THC Social Media Guidelines

The THC supports the free exchange of ideas on the social media pages of the THC—which include our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube accounts. However, we moderate these pages and reserve the right to remove comments, posts, photos, or any content if it is derogatory, obscene, off topic, or does not adhere to the following guidelines.

The views expressed in comment fields reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the THC or the Texas state government.

Examples of comments and posts supported include those that:

  • Relate to the content in our posts or comments left by readers
  • Relate to our mission of historic preservation in Texas
  • Are thought-provoking and spark discussion or debate while maintaining a positive, courteous, or constructive tone
  • Differ with the content in our posts without insulting the writer, agency, or other commenters

Examples of comments and posts that are not supported—and which we reserve the right to delete—include those that:

  • Are unrelated to content in posts, comments left by readers, or historic preservation in Texas
  • Become distracting from the focus of the social resource
  • Descend into derogatory or obscene language
  • Are insulting to the writer, the agency, or other commenters
  • Promote or endorse products and services (NOTE: non-commercial links that are on-topic are acceptable)

Comments or posts that CAN BE DELETED WITHOUT NOTICE include those that:

  • Contain content deemed obscene, indecent, profane, or otherwise objectionable, including (but not limited to) content of a sexually explicit, racially, or ethnically objectionable nature
  • Contain unlawful content or hate speech
  • Contain personal attacks, including insults, threats, or defamation
  • Contain spam or advertising (or any unique content posted multiple times)
  • Are disruptive or inappropriate, including personal conversations better suited for private communication
  • Contain sensitive personal information or other confidential information
  • Violate any third-party platform’s terms of use, terms of service, or code of conduct

THC employees who monitor and moderate social media content are not required to provide an explanation for removing content.

Numerous violations of the above THC content guidelines may result in a commenter being blocked from making future comments or posts on this page.

Privacy Notification

The THC’s social media presence is public. Please do not include personally identifiable information (such as birth dates or identification numbers) or sensitive personal information (such as health information) for yourself or others when interacting with public posts. If such information is required to resolve an issue, please contact us at thc@thc.texas.gov. Posts on THC social media that include sensitive personal information are subject to removal, unless the subject of that information has given express consent for the disclosure of that information.

Public Information Act 

Texas law gives you the right to access government records without government officials asking why you want them. All government information, including social media, is presumed to be available to the public. See our Open Records page for more details, including how to request information.

Third-Party Websites and Terms of Service

Social media platforms are hosted by third parties and the use of these platforms is governed by the social media provider’s own policies in addition to the policy set forth by the Texas Historical Commission.

Intellectual Property Rights and Ownership 

Intellectual property rights of content provided by the public on THC social media will be governed by federal copyright law, the terms of service of the social media provider, and the agency’s copyright policies.