1. Purposes. The primary purposes of the Club’s Social Media presence and use of Social Media are:
• to distribute information to Club members about Club events, activities, facilities and policies, as well as other matters of interest to them as members of the Club
• to provide a forum for communication among members about Club-related topics
• to provide one method (among others) for gauging the opinions of Club members and getting member input
• to maintain the positive public image of the Club
It is essential that, in creating a Social Media presence and using Social Media, the Club maintains the privacy of its members and does not, for example, make available contact information for or lists of its members.
The purposes of the Club’s Social Media presence and use of Social Media do not include:
• increasing revenues from special events
• recruiting applicants for membership
2. Board Control. No person – including members, groups of members, staff or others – should create or maintain a Social Media presence that claims to be, or even appears to be, the official presence of the Club, or appears to originate with the Club, without prior approval by the Board of Trustees.
This includes presences that relate to a particular activity or group within the Club.
Upon discovery of any such Social Media presence, staff are authorized to take appropriate remedial steps, including asking the person who created it to remove it or modify it so as to clarify that it does not originate from the Club; and directing the operator of the relevant Social Media platform to remove it.
3. General Policies and Best Practices for Moderation and Policing. The General Manager shall designate one staff person as the primary administrator for the Club’s Social Media presences. Other staff members may assist the primary administrator. The primary administrator is responsible for moderating the Club’s Social Media presences, which includes: controlling posts and comments made in the name of the Club; deleting, editing and approving posts, comments and the like made by others; maintaining limitations on access and privacy; approving and removing members of groups; and communicating with those with questions or complaints about the foregoing.
The principal administrator shall briefly report to the Technology and Communications Committee at each of its meetings regarding moderation activities since the last report. The report shall include any complaints received from Club members about moderation, and such other summaries or details as the Committee may reasonably request.
Principles specific to moderation of private (member-only) presences:
• The primary administrator should control who is admitted to the group. Any Club member should be admitted (unless previously deleted).
• Moderate with a light hand generally.
• Members who repeatedly make posts and comments that are appropriately deleted or edited may be deleted from the group, but only after at least two warnings that that is a possibility.
Principle for moderation of public presences:
• The purpose of the Club’s public presences is maintenance of the public image of the Club. It is not to facilitate public discussion of the Club or even discussion among members of the Club (which more properly belongs in a private forum).
Principles applicable to both private and public presences:
• Posts and comments that are primarily commercial, intended to promote a business, or “spam” should almost always be deleted.
• Posts and comments that are primarily political and unrelated to the Club, its activities and related interests should generally be deleted. For example: a post encouraging people to vote for a candidate for public office, or taking a position on international trade should generally be deleted. On the other hand, in a private forum: a post about gender equity in professional tennis prize money or encouraging people to vote in a particular way on a Club capital expenditure requiring member approval should not be deleted (at least not on the basis of the subject).
• Posts that defame members or staff, personally attack members or staff (rather than simply disagreeing with something they’ve said) or appear to have the primary purpose of embarrassing members or staff should be edited or deleted.
• Elimination of disagreement, or outright conflict, isn’t possible; maintenance of a proper and respectful tone is.
• Remember that, if someone has a strong desire to say something publicly (or to a group), preventing that in one forum won’t prevent him or her from taking it to another, perhaps more vehemently.
• The primary administrator should strive for consistency in moderation, and is encouraged to propose more detailed policies for dealing with particular situations for Technology and Committee recommendation to the Board of Trustees for formal adoption.
4. Definitional. "Social Media" refers to Internet-based and mobile applications used for social interaction and exchange of content by users, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedln, Pinterest, YouTube, Clubhouse, Reddit, Clubster, Meetup, Ask.fm, online bulletin and discussion boards whether maintained by individuals or commercial enterprises, blogging sites and software (Tumblr, Blogger), listservs, online review sites (Yelp, FourSquare), wikis (Wikipedia, Wikitravel), picture- and video-sharing services (flickr, SmugMug, Tik-Tok) and other technologies not yet created.
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5/26/16: Chapter 151, Social Media Policy, adopted by the Board of Trustees; 7/28/22: Board approval of Chapter 151 confirmed, with non-substantive editorial changes.