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Social Media - Deep Foundations Institute

DFI Social Media Policy​

Contents

A. Definitions

A.1 Inappropriate Content

  1. Any post, content piece or comment including (but not limited to) those that may be considered misleading, hurtful, political, derogatory (libelous or slanderous), prejudicial, hateful, harassing, sexual, illegal, antagonistic, or infringing on another organization or individual’s rights.
  2. Any post containing slurs, slang, idiom, violence, or offensive language/ materials.

A.2 Content Piece

  1. Any work or production of text, imagery, graphics, audio and/or visual of any, format, language or presentation (style).

A.3 Social Media

  1. Any network, group, website, or app with posting, commenting, or dialogue ability, privileged or not.

A.4 Team Members

  1. Any DFI staff member (employee) or contractor.

A.5 DFI Association Members

  1. Any DFI associated member/volunteer or subordinate/employee, partner, or co- principal of the member or volunteer.

B. Internal Policy (Team members)

B.1 Values and Ethics

B.1.1 Conduct

  1. All social media and Internet spaces (pages, sites, or networks) are considered public, as a result suitable judgment, integrity, and professionalism must be employed when posting – if you are unsure if the content or statements you are about to share or post are appropriate, seek advice from the social media manager, IT Director, or Executive Director.
  2. Respect other users and team members; no post, content piece, or comment should include another person or organization’s details or opinions – only post on your behalf, provided, however, that a team member shall not post a personal opinion that is contrary to DFI’s established policies and positions.
  3. Any inappropriate statements are to be removed within 1 hour of notice and official action may be pursued at the discretion of the IT Director or Executive Director.
  4. Team Members should be aware that DFI may observe content and information made available by Team Members through social media.
  5. Team Members should use their best judgment and avoid posting material that is inappropriate or disparaging to, or that negatively reflects on, DFI, its employees, members, or customers.
  6. Social media content or other types of online content can generate press, media attention, or legal questions. Team Members should refer these inquiries to authorized DFI spokespersons, the IT Director, or the Executive Director.

B.1.2 Honesty & Integrity

  1. Any post, content piece, or comment found to be misleading or inappropriate will be subject to removal immediately and may result in disciplinary action against the Team Member, the level of same depending on the magnitude of the violation, at the discretion of the Executive Director.

B.1.3 Authenticity

  1. Content and Social Media officers should verify content with credible sources before posting or commenting about it.

B.2 Privacy and Confidentiality

  1. No Team member has the right to post any information or details pertaining to other members or users and/or their affiliations or organizations. Any statements or content infringing on another’s privacy may result in disciplinary action, at the discretion of the Executive director.
  2. Content pertaining to sensitive information should not be shared.
  3. Divulging internal, operational, financial, legal, or client/member related information, is prohibited.
  4. DFI, owns all intellectual property invented, created, made or designed by staff members in the course of employment.

B.3 Attribution

  1. All original sources (content owners) should be attributed when posting or publishing.
  2. An example of acceptable (social media) attribution is as follows:
    1. This article by [author’s name here] was originally published in [Name of source medium – book, website, journal. eg: Deep Foundations Journal Volume 14, Issue 3.] The link to the original article is here [link here].
  3. Authorship and attribution of ownership or contribution should be:
    1. An honest reflection of all involved parties connected to content;
    2. Communicated clearly and transparently between contributors/owners where applicable.

B.4 Conflict of Interest

  1. A conflict of interest exists if you have an interest outside of your work at DFI that interferes with your responsibilities or may affect your judgment on behalf of DFI.
  2. Critical comments relating to DFI policies, procedures, practices, or related to other industry organizations may be considered a conflict of interest.
  3. Conflicting content must be removed/deleted within the provided timeframe, or further official action may be

B.5 Security

  1. Passwords for all DFI social media accounts and related sites (assets) are to be updated quarterly and communicated to (shared with) the IT Director and the Executive Director.
  2. Passwords are to be no less than 16 characters and must be alphanumeric in nature – no discernible words or phrases.
    1. This includes user personal accounts as a recommendation.

B.6 Advertising/Commercial Content

  1. No DFI staff member is permitted to post (over DFI channels) any content considered as advertising or commercial in nature, unless approved.
  2. Excluding official paid or sponsored posts from official DFI accounts.

B.7 Accounts and Management Tools

  1. All software or management tools employed with social media must be approved by the IT Director or Executive Director.
  2. All social media related credentials must be provided to the IT director and Executive Director and remain the exclusive property of DFI at all times.

B.8 Official and Disciplinary Action

B.8.1 Emergency/Crisis Response

  1. Any post, comment, or content piece found to be inappropriate should be deleted from the platform or site as soon as possible.
  2. Account penetrations (hacks) of social media accounts or related sites (assets) should be brought to the IT Director and Executive Directors’ attention immediately.
  3. Penetrated (hacked) assets passwords are to be immediately updated and should be (temporarily) locked or closed until a final course of action can be identified.

B.8.2 Corrections

  1. DFI reserves the right to edit or amend any inappropriate content as well as the right to delete posts, comments, or content pieces violating this policy.

B.8.3 Dismissal

  1. Depending on the magnitude of any violation of any of the policies set forth in this document, a staff member may, at the discretion of the Executive Director, be subject to termination.

C. Member Policy (DFI Association Members)

C.1 Values and Ethics

C.1.1 Member Conduct

  1. All social media and public Internet spaces are considered public, and, as a result, common sense, integrity, and professionalism must be employed when posting. If you are unsure if the content or statements you’re about to share/post are appropriate, don’t share/post them and err on the side of caution or seek advice from the DFI social media manager, IT Director, or Executive Director.
  2. Respect other users and members; no post, content piece or comment should include another person or organization’s details or opinions – only post on your behalf.
  3. Any inappropriate statements are to be removed within 1 hour of notice and official action may be pursued at the discretion of the IT Director or Executive Director.
  4. Members should be aware that DFI may observe content and information made available by members through social media.
  5. Members should use their best judgment and avoid posting material that is inappropriate, or disparaging to, or that reflects negatively on DFI, its employees, members, or customers.

C.1.2 Honesty & Integrity

  1. Any member’s post found to be misleading or inappropriate will be subject to removal immediately and may require further official action depending on the magnitude of the infringement, at the discretion of the Executive Director or IT Director.

C.1.3 Privacy and Confidentiality

  1. No user has the right to post any information or details pertaining to other members or users and/or their affiliations or organizations. Any statements or content infringing on another’s privacy may require official action, at the discretion of the IT Director or Executive director.
  2. Content pertaining to sensitive information should not be shared or posted.
  3. Divulging DFI internal, operational, financial, legal, or client/member related information, is prohibited.
  4. Copyright and attribution requirements should be observed by Members when posting online.

C.2 Content Quality

  1. All content generated (including live streaming) must satisfy DFI’s standards: high in quality, professionally produced with appropriate equipment, methods, and attribution employed.
  2. Low fidelity (lo-fi) deliberately low quality content pieces will not meet DFI’s standards and are subject to moderation/removal.
  3. Sub-standard content will be moderated or removed/deleted without notice or warning at the discretion of Executive and/or IT Directors.

C.3 Reproduction & Intellectual Property

  1. Any post, content piece, or comment found to infringe on DFI’s or any other organization or individual’s intellectual property rights will be subject to immediate removal. If removal request is not adhered to within the specified timeframe, further action may be taken against the author/poster, at the discretion of the IT Director or Executive Director.
  2. DFI does not take any responsibility for member posts or content pieces found to be infringing on any organization or individual’s intellectual property or copyright.
  3. DFI, owns all Intellectual Property invented, created, made or designed by committees, members or contributors.

C.4 Attribution

  1. All original sources (content owners) should be attributed when posting or publishing.
  2. An example of acceptable (social media) attribution is as follows:
    1. This article by [author’s name here] was originally published in [Name of source medium – book, website, journal. eg: Deep Foundations Journal Volume 14, Issue 3.] The link to the original article is here [link here].
  3. Authorship and attribution of ownership or contribution should be:
  4. An honest reflection of all involved parties connected to content;
  5. Communicated clearly and transparently between contributors/owners where applicable.

C.5 Liability

  1. DFI will not assume responsibility for any member’s inappropriate posts, comments, or content pieces and shall seek legal action against a member should such post, comments, or content pieces result in any third-party claim against DFI.

C.6 Advertising/Commercial Content

  1. No DFI member is permitted to post (over official DFI channels) any content considered as advertising or commercial in nature, unless approved.

C.7 Grievances

  1. Any grievance or complaint may be lodged directly to: [email protected]
  2. Anonymous complaints may not be accepted.
  3. All complaints will be addressed as soon as practical, estimated within 72 hours from lodgment; however, in extenuating circumstances this response time may be increased without notice.

C.8 Official Action

C.8.1 Corrections

  1. The DFI reserves the right to edit or amend any inappropriate content as well as the right to delete posts, comments, or content pieces violating this policy.

C.8.2 Grounds for Dismissal

  1. Depending on the magnitude of a violation, a DFI member may be removed (account and association membership revocation) for a violation of the policies contained herein at the discretion of Board of Trustees.
  2. Repeat offenses may result in a user’s name being recorded on a “Blacklist” preventing future membership or involvement with DFI.

D. Amendments

DFI reserves the right to update this policy at any time.

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