City of Chadron Twitter Policy

1 General

1.1 Definitions

The following are short descriptions of the various ways Twitter can be used to communicate.

Direct Messages

A Direct Message is a private message sent directly from a profile being followed to a follower. Direct messages can only be sent to followers and can only be viewed by them.

Following

Following a Twitter profile can be likened to ‘subscribing’ to their channel. When you choose to follow a Twitter account you will be sent all of their Tweets as they are made.

Mentions

A mention is a Tweet referring to another profile by including a “@profilename” in the tweet. This is what happens when you “reply” to a tweet. Mentions are also publicly viewable to everyone.

Re-Tweet

A Re-Tweet is a cited reposting of a Tweet from another profile. This allows you to bring attention to someone else’s tweet via your own profile. Re-Tweets are publicly viewable by everyone.

Tweets

A Tweet is a message posted to the Twitter account and sent to followers of the account. Tweets are publicly viewable to everyone.

1.2 Tweeting

All City of Chadron tweets will fall into one of the following categories: Council Information, Announcements, and Emergency Information. Such things as Policy Changes affecting the public, Billing Due Dates, Job Openings, Construction Information, and Press Releases will fall under Announcements.

Such things as opinion, speculation, or any confidential/non-public information will not be tweeted.

1.3 Replying to Tweets

We will not use Direct Messages to communicate with our followers as this would exclude them from public view/record. All replies to public individuals will be viewable by everyone else. Thusly, the only method the City of Chadron will use to reply to other Twitter users will be through mentions.

Replying will only be in the form of factually answering legitimate questions or correcting public statements directed at us that are not factually accurate. In addition, the City of Chadron reserves the right to choose whether or not to reply to a statement or question. The decision of whether or not to make a reply rests with designated City of Chadron employees and ultimately the City Manager.

2 Following

Decisions of who we will follow will rest with designated City of Chadron employees, and ultimately the City Manager. In addition, decisions about who the City of Chadron follows will adhere to the following guidelines.

We will only follow public organizations, figures, or other entities related to the City of Chadron. E.g. following Senator Johanns, USAgov, or Chadron State College would be okay, while following John Smith, the NRA, or the Methodist Church profile would not. Also, we will not “auto-follow” people who choose to follow us.

3 Disclaimer

3.1 Twitter Issues

Twitter is a free 3rd party service and is in no way affiliated with the City of Chadron. The City of Chadron is simply making use of Twitter’s services and cannot be held responsible for issues with this service or any issues arising from the use of Twitter. These issues may include, but are not limited to, Twitter being down or nonfunctional, inability to access Twitter, and any potential harm caused by the use of Twitter.

3.1 Tweeting

The City of Chadron is not liable for erroneous information or misunderstandings of Tweets made through its account. There will be a strong effort to make consistent, accurate, and valuable updates and publishing of City information, but there is no guarantee of the timeliness or content of Tweets. Twitter is a supplemental service provided by the City of Chadron and should not be substituted for obtaining important information directly from City Hall or various City Departments.

3.2 Policy Changes

The City of Chadron reserves the right to change its Twitter policies, as and when it deems it necessary.