User policy for The London Institute of Banking & Finance online

communication tools
Your course website provides a discussion forum to enable you to communicate and
collaborate with other students taking your course. The forums are a space for you to
communicate with your fellow students, share ideas and information and ask questions.
This document gives some guidelines you should bear in mind when communicating
online.

Online etiquette
When you make a post you should always try to include a meaningful subject line and
keep the main text clear and concise. You can edit your own posts for 30 minutes
once they have been submitted, so you can amend your message if necessary.

The guidelines for good communication online should follow the same rules as if
you were conversing with someone face to face.

 Always communicate in a polite clear manner, never be rude or offensive.

 Avoid using capital letters as this can be portrayed as SHOUTING.
 Try using emoticons (smileys) to convey your tone in a post, eg when you are
joking or to indicate that you are asking a question.
 Try to acknowledge a forum message if you do not intend to respond to the
content immediately, this avoids the sender feeling that they are being ignored and
is proof that the message has been received.
 Consider how much information is necessary on the message; keep it short,
clear and to the point.
 When sending a reply, keep it relevant to the subject of the original message.
 Ensure that all your online communications respect copyright, fair use and
financial disclosure laws.

We trust you to be responsible and ask you to think about the appropriateness of the content
before you post it. Where the material is educational and relevant to share but includes
content that some viewers could find disturbing, you must write a warning disclaimer (eg this
material may include content that some may find upsetting).
Views expressed on the forums are those of individuals and do not in any way represent the
views of The London Institute of Banking & Finance.

The London Institute of Banking & Finance has the right to remove any online
communications that do not follow the guidelines in this User Policy. The London Institute of
Banking & Finance has the right to remove access to the forums for users who do not abide
by this User Policy. This includes the use of offensive language and threatening behaviour
within the discussion forums. Offensive material includes but is not limited to: pornographic
or obscene material, racial slurs, derogatory gender-specific comments, defamatory
statements, discriminatory or harassing comments.

Contacting us
If you have any queries or feedback relating to our learning environment, please contact
forums@libf.ac.uk with your comments.

The London Institute of Banking & Finance is a registered charity, incorporated by Royal Charter.