Community Services & Public Safety Committee May 20, 2024

We are seeking public comment for items on the May 20, 2024 Community Services & Public Safety Committee Meeting Agenda.

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Open Town Hall HHI is not a certified voting system or ballot box. As with any public comment process, participation in Open Town Hall HHI is voluntary. The comments in this record are not necessarily representative of the whole population, nor do they reflect the opinions of any government agency or elected officials.

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What is a disruptive statement?

A statement

containing personal attacks, profanity, commercial advertising or content which is entirely off-topic, and/or
from a user who has falsified their registration information with the intent to post multiple statements in one topic or to misrepresent their city of residence.

Why does Open Town Hall monitor for disruptive statements?

OpenGov is a non-partisan company dedicated to building public trust in government and broadening civic engagement. Many people will not participate if the forum has disruptive statements.

Does Open Town Hall find many disruptive statements?

No. Disruptive statements are quite rare - less than one in a thousand statements are disruptive.

What does Open Town Hall do if they find a disruptive statement?

Open Town Hall

moves the statement to a different web page,
describes the problem in an email to the author, and
invites the author to change the statement.

Does Open Town Hall ever edit or delete statements?

Never. Only the statement's author can edit or delete a statement.

If I disagree with someone, can I post my opinion?

Yes. Open Town Hall encourages open dialog which, by necessity, includes disagreements.

How do I know if my statement is a 'disagreement' or a 'personal attack'?

Personal attacks are disparaging remarks which impute motives to a person's action. Statements of fact, or of your own opinion are generally not personal attacks.
Here are some examples of statements which are, and are not, personal attacks.

Personal Attack	Not A Personal Attack
He lied.	He said he did X, but in fact he did Y.
She misrepresented the truth.	I don't trust her.
He is greedy.	He is making plenty of money.
It is merely a power play on her part.	She will announce her candidacy soon.

What are my options to participate?

Open Town Hall HHI has two participation channels:

The Registered Channel: Sign in before or just after you submit your comment. Either way, Community Feedback will show your comment on this website.
The Unregistered Channel: Don't sign in and remain anonymous. Community Feedback will just share your comment with Hilton Head Island staff.

Note: The first time you sign in, you'll need to register (establish an account on Open Town Hall HHI). Registration is free.

Why do I need to sign in to show my comment on this website?

The Town of Hilton Head Island has contracted with Community Feedback to monitor comments shown on this website.

To prevent any single user from dominating the forum, the Town of Hilton Head Island restricts the number of comments any one user can post on selected topics. Registration helps Community Feedback enforce this restriction.
Users, staff and government leaders often want to know the neighborhood from which a comment is posted. Community Feedback uses registration to show the neighborhood next to each comment (not the address).
If a user posts a comment that does not meet the Town of Hilton Head Island guidelines for civility, Community Feedback uses the user's email address to invite the user to resolve the issue.

I'm concerned about privacy. Who will get my contact information and what will they use it for?

Community Feedback will get your contact information. The company is under contract with the Town of Hilton Head Island to hold it in strict confidence per their privacy policy.

What other benefits do I get from signing in?

Since you'll see your own comment on Open Town Hall HHI, you'll be able to confirm that your comment was posted as you intended.
You'll be able to change and/or delete your comment as long as the topic is open.

I'm still very concerned about privacy. Is there a way for me to submit a comment without registering?

Yes. Sign out, then set your privacy preference to be "No - just show it without my name to staff". You won't need to register.

What prevents an unregistered user from submitting multiple anonymous comments?

While no authentication procedure can perfectly detect every fraudulent registration, Community Feedback is able to secure the registered channel against systematic fraud: cases where users submit enough statements with fraudulent registrations to sway the overall interpretation of the feedback.

Community Feedback is unable to secure the unregistered channel against systematic fraud, because unregistered users are anonymous.

Neither the registered nor the unregistered channel represent a certified voting system or ballot box - and that caveat is footnoted on every page of feedback. Instead, both are additional channels for feedback to government.

Why are there two participation channels?

Users can participate on the registered channel (by signing in) or on the unregistered channel (by remaining anonymous). The Town of Hilton Head Island offers both channels in order to broaden participation and maximize decision makers' insights.

The registered channel enables users to assure decision makers that their feedback comes from a real person in a specific neighborhood. It also enables users to participate in a public discussion on the website, as well as manage their own comment after posting it.

The unregistered channel is for users who want to provide quick feedback without registering, and/or whose privacy concerns would prevent them from participating if required to register. Because many users with valuable insights will only share them anonymously, this channel gives decision makers the option to consider those insights in their deliberations.

What is OpenGov?

OpenGov is a non-partisan company whose mission is to broaden civic engagement and build public trust in government. The Town of Hilton Head Island has contracted with OpenGov to administer Open Town Hall HHI.

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