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NYSBA Forum Guidelines

Please note: NYSBA Forums are for members-only but are part of the overall Internet. You should exercise caution to avoid posting any material which might be considered privileged or otherwise confidential or sensitive. If you wouldn't put it in writing, don't put it in a listserve message. When in doubt, err on the side of caution. There is no way to un-send messages once they have gone out to the list.

PROFESSIONALISM & COURTESY

NYSBA electronic forums are intended to be a collegial online environment where members can discuss issues related to the stated purpose of the sponsoring body within the NYSBA. 

Each message shall be professional, respectful and temperate in tone and content. No message may be defamatory, abusive, profane, sarcastic, threatening or otherwise offensive. 

Messages shall not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement which either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct which is intended to illegally restrict free trade.  Messages which encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are not permitted: 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.

Advertisements of any nature, including, but not limited to, job offers, real property sales or law firm promotions, and fees charged for services are not to be posted.

ONLINE FORUM ETIQUETTE

Please note that when you reply to a message received from this list, your reply will be sent to everyone else on the list, including yourself. 

Avoid posting messages containing only expressions of appreciation (such as only stating "thank you" or "I agree"), humorous replies or other extraneous, non-substantive communications (such as those which merely post the so-called "last word"). Such messages are to be emailed directly to the intended recipient at his or her personal email address, outside of the Forum.

Each message should have a concise topic set forth in the "Subject" line which summarizes the question or issue contained within the message.  If you are replying to a message from the forum, but changing the topic, be sure to change the Subject line of your reply.

Always include a full "auto-signature" block at the bottom of the messages to identify the person posting the message and his/her full contact information.  If your mail system does not have an auto-signature feature, all posts should include your full name, company name (if appropriate) city, state, and e-mail address.  Telephone numbers are also encouraged.

All questions and information posted to the forum should be directly related to the purpose of the forum.  Never forward jokes, chain letters or other off-topic messages to NYSBA forums.

Avoid re-sending the entire previous message thread within the body of your reply.  Instead, cut and paste the relevant parts of the previous message(s) to provide the proper context for your comments.  PLEASE do not re-send a digest message back to the forum.

AUTHORITY & CONTROL 

NYSBA electronic forums operate under the authority and control of the New York State Bar Association.  In the event that a forum participant fails to abide by the guidelines and standards of conduct, the NYSBA will work with the sponsoring body of the forum (i.e. section, committee, task force, etc.) to remind the offending participant of the NYSBA Forum Guidelines in an effort to correct the offending behavior.  If the participant continues to violate the guidelines, the NYSBA, in consultation with the sponsoring body, will remove the offending participant from the forum.

By subscribing to and participating in NYSBA online forums, each participant is agreeing to abide by these guidelines and standards of usage.

Neither the NYSBA nor the sponsoring body actively monitor the online forums for inappropriate postings or undertake editorial control on its own initiative.

NYSBA online forums are intended to be self-monitoring groups, where all participants are encouraged to assist in assuring that these guidelines are honored.  If a message is posted in violation of the guidelines, it is appropriate for another forum participant to remind the participant, courteously and professionally, about the guidelines.

To report egregious or repeated violations of the guidelines, forum participants should forward the offending message directly to the NYSBA Webmaster (webmaster@nysba.org), along with the reason the message was deemed offensive.

The NYSBA Webmaster will then contact the offending participant and request that he/she comply with these guidelines.  The NYSBA Webmaster, as needed, may enlist the assistance and support of the online forum’s sponsoring body in these efforts.

Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in removal of the offending participant from the forum.  Removal from the forum does not affect the NYSBA membership status of the offending party.

Any participant who is removed from a forum may apply for reinstatement to the forum by contacting the NYSBA Webmaster.  Reinstatement may require the approval of the sponsoring body and may carry stipulations, depending upon the extent and type of the violation, such as, but not limited to, an open apology to the forum.

FORUM MESSAGE SETTINGS

Most NYSBA online forums are set up as email discussion groups, where each participant receives an individual email every time a message is posted to the forum. 

You may change your subscription options to Index and you will receive one daily email each morning containing only the subject lines from the previous day or Nomail to receive no emails from the forum. For either of these settings you may view, reply or post a new message by logging into the NYSBA Web site. Once logged in, click on the Forums/Listserves tab on the left of the page. You will then see a listing of the listserves to which you are subscribed. Click on the name of the list you wish to view.

If you elect to receive No Email, you may follow the steps above and click Messages to read and interact with the forum via the NYSBA Web site. NYSBA discussion forums allow interaction and archiving on the Web. Announcement listserves do not allow Web-based archiving or interaction.

MEMBERSHIP  

Participation in an online forum is a privilege of membership and not guaranteed. 

Access to members-only NYSBA Forums will be terminated upon the expiration of your NYSBA membership or membership within the sponsoring body.

DISCLAIMER & COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

This list is provided as a service of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA).  Neither NYSBA nor the sponsoring body accepts responsibility for the opinions and information posted on this site by others.  NYSBA and the sponsoring body disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by NYSBA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness.  In no event shall NYSBA or the sponsoring body 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 it owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner.  In addition, the posting party grants NYSBA, the sponsoring body, and participants in the forum the non-exclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print and use such information or other material.

NYSBA does not filter forum message for viruses.  It is the responsibility and requirement that all forum participants have recent and updated ANTI-VIRUS software resident on their computers.  NYSBA is not responsible for any damage, loss of data or productivity due to virus activity that may be inadvertently delivered via this list.

NYSBA reserves the right to remove any forum participant who does not abide by these guidelines.