Discourse Support Team Remit
Discourse Support Team Remit, adopted April 2021.
1. Role and Remit
The role of the Discourse Support Team is to support Volunteers on Discourse and ensure the efficient and productive running of our various Discourse national groups.
2. Tasks and Duties
The Team is responsible for the day to day running of Discourse Groups and any associated tasks.
2.1 Specific Tasks:
- Welcome new members to Discourse
- Encourage participation in the various Discourse groups
- Encourage members to follow Guidelines
- Manage comments, suggestions and complaints from members
- Assist members by directing threads to alternative Discourse groups if appropriate
- Identify any groups not engaging with Central and encourage them to do so
- Assist Tech Team with Discourse maintenance as requested
- Maintain up to date membership, including removing members who are no longer volunteers
- Ensure all Freegle Affiliated Groups are represented on Freegle via the Contacting Groups Procedure
- Work together to ensure there is always back up for any work and specific roles within the Team
2.2 . Additional Tasks:
The Team may add additional roles or tasks to fulfil the general remit. If an additional role or task significantly alters the remit, this additional role/task should be first approved by the Board and/or Central.
3. The Team
3.1 Membership of Team:
- Central, Cafe and Freestock Group Coordinators
- Tech representative
- Working Groups (Development, Tech, Funding) Coordinators (see Working Groups Procedure for that work and remit)
3.2 Eligibility and Selection:
Team Membership will be open to all Volunteers except for additional roles which will be appointed by the Discourse Support Team.
3.3 Ending of Team Membership:
- A role holder can stand down at any time by informing Central Group.
- If members of the Team feel the roles are not being fulfilled, they should try to work with the role holder to help or failing that, refer to the Ombudsman to use the Mediation Service Procedures.
- In extremis, Volunteers can call for a vote of no confidence and pass the issue to the Ombudsman.
4. Moderation Guidelines for Discourse Groups
To keep Discourse a friendly and supportive place for all volunteers the Team will:
- Apply a very light touch moderation process only, with the priority to keep Central as unmoderated as possible
- Only use moderation when messages are abusive, overtly aggressive or threatening
4. 1 Moderation process:
- Each member of the Discourse Team has responsibility for moderation on the groups and to act in ‘emergencies’ to put a member on silenced status.
- Anyone ‘silenced’ must be informed immediately.
- The period of silencing will be kept as short as possible and lifted when the Team are happy that the problem is sorted.
- The relevant group will be told silencing is in effect as parallel silencing on all other groups will also be effected.
- Messages can only be sent and received from silenced members by private message to the Team, so the Team needs to ensure that the silenced member is contacted and the issue dealt with promptly.
5. Freegle Discourse Groups Guidelines:
This is a self-moderated forum and as such we have no ‘rules’, but these are the guidelines we would like you to follow. By using the groups, you agree to follow the guidelines below and agree that the Discourse Support Team may moderate posts in extreme circumstances.
- Please be polite and treat fellow members with respect.
- If in doubt of another poster’s tone, assume they are speaking neutrally. It is easier on your blood pressure.
- Please do not use insulting, derogatory or obscene language toward fellow members.
- Please do not forward in full or in part any correspondence unless the sender gives their consent.
- When posting it helps if you sign off with your name and your local group name or role.
Thank you very much, we hope you enjoy being part of our Freegle Discourse groups. We always welcome feedback and if you feel the above guidelines could be improved or are being ignored, please feel free to email the Team - centralmods@ilovefreegle.org
Best regards Freegle Discourse Support Team
