The Charter Group Birdcams live chat and moderation rules
Here you will find a few guidelines we have developed for live chat on Charter Group Birdcams (CGB), the YouTube channel of the Charter Group of Wildlife Ecology (Shamir Research Institute and the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Haifa).
Keep in mind that the Charter Group of Wildlife Ecology is primarily a research group, and our cameras are used for research purposes. We observe and study wildlife, but we do not engineer it. This precludes any intervention. Any attempt to provide extra food or to ‘rescue’ an animal in apparent distress, etc., would result in skewed data. An exception may only be made, consistent with the law, if a species is subject to a conservation programme or an invasive species is involved. Please respect this general policy.
Note also that the content streamed by Charter Group Birdcams is protected by copyright. If you wish to use any of the content, remember that you are under the obligation to clear the copyright in it. The first step is always to contact CGB at chartergroup@labs.hevra.haifa.ac.il.
Below are a few more specific rules designed to enhance your experience of our wildlife cameras. Our moderators (chatters marked with a blue spanner) will enforce these rules to keep the chat open, pleasant and informative.
Chat rules
1. Use English or Hebrew in this chat. If you do not speak English or Hebrew, please use any of the free online translators available. Never criticize or make fun of another chatter’s English.
2. Chat should generally be about the content streamed. Do not discuss politics, religion, sports, etc. Posts that bear no relation to the content being streamed may be deleted. Do not start 'roll call' requests in chat; a 'roll call' is a question designed to elicit responses from other chatters.
3. Be kind to other chatters. Respect their opinions, even if you do not agree. Do not be rude or get into arguments. Do not post in all capital letters.
4. Do not use obscene language, including acronyms and euphemisms for swear words, sexually explicit or sexual innuendo comments, or hate speech. Charter Group Birdcams is a family-friendly channel, viewed by people of all ages.
5. Use emojis (e.g. 😊) and special characters (e.g. #) sparingly. Use no more than two emojis/special characters per post, please.
6. Avoid using panic language if you notice something unusual, and remember that this is a wildlife project with strictly limited interference by the team.
7. Do not make false claims. Naturally, everybody is allowed to err, but the deliberate spreading of false information in order to mislead other viewers (i.e. disinformation) will not be accepted.
8. Do not advertise other sites or products, including videos. Do not ask for donations.
9. If a rule is broken and no moderator is present, do not engage. You may refer the offender to the chat rules.
10. Last but not least: remember that our moderators are human. Please respect their decisions.
Sanctions
11. Blocking a Mod or otherwise ignoring a Mod who has tagged you for a violation may result in being banned from chatting.
A chatter who violates the rules will be warned. If they continue to act in breach of the rules despite being warned, they may be either timed out or permanently blocked from the channel. Any flagrant violation of the rules will immediately result in the chatter being permanently blocked. Inappropriate comments will be deleted.
All videos and streams by the Charter Group Birdcams are Copyrighted.
Keep in mind that the Charter Group of Wildlife Ecology is primarily a research group, and our cameras are used for research purposes. We observe and study wildlife, but we do not engineer it. This precludes any intervention. Any attempt to provide extra food or to ‘rescue’ an animal in apparent distress, etc., would result in skewed data. An exception may only be made, consistent with the law, if a species is subject to a conservation programme or an invasive species is involved. Please respect this general policy.
Note also that the content streamed by Charter Group Birdcams is protected by copyright. If you wish to use any of the content, remember that you are under the obligation to clear the copyright in it. The first step is always to contact CGB at chartergroup@labs.hevra.haifa.ac.il.
Below are a few more specific rules designed to enhance your experience of our wildlife cameras. Our moderators (chatters marked with a blue spanner) will enforce these rules to keep the chat open, pleasant and informative.
Chat rules
1. Use English or Hebrew in this chat. If you do not speak English or Hebrew, please use any of the free online translators available. Never criticize or make fun of another chatter’s English.
2. Chat should generally be about the content streamed. Do not discuss politics, religion, sports, etc. Posts that bear no relation to the content being streamed may be deleted. Do not start 'roll call' requests in chat; a 'roll call' is a question designed to elicit responses from other chatters.
3. Be kind to other chatters. Respect their opinions, even if you do not agree. Do not be rude or get into arguments. Do not post in all capital letters.
4. Do not use obscene language, including acronyms and euphemisms for swear words, sexually explicit or sexual innuendo comments, or hate speech. Charter Group Birdcams is a family-friendly channel, viewed by people of all ages.
5. Use emojis (e.g. 😊) and special characters (e.g. #) sparingly. Use no more than two emojis/special characters per post, please.
6. Avoid using panic language if you notice something unusual, and remember that this is a wildlife project with strictly limited interference by the team.
7. Do not make false claims. Naturally, everybody is allowed to err, but the deliberate spreading of false information in order to mislead other viewers (i.e. disinformation) will not be accepted.
8. Do not advertise other sites or products, including videos. Do not ask for donations.
9. If a rule is broken and no moderator is present, do not engage. You may refer the offender to the chat rules.
10. Last but not least: remember that our moderators are human. Please respect their decisions.
Sanctions
11. Blocking a Mod or otherwise ignoring a Mod who has tagged you for a violation may result in being banned from chatting.
A chatter who violates the rules will be warned. If they continue to act in breach of the rules despite being warned, they may be either timed out or permanently blocked from the channel. Any flagrant violation of the rules will immediately result in the chatter being permanently blocked. Inappropriate comments will be deleted.
All videos and streams by the Charter Group Birdcams are Copyrighted.
