From:
Stephanie Jenkins
Date:
May 18 06:18 UTC
Short link
Please may I remind everyone that “local” really means local to Headington &
Marston. It is not appropriate to advertise events taking place in Oxford,
unless they have a strong link to our area.
It is also inappropriate to use this forum for blatant advertising. It might
be acceptable to mention certain commercial events if they have a strong link
to Headington or Marston, but not to “sell” them.
There has been a discussion on the forum for E-Democracy Forum Managers
recently about what constitutes a local issue, and I will adapt some helpful
and sensible guidelines that another forum follows in the three bullet points
below:
• Local issues are issues that are either unique to Headington & Marston or
have a substantial and direct effect on our community.
• If the issue is not unique to Headington & Marston but has a substantial
and direct effect on our community, it is appropriate to discuss the _effect_
but it is not appropriate to discuss the underlying rationale or justification
for the issue itself. For example, if members want to discuss the effect of
the Iraq war on Headington & Marston, that discussion would be on-topic.
However, a discussion of the legitimacy or need for the Iraq war would not be
appropriate.
• Moreover, while it is appropriate to talk about the effect of a national or
regional issue/policy on our community, members need to make the local
connection specific rather than assume that the readers will automatically make
the connection. It is the responsibility of the poster (and anyone who
responds) to make the local connection explicit in their post.
In short, if you can't find a way of introducing the word "Headington" or
"Marston" directly into your message without deviousness, the message is
unlikely to be relevant for this forum.