Welcome to the Women in Public Life Politics Group, your chance to keep up to date on Guernsey politics, understand it in more detail and share your interest with other women.
Please read this guide to understand how the WhatsApp groups work and help everyone get the best out of their experience.
1. Politics – Info
The main WhatsApp group that everyone joins is ‘Politics – Info’. This is where Shelaine posts what’s going on in the States – agendas for States meetings, dates of Scrutiny hearings, links to consultations, newly-published reports etc. And for big States debates, you’ll get live updates summarising the speeches. It’s also where you’ll hear about the dates and times for upcoming Politics Group Live sessions.
2. Politics – Discussion
The Discussion group is optional additional WhatsApp group. It’s for people who are keen to discuss political issues with others online. We keep discussion separate from the information group so that important information doesn’t get lost when there’s a flurry of discussion posts on a big topic. Feel free to just observe the discussion, you don’t have to take part – there’s lots to learn from just reading others comments.
3. What should I post?
Politics – Info:
The majority of the information posted on the Politics – Info group will come from Shelaine. If you think she’s missed something, either post it yourself, or drop her a direct message to give her a nudge.
If you want to comment on an Info post, please forward it to the Discussion group first – we’re trying to keep the Information group as ‘clean’ as possible.
Politics – Discussion:
To kick off a discussion, you could post:
– a media article about a Guernsey political issue
– a question about a Guernsey political issue
– an observation about a Guernsey political issue
If you post a media article, say why you think people should read it, what about it sparked your interest. Make it accessible/interesting to people, don’t just post it without comment.
By ‘political issues’ we mean:
– policies eg the Energy Strategy or the Tax Review
– standard items up for States debate eg Budget, Accounts, Govt Work Plan
– amendments, sursis or other use of the rules
– membership of committees, code of conduct, deputies behaviour
Please don’t post about:
– ‘Outrage’ issues already being discussed prolifically on social media eg pylons
– Issues that you feel a personal need to ‘vent’ about
– Poor support or services you’ve received from the States or others
– Criticism of individual members of the public who have no right of reply
When you are taking part in a discussion try to add value with a different point of view or a useful link to background information.
4. When should I post?
There are no specific guidelines about what time to post – sometimes something really important might come up first thing in the morning.
Nevertheless, please remember that each time you post, 50+ people’s phones ping across the island (unless they are muted), which might not be appreciated late at night or early in the morning.
5. How much/often should I post?
Keep your contributions short and to the point. Essays are hard to read on a phone!
In terms of frequency of posting, judge this as you would any conversation. Am I adding value? Is it time to let someone else speak?
6. Who are the admins?
There are two admins for the groups – Shelaine Green and Linda Rolf from the Women in Public Life committee. Occasionally they may delete your post because it doesn’t meet the guidelines above. Please don’t take offence, they are simply trying to keep the group healthy and flowing. Their decisions are to be respected at all times, it’s their call.
7. What should I do if I’m concerned about someone’s post?
We are all responsible for the health of the group. If someone posts something you don’t think is appropriate, tell them, either on the group or by direct message. They may not have realised how it reads to others and may take it straight down.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, or it hasn’t worked, contact Shelaine or Linda directly. As Admins, they are able to delete someone else’s post.
8. How do I mute the group?
There will be times when the volume of WhatsApp messages may be too much, particularly when a States meeting is in progress. Feel free to mute the group. You will still be able to go back and read the posts later if you want to but you won’t get endless notifications pinging your phone.
Go into the group you want to mute, tap on the group name at the top of the page, scroll down, select ‘mute’ and then choose the length of time you want to mute for.
9. How do I forward a message?
If you want to start a discussion about information that Shelaine has posted on the Politics – Info group, forward it to the Politics – Discussion group first.
On a phone/tablet, hold your finger on the message you want to forward, select ‘forward’ from the menu, click the arrow in the bottom left of the screen, select the group or person you want to forward to, then click ‘forward’.
On a laptop/desktop, click on the small arrow top right of the message, select ‘forward’ from the menu, click the arrow bottom right of the screen, select the group or person you want to forward to, then click ‘forward’.
10. How do I reply to someone personally, rather than on the group?
On a phone/tablet, hold your finger on the message you want to reply to, click ‘more’ then click ‘reply privately’.
On a laptop/desktop, click the small arrow top right of the message and click ‘reply privately’.
