Social Media Policy and Guidelines

The following guidelines apply to all users of City of Festus social media sites and pages. The purpose of the City of Festus’ social media is to disseminate information about the City to its residents, businesses, and visitors. We encourage you to submit your questions, comments, and posts to any official City social media outlet; however, please note that all City social media is monitored and/or moderated for appropriateness according to these guidelines.

We expect all comments and conversations on City social media pages to follow the rules of polite discourse and ask all participants to treat one another with respect. For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments posted must relate to the topic that is being discussed and/or congruent with the nature of the social media post. The City reserves the right to remove comments that violate these Guidelines.

Comments containing any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted on the City’s social media sites.

  • Profane, vulgar, or abusive language
  • Personal attacks
  • Threats to any person or organization
  • Advocating or inciting illegal activity
  • Sensitive, personally-identifiable or confidential information 
  • Offensive, discriminatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable statements, language, or content
  • Off-topic comments
  • Infringement of a copyright or trademark
  • Spam or repetitive content
  • Commercial or non-commercial promotion of a business, service, or political organization or individual 

A comment posted by a member of the public on any City social media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City.

The City’s social media accounts are for informational purposes only and are not monitored by City staff twenty-four hours a day. Therefore, anyone wishing to report a crime or request emergency, police, or fire assistance should do so by dialing 9-1-1.