Moderation policy
Sefton Council wants people to feel able to share their ideas, experiences and opinions openly when taking part in Dialogue.
Dialogue is an online engagement space where participants can share ideas, comment on other people's contributions and, where enabled, rate ideas.
We welcome different opinions, including criticism of the Council, its services, policies and proposals.
We ask everyone taking part to treat other participants with respect and help us maintain a constructive and inclusive conversation.
This moderation policy explains the standards we expect and what may happen if a contribution does not meet them.
Our approach to moderation
Our moderators will aim to support open, constructive discussion.
We will not remove a contribution simply because:
- it disagrees with the Council
- it criticises a Council service, policy or proposal
- it disagrees with another participant
- it expresses an unpopular opinion
- other participants disagree with it
Moderation decisions will be based on this policy rather than whether the Council agrees with what has been said.
What we ask of participants
When taking part in Dialogue:
- be respectful towards other participants
- discuss the issue rather than attacking the person
- keep contributions relevant to the discussion
- explain your views where possible
- respect people's privacy
- do not share somebody else's personal information
- do not repeatedly post the same contribution
- do not deliberately disrupt the discussion
You can strongly disagree with an idea.
Please explain why you disagree without insulting or intimidating the person who shared it.
Contributions we may moderate
We may moderate, hide or remove content that:
Is abusive, threatening or intimidating
This includes threats, harassment, bullying or content intended to intimidate another participant.
Contains discriminatory or hateful content
We will not accept content that attacks, abuses or targets people because of characteristics such as:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage or civil partnership
- pregnancy or maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
This also applies to abusive or hateful content directed towards other groups or individuals.
Contains personal information
Do not publish personal information about yourself or another person.
This could include:
- home addresses
- personal telephone numbers
- personal email addresses
- financial information
- medical information
- information that could identify a child or vulnerable person
If personal information is included accidentally, we may remove or edit the contribution to protect the person concerned.
Makes allegations about identifiable people
Dialogue should not be used to make allegations about individual:
- Council employees
- councillors
- residents
- service users
- contractors
- representatives of other organisations
Concerns about the conduct of an individual should be raised through the appropriate Council process.
Where appropriate, moderators may direct a participant to another way of raising their concern.
Is unlawful
We may remove material that we reasonably believe may be unlawful, including defamatory material or content that infringes copyright.
Encourages violence or criminal activity
Content that threatens, promotes or encourages violence or illegal activity will be removed and may be referred to the appropriate organisation where necessary.
Is sexually explicit or obscene
Sexually explicit, pornographic or seriously offensive material will be removed.
Is spam or advertising
Do not use Dialogue primarily to:
- advertise products or services
- promote commercial organisations
- repeatedly post the same content
- post irrelevant links
Relevant links to supporting evidence or community resources may be permitted where they contribute to the discussion.
Is significantly off topic
Dialogue is intended to support discussion about the published challenge.
We will normally allow conversations to develop naturally, but contributions that are clearly unrelated to the subject may be removed or redirected.
Repeatedly duplicates an existing contribution
Similar ideas are sometimes useful because they demonstrate that more than one participant has raised an issue.
However, deliberately posting the same contribution repeatedly may be treated as spam.
Misinformation and disputed information
People may have different understandings of an issue.
We will not normally remove a contribution simply because another participant or the Council believes it is incorrect.
Where a contribution contains significant factual inaccuracies, the Council may respond with information or evidence to help participants understand the issue.
Content may be moderated where misinformation creates a significant risk of harm or where another part of this moderation policy applies.
Criticism of Sefton Council
Criticism is allowed.
Participants can criticise:
- Council decisions
- proposals
- policies
- services
- spending priorities
- previous decisions
A contribution will not be removed simply because it is negative about the Council.
However, criticism must still comply with this moderation policy.
Councillors and Council employees
Participants can discuss decisions made by the Council and the actions of the Council as an organisation.
Dialogue should not normally be used to make personal allegations against individual councillors or employees.
Where a participant wishes to make a complaint about the conduct of an individual, moderators may direct them to the appropriate complaints process.
Safeguarding concerns
If a contribution raises a concern about the safety or welfare of a child or adult who may be at risk, moderators should not attempt to investigate the issue through Dialogue.
The moderator will follow Sefton Council's relevant safeguarding procedures.
Where there appears to be an immediate risk of harm, the appropriate emergency or safeguarding procedures will be followed.
Threats of harm
If a contribution suggests that somebody may be at immediate risk of serious harm, moderators may need to take action outside the normal moderation process.
This may include escalating the contribution in accordance with Council procedures.
Reporting a contribution
If you think an idea or comment breaks these rules, you can report it to the moderation team.
Reporting something does not automatically mean it will be removed.
A moderator will consider it against this policy.
What happens when content is moderated?
- Depending on the circumstances, we may:
- leave the contribution unchanged
- contact the participant
- ask the participant to amend their contribution
- remove personal information
- hide or remove part or all of a contribution
- close comments on a discussion
- restrict an account from participating
- suspend or remove an account
- refer serious concerns through the appropriate Council procedure
We will use the least restrictive action that is appropriate in the circumstances.
Where practical and appropriate, we will explain why moderation action has been taken.
Pre-moderation and post-moderation
Most Dialogue exercises may use post-moderation.
This means contributions can appear before a moderator has reviewed them.
For some discussions we may use pre-moderation.
This means a contribution will be checked before it becomes publicly visible.
Pre-moderation may be appropriate where there is an increased risk involving:
- safeguarding
- highly sensitive subjects
- personal information
- abuse or harassment
- harmful misinformation
- significant legal or reputational risk
The Dialogue will tell participants if contributions are being pre-moderated.
Moderation hours
Dialogue is not monitored continuously.
Council staff will moderate in standard working hours of Monday – Friday from 9am – 5pm.
Contributions made outside these hours may not be reviewed until the next moderation period.
If an engagement exercise requires different moderation arrangements, these will be explained on the relevant Dialogue page.
Dialogue should not be used to report an emergency or an issue requiring an immediate Council response.
Decisions about moderation
Moderators will use this policy when deciding whether action is required.
Where a decision is unclear or potentially serious, it should be escalated to an appropriate senior officer.
Where appropriate, significant moderation decisions will be recorded to help us apply the policy consistently.
Freedom of expression
We recognise that constructive engagement sometimes involves disagreement.
Our moderation approach aims to balance people's ability to express their views with our responsibility to provide a safe, respectful and inclusive space for participation.
We will not moderate contributions simply because they are controversial, critical or uncomfortable.
Your personal information
Please do not include personal or sensitive information in a public contribution.
Sefton Council processes personal information in accordance with data protection legislation.
Read the Dialogue privacy notice for information about:
- what information we collect
- why we collect it
- how it will be used
- who it may be shared with
- how long it will be kept
- your information rights
Questions about moderation
If you have a question about this policy or a moderation decision, contact:
Your Sefton Your Say