Acceptable use

As mentioned earlier in this infoKit, implementing social software requires a culture of transparency. Since social software is generally seen as being open and uncensored, this can cause serious concerns for organisations, who fear that they may be bombarded with libellous or obscene comments, which could have far-reaching consequences. Some educational organisations react to this by attempting to curb access altogether - for example, blocking any web sites with the word 'blog' in the URL. However, not only is this difficult to achieve - filtering software can be very hit and miss - it will prevent access to a wealth of useful and informative resources. It is also attempting to swim against the tide - the popularity of social software, particularly in the education sector, is growing all the time, so rather than attempt to ban it, it may be wiser to allow access, but ensure that policies and protocols are in place to deal with any issues. A culture of mutual trust and respect is more likely to encourage sensible use than a culture of censorship and distrust. Furthermore, if policies are developed with input from those who will be using it, rather than imposed from above, they are more likely to succeed. In practice, most social network communities are self-policing, and the novelty of vandalising or posting abusive messages will soon wear off.

Nonetheless, most tools can be configured in such a way as to give an organisation local control - for example, only allowing registered users to post blog comments or to edit a wiki. It is also essential to have an acceptable use policy (AUP). Apart from setting out guidelines, in the event of any potential legal issues, an organisation should be able to demonstrate that it has taken reasonable steps to prevent untoward incidents. Here are a couple of examples of AUPs related to university blogging services from Sunderland and Warwick.