Code of Conduct

E-Group Rules & Etiquette
Thank you for being part of our community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines.

You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium. This is a great medium with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to TechServe Connect at connect@techservealliance.org.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact the member services department. In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership in this community for anyone who violate these rules.

The Rules

  • Don't challenge or attack others. The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.
  • Don't post commercial messages on any discussion list, resource library entry, or other area where others might see it.
  • Use caution when discussing products and do not discuss pricing. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
  • All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.
  • Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted.
  • Remember that other participants reproduce postings from this Community.
  • Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate lists or libraries. Do not spam several lists or libraries with the same message.All messages must add to the body of knowledge. We reserve the right to reject any message for any reason.

Discussion Group Etiquette

  • Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name and company.
  • State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
  • Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that everyone can benefit from.
  • Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals--not to the entire list. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link to the left of every message.
  • Do not send administrative messages, such as remove me from the list. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing e-mail addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new e-mail address. Simply change your settings.
  • Warn other list subscribers of lengthy messages either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body with a line that says "Long Message."

The Legal Stuff
This site is provided as a service for the members of TechServe Alliance.  TechServe Alliance is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by TechServe Alliance or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall TechServe Alliance be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.

Do not post any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials. Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants TechServe Alliance and users of this site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.

Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade. Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate: prices, discounts, or terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins, or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers.

TechServe Alliance does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of TechServe Alliance we will reserve the right to take all appropriate action including suspending or terminating the offending party’s access to the community.

TechServe Alliance reserves the right to terminate access to any user at anytime at its sole discretion.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the DMCA) provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under US copyright law. TechServe Alliance reserves the right to remove any material on this site which allegedly infringes another person’s copyright. Notices to TechServe Alliance regarding any alleged copyright infringement on this site should be sent to Mark Roberts at roberts@techservealliance.org Please provide the following in your communication:

  1. a description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
  2. a description of the where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site, along with a link if possible;
  3. your address, telephone number, and email address;
  4. a statement that the use of the copyrighted work is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  5. a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner’s behalf; and
  6. an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest.