Government Offices State Headquarters Office

Social Media User Agreement

The following terms and conditions constitute the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) Social Media User Agreement. This agreement governs the use of our social media sites. Please read this agreement carefully. If you use any part of VDOF’s social media sites, you agree to comply with this agreement. The terms and conditions of this agreement may be modified at any time.

Comments
Comments submitted by the public to our social media sites are reviewed by VDOF staff and may be hidden or deleted if the comments violate this agreement.

Comments should be related to the specific topic as it appears in the agency’s social media page or post.

You are subject to the Terms of Service of the host site which is a third-party entity separate from our agency. Consequently, any information (photos, videos, etc.) you share with or post to our official agency sites is also subject to the terms of service of the host site whose owners may use the information you share for their own purposes.

VDOF’s social media accounts are not intended to accept and display comments promoting or opposing any person campaigning for election to political office, or to promote or advertise a business or commercial transaction, product or service.

The use of obscene, threatening or harassing language is prohibited.

The cordial expression of opposing points of view is permissible. However, personal attacks against an individual for any reason are prohibited, including attacks or offensive comments that target or disparage any ethnic, racial, age, or religious group, gender, sexual orientation or disability status.

Comments advocating illegal activity or posting of material that violates copyrights or trademarks of others are prohibited.

Editing and Deletions
VDOF reserves the right to review, edit, move, or delete any information or material submitted to our social media sites. VDOF reserves the right to block and ban visitors who violate the terms and conditions of this agreement.

The following materials or information shall not be submitted to VDOF’s social media site and are subject to review, editing, moving, or deletion as stated above:

Obscene or threatening language or hate speech based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability.

Abusive, defamatory, or sexually explicit language or materials.

Promotions of services, products or political organizations.

Information of a personal or sensitive nature, including but not limited to phone numbers, email addresses, or postal addresses.

Repeated off-topic posts by a single user.

Repetitive posts copied and pasted by multiple users.

Posts or comments that advocate illegal activity.

Infringement on copyrights or trademarks.

Requests for information
Communications made through VDOF social media outlets do not constitute a legal or official notice or comment.