Terms and Conditions

Discussion Group Rules & Etiquette

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 great medium with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our Member Services department via the Contact Us link on this site. Technical questions on association management issues should directed to our helpdesk.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact the member services department. 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

  • Only send a message to the entire group when it contains information that everyone in your community can benefit Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me too" to individuals—not to the entire group. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link (instead of “Reply to Group.”)
  • Include a signature tag on all Include your name, affiliation, location. If you are not a licensed attorney, please note that in your signature line in every post to the Communities.
  • State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject This may include common abbreviations or “hashtags” such as LPM, LIT, or CORP. 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 Delete any header information and put your response before the original posting.
  • Do not post administrative messages, such as “remove me from the ” Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a group. If you are changing e-mail addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the group and rejoin under your new e-mail address. Simply change your settings.
  • Warn other Community subscribers of lengthy messages either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body with a line that says "Long "
  • Don't challenge or attack The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.
  • Don't post commercial messages in any Community. This includes advertising or promoting non-NYSBA CLE
  • Information posted to a Community or its library is available for all members of the group to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust
  • Use caution when discussing actual matters or litigation (even as a hypothetical). The Communities are confidential forums.  Posts may be seen by other parties, government agencies, or opposing
  • All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal content is strictly
  • The Communities are not the place for discussion of partisan politics, world politics, terrorism, and war. No political editorials, articles or links thereto, may be posted to unless related directly to legislation or a specific legal topic.
  • Do not distribute through the Communities any content such as, petitions for signatures, solicitations of users, promotional materials, chain letters or letters relating to pyramid schemes, advertising or solicitations for funds, political campaigning, mass mailings, any form of unsolicited commercial or promotional email ("spam") or an offering of lawful or fraudulent goods, services, schemes or promotions.
  • Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted.
  • Participants are asked not to share content outside the community unless they obtain the consent of the
  • Post should be made only to the most appropriate Communities or Do not spam several Communities or libraries with the same message.
  • Posts may not 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 Posts that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate: fees, 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.
  • Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright 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 NYSBA and users of this site a nonexclusive and transferrable right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.
  • This site is provided as a service for NYSBA NYSBA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on the Communities; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall NYSBA 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.
  • NYSBA does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of NYSBA, appropriate action will be taken. NYSBA reserves the right to remove discussion threads, including all posts, related to any content that is in violation of this policy. NYSBA reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by this policy.
  • Participants in Communities must also comply with NYSBA’s Social Media and Digital Communications Policy.

The Legal Stuff

This site is provided as a service for the members of New York State Bar Association.  New York State Bar Association 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 New York State Bar Association or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall New York State Bar Association 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 New York State Bar Association and users of this site 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.

New York State Bar Association 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 New York State Bar Association we will take all appropriate action.

New York State Bar Association reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.