British Dressage has emailed members in all categories to outline changes to the BD members' forum which come into effect on 1 November. If you didn't receive your email, please find below email contents ahead of the changes:
Dear member,
We’re writing to you with some important changes to the popular British Dressage online forum. Since it was launched back in 2005, nearly 900,000 posts have been made to the forum, testament to its immense value to the sport.
It’s a great source for knowledge, a place for lively debate and somewhere to get help and advice, most of the time. However, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for our staff to moderate the content effectively, when some users fail to stick to the forum rules. We appreciate that the majority of users post on the forum without transgressing the rules but there are some who continually push the boundaries of what we deem to be acceptable. So, the British Dressage Board agreed that it was time to take some action.
To this end, we will now require all forum users to operate under the name supplied when joining as a member. Those who share a first and surname will be given numbers after their name by longevity of membership. For example, John Smith who joined in July 1996 will be John Smith 14 while John Smith who joined in October 2017 will be John Smith 37. It’s a practice used by popular social media sites like Facebook and we’d hope that members won’t be discouraged in any way to continue posting in a helpful, constructive and civil manner.
Plus, only paid members (Full, Premier Club, Club, Winter, Trial and Company) will be allowed to start threads and add posts. Free Associates will be able to read all threads in full, but not contribute. The same will apply for any paid members who have lapsed for two or more months. If you renew with any paid membership, your rights will be reinstated. We felt that use of the forum should be a benefit for our valued paying members while those who are interested in dressage (our Associate audience) could continue to follow the forum to get the current news and views, learn more about the sport and see what the hot topics are.
So when is this change happening? All threads and posts up until midnight on 31 October will retain the alias of the poster, but after that the registered membership name will appear. After then, from 1 November the new name format will be active.
We would like to emphasise that any posts previous to midnight on 31 October will still retain the alias, so please don’t worry that anything historical will suddenly change – you don’t have to go deleting anything that you don’t want your name associated with. However, we do hope that this policy change will encourage all BD members to be mindful of what they post in future, respect other forum users and adhere to our Social Media Policy and Code of Conduct at all times.
The forum rules remain in place and action will be taken for any transgressions in the same way as previously. With the 2018 Members’ Handbook landing on doorsteps, we would request that you carefully read the BD Social Media Policy as the forum is covered under it as well as other popular on-line sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The digital world can be a great place – instantly accessible information, support in times of need, direct communication – but we all have a duty to make it a safe place where everyone can interact confidently and feel safe from cyber-bullying. We believe it is absolutely necessary to ensure that the forum is a place for everyone to enjoy.
If you’re an Associate Member and want to retain your posting rights, you can join as a Club Member – it’s just £30 for the year, the equivalent of only £2.50 per month, which gives you a great range of benefits, including public liability and personal accident insurance.
If you require any help in managing the change or need to join or renew to enable you to post on the BD forum, please contact the team in the office:
Communications: 02476 698842 or winnie.murphy@britishdressage.co.uk
Membership: 02476 698832 or michelle.garland@britishdressage.co.uk
We hope that you continue to use the forum under the new format, as it’s a great community and provides a wealth of knowledge and insight, so keep up the positive, constructive and helpful content!
Penny Pollard Jason Brautigam
Chairman Chief Executive