Code of Conduct

AEA E-Group and Forums Rules & Etiquette

Thanks for being part of the American Evaluation Association’s (AEA’s) online community. To ensure the best possible experience for all E-group and Forum members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using these discussion lists, you agree that you have read and will follow the rules and guidelines set for these peer discussion groups. You also agree to reserve list discussions for topics best suited to the medium. This is a great medium with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions about the American Evaluation Association should be directed to our staff at info@eval.org.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, AEA reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership on all lists for members who violate these rules.

The Rules

  • Don't attack others. The discussions on the lists are meant to stimulate conversation, but personal attacks will not be tolerated.
  • Don't post commercial messages on any E-group or Forum. 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 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. Do not post anything in an E-Group or Forum message 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 to the list.
  • Send your message only to the most appropriate list(s). Do not spam several lists with the same message.
  • You must hold the copyright or have permission to distribute from a copyright holder for any copyrighted materials that you choose to share via an E-group or forum.

E-Group and Forum Etiquette

  • 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 that everyone can benefit from. 
  • 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, through the E-group or Forum. Instead, change your account and subscription preferences. If you are changing email 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

These E-Groups are provided as a service of the American Evaluation Association (AEA) for the AEA membership. AEA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. AEA disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall AEA 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 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 AEA and users of this list 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.

AEA 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 AEA staff' attention (info@eval.org), AEA will take all appropriate action.

AEA reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.