Social Media Post and Comment Policy

1.  Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

Any individual accessing, browsing and using a County of Nevada Social Media site accepts without limitation or qualification, the County’s Social Media Policies (hereafter "Policies"). These terms and conditions apply only to the Social Media sites (defined here as third party hosted online technologies that facilitate social interaction and dialogue, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr) that are managed by the County of Nevada. The County of Nevada maintains the right to modify these Policies without notice. Any modification is effective immediately upon posting the modification on the Social Media Policy page unless otherwise stated. Continued use of a County of Nevada Social Media site following the posting of any modification signifies acceptance of such modification.

All users of a County of Nevada Social Media site are also subject to the site's own Privacy Policy. The County of Nevada has no control over a third party site's privacy policy or their modifications to it. The County of Nevada also has no control over content, commercial advertisements or other postings produced by the Social Media site that appear on the County of Nevada Social Media site as part of the site's environment.

The County operates and maintains its Social Media Sites as a public service to provide information about County programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities. The County of Nevada assumes no liability for any inaccuracies these Social Media sites may contain and does not guarantee that the Social Media sites will be uninterrupted, permanent or error-free.

2.  Posts Policy

Although posts and comments are encouraged on the County of Nevada Social Media sites that allow posts, these sites are limited public forums and are moderated by County staff.  All posted content (comments, photos, links, etc.) must be related to the stated topic only for discussion of County programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities.  Postings are not a first amendment protected open public forum for any topic.

The County strives to follow practices that enable county staff and the public to respectfully and productively collaborate together in on-line projects and eliminate on-line behavior that does not hold true to the community‘s civility values.  The County will adhere to a culture of on-line community civility which includes values which support the “Speak Your Peace Civility Project”  (http://www.dsaspeakyourpeace.org):
 
Pay Attention. Be aware and attend to the world and the people around you.
Listen. Focus on others in order to better understand their points of view.
Be Inclusive. Welcome all groups of citizens working for the greater good of the community.
Don't Gossip. And don't accept when others choose to do so.
Show Respect. Honor other people and their opinions, especially in the midst of disagreement.
Be Agreeable. Look for opportunities to agree; don't contradict just to do so.
Apologize. Be sincere and repair damaged relationships.
Give Constructive Criticism. When disagreeing, stick to the issues and don't make a personal attack.
Take Responsibility. Don't shift responsibility and blame onto others; share disagreements publicly.

More information can be found at the Speak Your Peace website. 

The following are prohibited on County of Nevada Social Media sites:

• Comments not topically related to County programs, services, projects, issues, events and activities, or the particular post being commented upon
• Posts and comments that promote or advertise commercial services, entities or products except as stipulated in County marketing plans and determined by the County to be essential to economic development
• Political statements, including comments that endorse or oppose political candidates or ballot proposition
• Comments that endorse or oppose any type of religious opinions or activities
• Posts and comments that promote, foster or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation
• Posts and comments that include vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language, personal attacks or unsupported accusations
• Anonymous posts.  Real names must be used.
• Obscene or sexual content or links to obscene or sexual content
• Illegal activity or encouragement of illegal activity
• Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems
• Confidential or non-public information must not be shared.
• Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party

The County of Nevada reserves the right to remove posted content that does not comply with these Policies. All posts and comments uploaded to County of Nevada Social Media sites that allow posts will be periodically reviewed.
Communications made through County of Nevada Social Media sites in no way constitute a legal or official notice or comment to the County of Nevada (for example, a post or comment that asks for public records will not be considered a public records request). To comment about a specific County project or program, please contact the appropriate department.

3.   Links and Embedded Content Policy

The County of Nevada may select links to other Social Media sites and outside websites that offer helpful resources for users. Once an individual links to another page or site, the County’s Policies no longer apply and you become subject to the policies of that page or site.

The County of Nevada's Social Media sites are intended specifically to share information about County programs, events and services. The County of Nevada is not responsible for the content that appears on these outside links and provides these links as a convenience only. Users should be aware that these external pages and sites and the information found on those pages and sites are not controlled by, provided by or endorsed by the County of Nevada. The County reserves the right to delete links posted by outside individuals that violate the County’s Posts Policy at any time without notice.

Links by Other Entities to County of Nevada Social Media Sites

It is not necessary to get advance permission to link to County of Nevada Social Media sites; however, entities and individuals linking to County of Nevada Social Media sites should not in any way suggest that the County of Nevada has any relationship or affiliation with that organization or that the County endorses, sponsors or recommends the information, products or services of that site.

Embedded content from County of Nevada Social Media Sites on other sites

It is not necessary to get advance permission to embed County of Nevada Social Media site content; however, entities and individuals embedding content must not present County of Nevada content as their own or otherwise misrepresent any of the County’s Social Media site content. Furthermore, they shall not misinform users about the origin or ownership of County of Nevada Social Media site content. Embedded content from County of Nevada Social Media sites should not in any way suggest that the County of Nevada has any relationship or affiliation with that organization or that the County endorses, sponsors or recommends the information, products or services of that site.

4.  Copyright Policy

All information and materials generated by the County of Nevada and provided on County of Nevada Social Media sites are the property of the County of Nevada. The County retains copyright on all text, graphic images and other content that was produced by the County of Nevada and found on the page. You may print copies of information and material for your own non-commercial use, provided that you retain the copyright symbol or other such proprietary notice intact on any copyrighted materials you copy. Please include a credit line reading: "credit: County of Nevada Facebook (or Twitter or YouTube) Page" or "Courtesy of County of Nevada."

Commercial use of text, County logos, photos and other graphics is prohibited without the express written permission of the County of Nevada. Use of the County logo is prohibited for any non-governmental purpose. Any person reproducing or redistributing a third party copyright must adhere to the terms and conditions of the third party copyright holder.  If you are a copyright holder and you feel that the County of Nevada did not use an appropriate credit line please notify County’s IGS Customer Care Manager with detailed information about the circumstances, so that the copyright information can be added or the material in question can be removed.

5.  Public Comment

Employees and contractors maintaining County sponsored social media sites that permit public comment shall prominently display, or provide a link to, the below Comment Policy on each online page that displays discussion content.
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Comment Policy:

The County of Nevada welcomes your comments. The purpose of this discussion is to present information relevant to the stated purpose of this site, regarding matters of public interest in the County of Nevada. We encourage you to submit your comments, but please note this is a moderated online discussion site and not a public forum.

Please note that the comments expressed on this site do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of the County its officers, agents, affiliates, or employees. If you have any questions concerning the operation of this online moderated discussion site, please contact us at webmaster@co.nevada.ca.us.

By posting anything to this site, you agree to the follow the published guidelines as outlined in the County’s Website Social Media Comment Policy found here.
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6. Contact Us 

If you have any questions or concerns about the County of Nevada Social Media Policy or its implementation, or if you find incorrect information or are interested in seeking permissions that fall outside of the guidelines above, please contact the County’s IGS Customer Care Manager.