HYC Communication Policy

The purpose of the Haslar Yacht Club Communication Policy is to help us to communicate to one another in a respectful way.  It is not intended to stifle communications, but we hope it will be helpful in setting a framework.  The main communications methods that the club currently uses are emails, the web site and WhatsApp. Emails can be between club officials and members or between members themselves. On the web site, communication is mainly via the forums.  We use WhatsApp group to engender a feeling of community among the members and to share information and advice related to being on the water. While we feel it is necessary to create some rules/guidelines to bring us into line with other organisations, we want to emphasise that the HYC current communication methods have proved to be very valuable and provided good entertainment and advice to club members.  Long may it continue!.  We have put together the following guidelines which we hope will reflect members' wishes:-  

Rules/Guidelines We have based these rules/guidelines on those of similar organisations but they can be summed up to having respect for each other and for each other's ideas and lives.

Please:

• Be careful when posting humorous content; not everyone may have the same sense of humour as you.
• Be aware before sharing political or religious content that not all members may share your views
• Before sending a video, picture, meme or any content, consider  if such material is in accordance with the purpose of the group
• Be discerning. It's easy to believe that a group message will be kept private between members.  This may not always be so as your name and post could always be forwarded to someone else without your knowledge or consent.
• Avoid sending videos or files that are very large, to minimise smartphone memory and data usage of other members.
• Try to avoid posting to the group between the hours of 2200 and 0800
• Constructive comments about organisations or companies maybe fine, but avoid sharing your pet hates or whinging!
• Do Not

• Insult other members of the group
• Bully other members of the group. All members should feel free to post relevant information or ask for advice without fear of ridicule. Not everyone has the same amount of knowledge or skill.
• Post messages or content of a personal or sensitive nature particularly about a 3rd party without their consent.
• Post content, information or news that has not been verified. Placing content whose authenticity has not been definitively proven can be dangerous and harm many people.
• Post any content that is violent, pornographic or offensive
• Forward phishing links or malicious attachments

• We have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, harassment or similar behaviour to individuals or groups.
• We also have a zero tolerance of engagement in racism, sexism, homophobia or transphobia.
• If you are unhappy with any content posted for any reason, please contact the administrator in the first instance.  In exceptional circumstances, you may feel it is necessary to leave the group or mute the notifications.

Note: Any unsuitable content will be removed by the WhatsApp administrator.  Any content that is published that could bring the club into disrepute will be removed from the group.  Any further action will be considered by the HYC committee.
The current WhatsApp administrator is Trudi Allen-Shalless.
The current website administrator is Brian Masters

Last updated 13:22 on 25 October 2023