Posting to the City of Nanaimo’s social media platforms

Please be aware that when engaging with the City of Nanaimo on social media, you are agreeing to the following the guidelines. 

We encourage an open exchange of ideas regarding the City’s policies or operations however, you are individually responsible for the content of your comments. We ask that your posts are courteous, stay on topic and not cause intimidation and we ask that you respect the following guidelines: 

• No defamatory, hateful, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, obscene or other unlawful expression;
• No inappropriate language;
• No advertising;
• No dissemination of ‘spam’, ‘chain letters’ or ‘junk mail’;
• No off-topic messages;
• No content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
• No content considered to be defamatory, disrespectful or insulting to City staff or representatives;
• No conduct or encouragement of illegal activity;
• No sexual content or links to sexual content;
• No information about any identifiable individual (including photographs of, or information about that individual, as well as views or opinions about that individual), unless the identifiable individual provided specific, written consent to the City in advance.

The City of Nanaimo reserves the right to remove posts which violate these guidelines.  We may ask users to refrain from posting inappropriate comments, or, repeat violators of the above guidelines may be muted, blocked or banned.

The views and opinions expressed on these sites do not necessarily represent those of the City of Nanaimo which does not accept responsibility for the truth or accuracy of any information posted by external parties.

You may submit or post your own content if it meets the standards set out in the policy above, is on topic and is your own original content. Any content that violates the policy or third party rights will be deleted.

Anything you post on the City of Nanaimo’s social media platforms is not confidential. To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include any personal information including phone numbers and email addresses in the body of your comment. Please do not share personal information about others, including pictures.

Please note: Mayor and Council do not actively participate in the City of Nanaimo social media platforms. If you would like to engage with Mayor and Council please email Mayor&Council@nanaimo.ca

Responding to comments/inquiries

The City monitors and responds to online inquiries during regular business hours; Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Questions or comments are acknowledged or answered within one business day.

Some messages may be scheduled to publish on the City’s social media platforms after business hours or on weekends.

The City may reply to online questions or comments if:

• the post asks a sincere question about a City service, program or policy
• the post includes inaccurate information – the City may provide a correction 

Posts that include profane or disrespectful language, especially those directed at City employees, are not appropriate and will not be tolerated. If a post violates the City’s commenting guidelines as noted above:

• The City will hide or delete the post if possible
• If removal is not possible, and the post is directed at an employee, the City will respond and ask the user to refrain from further disrespectful and inappropriate comments
• If the user does not comply, the City may, ignore, mute or block the user.

The City may follow partners, community groups, organizations or individuals, and may share content from other users if the material is aligned with the City’s programs, services or initiatives.

This comment policy is subject to amendment or modification at any time.

Questions or Concerns?

If you have a question or concern regarding the City of Nanaimo’s social media activity and platforms or the above policy, please contact us at SocialMedia@nanaimo.ca