The Plan Bay Area Open Forum is intended to serve as another means of communication between the public and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments. Peak Democracy — as a non-partisan company dedicated to building public trust in government and broadening civic engagement — will monitor statements/comments posted to the Plan Bay Area Open Forum. Peak Democracy reserves the right to remove statements/comments that do not meet the Commission’s Guidelines for Civility.

Guidelines for Civility

Participants agree not to post statements/comments that contain:

1. Personal attacks;
2. Content that threatens or defames any person or organization;
3. Profane language or content;
4. Sexual content or links to sexual content;
5. Comments that are not topically related to the particular topic being commented upon;
6. Content that solicits or promotes commercial services or products;
7. Content that engages in or encourages illegal activity;
8. Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation;
9. Content that violates a legal ownership interest of another party; and/or
10. Information that may compromise the safety or security of the public, public systems, or employees.

Any statement containing the aforementioned content is considered a disruptive statement and will be removed by Peak Democracy. Additionally, any statement made by 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 is also considered a disruptive statement.

Note: a statement posted by a member of the public on this site is the opinion of the commentator only, and the posting of a statement does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, Peak Democracy and/or the Commission, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Peak Democracy and/or the Commission. Peak Democracy and/or the Commission neither guarantees the authenticity, accuracy, appropriateness nor security of external links, websites, or content linked thereto. Furthermore, any content posted to this site is subject to public disclosure.

Guidelines for Civility FAQs

What is a disruptive statement?

A statement:

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

What is a personal attack?

Personal attacks are disparaging remarks that impute motives to a person's action.

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. In addition, many people will not participate if the forum has disruptive statements.

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

Peak Democracy:

• moves the statement off the forum and to a private web page;
• describes the problem in an email to the author; and
• invites the author to re-state their statement.

Does Open Town Hall ever edit or delete statements?

Never. Only the author can edit or delete their statement. Comments that do not follow the Commission’s Guidelines for Civility are removed from the forum and placed in a private web page.

What if I refuse to re-state my statement?

Your statement will remain on a private web page.

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'?

Statements of fact or of your own opinion are generally not personal attacks.

Does Open Town Hall find many disruptive statements?

No. Disruptive statements are quite rare.