Netiquette
Guidelines when posting on FOUR PAWS social media platforms
FOUR PAWS Australia loves to hear from and engage with our passionate supporters. We welcome questions, suggestions, and also constructive discussion about our campaigns and animal welfare issues. It is important to us that conversations remain respectful, on-topic, and productive.
Social media is an important tool for sharing dialogue and information about animal welfare, but we are also legally responsible for the tone and nature of comments our posts generate. In September 2021, a landmark ruling from the High Court Of Australia formalised the responsibility of Australian account holders which extends to the comment section. As such, it is now standard policy for Australian media and brand accounts to limit or turn off comment functions outside of working hours if there is deemed a risk that comment sections may 'discriminate against, harass, bully or racially vilify an individual'.
To ensure open dialogue and engagement for all supporters, below are the FOUR PAWS social media guidelines:
What we like:
- Be respectful — We welcome discussions and opinions from different points of views and opinions. We do not tolerate offensive or abusive posts. Please do not post any foul language, personal insults, derogatory/racist remarks or threats of any kind. These are not helpful to constructive conversation.
- Go straight to the source. While we try our best to read every comment, please message us directly if you have any urgent enquiries that need to be addressed, or suggestions and feedback on our work. You can send us a direct message on Instagram, email us at enquiries@four-paws.org.au, or call the office directly on 1800 454 228.
- Keep on-topic and be constructive — Please keep your comments purely on the topic communicated in the post to make it easier for others to join in the discussion.
- Keep the peace — If you noticed a post that you believe is inappropriate or abusive, please do not respond to it — rather, we would appreciate your help by using the 'Report This' feature available on all our social media platforms. To report, highlight a specific comment and report it ⚠.
We aim to remove offensive posts as quickly as possible. As there are often more public comments made to our social media channels than our staff can always read, we are grateful for everyone's help in keeping the community peaceful and inviting.
What we do not like:
- No bullying, personal attacks or hate speech. This includes degrading and insulting content based on race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender, violence glorifying and/or brutal contents. We also will not tolerate bullying and abuse of our staff. Everyone has the right to feel safe in our communities.
- Don't share graphic, distressing and/or brutal contents. Please do not glorify violence and do consider the wellbeing of other people before sharing such content.
- Don't break the law. Do not violate copyright laws or discuss any illegal activities on our platforms.
- No political advertising, spam, and advertising. No trolling. These will be deleted and you will be banned.
- No misinformation, pseudoscience, or conspiracy theories. Moderators will remove such comments and repeated breaches will result in a total ban.
We reserve the right to remove any post or comment that does not comply with these guidelines or that is deemed inappropriate. Repeated violations may also result in the user being blocked from our social media channels.
Each user is responsible for their own published content and FOUR PAWS assumes no liability for any public comments left on our social channels. Additionally, the opinions and/or views expressed on our social media platforms, unless expressed by us directly, should not be taken to represent our position.
Thank you very much for your commitment to animal protection! We are looking forward to hearing from you!
The FOUR PAWS Team