"Threats of physical violence乌鸦传媒� and 乌鸦传媒渟exually explicit乌鸦传媒� comments on the City of Langford乌鸦传媒檚 Facebook has prompted councillors to take action to protect staff.

Originally launched in August 2023 as a platform to quickly share news and information with the public, a city staff report says the social media page has become 乌鸦传媒渁n outlet for unkind and inappropriate dialogue amongst members of the community.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淭hese comments are not occasional, but unfortunately are becoming the norm,乌鸦传媒� said Donna Petrie, senior manager of communications and economic development, at the April 7 meeting. 乌鸦传媒淟ong strands of unkind and mean-spirited conversations back and forth between members of the public are becoming more common and get out of hand quickly.乌鸦传媒�

Petrie noted that recently, the comments have 'escalated' to include violent and sexual content.

To create a safe online environment, staff are having to spend 乌鸦传媒渃onsiderable time乌鸦传媒� monitoring the comments, which can include 乌鸦传媒渓ate into the evening and all weekend,乌鸦传媒� said Petrie.

According to the social media policy report, 乌鸦传媒渢he public and staff are also reporting mental fatigue as many of the comments are offensive and unkind which can be challenging to read.乌鸦传媒�

In anticipation of the city voting in favour of disabling comments on the Facebook page, a handful of residents urged councillors to think twice at the April 7 meeting 乌鸦传媒� none spoke in favour of restricting public engagement on the site.

乌鸦传媒淎 municipal Facebook page isn乌鸦传媒檛 just [public relations], it乌鸦传媒檚 a public square,乌鸦传媒� said Tanya Sunshine, who suggested the council block repeat offenders from commenting.

乌鸦传媒淧unishing everyone for the behaviour of a few gives trolls exactly what they want 乌鸦传媒� to disrupt and dominate the space,乌鸦传媒� she added.

With no town hall meetings, other residents said the removal of Facebook comments would provide another barrier to communication with the city.

乌鸦传媒淟angford residents are already limited in the ways they have to have any sort of substantial feedback with council members,乌鸦传媒� said Mike Morton.

However, it was noted by councillors and staff that there are multiple avenues for the public to engage with the city, including the Let乌鸦传媒檚 Chat Langford website and public engagement events.

乌鸦传媒淭he safety and security of our staff 乌鸦传媒� a healthy workplace for them 乌鸦传媒� that乌鸦传媒檚 our responsibility as councillors,乌鸦传媒� said Coun. Lillian Szpak, who proposed the motion to amend the city乌鸦传媒檚 social media policy.

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 not to shut down our community, it乌鸦传媒檚 not to limit commentary, it乌鸦传媒檚 to have a respectful workplace for our staff.乌鸦传媒�

Councillors unanimously voted in favour of adopting the amended social media policy. As of April 8, it says 乌鸦传媒淐ity of Langford limited who can comment on this post,乌鸦传媒� below each of the city乌鸦传媒檚 Facebook posts.