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ASQ Discussion Board Usage Policy
We welcome your participation in ASQ Discussion Boards. Our goal is to encourage lively and intelligent discussion on a variety of topics of interest to professionals working and interested in quality.
ASQ reserves the right to deny access to ASQ Discussion Boards or remove the posting privileges of users who violate the ASQ Discussion Board Terms of Service, Disclaimer and Legal Rules, etiquette requirements or other related ASQ policies.
Terms of Service
By participating in an ASQ Discussion Board, you are agreeing to abide by the following rules:
- State concisely and clearly the specific topic of the post in the subject line of the entry. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
- We encourage lively discussion and debate but remember that disagreeing with an idea is different from attacking individuals, including ASQ members or staff. Messages and materials that are defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive or illegal are strictly prohibited.
- ASQ Discussion Boards are for noncommercial use. Advertising is not allowed. Do not post messages containing any solicitation of funds, advertising or solicitation of goods or services. This includes (but is not limited to) posting of job openings, availability or position wanted messages. To post a job opening or a resumé, please visit ASQ’s Career Center.
- Do not post material that is protected by copyright, such as complete articles copied from another source, unless you are the copyright holder or have the author's permission. Fair use generally allows the posting of small excerpts. View the ASQ copyright policy if you have questions.
- Use caution when discussing individuals and products. Information posted on ASQ Discussion Boards is subject to libel, slander and antitrust laws. View the ASQ Disclaimer and Legal Rules if you have questions.
- The consequences of distributing documents containing viruses are widely known. Therefore, do not post, e-mail, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.
- Take care when including contact information in posts or comments. Refer to user profiles when available. If you do not have a profile, you may include an e-mail. Understand that ASQ cannot protect the privacy of this information. It may be vulnerable to spam or other negative Web practices.
Any member or guest who violates the ASQ Discussion Board Terms of Service, Disclaimer and Legal Rules, etiquette requirements or other related ASQ policies will be subject to the following process.
- ASQ and/or the applicable ASQ Discussion Board Moderator will contact the user as to the inappropriate nature of the posting. This may lead to being denied further posting privileges.
- In the event of a second violation or the failure to make the necessary changes, the member or guest will be notified that any future inappropriate postings will result in the member or guest being denied ASQ Discussion Boards posting privileges.
- Should a third violation occur, the discussion board advisory group (members and staff moderators) will review violations and make a final decision regarding the member’s or guest’s discussion board privileges. The member or guest will be notified of any decision to remove their posting privileges. Decisions may be appealed to the member ombudsman.
The ASQ Discussion Boards technology allows messages to be copied by others. ASQ cannot control this activity. ASQ does not and cannot review every message posted on ASQ Discussion Boards and is not responsible for the content of these messages. ASQ, however, reserves the right to delete, move or edit messages that violate the terms above.
ASQ will make every effort to delete, move or edit offensive messages immediately. It may take time for such changes to take effect, since we do not have control over externally cached information.
Disclaimer and Legal Rules
ASQ Discussion Boards are provided as a benefit for members and customers of the American Society for Quality (ASQ). ASQ accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted on the ASQ Discussion Boards by others. ASQ disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on the ASQ Discussion Boards, whether posted by ASQ or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall ASQ 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 the ASQ Discussion Boards.
While ASQ attempts to review downloaded documents posted to the ASQ Discussion Boards, any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the ASQ Discussion Boards is done at your own discretion and risk and you are solely responsible for any damage to your computer system, loss of data or any other damage or loss that results from the download of any such material.
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 ASQ and users of the ASQ Discussion Boards 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, 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.
ASQ attempts to monitor the ASQ Discussion Boards for inappropriate postings but does not independently undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to ASQ’s attention, ASQ will take all appropriate action.
ASQ reserves the right to terminate access to any user of ASQ Discussion Boards who does not abide by these ASQ Disclaimer and Legal Rules, the ASQ Discussion Board Rules and Etiquette requirements or other related ASQ policies.
Etiquette Requirements
As with any community, there are simple rules of etiquette that guide the group in communicating with ease and ensure a free flow of information:
- Select the one most appropriate ASQ Discussion Board for your posting. Be sure the topic is relevant to the Board.
- Please do not post the same question or topic in more than one Discussion Board heading. You may not receive a response or the number of responses you were expecting. You can increase your message’s visibility by adding additional comments to your original posting. This will bring it to the top of the forum list as the most recent posting. If you feel that a different forum will increase your responses, delete your original posting and move it to a more appropriate discussion forum.
- Be brief when posting. Understand that users have limited time for reading entries. Respect that time by being succinct and to the point.
- When responding to comments or a post, it is not necessary to include the entire text of their comment or post in your response. Explain to whom and what you are responding and summarize or quote pertinent information as needed.
- Read your entry before posting. Check for typos and grammatical errors that may allow users to misconstrue your entry. Refrain from using all caps. An edit feature exists for members to correct errors after posting.
- Before posting a question, please perform a discussion board search. Performing a search will determine if your area of interest is part of a previous post or discussion thread. If you cannot find a similar topic or you want more information, you may post a new topic thread or add to an existing similar thread.