General Guidelines for Placing Feedback

Who is eligible to place comments?

All browsers of the Auckland Museum website are welcome to place comments or share their stories where indicated. You must create an account and login to the Museum Website to place feedback. The Auckland Museum will try to post as many comments as we can but cannot guarantee every comment will be posted. We have a list of simple guidelines to facilitate the sharing of feedback and ideas. Submissions that do not follow those rules will not be considered for posting.

10 important Guidelines that must be adhered to:

• Please respect other people's views and beliefs and consider their impact when making your contribution.

• Comments must not be personally abusive about people, including others who have had their comments posted. Never use threatening language or terms. Swear words are prohibited.

• The New Zealand Human Rights Act must also be adhered to at all times. It is unacceptable to use language or make comments that can be considered discriminatory on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual preference, nationality, age, disability, etc. Your comments must not contain, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, or otherwise illegal material.

• To facilitate the process at our end, allowing the maximum number of submissions to be processed, a submission is limited to 1200 characters (about 250 words).

• Putting whole words or sentences in CAPITAL letters is considered shouting in an online environment. This is not an accepted method of making a point.

• Do not use text messaging short forms. Our moderators will sometimes change spelling or grammar so everyone can understand a submission. The use of a spell checker is highly recommended.

• We will remove any posts that are obviously commercial or otherwise spam-like. Our aim is that this site should provide a space for people to interact with our content and each other, and we frown on commercial entities passing themselves off as individuals.

• By submitting a comment you are consenting to its display on the site and for any related online and offline use we choose. In submitting the comment, you are agreeing to abide by the rules, take responsibility for your comments and accept that these comments may be edited, deleted or not used.

• Photographs and video may be sent to the site as user-generated content. Auckland Museum reserves the right to store electronically any pictures sent in by aucklandmuseum.com readers and to use the images free of charge in any of its online and print publications. Amateur photographers retain the copyright to their photographs or videos if they are to be published elsewhere.

• These guidelines are a living document and subject to updates from time to time.

Why do the comments I submit not appear immediately?

Currently all submitted comments are reviewed by a moderator before any are posted online. There are a number of reasons for this.

• The owner of a website can be held legally responsible as well as the author of comments and articles put online.

• Also, many sites where comments appear automatically have become the victims of spammers who hit the site with spam, knowing it will be automatically published for everyone to read in the comments section.
Why do I have to give some personal details when sending in my comments?

The Auckland Museum is using the popular method of requesting a once-only registration before you start posting any comments. We only ask you once for your details, then send you an email to select a password and confirm your registration. It'll only take a few moments and once you've registered you can submit a comment whenever you like.

We give you the opportunity for a pseudonym or “display name” to be used if the comment is published. There are times when we need to clarify something and if we can't contact you we won't be able to post the comment. Providing your email address and a phone number during the registration process allows us to do this if necessary. We also feel that this is a show of good faith that you are genuine in the views you have submitted. We will not publish your email address or phone number. If you want to change your “display name” at any stage you can go back to your registration and change it.

Can I make suggestions or submit a complaint?

If you have any general thoughts about our community offerings, or consider something published inappropriate, please inform the Museum webmaster.

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