “CAPS LOCK”. Writing in ALL CAPS is the equivalent of SHOUTING and can be offensive.
10. Choose one place to post each of your unique comments. Don’t cut and paste the same comment into lots of different places on the website. These may be considered duplicates and could be removed.
11. Don’t be a “troll”. Trolls intentionally incite annoyance or offense. They do not participate constructively in the discussion and do not add any value to the debate.
12. If another participant proffers an opinion that you don’t agree with, you have no right to demand that they support their position with a detailed argument. They do not have to respond to your questions.
13. Respect the moderators. Their job is to keep the forum safe and constructive so that everybody gets to have their fair say. It is not always an easy job.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if my comment is removed?

If you post something to this website, which is removed by our moderators, you will receive a notification via email informing you of the decision. You will be informed as to which of the moderation rules you are in breach of and asked to review and resubmit your contribution.

What if I disagree with a moderation decision? 

Final moderation decision lies with our moderators, but you may indicate to us why you think your contribution should be accepted. In some instances, you will be referred to the owner of the project for a final decision.

Can moderators remove my comment just because they don’t like it?

All comments moderated by our moderators are done so in accordance with the moderation rules outlined above.

How will I know if I have been blocked from the site?

If you are repeatedly in breach of our moderation rules you may incur sanctions as outlined above. In the instance that you are blocked from the site, you will receive an email notification informing you of your sanctions and the conditions of those sanctions.