The following guidelines were established by the Lone Star Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to assist student-athlete in dealing with social networking accounts:
- Remember that all information appearing in your account (i.e., personal data, photos, text, etc.) will be published to the internet, which can be accessed by anybody with a computer (even people who are not your intended target audience). Assume that all material will be seen by your mother, your coach or your university president, because there’s a chance it might be!
- Do not publish personal contact information (i.e., phone numbers, e-mail address, physical address, dorm, etc.). Update your privacy settings so that profiles and groups are not visible.
- Always monitor your account photo gallery as well as friends. Do not include photos with alcohol, nudity or obscene gestures as well as school clothing. Be aware that photos can be altered or tagged by others.
- Monitor your account postings so not to include derogatory or obscene statements. You are responsible for all content appearing on your page.
- Do not reference or discuss issues regarding your team, coaches and/or athletic department.
- Do not trash talk or post disrespectful comments aimed at opponents.
- Report any problems or concerns to coaches or athletic department personnel.
- Set privacy settings to not allow third-party viewing of your account.
- Do not add friends to your account that you do not know personally.
- Be sure to log out from shared computers so that others can not access your site.
- Do not post your class or practice schedule, including times and locations.