Code of Conduct

ASN Communities Code of Conduct

The ASN Communities (“ASN Communities” or “Community”) is a service provided by the American Society of Nephrology (referred to as “ASN,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) for its members.  To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established this Code of Conduct governing participation.

By joining and using this Community, you agree that you have read and will follow this Code of Conduct. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to this medium, which is intended to facilitate soliciting the advice of your peers, benefitting from their experience, and participating in an ongoing conversation. Any questions you have about the Community, its content, or ASN should be directed to our Member Services department via the Contact Us link.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with this Code of Conduct.  In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your ASN Communities account if you violate this Code of Conduct.

Community Rules & Etiquette Guidelines

The Rules

• The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation and not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may. Don’t attack others.
• Remember that the discussions and comments are intended to be used for informational and reference purposes only, and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health issue, condition, or disease; or as a recommendation for a specific procedure, treatment plan, or course of action. Always exercise your independent clinical judgment as a healthcare professional. Before you act on any information you've found on the ASN Communities, you should independently confirm any facts that are important to your decision.
• Do not post commercial messages in discussion forums that promote any product, event or service.  Contact the Communities Administrator if you have any specific question or if there is an event or other service that you believe would be of benefit to the greater ASN Community.  Remember, Communities are for discussion, networking and collaboration, generally promotions or announcements do not serve those goals.  
• Disclose relevant conflicts of interest relevant to the particular post. In your discussion posts be sure to reveal any relevant conflicts of interest relating to the subject matter of the thread.
• Do not use discussion threads to disseminate surveys for any purpose. The Community is intended to be a venue for collaboration, networking and discussion, surveys are not conducive to achieving those goals and are strictly prohibited.      
• Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all participants 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. 
• Remember that other participants have the right to reproduce postings to the Community unless you specify otherwise. 
• Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate lists or libraries. Do not spam several lists or libraries with the same message. We reserve the right to reject any message for any reason.
• Do not use discussion groups to campaign for any ASN office or endorse specific candidates for office. 
• Do not compose posts that contain personal details or private information about any other person, any confidential information, or any information that would infringe upon the proprietary, privacy, or personal rights of others. The Community is not intended to be a place for the exchange of any information or data that would be regulated by the federal Health Insurance and Portability Act (“HIPAA”) of 1996 and its implementing regulations.  Do not post any Protected Health Information, as that term is defined in HIPAA, to the Community.

• Respect the intellectual property rights of others.  Do not post or attach any copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright owner or using any words, logos, or other marks that would infringe upon the trademark, service mark, certification mark, or other intellectual property rights of the owners of such marks without the permission of such owners. If you are uncertain whether posting or attaching certain materials would violate the intellectual property rights of others, refrain from posting or attaching the materials. Instead, provide a link or citation to where the materials can be found.
• Please read carefully all items in this Code of Conduct, including the Legal Rules and Disclaimers below. 

Discussion Group Etiquette

• Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, and 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. 
• 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 asking to be removed 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."   

Enforcement

Remember that ASN respects the Community. We understand that people make mistakes, and prefer not to ban someone from the Community following a single violation. Rather, ASN follows a graduated enforcement policy:

• First Violation: A written warning is sent to the member who violates the code of conduct and the message may be deleted.
• Second Violation: A written warning is sent to the member who violates the code of conduct and the message may be deleted. The member's ASN Communities account may be put into moderation for 30-days. Placing a member’s ASN Communities account under moderation means that every new post is reviewed and approved by the Community manager before being publicaly viewable on the site.
• Third Violation: A written warning is sent to the member who violates the code of conduct and the message may be deleted. The member's ASN Communities account may be put into moderation for one year. 

ASN also reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to remove any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal material, and to suspend or terminate a member account for violating this Code of Conduct.

Privacy Policy

We respect your privacy

Any personal information you provide to us including and similar to your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address will not be released, sold, or rented to any entities or individuals outside of our organization except as noted below.

With Whom Do We Share the Personal Information We Collect Through The Community

Our Service Providers. 
We may share your personal information with companies (including our affiliates) that perform services on our behalf, for example, companies that help process credit card payments. Our service providers are required by contract and by law to protect the confidentiality of the personal information we share with them and to use it only to provide specific services on our behalf. 

Business Transfers. 
Your personal information may be transferred to another entity (either an affiliated entity or an unrelated third party) in connection with a merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar corporate event. If such a transfer were ever to occur, the acquiring entity’s use of your personal information will still be subject to this Privacy Policy. 

Government and Legal Disclosures 
We may disclose the personal information we collect through the Community, when we, in good faith, believe disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law (or a court order or subpoena); to prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft; to enforce this Code of Conduct or other agreements that govern your use of this Community; or to protect the rights, property or safety of our company, our users, or others.

External Sites

We are not responsible for, and have no control over, the content of external internet sites. We do not endorse, and are not responsible in any way for, the content, the accuracy of the information, and/or the quality of the products or services provided by, made available through, or advertised on any third party websites.  You are advised to read the privacy policy of external sites before disclosing any personal information.

Cookies

A "cookie" is a small data text file that is placed in your browser and allows us to recognize you each time you visit this site, in order to, for instance, provide a more personalized experience. Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and we do not use cookies to collect personal information.

Remember The Risks Whenever You Use The Internet

While we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us and you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any passwords or other account information. In addition, other internet sites or services that may be accessible through our site have separate data and privacy practices independent of us, and therefore we disclaim any responsibility or liability for their policies or actions. Please contact those vendors and others directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.  For any other information regarding ASN’s Privacy Policy, please contact us using the Contact Us link. 

Legal Rules & Disclaimers

The American Society of Nephrology ("ASN") does not offer medical advice or treatment recommendations. All content in ASN publications, including this website, is for informational purposes only and should not be exclusively relied upon. Before any health care professional acts on any information they have found on or received through the ASN Communities, they should exercise their own independent clinical judgment and confirm any facts important to their decision.  Any information about drugs or devices is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, drug interactions, or adverse effects. Patients must be advised to consult their doctor or other qualified health care provider if they have any questions about a medical condition, or before taking any drug, changing diet or commencing or discontinuing any course of treatment. Patients, do not ignore or delay obtaining professional medical advice because of information accessed through ASN. Call 911 or your doctor for all medical emergencies.

Your use of the Community, including your reliance on any content, is at your sole risk.  The Community is provided on an “as is” and “as available basis.” ASN disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

You understand and acknowledge the views, opinions and positions expressed by commenters in the Community are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of ASN, any entity thereof, or any other organizations with which an individual is affiliated. ASN is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. ASN makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual commenters. Any statements made in ASN Communities reflect only the views of their authors.

You understand and acknowledge that you are solely responsible for any loss or special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from or in connection with the use of any content obtained or otherwise made available through the ASN Communities. Further, you understand and acknowledge that any medical opinions or advice provided by any commenters or Community members are provided as a professional courtesy or an informal opinion and shall not, under any circumstance, be exclusively relied upon, or replace or otherwise substitute for your own independent clinical judgement in making decisions for your own patients.  Before you act on any information you've found on the ASN Communities, you should independently confirm any facts that are important to your decision.

You acknowledge and agree that ASN and its associated entities, and their respective officers, directors, employees, members, and agents shall not be liable to you for any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, any special, direct, indirect, punitive, or consequential damages or any damages resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with (1) the use or performance of any information posted on the Community; (2) the statements or conduct of any third party using the Community; (3) the unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmission or data; or (4) any other matter relating to your use of the Community.

You acknowledge and agree that ASN shall not be liable for any use or disclosure of Protected Health Information in violation of HIPAA through the Community, including, but not limited to, the transmission of Protected Health Information to an unintended recipient.  By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that the material does not infringe upon the privacy or personal rights of others, and further 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 party posting any information or material grants ASN the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or material.

You acknowledge and agree that ASN has the exclusive rights and privileges in and to the intellectual property rights of and with respect to providing the Community. You acknowledge and agree that the Community is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. The Community is provided solely for your personal, noncommercial use. Unless explicitly authorized in this Code of Conduct, by the owner of the materials, or in additional terms and conditions that may apply to the Community, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, translate, sell, create derivative works, exploit, or distribute in any manner or medium (including by e-mail or other electronic means) any material from the Community.

You acknowledge and agree that ASN has proprietary rights to the ASN Communities, its logo, and service marks (the “ASN Communities Marks”) and that you will not use the ASN Communities Marks in a manner that has not been authorized by us.

Additional terms and conditions, including, without limitation, ASN’s Terms of Service, may apply to the use of the Community.  You agree to abide such other terms and conditions as applicable, including ASN’s Website Linking Policy.  If there is a conflict between this Code of Conduct and any other terms regarding the Community, this Code of Conduct governs to the extent of the conflict.  

ASN reserves the right to make changes or modifications to the Community and this Code of Conduct. You will be notified of any changes by a notice of changes displayed on the Community.  The display of notice shall constitute effective notice of the changes on the day the notice is posted, and your continued use of the Community thereafter shall constitute your acceptance of such changes or modifications.

 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.

ASN does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not, on its own, undertake editorial control of postings. In the event that any inappropriate posting (including posting that contains any prohibited defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal material) is brought to the attention of ASN, we will take all appropriate action at our sole discretion, including, without limitation, removal of the offending post, and account suspension or termination. 

ASN reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by this Code of Conduct.

You agree to indemnify and hold the ASN and its associated entities, and their respective officers, directors, employees, members, and agents harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (i) content you made available through your use of the Community; (ii) your violation of this Code of Conduct; or (iii) your violation of any rights of another.