Code of Conduct

Community Rules, Etiquette and Privacy Guidelines

Thank you for being part of the DE Connect community. To ensure the best possible experience for all, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using the 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 and benefit from the experience of your peers, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our Member Engagement department via the Contact Us link on this site. Technical questions on association management issues should be directed to our helpdesk.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact the Member Engagement department. 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 violates 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. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.
  • Use caution when discussing products. 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 and will be removed. 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 have the right to reproduce postings to this site 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.
  • 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, 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 from which everyone can benefit. 
  • 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 DirectEmployers Association, Inc. The below terms of service are a legal contract between you and DirectEmployers Association, Inc., so it is important that you review them carefully before using the site. Your use of the site indicates that you agree to follow and be bound by its terms, including the Discussion and Submission Guidelines above. DirectEmployers Association, Inc. may change the terms or modify any features of the site at any time at its sole discretion.

DirectEmployers Association, Inc. is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. This site is provided “as is.” We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted or error-free. We provide this site as a complimentary perk of membership in directEmployers association and reserve the right to discontinue it in whole or in part without notice, replacement or recompense.  There may be delays, omissions, interruptions, and inaccuracies in the news, information, or other materials available through the site. We disclaim to the maximum extent permitted by law any and all such representations and warranties. If you rely on the services and any materials made available through this site, you do so solely at your own risk. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by DirectEmployers Association, Inc. or any third party; this disclaimer includes all: (a) implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose; (b) warranties against infringement of any third-party intellectual property or proprietary rights; (c) warranties relating to the transmission or delivery of the site; (d) warranties relating to the accuracy, reliability, correctness, timeliness, or completeness of data made available on the site, including any advice, opinion, statement, or other material or database displayed, uploaded, or distributed in the site or available through the site; and (e) warranties otherwise relating to performance, non-performance, or other acts or omissions by DirectEmployers Association, Inc. or any third-party.

In no event shall DirectEmployers Association, Inc. or its affiliates or any party involved in creating, producing, or delivering the site be liable for any direct, special, indirect, incidental, punitive, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever arising out of your access, use, misuse, or inability to use the site or any linked sites, or in connection with any failure of performance, error, transmission, computer virus, or line or system failure, or 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. These limitations apply whether the alleged liability is based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or any other basis, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damage. Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, any liability of DirectEmployers Association, Inc. in such jurisdictions shall be limited to the extent permitted by law.

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 DirectEmployers Association, Inc. 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.

By submitting content, you are consenting to these rules:

  1. You agree not to submit inappropriate content. Inappropriate content includes any content that:
    • infringes upon or violates the copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights of any person
    • is libelous or defamatory
    • is obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, or vulgar
    • violates a person’s right to privacy
    • violates any local, state, national, or international law
    • contains or advocates illegal or violent acts
    • degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or other classification
    • is predatory, hateful, or intended to intimidate or harass, or contains derogatory name-calling
    • is a duplicate or repost of something you’ve already posted on the site
    • contains advertising
    • contains a solicitation of any kind
    • misrepresents your identity or affiliation
    • impersonates others
    • is in poor taste or is otherwise objectionable
  2. You agree that you are fully responsible for the content that you submit. You will promptly remove any content that you have posted should you discover that it violates these rules or that it is otherwise inappropriate. You will indemnify DirectEmployers Association, Inc. and its affiliates and their subsidiaries, and its and their directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents, and licensors, from and against losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any claim brought by any third party relating to content you have posted.
  3. You understand and agree that we are not responsible for any user submitted content. You further understand that we have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor submissions and we may remove content that we deem inappropriate for any reason whatsoever without consent. We further reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to remove a user’s privilege to post content on our site. We may reject or remove any comment at any time, with or without notice to you.
  4. You certify that you are at least 13 years of age. If you are under the age of 13, please do not submit any content to us. If you are under the age of 18 but at least 13 years of age, you may submit content only with the permission of, and under the supervision of, a parent or legal guardian. If you are a parent or legal guardian agreeing to these rules for the benefit of an individual between the ages of 13 and 18, please be advised that you are fully responsible for his or her submissions and any legal liability that he or she may incur.
  5. You certify that you have the permission of others who have contributed to or are featured in any content that you submit. If there are any individuals under the age of 18 in any photos, video, or other content that you submit, you must obtain the permission of each such individual’s parent or legal guardian prior to submitting the content.
  6. You acknowledge and agree any use and/or reliance on any information obtained through the interactive forums is at your own risk. We are not in any manner endorsing the content of the interactive forums and cannot and will not vouch for its reliability.
  7. For any content that you submit, you give us permission to use such content. Except as otherwise provided herein, You hereby grant to DirectEmployers Association, Inc. a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, exclusive, and fully sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, incorporate into other works, distribute, perform, display, and otherwise exploit such content, in whole or in part in any form, media or technology now known or later developed. With respect to any photos submitted, DirectEmployers Association, Inc.’s rights to such content shall be non-exclusive, instead of exclusive.
  8. You have read and agree to abide by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

The information provided in the community does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; DirectEmployers Association, Inc. and its members do not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites.

Readers of this site should contact their attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or refrain from acting on the basis of information on this site without first seeking legal advice from counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website authors, contributors, contributing law firms, or committee members and their respective employers. 

The views expressed at, or through, this site are those of the individual authors writing in their individual capacities only – not those of their respective employers, DirectEmployers Association, Inc., or any organization as a whole.

DirectEmployers Association, Inc. 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 DirectEmployers Association, Inc. we will take all appropriate action.

DirectEmployers Association, Inc. reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.

Privacy & Terms

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. View Our Privacy & Terms »

For any other information please contact us.