Electronic Bulletin Board Guidelines

revised 03/26/25
Approved by Council on April 2, 2025

Do you have an old Prius to sell? You’re looking for a rental in Belfast? You want to find a good carpenter? The UU Church of Belfast operates an email-based bulletin board for the benefit of church members, and also for the greater Belfast community. All who have registered can post items of general interest.

Welcome to the UUCB (Unitarian Universalist Church of Belfast) Electronic Bulletin Board

– a friendly email site for our congregation and the greater community to post items of interest. Please familiarize yourself with these guidelines so that we can provide fair and consistent services. Contact the Communications Team at uubelfast@gmail.com if you have any questions about process or content. This team is responsible for reviewing submissions to determine their appropriateness for distribution, based on these guidelines.

There Are Two Separate Bulletin Boards:

UUNews contains notices regarding church news and announcements from our minister, the UUCB office administrator, the RE Coordinator, the Church Council, and committees. Only members and active friends receive these.

UUBB (UU Bulletin Board), open to the general public, is primarily a site for requests for or offers of items, services, resources, information, help needed, and notices of events. It is not a forum for personal opinions, conversation, or commentary on politics, local issues, or public affairs.

Process

Use uubelfast@gmail.com for all submissions and communication about UUBB and UUNews.
• You must register your name and email address to send to or receive postings from either list. Indicate which list(s) you want to receive.
• Use this address if you have questions, want to update your e-mail address or be removed from the list(s).
• Postings are usually sent out within a day of submission, generally between 9 am and 8 pm.

When submitting an email posting:
• State the subject clearly and succinctly in the subject line (ie, bureau for sale, dog walking needed, concert), so that readers can quickly decide which emails to read. Please do not say “Please Post” in the subject line.
• Keep your posting as brief as possible.
• Identify yourself, including your email and/or phone to receive replies.

When responding to an email posting:
• Please be careful to contact the originator of the email, using their personal email address. DO NOT hit “reply” or “reply to all,” as that will go back to the Communications Team, and they do not forward your email to the original poster.

Content

General
• Comments concerning partisan politics, including candidates for office, are never allowed. Endorsement of political candidates and partisan political commentary are never allowed by anyone or any group.
• The UUBB is not a forum for personal opinions or commentary on politics, local issues, or public affairs. Advocacy, talking points, and urging activism are not allowed, except for official positions from the UUA, MUUSAN, the UUCB when the congregation has voted on an issue, the UUCB minister, and UUCB committees or Church Council.
• Be civil and polite.
• Profanity, personal attacks on individuals or groups, grievances, airing conflicts, and making complaints are not allowed. Grievances or complaints should be brought to the Minister, the Committee on Ministry, or the person or committee most directly involved.
• Humor is appreciated but remember that humor in e-mail can easily be misinterpreted. One reader will understand a message as irony or a joke, while another may see a much different or even negative tone to a message.
• Spam, chain letters, pyramid scheme invitations, and ‘humorous’ emails that circulate on the internet are not allowed.
• Avoid using jargon, abbreviations, or colloquial language that might be unfamiliar to your audience.
• In general, please remember that almost 500 people receive UUBB notices; if your intention is to only reach a few, please email them directly.
• Do not share anyone’s private information (i.e., financial, health, living situation, etc.) or copyrighted material without written permission of the person or copyright owner.

Selling
• Advertising the sale of goods or property such as homes, furniture, vehicles, and other goods is allowed if it is an occasional sale by an individual, and not by a business.
• Advertising by businesses, including realtors, property managers is not allowed.
• Individuals may advertise rental properties if they are one-time or on an occasional basis.
• Individuals may advertise the need for goods or property.
• Repeated posting of the same item is not allowed.
• If you choose to donate some or all of the proceeds from a sale to the UUCB, submit a check payable to UUCB to the office at 37 Miller St, Belfast, with the purpose noted in the memo line.
• Non-profit organizations offering goods or services for free, by donation, or on a sliding scale may be allowed.

Employment/Services
• Requests for and offers of employment and services are allowed by individuals, but not by employment agencies, headhunters, or businesses. You may offer services for odd jobs (shoveling, dog walking, etc.) if it is not a regular business, that is, not your primary source of income and you do not have employees.

Events/Announcements
• Events to be advertised and other announcements must be consistent with UU Principles and values: https://uua.org/beliefs/shared-values
• Announcements regarding events including partisan political candidates, are permitted as long as there is no commentary or endorsement attached.

The UUCB Communications Team makes the final determination of whether a posting is distributed. Rejected postings will be returned to the sender with a copy of these guidelines. The rejected postings may be distributed when edited to meet the guidelines.

Format