• Who can post on lokol York Region?
• What can I post on lokol York Region?
• Can I post anonymously?
• Are commercial posts allowed?
• What are the icons and numbers?
• How can I get more people to see my message
• Can I have a post appear under the name of my organization instead of my own?
• If I see something I don’t like on lokol York Region, what can I do?
• Does lokol York Region censor content or take positions on issues?
• Can I delete content or my membership account?
• I forgot my login (username or password)?
• What technology platform is lokol York Region built upon?

Who can post on lokol York Region?

Anyone who is a member. Membership is free.

What can I post on lokol York Region?

Anything that is related to York Region in some way, whether locally or internationally. See below for information on commercial posts.

Can I post anonymously?

In most cases, no. You must use your real name. This is a strict rule. But, there are certain types of posts that do allow anonymity, such as Jobs, Internships, Mentorships, and Businesses for Sale. You may also be able to post under the name of your organization (see below). Real names are required because we believe it increases the quality of the information posted, and leads to more meaningful feedback and discussions for the betterment of the community being served.

Are commercial posts allowed?

Yes, and it is free. But, free posts must be related to York Region in some way. You may only promote a business, product, or service that is available locally or has some type of local representation. If you would like to promote something that does not meet these local guidelines, you can purchase a SPONSORED POST or PAGE AD. Click Advertise in the menu above.

What are the icons and numbers?

The icons and numbers that appear on a tile and a post page are the statistics for that item. Find out more.

How can I get more people to see my message?

To gain more visibility for your content or message, you can purchase advertising.  As new content is posted on the website, older content will start to be pushed further down the menu. Old content is not lost, but it may not be as visible as newer content. Click Advertise in the menu above to find out more about the easy and affordable options that are available to promote your message.

Can I have a post appear under the name of my organization instead of my own?

Yes, but special approval (and a fee) is required to set up your account for you to do so. Once set up, you will be able to choose whether to have a new post identified under the name of your organization or your own personal name. This is called the TEAM feature. It allows any number of people to be designated as part of a particular team so that multiple people can post and manage content for the same organization. Contact us for details. Note that you can still post information about your organization using your personal name. The TEAM feature is useful if you do not want your personal name to appear with the post.

If I see something I don’t like on lokol York Region, what can I do?

Most content on lokol York Region is posted by our members – anyone can sign up for a free membership. lokol York Region generally remains neutral on issues and we do not write editorials. Our goal is to inform the local community and encourage citizens to post their own content and opinions in a respectful way.

If you see something you do not like, here is what you can do:

Content That Is Clearly Inappropriate

If you see something that violates the Terms of Use, click the FLAG icon to mark it for review. lokol York Region will review the content and it will be removed if it clearly violates the Terms of Use, which includes content that is Spam, unlawful, fraudulent, stalking, indecent, harassment, offensive, hostile, defamatory, libelous, or slanderous. Or, if someone impersonates any person or entity, or misrepresents their association or affiliation with a person or entity. Review the Terms of Use for full details.

Content That Infringes On Copyright

Content will be removed if it infringes on your copyright or violates your intellectual property rights, and you have provided us with sufficient information to identify and confirm the content in question. Review the Terms of Use for how to contact us to take action on copyright infringement.

Opinion

lokol York Region does not censor, moderate, or validate the content or the comments that have been posted by our members or that has been pulled from the public Internet (except as noted above). Content is unlikely to be removed by lokol York Region if it is a comment or opinion. We believe communities should be allowed to have open discussions with varying opinions. However, there are actions you can take if you see something you do not like:

1. Look to see who POSTED the content. All POSTS on lokol York Region include real names (except for a few where privacy is important, like JOBS, VOLUNTEERING, and INVESTMENT).
2. Send the owner of the POST a MESSAGE with your concerns. The owner of the POST controls the contents of the POST and any COMMENTS made on that POST, including reviewing COMMENTS before they are displayed publicly and deleting COMMENTS altogether (note that Facebook comments cannot be deleted). Click on the name of the person to view their profile and then click the SEND MESSAGE button. You may be able to convince them to take action (particularly if you are kind with your feedback).
3. Add a new POST or COMMENT to present your point of view. We believe that this is the best way to deal with opposing opinions in a public forum. Share your side of the story in a meaningful way. And, do so respectfully without personal attacks. Consider that if a conversation is taking place on lokol York Region, chances are that it may also be happening on other social media where the content and comments are less regulated and more open to abuse. lokol York Region makes it possible for important discussions to take place in a thoughtful and respectful way and we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to share your story in your own words.

Please keep in mind that lokol York Region generally remains neutral on issues and we do not create the news. We simply share local news that we believe our users want to read, regardless of whether it may be perceived positively or negatively.

Notwithstanding the above guidelines, lokol York Region reserve the right to remove or edit any content that, in our sole opinion, may impact the success of lokol York Region.

Does lokol York Region censor content or take positions on issues?

• lokol York Region does NOT censor content. We do review content to make sure it adheres to the Terms of Use. Content that violates the Terms of Use will be edited or removed.
• lokol York Region generally remains neutral on issues. Our goal is to inform the local community and encourage citizens to post their own content and opinions in a respectful way. We do not write editorials.
• Occasionally, members of the lokol York Region team will post their own personal content and opinions. Our teams is free to do that, just as any other citizen is, and such views do not represent lokol York Region. Personal content is always identified by the person's name. Content posted by lokol York Region is identified as the lokol York Region team and logo.

Can I delete content or my membership account?

• You can delete your own POSTS and COMMENTS added by other members to your POSTS.
• You cannot delete COMMENTS you add to POSTS managed by other members. But, you can MESSAGE the owner of the POST to request that your COMMENT be edited or deleted (and they may or may not agree to do so).
• You can edit your own PROFILE and how it appears publicly.
• You cannot delete your own MEMBERSHIP account, but you can request that we deactivate it for you. This will not delete your content. We do not delete content unless it violates the Terms of Use.
• Note that, in this context, “delete” does not necessarily mean that the content is purged and rendered unrecoverable. It may simply mean that it is no longer visible to the public.

I forgot my login (username or password)?

Click the FORGOT LOGIN link on the log in page to recover your username and password.

What technology platform is lokol York Region built upon?

The features and taxonomy needed to power lokol York Region are highly advanced and seamlessly integrated. No existing technology platform was capable of delivering such a crowdsource-based community news and information website. So, the teams at MediaSpark and lokol built one by investing thousands of hours of effort and decades of technology experience. The result is a new and proprietary technology platform unlike any other in the world.