Moderator Policy (issued September 2022)

1. Introduction

Modern email technology allows the swift free-flow of information within an organisation. However, it is important that internal users - whether staff or students – do not abuse that system by mass-mailing frivolous, malicious or irrelevant messages to the entire address book or large groups of users.

1.1 Background and aims

QMU internal and external mail services are currently provided by Microsoft Office 365. Microsoft Outlook is used as the mail client software on the computer desktop. QMU has created an email ‘Moderator’ service to maintain the efficiency of the mail system, stop the proliferation of unnecessary ‘junk’ mails, ensure that important messages are not ‘lost’ in the ‘noise’ of excessive emails, and generally prevent abuse.

This document sets out the policy and processes for using the ‘Moderator’ facility and mail distribution lists more generally.

Distribution of information

Moderator distributes information in two ways:

Delivery of emails to staff and student email inboxes
Posting of messages on the ‘Staff News Digest’ section of the intranet and to the Student News section of the QMU website.

2. Policy

2.1 General

All QMU staff and student email addresses are organised into groups called distribution lists. This facilitates communication within subject areas, schools and departments.

However, it is important that both staff and students understand the appropriate use of these distribution lists.

What you may do
QMU staff and students may email all staff and / or all students in their subject area via the [Subject] Staff and [Subject code] Students distribution lists.

e.g.

Psychology & Sociology staff may send an email to both the Psychology & Sociology - Staff and PSS Students distribution lists.

Psychology & Sociology students may send an email to the PSS Students distribution list.

What you may not do
QMU staff and students cannot not send an email to the undernoted distribution lists:

All Staff
All Students

Additionally, staff and students must not attempt to circumvent the distribution lists rule by individually selecting all users’ names or all distribution lists from the global address list in Microsoft Outlook.

Arranging messages to all staff or students
Any message intended for mass distribution to all staff or students must be sent to the Moderator service for approval and circulation.

2.2 Acceptance of messages

Messages distributed to all staff and/or all students

Messages for distribution to all staff are generally issued via Moderator in the daily ‘Staff Moderator Digest’. Moderator Digest messages are also published in the ‘Staff News Digest’ section of the intranet. Stand-alone Moderator messages can be issued in particular circumstances though the aim is to keep these to a minimum.

Messages for distribution to all students are generally issued weekly via Moderator in the ‘Weekly Student News’. Stand-alone Moderator can be issued in particular circumstances though the aim is to keep these to a minimum.

Only messages that are related to QMU business will be accepted for distribution.

The types of messages that will be distributed are:

Messages or announcements from the Principal, Deputy Principal, deans and other senior managers which are intended for all or most staff and / or students and related to QMU business and operations.
Messages regarding QMU or campus events of interest to a wide range of staff and students.
Messages relating to the operation and business of QMU – e.g. open days.
Messages relating to disruption or changes in QMU services – e.g. Catering, LRC, IT etc.
Messages from Security staff, the Health & Safety Officer or Facilities staff regarding the health and welfare of staff and students.
Messages from the Students’ Union.
Messages regarding the student elections.
Messages advertising QMU clubs and societies and sports teams.
Information for QMU students or staff from community organisations working in partnership with QMU. Generally, this will be limited to public or third sector organisations with EH postcodes, eg Charity and voluntary organisations.
Messages regarding staff vacancies or student job opportunities.
Messages directly from TU branch or member relating to TU matters, with the permission of the Head of HR

2.3 Rejection of messages

Messages which will not be distributed to all staff and / or all students

Messages promoting non-QMU events.
Messages offering items for sale or wanted.
Messages regarding to lost or found property.
Messages containing images.
Non-essential campus updates – e.g. car lights left on in car park
Messages addressed to a narrow sub-section of QMU staff and students that could be reached more directly in other ways.

The following messages will be rejected:

Messages containing commercial postings.
Messages of an offensive or discriminatory nature.
Messages promoting, suggesting or referring to any type of illegal activity.
Messages of a political or religious nature (unless related to QMU events).
Messages containing inappropriate wording, including offensive, abusive or foul language.
Messages which may infer or cause copyright or reprint permission problems.

This is not an exhaustive list and any message with is deemed inappropriate but not necessarily falling into the above categories will be referred to senior management within the institution prior to release. A reason for rejection will always be given directly to the sender.

3. Using the Moderator service

3.1 Procedure for using the Moderator service

Before calling on the Moderator, please consider if there is a more targeted way of reaching your audience. This is in everyone’s interest. The fewer Moderator messages there are, the greater the impact of each individual Moderator message.
When you do decide you need to use the Moderator service, simply compose an email message as normal in your QMU Microsoft Outlook account, following the guidance below.

Message format

Messages included in the Staff Moderator Digest or Weekly Student News will be formatted with the standard digest template to ensure presentation consistency. Messages to be issued as stand alone should still aim to conform to the following format:

Text should be black on a white background
Font should be Arial or similar
Where possible, avoid coloured text or graphics

Message content

The message must contain the following:

An appropriate subject title
The intended audience must be clearly stated – i.e. FAO All Staff
The message must end with an appropriate email ‘signature’:

For staff - originator’s name, job title, their department or subject area

For students - originator’s name and either a contact telephone number or a QMU email address
NB The Moderator service has no responsibility for the editorial content of messages. It is therefore in the interests of the individual to ensure that the information contained in their messages is correct, and to verify the details, spelling, grammar etc.

Rules on message repetition
To avoid information overload, messages will normally only be posted in Moderator Digest once. Messages will only be repeated on special request, and should appear no more than four times within a 12 week period.

Moderator address
All messages intended for distribution must be sent to: moderator@qmu.ac.uk

3.2 Processing of messages by Moderator

The Moderator service is provided by The Helpdesk and supported by the IT department.
All messages sent to the Moderator service are reviewed using the acceptance criteria detailed in section 2. If the message is deemed acceptable, it will be distributed appropriately. However, if the message is deemed inappropriate, or it otherwise fails to comply with Moderator policy, it will be returned to the originator with an explanation.

By default, all messages for staff are distributed in the daily ‘Staff Moderator Digest’. This is a collection of all messages submitted for distribution that day, formatted as a single email with a contents section to allow the recipient to quickly browse the headlines of the digest.

This digest is distributed to staff at 3:00pm each day. Cut off for the inclusion of messages in the staff digest is 2pm on the day of issue.

By default, all messages for students are distributed in the ‘Weekly Student News’ which is issued every Wednesday at 2pm. The cut off for inclusion of messages in the Weekly Student News is noon on the day of issue.

If a request is received to send a message as a stand-alone message, then it must comply with the following criteria:

Stand-alone Email Criteria

Staff
Emergency communication (e.g. building closure due to adverse weather).

A major strategic announcement (e.g. creation of a new centre in the University or significant building work).

Announcements of re-structuring at divisional level or above.

Announcements of leavers to QMU to sign leaving card / contribute to collections.

Major news, e.g. something about the University which is likely to hit the front pages of the local or national press.

Significant policy announcement (e.g. a new policy of which all staff should be aware)

Communications from senior leadership team member about significant matters which impact on a high proportion of the staff community (e.g. NSS results)

Messages relating to unexpected high impact disruption or changes in QMU services – e.g. IT software failure

Significant and important newsletters from working groups relating to their ongoing work and key messages, with the approval of the Director of Marketing and Communications. (Where possible, we will simply provide links to newsletters in the Moderator Digest).

Students
Announcements about examinations.

Emergency communication (e.g. building closure due to adverse weather).

Major news (e.g. purchase of a new building, investment from a partner of above £0.5m).

Significant policy announcement (e.g. a new policy of which all students should be aware).

Communications from senior leadership team members about significant matters which impact on a high proportion of the student community (e.g. NSS results).

Messages relating to unexpected high impact disruption or changes in QMU services – e.g. IT software failure

Invitations to professorial and other public lectures will be issued as stand-alone Moderator messages in order to give them additional impact and require no further authorisation. The Marketing and Communications Team can issue stand-alone Moderator messages where appropriate. All other requests for messages to be sent outwith the daily/weekly digest which do not meet the above criteria will require approval from the requestor’s Senior Leadership team member.

The Moderator service is monitored throughout standard working hours (0800 until 1700 Monday to Friday), and approved messages will be distributed as soon as possible within that time and depending on compliance with the above criteria.

For priority distribution of urgent messages, please contact the Helpdesk in the first instance.

4. Failure to comply with Moderator policy

The penalties for individuals failing to comply with the Moderator policy include, but are not limited to:

Disabling of QMU network and email accounts.
Referral to head of division or service.

Where an individual’s account has been disabled, it can only be re-enabled following approval from the appropriate head of division or service or senior leadership team member.

5. Appealing against a Moderator decision

If an individual’s message is refused for distribution by the Moderator service, they will receive clarification of the reasons via email.

If the individual then disagrees with this decision, they can request that the decision be reviewed. This can be done, either by contacting the Moderator service again and requesting a review, or via The Helpdesk (assist@qmu.ac.uk).

In such a situation, the Helpdesk can seek the advice of the Director of Marketing and Communications, who will make the final decision.

Further assistance

Further assistance and advice regarding the Moderator service may be obtained by contacting The Helpdesk (assist@qmu.ac.uk ).

Contact details are as follows:

The Helpdesk Phone: 0131 474 000, ask for Assist /Helpdesk

Email: assist@qmu.ac.uk