Charter

Shield

# This forum is for the discussion of voluntary emergency services in general and is open to all posters, whether they are serving / former members of a voluntary emergency service, prospective members or just have an interest. That said, if a member makes false claims as to their membership of a service this will result in an immediate and permanent ban.

# Those volunteering are reminded that the forum is public, open to members of the general public, and to your supervisors. It should not be treated as a secure medium and it is therefore your responsibility to ensure that nothing is said or inferred on the forum that may interfere with current operations/investigations or bring your service into disrepute, and that you do not release any information whatsoever that is not already in the public domain. "In the public domain" means the information has already been widely circulated on TV and/or radio, in the mainstream press, or on public access internet news sites. Any breaches of the above policy may result in disciplinary action and / or legal proceedings being taken by your service, against you.

#Unless the name of any individual is already in the public domain, do not specifically identify individuals without the express permission of that individual. I.e do not post peoples names or identify them in photographs e.g.
"A.C.F.O. Bloggs was talking to S.O. Smith about boards.ie." or "Garda Murphy, seen here on the left of the picture, looking particularly well turned out today."

# Think carefully about giving out your own details. That one is up to your own judgement.

# Please note that advice given here with the best of intentions by other users of the forum, may not always be correct. Therefore any and all information you receive through the forum or via private messages, email etc, is always given on the condition that you 'use it at your own risk'. The administrators and moderators of the forum will not be held responsible for any consequences of the use of such advice.

# General Boards.ie rules apply. Do not post any thing that could bring Boards.ie into disrepute.

# No flaming, trolling or personal abuse. By anyone. First offence will result in a temporary ban. Subsequent offences may result in longer bans or outright permanent bans. Posts containing offensive material will be edited by the moderators.

# Spamming. Posts that are nonsensical will be deleted.

# Replies should try to be on-topic. Although we understand that the nature of life is that threads will drift off-topic; and that off-topic replies can be of even more interest than the original topic; moderators may split threads off if the thread diverges too far from the original topic.

# No text speak, there are more then 160 characters available here so there is no reason to use it.

# Please try to watch spelling and grammar as well as using paragraphs. Simple things like this make it a lot easier to read posts.

# Please refrain from using all CAPITAL LETTERS, this is the Internet equivalent of shouting and can make posts difficult to read.

# Bad language is unacceptable. This board is for discussion not hurling abuse at others and it does nothing to promote an active discussion.

# Video Clips and Photos:- These are welcome, however bear in mind the following:

- Make sure you have permisson to post the picture from both the photographer and subjects in it!
- Post only photos of scenes that are in the public domain or have appropriate permission from all involved i.e. no sub-judice incidents or photos of confidential information etc.
- Pictures of incidents such as car crashes in particular those involving fatalities should have all number plates blanked and not be easily identifiable as to the exact incident. Please use your head on this and be sensitive to those who were involved in the incident and be aware that such photos may be considered evidence.
- Be sure to give a description of the image except in cases of fatalities or serious injuries (i.e. be aware of the people involved, their families and possible court cases)
- Under no circumstances can you download and use a photo without the permission of its owner.
- No naming or photographs of PSNI officers, past, present, or future, due to the current security situation in Northern Ireland.
- The moderators and administrators have final say on these matters.

# No requesting, offering or quoting copyrighted material in any form. You are free to re-sell books and the like that you bought privately over on adverts.ie

# No advertising! You may not promote companies who offer recruitment training or any other service. We have had actual companies create accounts on boards.ie and give the impression they had used their own service as a customer. These are called shills. No shilling. These posts will be deleted. Low post counters will most likely be site-banned.

# If you have a complaint to make about the forum, please do not complain on threads, use a PM or take it to Feedback.

# Moderator actions are not to be discussed anywhere on the forum. PM the moderator in question, or take it to the Feedback forum.

# If you have a complaint relating to a voluntary emergency service, you are advised to follow the formal channels in place for that service rather than pursuing it here.

# No naming of volunteers, past, present or future, unless the person specifically names themselves.

# If you are a member of any Voluntary Emergency Service, you may not discuss, refer to, or disclose any part of the contents of any of the following:

* Codes of Conduct
* Codes of Ethics
* Circulars
* Standing Orders
* Internal memorandums
* Any other form of confidential communication from a service to a volunteer that is not for the general public's eyes.
* Linking to media articles is fine, but please do not comment if they claim they are quoting any of the above. The media are only too happy to have their claims verified or corrected by serving volunteers.

# Please use the "Report this post" feature -- whenever you see something which breaches the charter or the general rules of boards. Use it even if you want to make a private comment to the moderator regarding the post/thread. The report will not be visible to the person who made the post unless they have access to the "Reported Post" sub-forum of the "Moderator" forum.

# You can contact Boards.ie by using the contact page - http://www.boards.ie/contact