Social Media Terms of Use

Social Media Terms of Use

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) uses social media to disseminate relevant information, images and video through external social media sites as well as to engage with the public. We have established Participant Terms of Use to help our contributors understand RMWB standards and boundaries.

We expect that all participants will use courteous and polite dialogue on our social media accounts and will interact in an open and respectful manner. All comments should remain on-topic. Unless stated otherwise, at this time comments and mentions received via social media are excluded from official engagement or survey result documentation.

As a participant/contributor you are responsible for all the information and comments you share on our social media accounts. When you interact with, or on behalf of, the RMWB through any of our social media sites, you are agreeing to our Online Participant Terms of Use.

The RMWB reserves the right to delete or hide any content that contains the following:

• Comments or links that are advocating illegal activity, or any other comments that are racist, offensive, obscene, profane, or threatening.
• Material that violates copyright or any trademarks.
• Identifiable personal information about an individual.
• Comments that are off-topic or not directly related to the posted topic.
• Comments that provide incorrect information that may mislead other participants.
• Any election campaign endorsements, advertisements, comments, website links or business transactions.

Why we sometimes disable or hide comments on social media 

We value open communication, and strive to ensure that information remains trusted and accurate. To ensure our social media platforms remain constructive and respectful spaces for all users, we occasionally disable or hide comments on posts. These decisions are made in alignment with the municipal Social Media Policy to uphold the following principles: 

1. Maintaining on-topic discussions: By disabling comments on certain posts, we aim to keep conversations focused on the original post's subject matter, which helps us provide clear and relevant information to the public.  
2. Ensuring information remains accurate and trusted: In the case of public emergencies, comments on posts can quickly become unmanageable to respond to and lead to misinformation and disinformation spreading quickly. To ensure that these posts contain only trusted information from officials and for the purposes of public safety, comments are disabled when posting about emergencies. In addition, if people need support during an emergency, this cannot be coordinated through social media and leaving comments on, can result in time-sensitive requests going unanswered. Anyone in need of support during an emergency must use the established processes in place.   
3. Promoting respectful interaction: All posts must stay respectful. Disabling comments helps prevent disrespectful or inflammatory remarks that could detract from productive dialogue. Our priority is the safety and well-being of all users. Turning off comments at times helps us mitigate the risk of harassment or inappropriate behaviour directed towards staff, community members, and groups.  

While we encourage feedback and input, we may disable comments on posts where maintaining these standards becomes challenging. If you have questions about municipal services, programs, or any posts where comments are disabled, please contact Pulse.  Pulse ensures your inquiry is tracked, directed to the appropriate department, and provides the quickest response.

Comments and images used on official RMWB social media accounts are also subject to the Terms of Service of the owners of the host platform:

• X.com Terms of Service
• Facebook Terms of Service 
• Instagram Terms of Use
• YouTube Terms of Service

The RMWB reserves the right to report or block users who violate any of the above-mentioned items. These terms are subject to change at any time and are enforced at our discretion.

Our social media accounts are monitored during regular business hours. You can call the Municipality after regular business hours using the Pulse: Wood Buffalo 24/7 Call Line 780-743-7000, on weekends and statutory holidays.

Protect the identity of yourself and others by not including any personal information (addresses, phone numbers, and pictures of individuals or email addresses) in your posts or comments.

The RMWB shares information, images and videos with the public through external social media sites.