Social Media Policy

The Social Media team manages the following accounts on behalf of FENS:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/FENSorg
Twitter – https://twitter.com/FENSorg
LinkedIn –  https://www.linkedin.com/company/federation-of-european-neuroscience-societies—fens/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/fens_org/

FENS posts follow the standards, practices and tone pre-established by social media users who are interested in access to information and related issues. We make an effort to ensure that our posts are inviting, instructive and sometimes entertaining.

Information Concerning

• FENS and related events in the field
• FENS Forum promotion
• Current events, news, interesting facts, quotes, videos or comments relating to Neuroscience, etc.

Where appropriate, FENS accounts may post comments containing links to websites not operated by the FENS Social Media Team. These links are provided solely for the convenience and interest of users. As is customary, FENS is not responsible for the accuracy, timeliness or reliability of the content on these sites. FENS offers no guarantees in this regard, and is not responsible for information contained on these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

The retransmission of a tweet (Twitter) or use of the “share” function (Facebook) does not mean that FENS endorses the information. We may relay news, links and personal observations that we consider relevant to FENS social media participants.

The fact that FENS decides to follow a user does not mean that it supports that user, or his or her views. We follow accounts that we consider relevant to the field.

Similarly, FENS does not support all users who follow one of the FENS accounts. We will take steps to remove or block a follower only if it is clear that the follower is a “robot” or is not respecting comments etiquette.

Comments and interaction are strongly encouraged. All wall posts (Facebook) as well as @Replies and direct messages (Twitter) will be read. Any emerging themes and helpful suggestions will be passed to the appropriate person at FENS. While we will not be able to respond individually to every message, messages will be treated on a case-by-case basis, and we will reply to them when we consider it appropriate.

If we think that a comment or a question requires a response or further clarification, we may make an official response and disseminate the information through our other channels, such as our website or other social media.

Facebook users may use the “like” function on the FENS accounts. In doing so, they allow FENS posts and updates to appear on their news feed.

You must have a valid Facebook account to “like” the FENS accounts.

We welcome your comments, and expect that the conversation observes the general rules of a respectful civil discourse. You assume full responsibility for your comments, and all comments are in the public domain. Please be sure that your comments are relevant and courteous.

Note that FENS does not tolerate offensive, disrespectful or abusive comments about an individual or organization. We do not discriminate against any opinions, but we also reserve the right to modify or refuse comments which are any of the following:

• racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, defamatory, insulting or life-threatening;
• serious, unproven or inaccurate accusations against individuals or organizations;
• aggressive, coarse, violent, obscene or pornographic;
• personal attacks or defamatory statements;
• comments that encourage or suggest unlawful activity;
• messages not written by the sender (or the copyright holder, as appropriate);
• messages written in a language other than English;
• comments not sent by the author or comments posted by anonymous or “robot” accounts;
• repetitive copy-and-paste comments by multiple users;
• messages that are unintelligible or unrelated to the topic;
• messages posted in capitals only (these are difficult to read and can convey the impression of shouting);
• messages too far off topic;
• any other message which, in the view of the forum moderators, does not follow the normal flow of discussion.

In brief, be respectful and ensure that your comments are relevant to the section in which they are posted.

Any individual who does not adhere to these terms of use may be excluded temporarily or permanently from the dialogue spaces. Users may also be reported to Facebook or Twitter if they do not adhere to the service provider’s terms of use.

Other Important Remarks

We are unable to respond to all comments posted; however, we will attempt to take part in discussions where possible.
The opinions of participants commenting on these pages do not necessarily reflect the opinions of FENS.
You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and the information provided. To protect your own privacy and that of others, please do not include telephone numbers or email addresses in your comments.
Users may post video responses provided that they respect this comments etiquette.
We do not consider comments concerning the work or professional activity of persons employed by FENS.

The Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts of FENS are public. They represent our presence on the social media of third-party service providers. Users are encouraged to read the privacy policies of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Information shared with FENS via social media is considered public. This means that the information you share through FENS’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts can be captured, stored, consulted and disclosed in response to a request.

To protect your own privacy and that of others, FENS recommends that you not include personal information in your comments or in the content you post. Personal information includes home addresses, telephone numbers, photographs containing images of identifiable individuals, and any other information consisting of personal information.

Certain FENS employees have accounts on various social media. Despite their professional affiliation with FENS, their posts do not represent the official position of FENS. They are to be considered instead as the personal product of private citizens.

FENS has several means of connecting with you on social media. Utilise the FENS website as a tool for getting started and a resource: www.forum.fens.org

If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact us through our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or through this email address: office@fens.org.