The CRA WhatsApp Community exists to help residents of Craighall Park, Craighall and Dunkeld West communicate, share useful information and stay connected.
It includes the main CRA Community, announcements and broadcast areas, street groups, security groups, municipal service groups, local interest groups and other CRA-linked WhatsApp groups.
These groups are managed by volunteers for the benefit of the broader community. With thousands of residents across many groups, their usefulness depends on everyone using them thoughtfully and respecting the purpose of each group.
This Fair Usage and Engagement Policy applies across all CRA-managed and CRA-linked WhatsApp groups, in addition to any rules that apply to a specific group.
1. Use the Right Group for the Right Purpose
Each CRA WhatsApp group has a particular purpose.
Please post information in the group where it belongs and respect any additional rules shown in that group’s description.
For example:
* Security matters belong in the appropriate security group.
* Water, electricity and municipal service issues belong in the relevant service groups.
* Street-specific matters should generally stay within the relevant street group.
* Social, neighbourly and interest groups should be used for the purpose described in that group.
Posting the same message across numerous CRA groups is generally not appropriate.
If you are unsure where something belongs, please ask an admin before posting it widely.
2. Be Respectful
CRA groups are shared community spaces.
Treat other members, admins, volunteers, service providers and community representatives with courtesy, even where you disagree with them.
The following will not be accepted:
* Personal attacks, harassment or intimidation.
* Racist, xenophobic, discriminatory or hateful comments.
* Threatening or abusive language.
* Bullying or targeting another resident.
* Deliberately inflammatory comments intended to provoke an argument.
* Public arguments that would be better dealt with privately.
Disagreement is allowed. Abuse is not.
If a conversation becomes personal or involves a dispute between individuals, please move it to a private conversation.
3. Do Not Spam the Community
Before posting, consider how many people will receive the message and whether it is genuinely useful to them.
Please avoid:
* Posting the same message repeatedly.
* Posting substantially the same message across multiple CRA groups.
* Frequent promotional or commercial messages.
* Multiple follow-up messages where one clear message would have been sufficient.
* Chain messages, memes, viral content or unrelated forwards.
* Flooding a group with commentary that is only relevant to a small number of people.
A useful test is simple: would you still send this message if every member of the group had the same ability to post as frequently as you do?
Fair usage means leaving space for everyone else.
4. Advertising, Selling and Commercial Promotion
CRA community groups are not general advertising platforms.
Businesses, traders, service providers and individuals may not use general CRA groups to repeatedly promote products, services, menus, specials, events or commercial offers unless the particular group has been specifically established for that purpose.
This includes:
* Advertising a business or service.
* Posting menus, prices or specials.
* Soliciting orders or bookings.
* Repeatedly promoting goods for sale.
* Using community discussions as an opportunity to market a business.
* Posting promotional content across multiple groups.
A genuine recommendation from one resident to another is different from a business repeatedly promoting itself.
Individual groups may have their own rules governing once-off sales, recommendations, local businesses or community notices. Those group-specific rules must also be respected.
5. Use Security Groups Properly
CRA security groups exist to support community safety and the sharing of relevant security information.
They are not a substitute for your private armed response provider, emergency services or the SAPS.
Please do not use a CRA security group as your personal dispatch service by repeatedly asking the community to:
* Send a patrol vehicle to your property.
* Check a private alarm activation.
* Investigate routine incidents that should be reported directly to your security provider.
* Perform services for which you have a direct private security arrangement.
In an emergency, contact the appropriate emergency service, SAPS or your own security provider directly.
Security groups should be used for information that may reasonably affect or assist the wider community, such as suspicious activity, active incidents, relevant warnings and useful safety information.
6. Keep Information Relevant and Responsible
Please make reasonable efforts to ensure that information you share is accurate.
Avoid circulating rumours, unverified warnings or alarming claims without a reasonable basis.
Where information has not been confirmed, say so clearly.
If circumstances change or information you have posted turns out to be incorrect, please correct it.
Do not deliberately share misleading or false information.
7. Respect Privacy
Please be mindful that WhatsApp groups may contain hundreds of people.
Do not unnecessarily share another person’s:
* Private telephone number.
* Home address.
* Personal information.
* Photographs.
* Security information.
* Private correspondence or screenshots.
* Information about children.
Do not copy, forward or publish messages from CRA groups outside the community where doing so would compromise another person’s privacy or safety.
The CRA Privacy Policy applies to participation in the CRA WhatsApp Community and can be found at: https://cra.org.za/privacy-policy/
8. Keep Posts Constructive
CRA groups work best when messages help solve problems, share useful information or strengthen the community.
Before posting, ask:
Is it relevant?
Is it useful?
Is this the right group?
Does everyone in this group need to receive it?
Could this conversation happen privately instead?
A WhatsApp group with hundreds of members should not become the audience for a disagreement between two people.
9. Group Admins and Moderation
CRA WhatsApp groups are managed by volunteer admins.
Admins may take reasonable steps to keep groups useful, safe and aligned with their intended purpose.
This may include:
* Asking a member to stop or move a discussion.
* Removing inappropriate or repetitive content where technically possible.
* Restricting posting.
* Declining or removing promotional content.
* Requesting that a member use a more appropriate group or channel.
* Removing a member from a group or the broader CRA WhatsApp Community.
* Restricting or declining future participation.
Admins are not required to debate every moderation decision publicly.
Where appropriate, an admin may contact a member privately to explain a concern or request a change in behaviour.
Serious misconduct, or repeated disregard of group rules after an admin has intervened, may result in removal without further warning.
10. Participation in the CRA WhatsApp Community
Participation in the CRA WhatsApp Community is a privilege and not an automatic right.
The CRA reserves the right to manage and vet participation, particularly where group capacity, safety, privacy or community interests require it.
The CRA may also give preference to paid-up CRA members where group capacity is limited.
The CRA relies on membership subscriptions to support its work on community matters, municipal issues, safety, town planning, heritage and local civic initiatives.
Residents can become CRA members at: www.cra.org.za/join
11. Group-Specific Rules Still Apply
This policy provides the general rules for participation across the CRA WhatsApp Community.
Individual groups may have additional or more restrictive rules because of their particular purpose.
For example, a security group may have stricter posting requirements than a social group, while a local business group may permit forms of advertising that would not be appropriate elsewhere.
Where a group-specific rule differs from this general policy, the more specific rule for that group will apply.
12. The Principle Behind the Policy
The CRA WhatsApp Community is a shared resource.
No individual member, business, organisation or interest should dominate a group or use it in a way that reduces its usefulness to everyone else.
We ask every member to use reasonable judgement, respect the purpose of each group and be considerate of the people receiving their messages.
In short: be useful, be respectful, use the right group, and give everyone else some breathing room.