Please note that this is a living document that we are constantly adding to and tweaking as we grow and learn more from our members and community. We recommend that you bookmark this page and check back often.
We ask that you participate in a kind and collaborative way, and that you exercise respect and consideration while here. Keep an open mind and don’t be quick to judge. People in this group come from many different backgrounds so you will see things here that challenge your perspective. Please do not engage with other members to argue, demean, harass, or be unkind in anyway. While we appreciate and we can all use some occasional humor, please don’t use the group as your personal stand-up comedy soapbox. Consistently dropping one liners or making light of otherwise serious topics in other people’s posts/threads will be considered trolling and grounds for removal from the group.
Unsolicited business ads or promotions are NOT allowed without a paid advertising package. However, business owners are welcome and encouraged to respond to or comment on member’s requests for recommendations. Also, if you are opening or have recently opened a NEW business in the Town of Webster, you are allowed to post ONE introductory message announcing and describing your business. Be sure to mention that this is a NEW business and do your best to describe it thoroughly. You are also allowed to have your business posted in the business listings sections of the Webster Neighbors website for FREE. Please visit the Guide for New Businesses for full details and instructions.
- Behavior Not Allowed:
- Attacks on specific people or groups or any comments meant to harass, shame, threaten or abuse
- Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation or political beliefs
- Name calling, purposeless inflammatory comments, flaming (see:http://bit.ly/VODyq) and trolling (see:http://bit.ly/troll)
- Posting deliberately disruptive statements meant to hijack comment threads or throw discussions off-track
- Posting screenshots of private messages, comments, profile pages, etc., of other group members
- Blocking the admins (it doesn’t work anyways, we can still see your posts and comments, but Facebook shows us that you blocked us which is grounds for immediate removal)
- Recruiting for other Facebook groups, pages, or communities.
- Requests for “Likes”, “Follows”, “Shares”, etc.
- Creating and or using multiple accounts / pseudonyms
- Types of Posts Not Allowed:
- Complaints about other members, the admins / moderators, or the group itself. If you have an issue with the way things are run or how something was handled, please contact us or privately message an admin / moderator with your concerns.
- Discussions of any kind regarding Children/Minors that you are not the legal guardian of. Because of the plethora of potential privacy and legal issues, this group is NOT the place for these kind of discussions.
- Contests, drawings, raffles, etc., of any kind without prior Admin approval. Please contact us.
- Discussions about Religion and/or Religious Topics. You may share local religious content, such as information about local churches, but not for the purpose of creating a discussion about religion or religious topics.
- Politics of any kind. The only exception to this would be any topics related to Webster Politics directly, such as the 7 Webster Boards, the Town Board / Codes / Supervisor or the Webster Justice Court. Political endorsements, advertisements, fundraising, recruiting, etc. are all considered business postings and are NOT allowed without a paid advertising package.
- Personal Fundraisers, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, Charitable, etc., posts are no longer allowed due to the sheer volume of causes as well as difficulty in verifying legitimacy and proper allocation of funds raised. If you believe your GoFundMe or similar personal fundraiser should be allowed please contact us.
- Unsolicited business advertising and/or promotions are not allowed without a paid advertising package.
- Discussions of the purchase, sale, or trade (including “re-homing” or adoption fees) of Animals and/or Pets is against Facebook terms and is not allowed in our group. The only exception to this rule are posts from certified non-profit and local Adoption organizations.
- Buy / Sell / Trade posts including links to Facebook Marketplace posts, craigslist, etc. are not allowed without a paid advertising package. If you are looking to post for free, there are other groups on Facebook better suited for these types of posts.
- Angry or negative “To the person who…”- type posts. Whether they cut you off in traffic, parked their car in a way you don’t approve of, or annoyed you in some other way, just let it go. We don’t need that negativity here. Instead, try thinking of someone who had a positive impact on your day and post an acknowledgement or thank you to them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Q: Why was my post deleted? Why was I muted? Why was I removed from the group? Why was I banned from the group?
A: Due to the sheer volume of posts in this group and the difficulty of the Facebook messaging system, we can not personally message people every time we need to take action. We ask that you re-read these rules and FAQs to determine yourself what rule you may have violated and to correct any issues going forward. Generally speaking, if a post or comment breaks the rules in some way, the order of action for moderation is as follows:
- If it’s a one-off mistake, we’ll simply delete the post or comment in question. This should be considered a warning and it is up to the poster to recognize that it has been deleted.
- If it’s a repeated mistake or a 2nd time a member has broken the rules, we’ll delete the post or comment and MUTE the member for a time period deemed appropriate at the moderator’s sole discretion.
- If it’s 3rd time a member has broken the rules and it’s clearly not a mistake, the post or comment will be deleted and the member will be removed from the group. The member may be allowed to rejoin after a period of time at the moderator’s sole discretion.
- If it’s the 4th time a member has broken the rules the post or comment will be deleted and the member will be permanently banned from the group.
Q: My friend / spouse / 3rd cousin / I was banned, but they/I promise to behave now, can you let them/me back in?
A: Maybe. Please fill out this Ban Appeal Form to be considered for readmittance. Be sure to include any pertinent information such as when and why the account was banned.
Q: Can I promote my event in the Group?
A: The following types of events are allowed:
- Charity or Fundraising events, where ALL proceeds go to a local non-profit cause. Vendor shows that allow MLMs or Direct Sales are not allowed.
- Performance Arts such as Comedy, Musical Acts, Theater, etc., as long as the focus of the promotion is on the event itself, and not for the benefit of the venue (eg. no drink specials, merchandise sales, etc.) or for plugging the artist’s website, Facebook page, etc. (see next FAQ below).
- Community events officially held (and/or funded) by the city, town, village, etc.
Q: Can I share my photographs, artwork, etc to the group?
A: Yes! Feel free to share your work for the community to enjoy, however:
- Don’t promote items for sale
- Don’t promote services you offer
- Don’t plug your Facebook page
- Don’t plug your website, storefront, gallery, etc.
- If you would like to promote or plug anything, please consider a paid advertising package.
Q: Can I post job openings / job descriptions for my business that is hiring?
A: Only locally-based, privately-owned, small businesses (under 20 employees) are allowed to post job openings for free as long as they are not for MLM companies, get-rich-quick-working-from-home schemes, etc.. The full job description and official company contact information must be available online. “Send me a PM for all the details”-type postings are NOT allowed and will be deleted. Larger companies and organizations must purchase a paid advertising package to promote their job openings.
Q: Can I post about selling / renting my house or property?
A: Only For Sale (or Rent) By Owner postings are allowed and only if they are posted directly by the Owner themselves. Realtors & property management companies would be considered business postings and are NOT allowed without a paid advertising package.
