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Getting Around

House rules

We've established House Rules for your safety and to keep the Southwark Council’s Schools’  message boards a positive environment for discussion.

If your post has been removed or your account has been restricted and you do not agree that you have broken these rules, please contact CPDenquiry@southwark.gov.uk

We've established the following House Rules so that everyone can get the most out of commenting on the Southwark Council’s Schools’  website.

Please note that these also apply to rich media submissions such as images, video and audio clips, as well as content associated with you such as avatar images.

We've established these House Rules to protect you and the Southwark Council’s Schools’   from legal and editorial risks. These are intended as a guide to how you should behave and post on Southwark Council’s Schools’ website. Breach of the Southwark Council’s Schools’   terms of use will result in the removal of your comments. Repeated breaches will result in the restriction of your Southwark Council’s Schools’  ID.

The Southwark Council’s Schools’   welcomes feedback, both positive and negative, about our services but please make sure your comments are in line with the House Rules. Repeatedly posting personal or offensive comments about individual members of the public or people who work for the Southwark Council’s Schools’   may be considered harassment. We reserve the right to remove such comments and take action against those responsible.

All comments are subject to standard Southwark Council’s Schools’   Terms of Use.

Display names

Why has a display name been reset?

We reserve the right to reset display names that:

  • Contain website or email addresses

  • Contain contact information i.e. phone numbers, postcodes etc

  • Appear to impersonate someone else

  • Contain swear words or are otherwise objectionable

We reserve the right to fail comments which:

  • Advertise a product

For example, if it's relevant to the debate, it's fine to link to a website that sells an album or book if it’s helping another user or recommending something they would like. However, posting links to your own band's album or trying to drive buyers to your ebay auction or fundraising site may result in your comment being removed.

  • Risk breaching copyright law

Copyright law exists to stop someone from taking another person's work and passing it off as their own. It applies to the internet in the same way as it does to TV, books and the press. Breaking copyright law can result in being taken to court.

Please do not post large chunks of text copied from other sources as this may be an infringement of copyright. Short quotes to illustrate a point may be permissible, although this is at our discretion.

If you wish to refer to external sources of information, it's better to include a link to an appropriate external website.

  • Are not in English

Comments which are not in English are not allowed except on designated blogs. This is because we have to ensure comments can be checked and to ensure that all readers of the blogs understand the comment.

In addition to this, comments with heavy text speak or unintelligible language such as codes are also not allowed as this may disrupt the natural flow of conversation.

  • Risk breaking UK law

Contributing material to schools.southwark.gov.uk community with the intention to commit a crime, break the law, or condone or encourage unlawful activity is prohibited.

In addition we may remove comments which we consider could endanger other users - for example, offering medical and health advice, or encouraging drug or alcohol abuse or self-harm.

  • Contain potentially defamatory statements

Defamation laws exist to protect individuals or organisations from unwarranted, mistaken or untruthful attacks on their reputation. Posting a defamatory statement on a blog is the same as publishing it in a newspaper or magazine and can result in a court case if a formal complaint is made.

To avoid breaking defamation laws in your comments, please ensure that you verify the information in your comment, especially when presenting negative statements as facts. Also avoid jumping to conclusions, exaggerating or making subtle implications. Remember that adding the word 'allegedly' to a statement does not stop it being defamation.

  • Are abusive or disruptive

Abusive or disruptive behaviour is not allowed this website. This includes:

  • Using swear words (including abbreviations or alternative spellings) or other language likely to offend

  • Harassing, threatening or causing distress or inconvenience to any person or people

  • Flaming: This means posting something that's angry and mean-spirited

  • Trolling: This means saying deliberately provocative things just to stir up trouble

  • Infringing the rights of, restrict or inhibit anyone else's use of school.southwark.gov.uk

  • Attempting to impersonate somebody

  • Using multiple accounts to disrupt boards, annoy users.

  • Bumping or creating duplicate threads, posting in such a way as to cause technical errors, or any other attempts to disrupt the normal flow of conversation

Users who seriously or repeatedly demonstrate such behaviour may have their accounts permanently restricted and will not be allowed to return.

  • Are offensive

Any abusive or otherwise objectionable material will be removed and if extreme will result in immediate and permanent restriction of your account.

  • Are off-topic

Comments that are unrelated to the subject of discussion are considered 'off-topic'.

Please do not contribute off-topic material, except where a blog has a designated open post or a messageboard has a designated off-topic discussion. If your comment has been removed for being off-topic, you may be able to resubmit your comment somewhere more relevant. You can find examples of some places to comment on the right hand side of this page.

  • Contain personal details

Including contact or identification details in comments such as phone numbers, postal or email addresses is not allowed on most services. Please do not reveal any personal information about yourself or others as it might inadvertently put you or someone else at risk. For more information about online safety please visit the BBC guide to Online Safety.

  • Contempt of court

Once a suspect is arrested for an offence, or offences, legal restrictions apply. The 1981 Contempt of Court Act makes it a serious criminal offence, once someone's been arrested, to publish anything which could prejudice their trial.

  • Contain spam

Spamming or flooding is not allowed on the website. Spamming means submitting the same or very similar comments many times across the site. Flooding means re-submitting your contribution to the same blog entry or messageboard thread multiple times.

Please do not use a signature beneath your comment to promote websites, services, products or campaigns. This will cause your comments to be removed as spam.

  • Contain unsuitable links

When postings links you should not link to

  • Unlawful, unsuitable or sexually explicit content.

  • Websites that require payment to access

  • Foreign language content

  • Websites that initiate a file download or require additional software in order to view them. This includes .mp3 files.

  • Websites that advertise or promote products

  • Break our election and referendum rules