These rules are in a state of flux at the moment, subject to change as we move towards clearer rules. Eventually, these will be supported by more extensive guideline explanations.
Rules for Colne Talk Community group on Facebook.
✅ General talk about events in the Colne locality (and the immediate surrounding area).
✅ Please make posts of a constructive nature, respect the group and be courteous to other members.
✅ Participate in a kind and collaborative way, and exercise respect and consideration while here.
✅ Limited exposure for local events that will benefit the town is allowed (e.g. Charity events). Specific promotions run by the ‘Visit Colne’ page or the admin team are allowed.
❌ No personal insults or abuse, aggressive behaviour, swearing (including shortened “text speak”), causing deliberate offence, or racism etc. Swearing on a top-level post will attract immediate admin action.
❌ People who attack other members, block admins, or become disrespectful will be removed.
❌ Do not constantly post negative comments that do not serve to enhance the discussion in a constructive manner.
❌ No trolling of posts or stalking members.
❌ No free advertising for business purposes or self-promotion. (Businesses may purchase an advertising package from our website at https://www.colnetalk.co.uk/ ).
❌ No selling of goods etc. – please use a local buy & sell group for that. Posts which offer items community members free of charge are generally allowed.
❌ No video’s or music – unless it’s directly related to our coverage area. Keep these to a minimum please, as they have a tendency to become spam.
❌ Do not repeat posts.
❌ Do not post ‘fake news’.
❌ No politics run up to elections, i.e. at least six weeks prior to the election date. The exact implementation date will vary from time to time and at the discretion of the Admin team.
❌ GIFs and Memes – please keep these to an absolute minimum as they do not serve to add any value to local conversations. If you do post such material, it may be subject to Admin action without notice.
❌ Do not post material that will violate any of the Facebook Terms of Service, Facebook Policies for Groups & Pages, Facebook Community Standards, Commerce Policies or other policies.
Legal Licence
You own the content that you create and share on Colne Talk and any of our other Products and Services that you use, and nothing in these Terms takes away the rights that you have to your own content. You are free to share your content with anyone else, wherever you want. To provide our services, however, we need you to give us some legal permissions to use this content.
Specifically, when you share, post or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights (e.g. photos or videos) on or in connection with our Products & Services, you grant us a an irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free and worldwide licence to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate and create derivative works of your content. This means, for example, that if you share a photo to Colne Talk, you give us permission to store, copy and share it with others such as service providers that support our service or our other Products & Services. This may mean that a photo/story posted on Colne Talk Facebook group is also used on our website(s), other social media channels or used commercially.
Our services include multiple Facebook Groups, Facebook Pages, websites and other social media outlets such as, but not limited to, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What happens if I break the rules?
If you post something that breaks the rules (or the essence of the rules), then you can expect some sort admin intervention. The intervention may be post/comment being deleted, a mute for specific time period (currently 12 hrs, 24 hrs, 3 days or 7 days), or being removed from the group. The worst case scenario is a ban from the group. A ban is a mechanism which means that you cannot even see that the group exists and cannot apply to re-join. There are *very* few bans in place.
Members that repeatedly post material that is unacceptable will find themselves put on ‘post approval’. What this means is that any new top-level posts will need to be reviewed and approved by the Admin Team. For example: local businesses that are trying to advertise without paying for one of our advertising services, members posting political posts (especially when they are not specifically local issues).
2. Can I post what I want, when I want, about anything and anyone I like without any recourse? i.e. “Free speech”
In short – No.
We simply want clean, orderly, and constructive discussion. When you applied to join the group, you agreed to abide by our group rules. Those rules prohibit certain types of material and try to establish a suitable environment for the community group. Bear in mind that we have members from 13+ years old and upwards. If you do not wish to abide by those rules, you are free to leave the group.
Firstly, the Admin Team will always try to comply with the various Facebook Rules & Policies: e.g. Facebook Terms of Service, Community Standards, Facebook Policies for Groups & Pages,Commerce Policies and other policies. These themselves force limitations on acceptable material. Facebook could (and do) act to eliminate any group, page or personal profile that breaches their rules. Some common things that Facebook prohibit:-
❌ Selling of live animals (including pets & livestock).
❌ Selling of any part, pelt or skin from an animal including fur.
❌ Selling or promotion of firearms & firearms parts (plus paintball guns, BB guns, tasers, run ranges/shows etc.).
❌ Selling or promotion of fireworks.
❌ Posts that promote criminal activity or gambling.
❌ Promotions that invite members to SHARE the post or TAG friends.
Of course, members have a responsibility to comply with the laws of the UK. UK law further restricts the range of material that is acceptable and legal. The responsibility by law (and any associated risk) lies with the original poster. Where the Admin Team spot breaches of the law, we will act. If a competent authority asks the Admin Team to act, we will usually comply with their wishes unless the request is unreasonable or exceptional circumstances prevail.
3. Can businesses directly advertise or promote themselves on the group?
No.
However, there are a few products and services that we offer in this area which effectively allow for some paid-for advertising. Businesses that want to be featured in a promotion or who want to advertise across our outlets (website and Facebook Group) should contact us on Email: info@colnetalk.co.uk.
See https://www.colnetalk.co.uk/ for more details.
Once agreed, payments for advertising can be made to our ColneTalk Paypal account.
3. The rules are unclear – who has the final say?
Our group rules are basic guidelines and are not designed to cover all scenarios. For any specific situation, the Admin decision shall be final.
Keep up to date with these rules, as we will no doubt refine them over time as people pick holes in them. I’m sure everyone understands the essence of the rules framework, and, hopefully, we can have sensible discussions where all views can be aired in a constructive manner.
New members: Take some time to go through the learning units, especially Unit 1: “Colne Talk Rules & Usage Guidelines”.
*Specific links to additional information – to be added *
https://www.colnetalk.co.uk/