The purpose of this Privacy Notice is to explain how we collect and use any personal information you provide to us.

The Personal Information the Society Collects from Members

The Palaeontographical Society collects and stores information about its members when they take out a subscription with us, or renew their subscription each year. The information we collect and store is the following:

• Name
• Title
• Address
• Email address (if supplied)
• Telephone number (if supplied)
• Whether you are registered as a student at a higher education institution

In addition we record the names of attendees at our meetings, for example our Council meetings and Annual General Meeting. This information may be kept as a historic record.

How We Use Members’ Personal Information

We use this information to maintain the Society’s membership list. We may analyse the list to obtain summary information about our membership, for example numbers of different types of members (‘full’ and ‘student’) and the geographical spread of our membership.

We may use the information to contact individual members if there is some issue with their membership.

We may occasionally use the information to circulate items of interest electronically to members who wish to receive communications by email.

Sharing Members’ Personal Information

We share members’ name, title and address with the following organisations:

We provide the name, title and address of our current members to the company that prints and mails the annual Newsletter of the Palaeontographical Society. Currently this is Lonsdale Direct Solutions, Northamptonshire. This is so that they can post the latest newsletter to our members.

We provide the name, title and address of our current members to the company that markets and publishes Monographs of the Palaeontographical Society on the Society’s behalf. Currently this is Taylor and Francis Group. This is so that they can post new issues of the Monograph to our members.

Deleting Personal Information

When a subscription to the Society ends, we will delete that person’s address and contact details from our database. We do however maintain lists of the names of former members as historical information.

Making Sure Your Personal Information is Up to Date

You can check the information the Society holds about you is up to date by logging in to your member’s area on the Society’s website at https://www.palaeosoc.org/my-account/. Alternatively, you can email the Treasurer at tmcm@bgs.ac.uk, or write to Dr Tim McCormick, Treasurer, The Palaeontographical Society, c/o British Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, United Kingdom.

Emails and Other Correspondence

Emails and other digital correspondence sent to the Society or its Council members are stored electronically, and every effort is made to keep them secure. Hardcopy correspondence may also be securely stored while they remain relevant.

Palaeontographical Society Social Media Policy

This social media policy outlines how our Society, and how members of our social media online groups, should conduct themselves on any social media platform the Society runs. The online world is constantly evolving, and so the following policy should be treated as a living document which will be updated as necessary. The policy will allow the Palaeontographical Society to create a strong brand voice and tone, increasing outreach and helping users connect with us and like-minded individuals.

Society use of Social Media

• We currently have a Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/ThePalaeontographicalSociety) and Twitter account (@Palaeonto_Soc).
• Updates include the work being carried out by the Society, grants and funding, awards, events, and new monographs.
• We also aim to post regularly about related topics such as the history of the Society, and information about fossils.
• Members of the public can respond to our messages, report a problem or ask a question via these social media pages. The Society will do our best to respond to these messages.

Responsible Use of Social Media

The social media platforms of the Society should never be used in a way that breaches any of our policies. You are reminded therefore that you are prohibited from using postings on social media that would be in breach of the Society’s:

• obligations with respect to the rules of relevant regulatory bodies;
• obligations relating to confidentiality;
• Data Protection Policy (for example, never disclose personal information about a colleague, or member of the public, online);
• legal requirements or ethical standards (for example using social media in a false or misleading way, such as by claiming to be someone other than themselves or by making misleading statements);
• default assumption that our members and awardees, and those attending events or AGM, regard these as open access. However, please be respectful and seek permission from those featured before posting, and in the case of research, seek the author’s permission before posting anything on social media about their work. The organisers/presenters at meetings and events should clearly state if something should not be shared on social media.

Or as a means to:

• harass or bully other members or the public in any way;
• discriminate against any other member or any other third party.

You will be required to remove internet postings which are deemed to constitute a breach of this policy and may be barred from any future postings and removed from the group. Failure to comply with such a request may also in itself result in disciplinary action.

Policy Expectations

The informal nature of social media means that it is easy to accidentally cause offence. You should keep this in mind before posting content, and remember that what is published could be read by other members of the Society, line managers, future employers, and/or social acquaintances, as well as members of the public. Your content may also be available for a long period of time. It is therefore important to consider:

• whether the tone of your message is clear – for example irony and humour may not be obvious to the recipient and may be misunderstood;
• whether the tone is respectful to recipients, irrespective of their role and status;
• that particular care is taken with remarks that are – or might appear to be – critical of another person, as these can come across as much stronger than intended and may in some instances be considered defamatory.

Protecting the Society’s Reputation

• You must not post disrespectful or offensive statements about:

o   the Palaeontographical Society;

o   the Palaeontographical Society’s clients or service users;

o   the Palaeontographical Society’s partner agencies, other affiliates or anyone that has an interest in the Society.

• You should also avoid social media communications that might be misconstrued in a way that could damage our business reputation, even indirectly, by not using ambiguous wording or language.
• You should, unless publishing in an approved capacity as the Palaeontographical Society, never give the impression (by actual wording or implication) that you are speaking on behalf of the Society. If there is any possibility of doubt you should make it clear that you are posting on your own behalf. You should write in the first person and use a personal email address when communicating via social media.
• You should never provide references for other individuals in a professional capacity on personal, social, or professional networking sites. If you do, people may think that the Palaeontographical Society has provided these references and this could make you and the Society legally liable for any problems that arise in relation to these.

Writing for Social Media

Due to the conversational nature of social media your writing style and message content

may require a more informal approach than would normally be the case. Remember that space restrictions apply on some social media platforms, so you may be required to convey your message within a word or character limit.

Writing for Palaeontographical Society Social Media Profiles

• The purpose is to provide information or promote the Society to a specific or general audience.
• The information provided should be clear, accurate and fair, and not misleading.
• The content should be relevant to the Society’s activities, history and/or aims.
• Try to write in plain English, avoiding grammatical or spelling mistakes.
• The content of Society’s social media profiles/accounts may be taken as official comment by media outlets, so take care with any content placed online.
• If posting in response to a comment on a Palaeontographical Society profile/account, any contribution should be designed to add value in a relevant way, avoiding inciting argument or inflaming a heated discussion. If you are posting your personal opinion and not that of the Society, please make this clear, preferably by using your own personal social media account.
• You should not do anything to jeopardise Palaeontographical Society copyrightable material, confidential information and intellectual property through the use of social media.
• Avoid misappropriating or infringing the intellectual property of other companies and individuals, which may create liability for the organisation, as well as for the individual author.
• Where appropriate, reference your sources of the particular information posted or uploaded and cite them accurately to protect against liability for copyright infringement.

Notices for External Users of the Palaeontographical Society’s Social Media Sites

You should be aware that the following advice is given by the Society to external users of our social media platforms. This advice is provided in addition to the rules of the social media providers themselves, such as Facebook or Twitter.

External users please note:

• We will try to respond to comments or replies where we can, but this isn’t always possible.
• Our social media profiles/accounts are not monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• The Palaeontographical Society social media platforms are run by volunteer members.
• We may miss posts that you feel we should respond to, due to busy media traffic.
• The nature of your comment/question may mean it is difficult to respond swiftly.
• If your query is serious, urgent or involves personal details, please get in touch by email: palsoc1847@gmail.com

• Please don’t be offended if we don’t ‘like’ or ‘follow’ you on social media – this doesn’t mean that the Society is not interested in what you have to say, it’s just that numbers can get too high to manage.

© 2006-2021 The Palaeontographical Society