Montana State University affiliated social media accounts are extensions of our identity as a government agency. Our position as a government agency obligates us to treat comments on social media in a certain way.

With that in mind, you may only remove/hide comments that contain threats, obscenity, illegal suggestions, advertisements, spam or solicitation, duplicate posts, or comments and content that do not relate to Montana State University. Before removing a comment, please screenshot the comment and contact MSU's Social Media Strategist at socialmedia@montana.edu.

The comment you are considering removing may be protected under the First Amendment. If you have a question or concern about responding to a comment or direct message, please send an email and a screenshot of the comment or message to socialmedia@montana.edu.

Furthermore, you should never block a user from your platform. If you have blocked users in the past, please unblock them.

It’s important to use social media as it was originally intended ­– for two-way communication. However, not every comment needs a response. Before responding, consider the following:

  • Will your response add value?
  • Will your response further amplify the issue?
  • Will this open the door to additional negative comments or trolling?
  • Weigh the risk/reward of responding and think of all negative angles.
  • Keep an institutional voice while being personable.

  • Remember that all direct messages, though initially private, can be made public with a screenshot.
  • Try your best to be timely in your responses.
  • Not every message requires a response.
  • Be informative. When possible, try to answer the persons question rather than sending them somewhere else then include a link to where the user can find more information.

Please have the following disclaimer listed on your Facebook business page in the “About” section under “Impressum.”

Montana State University encourages students, faculty, staff, alumni, families, friends and the community at large to interact on this page. Comments on this page posted by users other than the official Montana State University account do not reflect the views or opinions of the university.

Montana State University’s Facebook page abides by Facebook’s Terms of Service and Community Standards - both of which apply to all pages on Facebook.

Violations of Facebook’s terms and standards, include but are not limited to, content that contains violence and criminal behavior; content that encourages or endangers a person’s physical, financial, and/or emotional safety; content such as hate speech [as defined by Facebook policy], nudity and sexual activity, or sexual solicitation; content that violates the integrity and authenticity of a Facebook account including spam, or misrepresentations [as defined by Facebook policy].

Facebook encourages users to share responsibly and to report potentially violating content. Facebook also reserves the right to take action against accounts that violate its community standards. For more information, please visit https://transparency.fb.com/policies/

Additionally, users are expected to abide by applicable laws, regulations, rules and policies including those upheld by Montana State University’s Policy and Procedures. All content and comments posted to this page are monitored by social media administrators on behalf of Montana State University.

The administrators have the right to remove content or comments that contain threats, obscenity, illegal suggestions, advertisements, spam or solicitation; duplicate posts; or comments and content that do not relate to Montana State University. By interacting on the Montana State University Facebook page you hereby agree to the terms and conditions posted above.