Membership rules and standards for the Congleton Pride Digital Community (CPCD) WhatsApp group
By joining the group, I hereby agree to the following:
- Membership of the Congleton Pride Digital Community (CPCD) will be open to anyone from the LGBTQIA+ community and others who are interested in helping the group to achieve its objectives and are willing to abide by the rules of the group, which apply equally face-to-face and also in on-line discussions.
- Membership will be open to anyone who lives or works within 3 miles of the Congleton Town boundary. It is also open to anyone who has established links with the town.
- The admins (made up primary from the Congleton Pride committee and trustees) may, by a resolution passed at a formal meeting, terminate or suspend the membership of any member if, in its opinion, their conduct is prejudicial to the interests and objectives of Congleton Pride. The individual member will have the right to be heard by the admins before a final decision is made.
- The admins will have the power to refuse membership, or remove membership from an existing member, on a two thirds majority vote where it is considered that such membership is, or would be, detrimental to the furtherance of the objectives of the group. The decision of the admin on matters of membership will be final and correspondence will not be entered into.
- This is an inclusive and welcoming community that respects and celebrates all identities.
- Discriminatory or offensive language will not be tolerated.
- Show respect for all members of the group.
- No bullying or aggressive behaviour towards ANY member of the group.
- No negative comments towards any other member(s). Constructive comments are, of course, always welcome.
- Remember that not everyone has the same experiences, and that all experiences are valid.
- Please be respectful and willing to do the work to understand the issues. We welcome allies, however anyone engaging in ‘bad-faith’ posting, repeat questioning, homophobic, bi-phobic or transphobic etc. posting will be immediately removed.
- Please include content warnings when discussing sensitive topics.
- These are community discussion groups where it is expected that members may share knowledge and lived experiences. However, please do not offer advice that you are not qualified to give. In particular, please avoid giving professional legal or medical advice. If you require such professional advice, you should consult a solicitor or doctor. It is OK to signpost resources, but please only signpost resources you are familiar with. Signposting advice will not lead to responsibility for outcomes an individual may have.
- Be patient. We have a volunteer admin team made up of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies, who share these values. Please follow any requests made by the group admins, and reach out to one of us if you have any questions or concerns.
- The admin team will attempt to resolve issues informally where possible, as soon as they can, but may remove messages and/or members from the group, or temporarily close the chat if necessary. If you have any concerns with an admin’s actions, please contact another member of the admin team.
- Please remember that all electronic communications have limited security. Do not engage in posting that might cause harm (to yourself or others) if shared outside the community.
Congleton Pride Digital Community Structure
CPDC is a structured WhatsApp group, after joining the main group using the link below you can select which of the groups you want to join.
https://chat.whatsapp.com/BXGvVzO8KDAGGqlCOARhTO
The layout and accessibility of CPDC will depend on the system you are using to access WhatsApp. Community groups you are in can be found under the community icon. When you then select CPCD you will see which of the groups you are in and at the bottom which groups you can join. General WhatsApp help can be found on https://faq.whatsapp.com.
Announcements: This group is a space for the admin team to share announcements about Congleton Pride organising and activity, and sharing actions/events protests etc. The admins are not able to vet every non-Congleton Pride action/event; sharing an event/action/protest in the Announcements group does not mean Congleton Pride or the admin team endorse or otherwise support it or the organisers of it.
Introductions: A group for new people to say hello and introduce themselves.
General / off topic chat: This group is for off topic discussion and all community guidelines apply to it. Many folks are seeking connection with others so this space is for people to connect socially.
News: News related to the LGBTQIA+ communities, use content warnings if needed and archive links to avoid tracking cookies etc. (https://archive.ph/).
Past times and sports: Interests/hobbies/sports
Ally talk: For all forms of ally talk and support.
Politics: for discussion of politics.
Parents: Parents of LGBTQIA+ and LGBTQIA+ who are parents.
LGBTQIA+ Groups are specifically for folks who identify as that only, to have social chit chat and have a safe space for support in self discovery, coming out etc. The admin team will not be asking people to prove that they are part of one of these groups; it is taken on good faith that only folks who identify as such will request to join. These groups have advanced chat privacy turned on.
Gay/MLM Chat
Lesbian/WLW/Sapphic Chat
Bi/Pan Chat
Queer Chat
Trans/Non-Binary/Agender Chat
Intersex Chat
Any questions or inquires can be made using our contact form or emailing hello@congletonpride.co.uk.