Playing by the rules
When running any kind of community, it’s important to have some basic guidelines and constraints in which presenters (and indeed listeners to some extent) should operate.
People will always push against the barriers. If these are not defined, you are leaving yourself open to all sorts of behaviour. 1Radio’s rules defined what was acceptable on air and in the shoutbox.
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Be considerate and respectful
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Don’t post personal contact details
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Don’t use multiple names
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Don’t overly promote other shows or stations
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Don’t try to poach presenters
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Don’t overly criticise the station, presenters, listeners, moderators
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Post in English
Shoutbox behaviour was really just common sense. It required that people were generally considerate and respectful of others. We asked for no offensive, abusive or racist comments. We also asked that conversation was in English. This possibly seems a strange restriction but for a while, 1Radio was very popular in Malta. We had a few Maltese DJs who had an unerring ability to bring in a large audience. These shows would regularly attract a large chatty contingent of Maltese listeners who conducted conversations in their own language with no regard for the other English speakers present.
The issue of multiple shoutbox names is a contentious one. For most people, it's a practical measure to avoid abuse. For some, it was a means to mislead or offend and be irresponsible.
For most people intent on having a fun and enjoyable experience, these rules were common sense and for the vast majority of people, not in the least bit burdensome. But for some, it was the proverbial "red rag to a bull".
Posted by Tim on Fri 01 Jul 2022 at 11:22 and viewed 1,392 times.
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