We founded OpenFile in the belief that local news should be a conversation, not a monologue. That said, we understand that the issues, events and personalities that shape our community can be divisive. When healthy debate degenerates into name-calling, personal attacks or hate speech, that’s when we have to step in. We do not call this censorship. We call this respecting others.

Personal attacks/hate speech

Hostile remarks or hate speech aimed at an individual or group based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender and/or sexual orientation will not be tolerated in the comment posts or other points of contact throughout the website.

Spamming

Do not post comments or content with a commercial interest (including spam and link spam).

Plagiarism

Plagiarism, including failure to acknowledge source material and posting of unlicensed imagery and video, will not be tolerated.

Obscenity & legal issues

Don’t post comments or content that can be construed as libelous, obscene, pornographic, racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. Also, don’t post material that’s untrue, misleading, that misrepresents yourself or impersonates someone else.

Do not break the law or otherwise endanger yourself or others in order to get great images or video. Some stuff really isn’t worth the price you’ll pay to capture it.

Consequences

Violation of the Community Guidelines may result in suspension of the offending user’s account. Suspended users will be barred from logging in to the site, posting comments and uploading content. Repeat offenders may have their accounts deleted at OpenFile’s discretion.

These rules apply to everyone who uses and visits the OpenFile.ca site. We want OpenFile to be a fun, respectful, positive and safe place for everyone.