The heart and soul of The Morrisburg News are the helpful conversations that happen between members. When conversations turn disagreeable, everyone on The Morrisburg News suffers. For this reason, we may remove posts and comments that discriminate against, attack, shame, insult, bully, or belittle members. Personal disputes may also be removed.

Disagreements and conflict

We encourage members to have conversations about the issues that matter to them in a way that is constructive, civil, and builds community.

Don't attack, berate, bully, belittle, insult, harass, threaten, troll, or swear at others or their views even if you really, really disagree with them. This includes communication within a group or via a private message.

When conversations become heated, remember that some members are your neighbours. Please treat each other with respect.

You can, of course, think what you like, but on The Morrisburg News, conversations must remain civil. This is not always easy because we care passionately about this place we call home.

As one member has written, "If I can move past my knee-jerk, visceral reactions to statements I disagree with, I have a better chance to engage in dialogues that are meaningful." So, if you are angry about something a member has said or done, take a deep breath, count to ten, and then come back to post something thoughtful and constructive.

If you have concerns about community moderation, for example, about why your content was reported or removed, please contact us.

Public shaming

The Morrisburg News is not a platform for publicly shaming other members. If you see another member doing something that concerns you, ask yourself, "Do I know who this person is, and could I contact them privately to resolve the issue?" If the answer is yes, then you should contact them directly and not post about it on The Morrisburg News.

Safety concerns:

• If you are concerned about a safety issue in your community and do not know the person involved or how to contact them, you may post about it. Remember to do so in a civil and respectful way.

• If you are concerned about a house, vehicle or individual engaging in illegal activity, you should call 911. Before posting, consider how your post might be received by the people you are posting about, who may also be members of The Morrisburg News.

• If the people involved request that the post be removed, we may remove it.

• If you are merely bothered or annoyed by another member, do not post about it. This would be considered a personal dispute. Please contact the person directly to work it out.

• If a parent or guardian requests that a photo of a minor be removed from The Morrisburg News, we may remove it.

Please note: Criticizing a service provider because of a bad commercial interaction does not constitute public shaming (even if a specific person is identified) as long as the post is civil, describes the person's experience, and does not include libel or name calling.

Personal disputes and grievances

The Morrisburg News is not a place for publicly resolving personal disputes and grieavances. Use private messages to resolve personal disputes, or better yet, get together in person to resolve the matter amicably.

Discrimination and hate speech

Ensure that all members feel welcome, safe, and respected. Hate speech is not allowed.

Do not make posts or comments that discriminate against, threaten, or insult groups, based on race, colour, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, politicial affiliation, age, veteran status or disability.

Do not promote the events or activities or hate groups or terrorist organizations.

Do not use derogatory racial terms or code words that insult or reduce one's humanity.

Also, when describing people who are homeless or who have committed crimes, avoid inflammatory language (e.g. "scum" or "animals"). Keep in mind that everyone is someone's son or daughter or sister or brother.

Note that you may be asked to edit your remarks or to remove language that members may reasonably find offensive. Again, we want everyone to feel welcome on The Morrisburg News.

Crime or suspicious activity

Keeping the community safe is important to our members. You should always call 911 to report an emergency or immediate safety concern.

The Morrisburg News takes strong stand against racial profiling. We expressly prohibit posts that assume someone is suspicious because of their race or ethnicity. We also prohibit messages that give descriptions of individuals that are so vague as to cast suspicion over an entire race or ethnicity. Such messages are ineffective and harm rather than help the community.

When you see suspicious activity, please post about it. However, we require that you follow two very important rules when doing so:

Make sure that what you are reporting is actually suspicious

Don't assume someone is suspicious because of their race or ethnicity. This is called racial profiling and it is expressly prohibited on The Morrisburg News. Ask yourself, "Would I be suspicious of this person's behaviour if I took race or ethnicity out of the equation?

Describe the person using specific details

We require Crime and Safety posts to be responsible and helpful. Whether you are posting about a crime you observed or about suspicious activity, include multiple, distinctive characteristics that the community or law enforcement can easily use to identify a person. Describe clothing from head to toe. Do not identify a suspect by race and sex alone (including in subject lines). This helps keep all community members safe and avoids casting a wide net of suspicion over innocent people of similar race or ethnicity.

Note: Do not post about crime or suspicious activity in a category other than Crime & Safety (or if it is an active or ongoing emergency, using an "urgent alert"). If you repeatedly post about such issues outside of the Crime & Safety category, your posts may be removed.

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