Code of Conduct

my Communities Rules, Etiquette, and Legal Notice

Thank you for being part of our community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium. This is a medium with which to solicit the advice of your colleagues, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation.

Please take a moment to read these important guidelines. In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership in this community for anyone who violate these rules.

The Rules

  • Do not attack others. The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention.
  • Do not post commercial messages on any discussion list, resource library entry, or other area where others might see it. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.
  • Use caution when discussing products. Discussion of specific pricing should be avoided. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
  • All anticompetitive, defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything you would not want all members to see or you would not want anyone to know came from you.
  • Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright or trademark without the permission of the owner. Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal notice below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted.
  • Remember other participants have the right to reproduce postings to this site unless you specify otherwise.
  • Do not post or transmit any information that may invade another’s privacy or publicity rights. Do not engage in any political activity or post or transmit information supporting or opposing candidates for office.
  • Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate lists or libraries. Do not spam several lists or libraries with the same message.
  • All messages must add to the body of knowledge. We reserve the right to reject any message for any reason.

Discussion Group Etiquette

  • Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location.
  • 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 from which everyone can benefit.
  • 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. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing e-mail 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."

Disclaimer & Legal Notice

This site is provided as a service for the members of the American Association of Law Libraries. The American Association of Law Libraries is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by the American Association of Law Libraries or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. In no event shall the American Association of Law Libraries 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 misuse of this site or 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 the American Association of Law Libraries and users of this site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material. If you believe material posted on this site infringes on your copyrighted work, please see the “Procedures for Requesting Removal of Infringing Material”

Messages may 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 including but not limited to information about 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.

The American Association of Law Libraries 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 attention of the American Association of Law Libraries we will take all appropriate action.

The American Association of Law Libraries reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.

Procedures for Requesting the Removal of Infringing Material

The owner of a copyrighted work (or the agent for the owner) who believes that material posted on this site infringes on the copyrighted work may request that the allegedly infringing material be removed from the site by notifying AALL’s designated agent for such purposes. The notice must:

  1. identify in sufficient detail the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
  2. provide the electronic or physical signature of the owner of the copyright or a person authorized to act on the owner’s behalf;
  3. include a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  4. include a statement by you that the information contained in your notice is accurate and that you attest, under penalty of perjury, that you are the copyright owner or that you are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf; and
  5. include your name, mailing address, telephone number and email address.

You may submit your notice of alleged copyright infringement to our designated copyright agent by mail or email as set forth below:

Executive Director
American Association of Law Libraries

230 West Monroe Street, Suite 2650
Chicago, IL 60606
ph: 312-939-4764
fax: 312-431-1097
support@aall.org

Please note that you may be liable for damages, including court costs and attorneys’ fees, if you submit a notice and you materially misrepresent that content on the site is infringing. Upon receiving a proper notice, we will remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material and promptly notify the alleged infringer of your claim. We will also advise the alleged infringer of the statutory counter-notification procedure described below by which the alleged infringer may respond to your claim and request that we restore his or her material.

If you believe your own copyrighted material has been removed by us from the site as a result of mistake or misidentification, you may submit a written counter-notice to our designated copyright agent. To be effective, your counter-notice must:

  1. identify the material that has been removed or disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled;
  2. include a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court in which your address is located, or if your address is outside the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found;
  3. include a statement that you will accept service of process from the party that filed the notice of alleged copyright infringement or the party’s agent;
  4. provide your name, address and telephone number;
  5. include a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material in question was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled; and
  6. include your physical or electronic signature.

You may submit your counter-notice to our designated copyright agent by mail or email as set forth below:

Executive Director
American Association of Law Libraries

230 West Monroe Street, Suite 2650
Chicago, IL 60606
ph: 312-939-4764
fax: 312-431-1097
support@aall.org