I know… you’re probably thinking “Code of Conduct?!?  Sounds kind of military-like or country club-ish, but we do want to be sure people don’t go crazy blabbering about their company or plain out irritate other members here.

The shortcut answer on how to act within our our community – Be cool, don’t spam and live it up a little (meaning, don’t be shy).

The longcut version (and official site rules) for those who need it spelled out a bit more clearly goes like this:

Be transparent. Your honesty—or dishonesty—will be quickly noticed in the social media environment. If you have a vested interest in something you are discussing, be the first to point it out.

Be judicious. Make sure your efforts to be transparent don’t violate others privacy, confidentiality and legal guidelines for external commercial speech. Ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private. All statements must be true and not misleading and all claims must be substantiated and approved. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy and confidential information. What you publish will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully and be judicious.

Write what you know. Ensure you write and post about your areas of expertise, especially as it relates to our association and business partners, vendors and members. Please respect brand, trademark, copyright, fair use, confidentiality and financial disclosure laws. Remember, you are personally responsible for your content.

It’s a conversation. Talk to your readers like you would talk to real people in professional situations. In other words, avoid overly pedantic or “composed” language. Don’t be afraid to bring in your own personality and say what’s on your mind. Consider content that’s open-ended and invites response.

Encourage comments. You can also broaden the conversation by citing others who are discussing about the same topic and allowing your content to be shared or syndicated.

Are you adding value? There are millions of words out there. The best way to get yours read is to write stuff people will value. Social communication should help our associations, businesses, members, partners, and vendors. It should be thought-provoking and build a sense of community. If it helps people improve knowledge or skills; build their businesses; do their jobs; solve problems; or understand Engage365 topics better—then it’s adding value.

Your Responsibility. What you write is ultimately your responsibility. Participation in social computing is not a right and it therefore needs to be taken seriously and with respect.

Be a Leader. There can be a fine line between healthy debate and incendiary reaction. Do not denigrate competitors. Try to frame what you write to invite differing points of view without inflaming others. Some topics—like politics or religion—slide more easily into sensitive territory, so be careful and considerate. Once the words are out there, you can’t really get them back. And once an inflammatory discussion gets going, it’s hard to stop.

Did you screw up? If you make a mistake, admit it. Be upfront and be quick with your correction. If you’re posting to a blog, you may choose to modify an earlier post—just make it clear that you have done so. If it gives you pause, pause. If you’re about to publish something that makes you even the slightest bit uncomfortable, don’t shrug it off and hit ‘send.’ Take a minute to review these guidelines and try to figure out what’s bothering you, then fix it. If you’re still unsure, you might want to discuss it with your manager or legal representative. Ultimately, the decision about what you publish is yours—as is the responsibility, be sure.

Moderation. Moderation is the act of reviewing and approving content before the content is published on the site. Engage365 does not endorse or take responsibility for content posted by 3rd parties. It is preferred that all content be posted by registered users of a site in accordance with an accepted terms and conditions and a code of conduct.  Engage365 strives for a balanced online dialogue.  However if the content is ugly, offensive, denigrating and completely out of context then we reject and remove the content and may remove that user from further participation on the site.

Okay, here’s the boring section that protects everyone…  Enjoy!

The Engage365 Community is provided as a service for Engage365 users.   Omnipress or Engage365 organizers are not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others.

Omnipress or Engage365 organizers do not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and do not, on its own, undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to Omnipress or Engage365 organizers attention,  Omnipress or Engage365 organizers will take all appropriate action.  Omnipress or Engage365 organizers reserve the right to remove content or terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.

Omnipress or Engage365 organizers disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by Omnipress, its organizers or any 3rd party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall Omnipress or Engage365 organizers 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.

Omnipress or Engage365 organizers shall not be liable for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential damages (including but not limited to any such damages arising from breach of contract or warranty or from negligence or strict liability), or for interrupted communications, loss of use, lost business, lost data, or lost profits, arising out of or in connection with use of this site.

Materials provided by Users have not been previously published in a manner that would affect violate any statutory or common law copyright or other rights, that all due diligence has been observed to ensure that the materials are factually accurate, and that the materials do not include any content that is libelous, an invasion of privacy, or otherwise unlawful or actionable. To the extent that any pre-existing works are contained in the materials the user represents and warrants that he/she has obtained full permission to use any or all such works of third parties, and further has the power to and does grant to Omnipress and Engage365 your right to share this material with all other users on the Engage365 websites.   Users hereby indemnifies and holds harmless Omnipress and Engage365 organizers against any or all claims, losses, or damage incurred as a result of breach of users representations or warranties, which shall survive any termination of this Agreement.

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