Code of conduct

Code of conduct

Code governing the moderation of questions.

CandidateWatch and ParliamentWatch are intended to facilitate non-partisan and unbiased communication between individual citizens and their elected representatives The following stipulations apply both to the citizens asking questions, and to the candidates or elected representatives answering them.

All questions and answers received through CandidateWatch/ParliamentWatch are read by a team of moderators. Provided they do not breach this code, they are then cleared. Questioners must provide their full names as well as a valid e-mail address.

In the event of repeated breaches of the Code, the CandidateWatch/ParliamentWatch management team reserves the right - following consultation with the Board - to exclude the person and/or political party (political grouping) from the website. We also reserve the right to take legal action.

The following, in particular, will be deemed to be in breach of the Code and will not be cleared:

Questions which are racist, sexist or inflammatory, or which disrespect or deride the victims of totalitarianism, discrimination or persecution.
Questions worded in an insulting, abusive or dehumanising manner
Questions which intrude into someone's private life
Questions covered by professional confidentiality
Contributions which do not constitute a question or a request for a position, but merely express an opinion
Spam
A disproportionate number of questions per questioner/candidate/elected representative
Several supplementary questions (generally more than one)
Questions from persons working for a candidate, elected representative, party office or political group, and questions posed by the addressee
Questions submitted using a pseudonym or false e-mail address.

Candidates/elected representatives and questioners will be notified of all rejected questions or answers. Anonymous questions will not be submitted to the addressee.

Members of the moderator team and the Board may not submit questions themselves.

In order to ensure that CandidateWatch/ParliamentWatch are readable and accessible for users, questions should not exceed 2000 characters.

(Status: 29.09.2008)