Editorial Policy

Introduction
Woodlanders.org.uk was created in website was created in 2001 with the support of the Woodlands Community Association (WCA) as a forum and information source for residents and tenants of the Woodlands Estate which straddles the Uxbridge Road at the western side of Stanmore, near the boundary of Harrow Weald.

The long term aim is to create a site created by the community for the community and to publicise that site in such a way that it is accessed by as many local people as possible. It is hoped that the site can become a focus for community debate and involvement as well as a reliable and up to date source of news and information that reflects the needs and interests of all members of the community.

In 2003, the wca_forum Yahoo discussion group was set up as an extension of the main site. All residents and tenants are invited to join and contribute to this group.

Woodlanders.org.uk adheres to certain editorial guidelines, which also apply to the wca_forum. They govern not only what is created in the main area of the site, but also what can be published in the forum. They will also help explain why posts to the forum might be edited or removed.

These guidelines should not be viewed as restrictive, but rather as central to maintaining the standards that saw this site win the TPAS Web Award in 2002.

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Taste and Decency
Woodlanders.org.uk will not display any material that could be considered offensive in terms of taste, decency or public feeling, nor will it display material likely to encourage or incite crime or lead to disorder.

The availability of such content elsewhere is not a reason for it to be included in the content of this site. What is commonplace on television, cinema, video, computer programs or the Internet does not make it appropriate to be included on this site.

Parents, guardians and teachers should feel comfortable with young people using Woodlanders.org.uk as a trusted source of information.

Language
Swearwords, inappropriate sexual references and abusive names relating to disabilities can cause great offence, as does the casual use of names held holy by people of various faiths. Similarly, deep offence can be caused by profane references or disrespect directed at deities, scriptures, holy days and rituals which are at the heart of various religions. Such language will be edited from any contributions or, in extreme circumstances, the post removed.

Links
This site takes no responsibility for the content contained on external sites reached via links from Woodlanders.org.uk.

Stereotyping
Jokes based upon race, religion, age, disability or sex will not be tolerated. They might hurt groups of people who are the targets of such jokes. Again, any material likely to cause offence will be edited from forum contributions.

Defamation
The Woodlanders.org.uk editorial team will remove any posts which are defamatory.

In a court of law a judge will usually rule that something has been defamatory if it:

· Reduces a person in the eyes of right-thinking people
· Causes a person to be shunned or avoided
· Exposes the person to hatred, ridicule or contempt
· Injures them in their office, profession or trade.

Woodlanders.org.uk does not allow so-called "name and shame" campaigns. The site will also take special precautions to avoid what is known as the "jigsaw effect", where individuals are identified by location or circumstance.

Edits will rarely be made to forum contributions where a correspondent is questioning the services provided by the government, local authorities or a public service. The government and local authorities were elected on a mandate and a site like this is an excellent tool for examining their record in delivering what they promised.

On the other hand, edits will usually be made to contributions criticising an individual or a local business. If a precedent were to be set allowing that to happen then anyone could go online and criticise such services. This could open the floodgates to all sorts of abuse and possibly leave the Community Association vulnerable to legal action it can scarcely afford.

The only exception could be where a local business has invited a discussion about their services and users respond. Even then the tone of those responses will be carefully monitored to ensure they comply with the forum agreement and these guidelines.

Unfortunately this means that innocent, and often humorous, observations also have to be edited for consistency reasons.

Race
Section 70 of the Race Relations Act, 1976, makes it an offence to publish or distribute written matter which is "threatening, abusive, or insulting in a case where hatred is likely to be stirred up against any racial group". Such material will be removed from any forum contributions.

Politics
Woodlanders.org.uk will not allow itself to be a platform for party political propaganda, either in the lead up to a political election or on any issue. The site exists to enable discussion on local issues. Any posts making the case for or against any national or international political issues will be monitored closely to ensure they do not turn into political campaigning. If they do they will be terminated or removed.

Elections
The Representation of the People Act has clear rules for what can be said and not said during the pending period for an election. The pending period is the time between when an election is announced and the close of polls.

It is not lawful for anything to be published about the constituency by any candidate during the pending period without either all candidates taking part or written consent being obtained from those who don’t want to take part. A candidate is anyone who has declared an intention to stand in a specified constituency or electoral area.

Clearly, Woodlanders.org.uk is unable to vouch for the validity of a contribution, nor can it be certain to be able to establish the political status of contributors, particularly with people free to hide their e-mail addresses and use an alias.

So, during election times, be they local, national or European, all posts, which suggest high-pressure political campaigning, will be removed or closed.

To protect this site’s independence and integrity, action will be taken to ensure that the site does not become associated with campaigning that is politically contentious.

Adverts
This site's classified adverts facility has been set up to enable local people to sell unwanted goods locally. It is for personal sales only not trade. Any trade sales will be removed as will any adverts that contravene this site's guidelines on taste and decency.

The Adverts section is not the place to offer local commercial services, however a "help wanted and offered" category exists to enable people needing help, and those able to respond, to make contact.