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The ASHA Forums are a place for members to share information; ask for help; discuss problems and lessons learned; and simply enjoy talking with colleagues. ASHA staff maintain and monitor the forums, but the nature of the discussion there is a reflection of all the members who take the time to be a part of the online community. These guidelines are suggestions for behavior, based on other Web communities and member comments. This document is subject to change, according to evolving membership consensus and interaction.
- Sometimes disagreements will emerge on the forums. Harassment (i.e., addressing an individual to cause distress, embarrassment or other discomfort) is not disagreement and will not be tolerated. The best way to interact with people is to respect their right to an opinion, even if you do not share it. Challenge an idea but do not attack the person with the idea, nor should you attack a person on the basis of their race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, or professionalism.
- In your relations with others, assume goodwill. That is, assume that people have goodwill toward you, and if you see something contrary to that, question it, but do not assume that the person is attacking you. If you constantly have a problem with another member, contact the Community Coordinator for help in resolving the issue.
- You own your own words and, by the same token, should have permission if you use the words of others. This means that you should assume that no one will copy your messages from the forums and email them, place them on a Web page, or otherwise use them without your permission. You shouldn’t do any of these things, nor should you post material that is protected by copyright -- such as images or complete articles copied from another source -- unless you are the copyright holder or have the author's permission. Fair use allows the posting of small excerpts; Web links to the full articles, when available, are encouraged.
- Your comments should be relevant to the area or topic where they are placed. If not, they may be moved or, in some cases, even deleted.
- While a post or message may pertain to multiple topics, please do not post duplicate messages within the forums. Duplicate messages cause confusion and when discovered, they will be deleted by ASHA staff.
- Community forums are for discussion, not advertising. Please refrain from promoting your products or services or those provided by a related business. If you are replying to an inquiry for recommended products or services, you may reply in the spirit of discussion and information-sharing.
- Remember that we respect the "community" in Community Forums. ASHA staff will avoid deleting posts unless they directly violate our community standards.
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