Scope
These guidelines apply to the use of 
Purpose
Timely distribution of announcements and reminders related to church and community activities of interest to a substantial fraction of the Heritage Community. It is not a discussion forum.
Who can read messages
Members, contributing friends, and other established members of the Heritage Congregation / Community. Membership must be approved by a moderator. Any disputes about membership in the group are decided by the Communication Committee in consultation with the Minister. Decisions may, of course, be appealed to the Board.
Who can write messages
The staff, including the Office manager, members of the Board, a designated contact from specific committees (for example: Worship, RE, Visioning, Social Justice, Building), the Newsletter Editor, the organizer, and moderators.
Content
Announcements and reminders of Church and community-related events of interest to a substantial number of the members and friends. The email supplements the Heirloom rather than replacing it. It is not a forum for discussion. It is not to be used for personal opinions or observations. Messages are not to be divisive. No flaming. No spam. No spitting on the side walk.
Advice
Keep messages short and to the point. Put the date and event in the subject. Limit the number of messages you send to avoid people feeling bombarded by HUUC-Announcements messages.
Watch-Outs
The group does not reach everyone – not everyone chooses to belong to the group; not everyone has email; not everyone reads their email; some who read email do so infrequently.
Management of the email group
- A small group of moderators (3-4) and the organizer manage the group on a day-to-day basis.
- Membership must be approved by the owner or a moderator. (See “Who can read messages” above).
- If someone other than a moderator replies to a message, the answer will not go to the whole group; it goes only to the person they are replying to.
- If a moderator replies to a message, it goes to the whole group.
- Attachments are automatically removed to prevent accidental virus transmission.
- First inappropriate use –warning. Second inappropriate use –all messages are moderated (i.e., have to be approved by a moderator before they are sent out).
- First Spam –removal.
Within Google Groups, the Church Administrator is the owner of the group, with email address: 
~ Adopted June 12, 2006. Updated August 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008. Updated in 2020 to reflect change from Yahoo Groups to Google Groups.