Code of Conduct

Community Rules & Etiquette - Please Review and Accept the Terms of Use

Thanks for being part of the APNA community. To ensure the best possible experience for all community members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation. Please review these rules and scroll to the bottom to indicate your acceptance of these terms of use.

By joining and using these community tools, you agree that you have read and will follow the rules and guidelines set for these peer discussion groups. You also agree to reserve list discussions for topics 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 about community.apna.org should be directed to Meaghan Trimyer at mtrimyer@apna.org. For questions about the association, please visit our website at www.apna.org, or contact the Membership Department at 855-863-APNA (2762).

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, APNA reserves the right to suspend or terminate membership on all lists for members who violate these rules.

The Rules

  • Don't challenge or attack others. The discussions on the lists are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may. 

  • Don't post advertising or other commercial messages on any discussion forum or blog. The use of the member directory to send email solicitations and/or advertisements through this system strictly prohibited. The use of this site for advertising or other commercial interests is strictly prohibited. 

  • Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the lists 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 in a message 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 to the list. 

  • Discussions are members-only and content therein should not be divulged without consent of the member who posted the content.

  • Send your message only to the most appropriate list(s). Do not spam several lists with the same message.

  • All messages must add to the body of knowledge. APNA reserves the right to reject any message for any reason.

  • Do comply with the anti-trust guidelines. APNA Anti-Trust Compliance Policy

  • Do NOT post:
    • anything which interferes with or disrupts the Site or the operation thereof,
    • statements or material that defames, harasses, abuses, stalks, threatens, or in any way infringes on the rights of others,
    • unauthorized copyrighted materials or any other material that infringes on the intellectual property rights, trade secrets, or privacy of another,
    • statements or material that violates other contractual or fiduciary rights, duties, or agreements,
    • statements or material that is bigoted, hateful, or racially offensive,
    • statements or material that encourages criminal conduct or that would give rise to civil liability or otherwise violates any law or regulation in any jurisdiction,
    • statements or material that constitutes anti-competitive collaboration and/or antitrust violations,
    • statements or material that contains vulgar, obscene, profane, or otherwise objectionable language or images that typically would not be considered socially or professionally responsible or appropriate in person,
    • statements or material that harms minors,
    • statements or material that impersonates any other person or entity, whether actual or fictitious, including employees and representatives of APNA,
    • statements or material that misrepresents your affiliation with any entity and/or APNA,
    • anything that violates the privacy rights of any other person,
    • chain letters or pyramid schemes,
    • statements or material that constitutes junk mail, spam, or unauthorized advertising or promotional materials,
    • statements or material that are “off-topic” for a designated forum,
    • statements or material that solicits or encourages Users to become affiliated or do business with competitors of APNA, including recruitment of members for outside organizations, and
    • files that contain malicious code, viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another’s computer, network, or this Site.

E-Group Etiquette

  • Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location. 

  • 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. 

  • Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any header information, and put your response before the original posting. 

  • 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, through the EGroup. 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

These community tools are provided as a service of community.apna.org  for association membership.  APNA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. APNA disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by APNA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall APNA 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 APNA and users of this list 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.

APNA 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 APNA’s attention,  APNA will take all appropriate action.

As stated in paragraph 4 of APNA's website
Terms of Service, use of the Internet and this Site is solely at your own risk and is subject to all applicable local, state, national, and international laws and regulations. While APNA has endeavored to create a secure and reliable Site, you should understand that the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted to/from the Site over the Internet or other global communication network cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, you understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Site may involve transmission over various networks. Accordingly, APNA is not responsible for the security of any information transmitted via the Internet, the accuracy of the information contained on the Site, or for the consequences of any reliance on such information. You assume sole and complete risk for using this Site and must make your own determination as to these issues.

APNA reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines. The use of Member Bridge is a privilege of membership, not a right. Failure to comply with this code of conduct can result in the loss of this privilege. By accepting these terms of use, you also agree to abide by the APNA Website Terms of Service which applies to all of APNA's websites.