In a recent discussion of the reasons some local branch officers persist in creating “unofficial” Facebook groups, an officer from another region of the kingdom reported that two branches had gone down that path because they had been told that “official” social media channels could not allow any off-topic conversations.
This came as a surprise, as I know online conversations often wander, and it’s totally common for a local populace discussion forum (whether on Facebook, Discord, a mailing list, a video conference, or wherever) to include a mix of group business, historical trivia, crafting discussions, in-jokes and wordplay, conversations about role-playing games, pictures of people’s pets, and a hundred other topics.
I wrote to the social media officers at the kingdom and Society level and was pleased by the prompt reply: “there’s nothing wrong with having occasional off topic conversations.”
There are, of course, caveats to keep in mind: there are various policies which prohibit harassment, lewd content, commercial promotions, political campaigning, and other potentially-problematic material, so it’s not a complete free-for-all and moderation is still important.
But the good news is that if your populace conversation veers off into how much snow we’re going to get this weekend, or how cute the seneschal’s kitten is, there’s no need for you to shut it down.
Correspondence attached below.
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: East Kingdom Social Media Officer
Cc: Society Social Media Officer
Date: December 14, 2023
Hello,
In a conversation today with some other officers from around the East Kingdom, I was told that a number of branches had opted to designate some of their social media channels as “unofficial” because they had been told that “official” channels could only be used for “on topic” discussions.
Is there such a rule, and if so, what exactly does it specify?
I know that our own local branch’s social media channels (Facebook group, Discord channel, mailing list) are mostly used to discuss the group’s operations or historical skills and cultures, but there definitely are some occasional off-topic conversations about things that happened after 1600, modern skills and hobbies, and the personal lives of our group members — someone asking questions about where to find something in our city, or talking about an illness in their family, or showing off how cute their cat is, or the like.
I have always assumed that these conversations were allowed, as long as they didn’t wind up totally dominating the channel for long periods of time, and as long as they didn’t become particularly problematic — eg, no modern political campaigns, no pornographic content, no harassment, etc, etc.
If we’re skating on thin ice, I’d love to know about it so I can guide us to safety!
In service,
— Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
From: East Kingdom Social Media Officer
To: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
Cc: Society Social Media Officer
Date: December 14, 2023
Mathghamhain,
Good to hear from you! Thank you for your email. Per the handbook:
B. Outward Facing Channels and being “Official”
- Social Media channels considered Official include Kingdom and regional or local branch channels. If you conduct the Official business of administering and organising SCA activities and events in that channel, then it is Official and is subject to the Policy and this handbook. Official groups will clearly identify as such in their disclaimers.
- Social media channels for unrecognized groups such as households, fan groups and interest communities not specifically sponsored by a Society or Kingdom Officer are considered Unofficial. The SCA President has requested unofficial interest groups to clearly identify as such.
- Activities that are related to but not sponsored or held by the SCA should be clearly identified as such to avoid confusion. The SCA is not required to host, promote or advertise content on its Official channels that is not hosted, approved or supplied by the SCA. Kingdoms have the discretion to set rules on the type of content that is allowed in their Official spaces subject to SCA policy restrictions.
Per Section 1- It is not necessarily being off topic. It is whether official business is being conducted, such as organizing and administering SCA events, activities and business meetings. If it is used for anything in an official capacity it is “Official” and must be marked as such.
Well wishes,
East Kingdom Social Media Officer
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: East Kingdom Social Media Officer
Cc: Society Social Media Officer
Date: December 14, 2023
Yup, I am familiar with that rule. Our local social media channels are definitely “official” by that standard, and they have always been clearly labeled as such.
The question I am asking is whether there is any rule that prohibits off-topic conversations in an official social media channel.
I haven’t ever seen such a rule and was surprised when someone mentioned it to me, so I wanted to double-check.
Unless you tell me otherwise, I am going to assume that the person I was speaking to had received bad guidance, and that it is perfectly fine for our official social media channels to host occasional off-topic conversations amongst our populace as long as that doesn’t completely displace topical discussion or veer into problematic content or behaviors.
Thanks!
— Mathghamhain
From: East Kingdom Social Media Officer
To: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
Cc: Society Social Media Officer
Date: December 14, 2023
Mathghamhain,
Thank you for verifying the status of your channels! Yeah there’s nothing wrong with having occasional off topic conversations as long as it isn’t dominating the channel, causing issues, or advertising non SCAdian related things. As long as it follows the code of conduct and is SCAdian (or time period) related then I see no issue with it.
In short I believe they got bad advice and I would appreciate if you would assist in breaking that rumor. All it causes is a headache for me if they are doing actual official things on there 😄
Well wishes ,
East Kingdom Social Media Officer
From: Mathghamhain Ua Ruadháin
To: East Kingdom Social Media Officer
Cc: Society Social Media Officer
Date: December 14, 2023
Okay, thanks so much for clearing this up — I’ll definitely do my best to correct the misunderstanding.
With appreciation,
— Mathghamhain