17.0 ALLIANCE Hockey Code Of Conduct Internet Policy, Policies, ALLIANCE Manual of Operations (Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario)

Print17.0 ALLIANCE Hockey Code Of Conduct Internet Policy

17.1  Internet Policy

 

Members of ALLIANCE Hockey shall refrain from comments or behavior that is disrespectful, offensive, abusive, racist or sexist. In particular, behavior that constitutes harassment or abuse will not be tolerated and will be dealt with under the ALLIANCE Harassment, Abuse and Bullying Policy.

 

“SOCIAL NETWORKING is defined as communicating through on-line communities of people such as, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, tiktok, Twitter, YouTube, blogging, etc.  ALLIANCE Hockey understands the importance of SOCIAL NETWORKING, however, it also allows for inappropriate unsupervised conduct which may be detrimental to the welfare of ALLIANCE Hockey, and the future of ALLIANCE Hockey players.

 

ALLIANCE Hockey holds the entire ALLIANCE Hockey community, including Executive Members, Managers, Coaches, Trainers, Players, Scouts, Support Staff, on/off-ice Officials and others who participate in SOCIAL NETWORKING to the same standards as it would with all forms of media, including television, radio and print.  In appropriate behavior using SOCIAL NETWORKING media will not be tolerated and may result in disciplinary action being taken.  

 

Policy Statement:

ALLIANCE Hockey considers behaviour that constitutes harassment, abuse or bullying through “Social Networking” an equivalent to an “Intent to Injure” and as such, individuals found in violation of this policy will be subject an immediate 4-game minimum suspension pending an investigation.

 

Failure to comply with this Code of Conduct may result in disciplinary action in accordance with the Constitutional By-Law of ALLIANCE Hockey including the opportunity  to participate  in ALLIANCE activities and events both present and in the future.

 

If complaints are received ALLIANCE Hockey will investigate those complaints and if the investigation process substantiates the complaint the individuals responsible may be subject to suspension.  Complaints must be received on the “Complaint Intake Form” in the ALLIANCE Hockey Risk Management and Speak Out Policy Manual, 14.0.

17.2 1. Official Guidelines for Social Media at Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario (ALLIANCE Hockey)

1.1 If you're an ALLIANCE HOCKEY employee, volunteer(s) or student intern creating or contributing to blogs, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of social media both on and off www.alliancehockey.com — these guidelines are for you. We expect all who participate in social media on behalf of ALLIANCE HOCKEY to be trained, to understand and to follow these guidelines. Failure to do so could put your future participation at risk. These guidelines will continually evolve as new technologies and social networking tools emerge.

2. When you Engage

2.1 Emerging platforms for online collaboration are fundamentally changing the way we work and participate in hockey activities offering new ways to engage with coaches, officials, players, members, partners, and the world at large. It's a new model for interaction and we believe social computing can help you to build stronger, more successful relationships; it's also a way for you to take part in global conversations related to the work we are doing at ALLIANCE HOCKEY and the things we care about.

  2.2 If you participate in social media, please follow these guiding principles:

2.2.1   Stick to your area of expertise and provide unique, individual perspectives on what's going on at ALLIANCE HOCKEY
                   and in the hockey community.
2.2.2   Post meaningful, respectful comments—in other words, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic, offensive or
                   contrary to ALLIANCE HOCKEY codes of conduct.
2.2.3   Always pause and think before posting. That said, reply to comments in a timely manner, when a response is
                   appropriate.
2.2.4   Respect proprietary information and content, and confidentiality.                  
2.2.5   When disagreeing with others' opinions, keep it appropriate and polite.

3. Rules of Engagement

3.1    Be transparent.

3.1.1     Your honesty—or dishonesty—will be quickly noticed in the social media environment. If you are blogging about your work or activities at ALLIANCE HOCKEY, use your real name, identify that you work or represent ALLIANCE HOCKEY, and be clear about your role.

3.1.2     If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, be the first to point it out, transparency is about your identity and relationship to ALLIANCE HOCKEY. You still need to keep confidentiality around proprietary information and content.

3.2   Be judicious.

3.2.1      Ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal to ALLIANCE HOCKEY. All statements must be true and not misleading and all claims must be substantiated and approved. Please never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties we are in litigation with without the appropriate approval. Also, be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and ALLIANCE HOCKEY’S confidential information. What you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully.

4. Write What you Know.

4.1   Stick to your Expertise.

4.1.1  Make sure you write and post about your areas of expertise, especially as related to ALLIANCE HOCKEY, its programs and services. If you are writing about a topic that ALLIANCE HOCKEY is involved with but you are not the ALLIANCE HOCKEY expert on the topic, you should make this clear to your readers, and write in the first person. If you publish to a website outside of ALLIANCE HOCKEY, please use a disclaimer something like this: "The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent ALLIANCE HOCKEY'S positions, strategies, or opinions." Also, please respect brand, trademark, copyright, fair use, trade secrets, confidentiality, and financial disclosure laws; if you have any questions about these, see the ALLIANCE HOCKEY Executive Director. Remember, you may be personally responsible for your content.

4.2 Perception is reality.

4.2.1   In online social networks, the lines between public and private, personal and professional are blurred. Just by identifying yourself as an ALLIANCE HOCKEY employee or representative, you are creating perceptions about your expertise and about ALLIANCE HOCKEY by our members and the general public and perceptions about you by your colleagues. Be sure that all content associated with you is consistent with your work and activities with ALLIANCE HOCKEY’S values and professional standards.

4.3 It's a conversation.

4.3.1   Talk to your readers like you would talk to real people in professional situations. In other words, avoid overly pedantic or "composed" language. Don't be afraid to bring in your own personality and say what's on your mind, consider content that's open-ended and invites response and encourage comments. You can also broaden the conversation by citing others who are blogging about the same topic and allowing your content to be shared or syndicated.

4.4 Are you adding value?

4.4.1   There are millions of words out there; the best way to get yours read is to write things that people will value. Social communication from ALLIANCE Hockey should help our members, partners, and coaches at large; it should be thought-provoking and build a sense of community. If it helps people improve knowledge or skills, solve problems, or understand ALLIANCE Hockey better—then it's adding value.

4.5 Your Responsibility.

4.5.1   What you write is ultimately your responsibility. Participation in social computing on behalf of ALLIANCE HOCKEY is not a right but an opportunity, so please treat it seriously and with respect.

4.6 Create some excitement.

4.6.1   ALLIANCE Hockey is making important contributions to the amateur hockey community, let's share with the world the exciting things we're learning and doing—and open up the channels to learn from others.

4.7 Be a Leader.

4.7.1  There can be a fine line between healthy debate and incendiary reaction. Do not denigrate our partners or ALLIANCE Hockey, nor do you need to respond to every criticism or barb. Try to frame what you write to invite differing points of view without inflaming others. Some topics slide more easily into sensitive territory, so be careful and considerate. Once the words are out there, you can't really get them back, and once an inflammatory discussion gets going, it's hard to stop.

4.8 Did you mess up?

4.8.1   If you make a mistake, admit it. Be upfront and be quick with your correction. If you're posting to a blog, you may choose to modify an earlier post—just make it clear that you have done so.

4.9 If it gives you pause, pause.

4.9.1   If you're about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, don't shrug it off and hit 'send.' Take a minute to review these guidelines and try to figure out what's bothering you, then fix it. If you're still unsure, you might want to discuss it with the Executive Director. Ultimately, what you publish is yours—as is the responsibility, so be sure.

5. Moderation Guidelines.

5.1     Moderation is the act of reviewing and approving content before it's published on the site (This applies to social media content written on behalf of ALLIANCE Hockey, whether the site is on or off www.Alliancehockey.com). ALLIANCE Hockey does not endorse or take responsibility for content posted by third parties, referred to as user generated content (UGC). This includes text input and uploaded files (video, images, audio, executables, documents).

5.2     While we encourage user participation, there are some guidelines we ask you to follow to keep it safe for everyone. 

6. Balanced Online Dialogue.              

6.1  Whether content is pre-moderated or community moderated, follow these three principles: The Good, the Bad, but not the Ugly. If the content is positive or negative and in context to the conversation, then we approve the content, regardless of whether it's favorable or unfavorable to ALLIANCE Hockey. But if the content is ugly, offensive, denigrating and completely out of context, then we reject the content.