Compliance with Code of Practice for Online Social Media Platforms
A Statutory Code of Practice has been published by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in accordance with Section 103 of the Digital Economy Act 2017. This Code provides guidance for social media platforms, in advance of the new regulatory framework envisaged in the Online Harms White Paper.
We want these forums to comply with this code of practice as a minimum standard and preferably to exceed them both in spirit and practice. This statement should be viewed as complementary to our Terms and Conditions and Site Policies.
Harmful Conduct
We do not allow “Harmful Conduct” - that is posts or personal messages which are insulting, intimidating, bullying or threatening. Neither do we allow hate speech against individuals or groups based on sexual preference, religion, race and so forth. This is not an exclusive list.
Please respect other users and be polite, preferably friendly.
Reporting Harmful Conduct
All posts and messages contain a link (bottom right hand corner) to report them to moderators and or admin. This link is only accessible to registered and logged in users.
Visitors to the site who are not registered or logged in can report Harmful Conduct via the Contact Me page which has an email link (see page footer).
Moderators may come across Harmful Conduct and take action without it being reported specifically.
What Actions We Will Take
Whatever action we take, we will inform the reporter within 24 hours of the complaint being made that it is being investigated and, in due course, our actions and explain why we have taken those actions.
There are a range of actions available to us. A post may be deleted or moved to a private area for further discussion by the moderating team prior to deletion or reinstatement.
The poster may be be warned about their behaviour or banned from the forum – depending on the severity of their actions.
This "Code of Practice" will be kept under review, improved and developed as necessary taking user feedback and disability expert advice into account.