Chat Guidelines and Rules:
The Dyfi Osprey Project Live Chat relies on trust and is not moderated 24 hours a day, we simply don't have the capacity to do that. DOP staff sometimes appear in red and many of our volunteers also log in and act as part time moderators.
The Live Chat is a place to learn and engage with other people. It is intended to be a friendly and enjoyable place to visit. Unfortunately, this trust has been abused recently by a tiny minority of people which makes it less enjoyable for everyone else. Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust has invested a lot of effort, time and money in the Live Chat, we need to make sure that regrettable and unwelcome comments are kept to the bare minimum.
Please find the 12 points below as general rules and guidelines of how to post comments on the Live Chat.
They are not exhaustive, but should be followed as a general steer.
1. People of all ages and backgrounds watch the DOP Live Streaming and log on to the Live Chat, including school children. Please use language that is appropriate for children to read, and be kind and respectful at all times. There is no 'watershed' time where it is acceptable to let your hair down.
2. No swearing of any kind including any form of abbreviations, character filled w**ords or mis-spelt words. Swearing directly or by implication is simply not acceptable.
3. Avoid personal attacks on other people whether they are logged in or not. Winding people up, sarcasm, having a go, making names up for people etc. Simply not acceptable.
4. Please avoid talking about sensitive issues such as religion, politics, race, orientation and personal health. These topics are not appropriate for discussion here.
5. Do not give out personal information - phone numbers, emails, addresses, people's names etc
6. Please do not give out information or allude to other nests of ospreys which are not in the public domain, or any bird that is protected by law (most of them)
7. Sense of humour. Most of us like jokes and we all have a different sense of humour from each other. Joking is completely acceptable of course. It's all about boundaries, understanding them and a pinch of common sense.
8. Please don't be aggressive or rude. Please remember that writing in capitals is a form of SHOUTING.
9. Subject matter. This is an osprey website where we talk about ospreys and wildlife. Of course it is acceptable to talk about other day to day things, notwithstanding point 4 above. Again, it is just a matter of common sense. Remember, we are focused primarily on the Dyfi ospreys.
10. We all like a good discussion and sometimes things can get a bit heated. However, please avoid excessive negativity and criticism, or supporting a stance with dubious or fictitious information.
11. If you ask a question and don't get an answer, please don't feel you are being ignored. Copy and paste then ask the question again a few minutes later, especially if a member of the DOP team is logged in. It can get hectic at times, questions easily get lost.
12. We get many emails and messages regarding excessive use of "Hi-byes". Coming onto the chat, quickly saying 'hi' to numerous people, then 'bye', before quickly disappearing then starting the pattern all over again some time later. Please use common sense and leave the Hi-byes in the school playground.
13. No children under 16 sorry. They can read with an adult, but this rule is to protect them more than anybody else. Not everybody out there is who they say they are unfortunately.
14. And Finally..
Remember that hundreds of people post on the Chat. Most of them have never met each other.
Compared to face-to-face communication we’ve had for millions of years, we’re missing visual cues such as body language and voice intonation. Digital communication is a recent human development and written words can much more easily get misinterpreted.
Please understand that not everyone will get along and not everybody will agree with everybody else. For this to work we need to be understanding and tolerant of one another - more-so that we would be normally when we meet each other. Be kind and respect each other.
We hope that you enjoy your experience on the Live Streaming and Chat, but if you have any comments or have a bad experience, please let us know via the Contact Us page. We will try and deal with your concern as quickly as possible.