AERA RULEBOOK – SECTION 1 - GENERAL RULES
Chapter 5. RIDER RULES 26.
CODE OF CONDUCT
26.1 Every participant is under the control of the chief steward whenever they are present on the ride base or on course.
26.2 Every rider and their support personnel shall conduct themselves at all times:
a) in a courteous, respectful and professional manner, and shall expect reciprocal courtesy, respect and professionalism from other persons with whom they interact, and
b) in a manner so as not to bring the Sport of Endurance into disrepute, and
c) in accordance with the AERA Social Media Engagement Rules.
AERA RULEBOOK SECTION FOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT RULES
(This booklet is only 3 pages, and is separate to the General Rules, I have posted the main parts of the 3 pages. For everyone's information and understanding)
2.2 These rules do not apply to the personal use of social media unless a reference is made to the business or associated activities of the AERA or any of its affiliated DA's or their members. 2.3 For the purpose of these Rules, references to "Social Media" will include, but is not limited to, any one of a broad scope of online communication channels and tools that allow and/or facilitate various means of interaction (through comments, posts, updates or any other means of response), communication and information sharing such as: Blogs, Microblogs (i.e. Twitter, Tumblr), Podcasts, Message boards and other community forums, Streaming and online video Websites, Social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, MySpace), Individual pages and groups on social networking sites (i.e. Facebook "fan" pages) , Professional networking sites (i.e. Linkedin, Groupsite, Plaxo), Media repositories (i.e. YouTube, Flickr), Wikis, Any other mechanism that is published, posted to, uploaded to, downloaded from or accessible from a variety of social media.
2.4 The AERA, affiliated DA's and their members must adhere to all applicable laws with respect to intellectual property (including trademarks and copyrights), disclosure/confidentiality, defamation, harassment and invasion of privacy.
3. BREACHING THESE RULES
3.1 A breach of these Rules shall incl BREACHING aude but is not limited to the following:
-Vulgarities, whether they be language, images or other offensive material, including, but not limited to, race, nudity or pornography. The administrators and moderators shall be the sole judges of what does and does not violate the standards.
-Accusatory and perceived libellous posts, whether stated as fact, perception, or hearsay.
-Bullying and/or harassment. The AERA and affiliated DA's and their members must adhere to all applicable laws with respect to cyber bullying and/or harassment and perpetrators' will be reported to the appropriate statutory authority.
-Debate and discussion is encouraged and everyone is entitled to express their own opinion freely as long as the opinion is stated appropriately. Whether it is blatant or covert, the AERA will not tolerate rudeness, insults or personal attacks. Do not disrespect, taunt or antagonise anyone, either on the Group page or via private messages or email.
- Inflammatory posts and remarks about activities of members should not be discussed in a public forum. If you have legitimate concerns about the conduct of any member or fellow group poster, you are encouraged to raise these concerns directly via a personal email to the AERA Secretary (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
- If you have a problem or complaint about an AERA sponsored page in general, or with another member/poster, you should private message it directly to the moderators; posting to the group is not appropriate and will only inflame the situation. The moderators will evaluate the situation and mediate where appropriate.
4. CONSEQUENCES OF A BREACH
4.1 Depending on the social media device being used at the time and the nature and severity of the breach the following consequences may be applied:
-Temporary ban from posting/interacting – this will generally mean the person is still able to view but not to contribute for a set period of time.
-Permanent ban from posting/interacting – generally only applied to a person who has consistently shown disregard for these social media engagement rules.
DISCIPLINARY ACTION- member of an affiliated DA who has continued to demonstrate a disregard for these social media engagement rules may face disciplinary action by their respective DA including the temporary suspension of membership, or where a member continues with the behaviour, a permanent ban on membership of the DA.