Groups Community Guidelines

The University of Richmond operates Groups as a way for students, faculty, staff and friends to communicate and collaborate. The Groups network is hosted by an open source programmable platform called Ning. By joining the University of Richmond’s online community, you agree to abide by both Ning’s terms of service and the University’s acceptable use policy. These guidelines are intended to supplement those documents.

1. Members of the Richmond community are personally responsible for their online activity. The online community is an extension of the physical campus, and, as such, members are expected to abide by University policies and represent themselves honestly.
2. Members have control over their personal information and choose what information they share via the network. Any information you choose to post may be viewable to other members of the community.
3. Members’ personal data is accessible only by Ning and the University of Richmond. Ning maintains a privacy policy that protects users’ personal data and the University of Richmond, likewise, subscribes to its tenants. However, the University of Richmond cannot completely ensure privacy in the event of a technical flaw in the Ning system or as a result of data breach on Ning's platform, regardless of cause. For this reason, posting of any information that is governed by FERPA regulations is prohibited, even in private groups.
4. Members have the right to communicate in a hate-free environment. Any discussion, comments or private messages that detract from the University’s commitment to modeling an inclusive campus community will result in members being banned from the network.
5. Like all online communities, members have the ability to share photographs. All members, however, have the right to request that a photograph be removed if it a) features at least one member who does not want his or her likeness to appear on the Internet b) is lewd or c) displays illegal activities. To request a photograph be removed, use the “Report an Issue” link at the bottom of any page. Members who consistently post inappropriate photos will be banned from the network.
6. All members may launch groups at their discretion. Some groups are private and require an invitation to join. Misrepresenting yourself to join a group to which you have not been invited is a form of fraud and will result in being banned from the network.
7. Respect the privacy of your colleagues. Before sharing comments, posts or photographs contributed by friends or colleagues, seek their permission.
8. Avoid personal attacks. The discussion forums are excellent places to discuss teaching, research, and any number of other topics. At times, contributing members will disagree with each other. Be reasonable—attack arguments, not people. Appreciate other people’s points of view and always remain respectful.
9. Be innovative. The platform on which the University’s online community is built is designed to be flexible. If there is a feature you would like to see developed, contact the network administrator.