About Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Don’t you sometimes just want to escape? Explore the natural beauty of Cook County for an hour, a day or even a night. When you’re surrounded by 70,000 acres of wild and wonderful, there’s no better place to feel free. This page has been created for the River Trail Nature Center and its visitors to share news, ideas and events. We welcome your engagem
ent and feedback, but comments posted by a member of the public are the opinion of the poster only, and do not necessarily imply endorsement of or reflect the opinions or policies of the Forest Preserves. Comments containing any of the following content will not be permitted and are subject to removal and/or restriction at any time and without prior notice:
• Obscene, sexual or pornographic content and/or language
• Content that promotes discrimination by the government on the basis of race, age, religion, gender or other protected class
• Private, personal information published without consent
• True threats to any person
• Conduct that violates any federal, state, or local law or encourages illegal activity
• Spam, commercial promotions or links to malware or viruses
• Actual defamation
The Forest Preserves reserves the right to deny access to our social media sites for any individual who repeatedly violates the Forest Preserves social media policy, at any time and without prior notice. All comments posted to any Forest Preserves social site are bound by the social media platform’s terms of use or code of conduct. Users who enter private or personal information do so at their own risk, and the Forest Preserves is not responsible for any damages resulting from the public display of, or failure to remove, private or personal information. Content posted on the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s social media sites may be subject to disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and retention under the Local Records Act. This policy and terms of use may be amended from time-to-time, without further notice. If you encounter questionable content in comments that may violate our rules as posted, it is always better to reach out to the Communications Team for assistance before making a decision on whether or not to delete. As social media and free speech cases are brought before litigators and new precedent is set, our moderation policy may change. The Forest Preserves Communications Team will provide necessary updates to all individuals and supervisors would assist with operating any of the Forest Preserves of Cook County social media channels. As stated in the updated policy, comments containing any of the following content will not be permitted and are subject to removal and/or restriction at any time and without prior notice. Below are some guidelines on how to interpret the rules. Obscene, sexual or pornographic content and/or language
Use of a swear word is an obscenity, but not necessarily obscene. If so, it does not meet the legal standard for moderation in a public forum. In the Supreme Court's 1964 landmark case on obscenity and pornography, Justice Potter Stewart famously wrote: "I know it when I see it." This remains a key influence in cases of obscenity/sexual/pornographic content. In many cases, it will be obvious that a comment has obscene, sexual or pornographic content. However, it is best to contact the Forest Preserves Communications team to advise further when it is less clear when shared content rises to the level of needing removal per this situation. Content that promotes discrimination by the government on the basis of race, age, religion, gender, or other protected class
The key here is that the content promotes discrimination by the government. Examples:
• Raccoon shares a comment on the Forest Preserves page saying they hate all Red-headed Woodpeckers, and in fact, they hate all animals with “Red” in their name because Raccoon thinks the color red is ugly (in this case, consider animals with the word “red” in their name a protected class). This comment is permitted to stay posted. While the Forest Preserves does not agree with the statement, Raccoon has a First Amendment right to express their hate speech in a government-sponsored public forum.
• Raccoon shares a comment on the Forest Preserves page saying they hate all animals with “Red” in their name, and that the Forest Preserves should no longer provide picnic permits to Red-headed Woodpeckers, Red-tailed Hawks any all other animals that are red. This comment can be removed because it promotes discrimination by the Forest Preserves against certain animals in a protected class. Private, personal information published without consent
Example:
• White-tailed Deer and their neighbor Coyote live on land abutting the Forest Preserves. Recently, White-tailed Deer saw that Coyote was building a new agility course in an open area that would be considered Forest Preserves property. Instead of emailing the Forest Preserves to notify us of this suspected encroachment, White-tailed Deer posted on the Forest Preserves page, “My neighbor Coyote, who lives at 123 White Oak Lane, is encroaching on Forest Preserves land. Please address.”
Because this complaint was posted on Facebook, and personal information was published (Coyote’s address), the post should be removed. True threats to any person
Wishing ill will is considered different than making a true threat against an individual. To rise to the level of being deleted, a comment must be a threatening statement. Examples:
• Big Mouth Bass felt upset by a photo that Small Mouth Bass included in a comment on Little Red Schoolhouse’s page. Expressing their anger, Big Mouth Bass commented “I hope you get caught by an angler and made into dinner.”
This is not a true threat against Small Mouth Bass—he has no power to make it happen. This is an ill wish against another individual, and Big Mouth Bass has a First Amendment right to wish ill against others.
• Skunk saw that Red-Tail Hawk complained about River Trail’s annual Fall Fest via comment on their page. This upset Skunk, and they responded, “When I see you at River Trail next, I will blast you in the face with my foul-smelling spray.”
This is a true threat against another individual and can be removed per our Social Media Policy. Conduct that violates any federal, state, or local law or encourages illegal activity
Example:
• Chipmunk loves to make mushroom soup, and occasionally grabs a selection of mushrooms while exploring different natural areas. One day, Chipmunk found a patch of delicious mushrooms during a visit to a Forest Preserves location. They snapped a picture and posted it to the Forest Preserves page stating, “I found these yummy mushrooms at LaBagh Woods! If you want to make a quick and delicious mushroom soup, I recommend you come by and grab a couple before they’re gone!”
Foraging is against our local law, and Chipmunk has encouraged illegal activity. For this reason, their post can be removed. Spam, commercial promotions, or links to malware or viruses
Forest Preserves accounts have been targeted as a place to put up comments that are fishing to make money or hack into accounts. Sometimes these are not obviously posted with this intention, but there are common patterns. Note: In the past, our moderation practices would have us remove posts promoting a cause or encouraging users to participate in surveys. With these new moderation guidelines, we will now let those types of posts to remain. Examples:
• Blue Heron commented on Crabtree Nature Center’s recent Facebook post. A couple hours later, Blue Heron received a reply from River Otter, an individual that Blue Heron has never met before. River Otter said, “Excuse me, you don’t know me, but you seem like a nice individual and I’d like to be friends. Life is better with friends. If you agree, please send me a friend request.”
This is a common spam post by nefarious social media users who want to establish rapport with others before making an ask, typically financial. Because it is spam, this post can be removed.
• While visiting Sand Ridge Nature Center’s page, Garter Snake noticed a comment from Eastern Screech Owl on a recent post in which Eastern Screech Owl was promoting new hats adorned with the Forest Preserves logo, encouraging other Facebook users to click a link to purchase. This is a spam post and commercial promotion to steal user’s banking information. This type of post can be deleted.
• Local outdoors gear store owner, Red Fox, is planning a big weekend sale on hiking shoes and socks and decided to post promotions on Facebook. He knows the Forest Preserves hosts a lot of hiking programs throughout the year and shares the sale promotion to the Forest Preserves page, encouraging followers to visit his store to buy new gear. While not autogenerated spam, this is a commercial promotion. This type of post can be deleted. Actual defamation
Defamation is false statements about a person, business or organization that damages their reputation. The key here is making statements that are untrue and presented as facts, rather than opinions. Examples:
• Kentucky Warbler and Connecticut Warbler have been in a long-standing feud over whose namesake state has the best smelling wildflowers in the summer. Their feud got increasingly heated and spilled over onto Sagawau Environmental Learning Center’s page. Connecticut Warbler noticed Kentucky Warbler commented on a post about techniques for building birdhouses. Because of the ongoing feud, Connecticut Warbler posted a response
to Kentucky Warbler saying, “If you ask me, I feel Kentucky Warbler only liked this information because their current birdhouse is probably lame and dirty.”
This is sharing an opinion. Though it is unkind, it is not stated as fact, and therefore is not defamatory. This comment would be left alone.
• Using the same scenario, imagine that Connecticut Warbler shared a comment stating, “I know Kentucky Warbler, and they are a poor birdhouse keeper. Their floors are filthy, and anyone who shares a meal with Kentucky Warbler inside their birdhouse will get sick.”
In this situation, Connecticut Warbler made false statements as fact, defaming Kentucky Warbler. This comment should be removed.
• A different scenario. Kentucky Warbler mostly forages on the forest floor, and a lot of other birds find this type of behavior funny or even embarrassing. If Connecticut Warbler posted “Who trusts Kentucky Warbler’s birdhouse ideas—they get their food on the ground!” it would not be defamation: Although Kentucky Warbler might not want that brought up, it is true, and this post should not be deleted. When to Engage
Social media can be an excellent tool for communicating and engaging with the public. Though not common, there may be certain situations in which social media managers want or need to respond to comments left by the public:
Answering a genuine question
We should treat social media similar to how we communicate with the public via email, etc. Our best efforts should made to answer all legitimate questions and engage in a fun and respectful manner with the public. Correcting misinformation for other visitors to read
If another poster shared information that is incorrect—whether or not it seems the individual is acting in bad faith—social media managers should share correct information. The goal is not to get into a debate, but to ensure that the right facts (not opinions) are clear to other page visitors. Requesting civility
At times, the public may engage in contentious discourse, sometimes sharing posts using charged or disrespectful language. While we will allow these conversations to run their course, at times social media managers may need to request civility.
• Example post: “Please keep the discussion to the issue and refrain from personal attacks or insults.”
Clarifying the Forest Preserves’ values
With any public forum, broad opinions and ideas may be shared, some that will be in conflict with the Forest Preserves of Cook County or your own ideas. When extreme discourse occurs that goes against our values, social media managers may want to provide clarification that opinions are not shared.
• Example: “The Forest Preserves of Cook County/Specific Location’s page is a public forum. Views and opinions posted by members of the public do not reflect the views and opinions of the Forest Preserves of Cook County.”
As always, reach out to the Communications Department for support as needed. Comment/Post Removal Process
Post or comment removal should only occur in consultation with the Communications Department. Before removing any comment or post, take a screen shot and save the image to a file with the name of the user, the reason for removal and the date. This information may be needed should there be any dispute over the legality of the Forest Preserves’ moderation decision. Examples:
• Skunk_Threat_Aug2024
• ConnecticutWarbler_Defamation_Aug2024
In nearly all cases, it is best practice to direct message the individual who has violated our moderation policy to let them know their post is being removed, along with the reason why. They should also be informed that we welcome their participation in the page and can repost their comment following our guidelines. The screenshot of the original post should be shared with the Communications Department to archive. Example direct message:
Hi XX. We are removing your comment because it contains a direct threat/obscenity/commercial promotion, etc. You are welcome to share your opinion, but we remove comments that violate our page rules (https://www.facebook.com/FPDCC/about_details). The policy can be found here: https://fpdcc.com/social-media-policy/
