“Moderation” means the process where an online community member’s submission is reviewed and acted upon by a moderator(s).

“Pre-moderation” means a moderator(s) reviews and approves or rejects a community member’s submission before it is published or broadcast.
“Post-moderation” means a moderator(s) reviews and if necessary removes a community member’s submission within a reasonable period of time after it is published. 
"Reactive  Moderation"  means a moderator(s) reviews and if necessary removes a community member’s submission as a result of a complaint, feedback from CBC or otherwise.

CBC/Radio-Canada chooses the moderation process that is best suited to the community, platform and subject matter.

Some CBC/Radio-Canada communities are moderated by internal staff. For CBC.ca, although CBC sets the guidelines and administers them through a Moderation Manager, in view of the volume of comments readers send – in excess of 70,000 comments are processed every week – we contract the moderation to ICUC Moderation Services, an internationally recognized private company that specializes in such work. ICUC does not release the names of those employees who work as moderators.  CBC/Radio-Canada and ICUC work in close and ongoing collaboration to ensure accuracy and consistency of moderation across CBC/Radio-Canada’s online communities.

For some online community spaces, such as CBCNews.ca, using a third party provides CBC/Radio-Canada with a number of benefits, including for example; staffing flexibility to absorb sudden spikes in comment volume; cost effective 24hr coverage and industry expertise. In 2012, CBC/Radio-Canada went through an RFP process (as per CBC/Radio-Canada’s procurement requirements) to determine which third party organization should be awarded the moderation contract. ICUC was the winning vendor. ICUC is an internationally recognized private company that specializes in work such as moderation and community management. CBC/Radio-Canada and ICUC work in close and ongoing collaboration to ensure accuracy and consistency of moderation across CBC/Radio-Canada’s online communities.

It is CBC/Radio-Canada’s aim to provide a lively forum for Canadians to share their opinions on topical issues. To make those conversations as relevant and valuable as possible, we have developed comprehensive Submission Guidelines -   http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html which apply to all of CBC/Radio-Canada's online community spaces. The Content Submission Guidelines are intended to encourage an interesting and engaging discussion, while providing sufficient structure to prevent the discussion from straying off-topic, being insulting or abusive, breaking laws or violating community standards. On average, we publish 70 to 80% of the comments that are submitted to CBC.ca.

The Submission Guidelines – http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html are intended as a layperson friendly clarification of the Terms of Use - http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/termsofuse.html which are written using specific legal terms.

CBC.ca and Radio-Canada.ca are the programming websites of CBC/Radio-Canada. The corporate website (CBC.Radio-Canada.ca) is fully bilingual, as it is the site that represents the Corporation. CBC.ca serves all Canadians, primarily in English while Radio-Canada.ca is focused on servicing the francophone Canadian population, their issues and concerns, which are very often different from those of English-speaking Canada.

Consequently, it is the practice of Radio-Canada to translate languages other than French in their programs and their communications with the public, to reflect the needs of their francophone audience. Submissions to Radio-Canada.ca are included in the material that would need to be translated. However, given the number of public submissions to the website and the limited resources available overall for translation, Radio-Canada has chosen to accept only those submissions created in French. While CBC.ca does allow French-language comment submissions, the reality is the number of French comments submitted is insignificant.

In the same way that CBC and Radio-Canada are not required to produce identical programming, our program websites need not offer identical services. The difference in the guidelines reflect our commitment to meeting the requirements outlined in the Broadcasting  Act.

Since the policies were established in 2007, there have only been minor changes made. For example we have broadened the language from being News specific to encompass all CBC/Radio-Canada content areas and all platforms (including third party platforms such as Facebook). Another example is that we tightened up on our moderation of personal attacks.  See the following article for more information - http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/05/cbc-news-community-raises-the-bar-on-personal-attacks.html.

As per the Submission Guidelines - http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html - CBC/Radio-Canada reserves the right to change the Terms of Use and Submission Guidelines at any time.

Yes (e.g. those of a sensitive nature, or those prone to libel, etc.)

We do not approve or reject comments based on personal views; we moderate to the Submission Guidelines http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html. We don’t strive for “balance” in the views shared in our online communities. If a particular story attracts individuals that may hold similar views, we publish what we receive (assuming the input meets the guidelines).

Audience submissions are not subject to CBC/Radio-Canada’s rigorous Journalistic Standards and Practices policy. But as much as we want to encourage a free and open debate, we also expect those who submit content to do so within the Submission Guidelines  http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html we have set out.

Most audience contributions on CBC.ca and Radio-Canada.ca are pre-moderated, meaning moderators review submissions, in advance of posting, according to the Submission Guidelines http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html. This moderation process creates a lag between the time the comment is submitted, and the time it is published on the site. We work to ensure that all content is published within 30 minutes of the time that we receive it. There may be times when the delay is longer, due to the volume of comments we receive, which on many days on CBC.ca, is more than 13,000.

From a technical standpoint, our system does not allow us to “hold back” posts of a certain viewpoint over others. Our pending queue is akin to a fire hose; it is a continual flow of messages. Our moderation team does their best to address all input in a timely manner. We have multiple moderators working on the queue at one time, during most hours of the day. We can’t control where any comment lands.

We recognize that it must be frustrating to see comments on CBC online community spaces that you perceive to be inappropriate. Despite our precautions, when dealing with over 10 000 comments per day on CBC.ca, our efforts will minimize problematic comments from appearing but cannot totally eliminate them.

As a member of the CBC.ca online community, we encourage you to help maintain a high quality of discussion and click "Flag" when you see comments that you think contravene our Submission Guidelines. This alerts the moderators to take another look at the comment, and if required, to escalate it to senior management for review or in some cases, remove the comment entirely. CBC.ca receives 100s of flags per day.

If you do click 'Flag' and do not feel that the moderators have responded appropriately, then we'd ask that you contact us - http://www.cbc.ca/contact/ with the following information...

- the story title and URL that the comment is associated with;
- an exact copy of the comment;
- the date and approximate time of the submission (so we can follow up with the staff on duty);
- the username of the author of the comment
- your rationale for removal
- the date and approximate time of your “Flag” (so we can follow up with the staff on duty)

The submission will be reviewed to ensure it was moderated in line with CBC/Radio-Canada's Submission Guidelines and if required, it will be escalated to senior management for additional review. If a moderation decision should be reversed, it will be, if at all possible.

Please note: we do not provide rationales for moderation decisions.

We recognize that it must be frustrating to prepare a contribution for a CBC online community space only to never see it published. Provided there wasn’t a technical issue, it is most likely that the moderators felt your contribution was not in line with the Submission Guidelines. It is also possible that your contribution was rejected in error. Despite our precautions, when dealing with over 10 000 comments per day on CBC.ca, there are times when content is rejected in error. Our efforts will minimize moderation errors but cannot totally eliminate them.

Some common guideline violations are; personal attacks, insults, defamatory statements, and ‘off topic’ commentary.
Please ensure that your submissions are in line with the Submission Guidelines - http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html

We recognize that it must be frustrating to prepare a contribution for a CBC online community space only to never see it published. Provided there wasn’t a technical issue, it is most likely that the moderators disagreed with your assessment and felt your contribution was not in line with the Submission Guidelines. It is also possible that your contribution was rejected in error. Despite our precautions, when dealing with over 10 000 comments per day on CBC.ca, there are times when content is rejected in error. Our efforts will minimize moderation errors but cannot totally eliminate them.

Some common guideline violations are; personal attacks, insults, defamatory statements, and ‘off topic’ commentary. Please ensure that your submissions are in line with the Submission Guidelines - http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html

Generally, our policy is to not remove comments from a CBC/Radio-Canada online community space once it has been determined that they are in line with our Submission Guidelines http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html and have been published.

We recognize that it must be frustrating to prepare a contribution for a CBC online community space only to never see it published. Provided there wasn’t a technical issue, it is most likely that the moderator(s) felt the contribution was not in line with the Submission Guidelines. It is also possible that the contribution was rejected in error. Despite our precautions, when dealing with over 10 000 comments per day on CBC.ca, there are times when content is rejected in error. Our efforts will minimize moderation errors but cannot totally eliminate them.

Please be advised, we do not provide rationales for moderation decisions but we do our best to reverse moderation actions as required, provided it is technically possible. Some common guideline violations are; personal attacks, insults, defamatory statements, and ‘off topic’ commentary.

Please ensure that your submissions are in line with the Submission Guidelines - http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html

On average, we publish 70 to 80% of the comments that are submitted to CBC.ca.

If it was a pre-moderated online community space, for example CBCNews.ca, given the volume of content that we are reviewing, occasionally inappropriate content does slip through, and generally our community members are quick to alert us to these cases via the 'Flag’' link.

If it was a post-moderated or reactively moderated online community space, likely the content violated CBC/Radio-Canada’s Submission Guidelines - http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html.

Difference platforms require a difference processes but yes, where technically possible, CBC/Radio-Canada acknowledges when a comment is removed. For example, on Radio-Canada.ca, when a comment is removed it is replaced by the following text - "This comment and related replies have been removed by the moderator”.

In many of our online community spaces, CBC/Radio-Canada has multiple moderators working at once and because this is a 'human-based' system, there are inevitably some inconsistencies. The Submission Guidelines require interpretation on the part of the moderators and thus there are instances where identical comments are handled differently by different moderators.

CBC reads everything that you send us.  Due to the large size of CBC's online community (1,000's of individuals contribute each day) the volume of inquires is equally high, therefore rather than investigating every single inquiry, we regularly review a sampling that contains as many inquiries as possible.  CBC reviews moderation decisions to ensure moderation is being conducted in line with CBC/Radio-Canada's Submission Guidelines and if required, concerns will be escalated to senior management for additional review. If a moderation decision should be reversed, it will be  (where technology allows, e.g. Facebook where, we can remove, but not re-add comments).

Please note: we do not provide rationales for moderation decisions. Some common guideline violations are; personal attacks, insults and defamatory statements.

Please ensure that your submissions are in line with the Submission Guidelines - http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html

If you have concerns about a moderation decision, we'd ask that you contact us - http://www.cbc.ca/contact/ - with the following information...

- the story title and URL you tried to contribute to;
- an exact copy of the content submitted (so we can confirm that it met the Content Submission Guidelines);
- the date and approximate time of your submission (so we can follow up with the staff on duty);
- your username/display name, as the author of the content
- your rationale for publishing
- what your browser and operating system are (so we can look at technical angles)

Due to the high volume of correspondence that CBC/Radio-Canada receives about commenting and moderation, we cannot guarantee a personal response to audience correspondence. We DO read everything that we receive.

CBC/Radio-Canada is continually working to refine the process of how to review and investigate the information that you send us. Please be advised, we do not provide rationales for moderation decisions but we do our best to reverse moderation actions as required, provided it is technically possible.

No one person owns, or is in charge of moderation at CBC/Radio-Canada, it is a collaborative, team effort. The Submission Guidelines were created by a team comprised of editorial, legal and operational staff. As CBC/Radio-Canada’s online communities continue to grow and evolve, we actively monitor and regularly review the effectiveness of our moderation practices. CBC/Radio-Canada has made, and will continue to make, changes to our practices to ensure that our standards and guidelines are consistently met.

So, if you wish for your correspondence to be part of the ongoing discussion around moderation, commenting and online community management, please contact us - http://www.cbc.ca/contact/.