Code of Conduct

 Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society

Regulatory Exchange Community Code of Conduct & Rules

Thank you for being part of the Regulatory Exchange Online Community (“Reg Ex” or the “Community”). The message boards in the Community are provided by the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (“RAPS”) in furtherance of its nonprofit and tax-exempt purposes. The Community is intended to serve as a forum for RAPS members to participate in in-depth discussions and receive feedback and resources from other professional peers on matters related to or arising out of the regulatory affairs profession. To ensure the best possible experience for all RAPS members, RAPS has established the following Regulatory Exchange Community Code of Conduct and Rules (collectively, the “Rules”) for participation in the RAPS Community.

The Rules seek to define acceptable use of the Community and applies to all users of the Community.  Please acquaint yourself with these important Rules before you make or view any posts in the Community. By joining and participating in this Community, you agree that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by the following Rules. If you do not agree to these Rules, do not access or use the Community.

In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, RAPS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to take appropriate action with respect to the Community (or parts thereof), including, without limitation, to moderate, suspend, or terminate access or use to the Community by anyone who violates these Rules and/or in the event your actions or comments are potentially unlawful or harmful to RAPS and/or other persons or entities. All messages must add to the body of knowledge and the membership community. We reserve the right to reject any post for any reason.

In general, RAPS will follow a graduated enforcement policy for repeated Code of Conduct Violations, though RAPS reserves the right at any time to take actions not consistent with this policy in circumstances that RAPS believes to warrant such action.

  • First Violation: RAPS sends a written warning the user who violates the code of conduct and RAPS may delete the applicable message(s).
  • Second Violation: RAPS sends a written warning to the user who violates the code of conduct and RAPS may delete the applicable message(s). In addition, RAPS will place the user’s RegEx Community account into moderation for 30 days.
  • Third Violation: RAPS sends a written warning to the user who violates the code of conduct and RAPS may delete the applicable message(s). In addition, RAPS will place the user’s RegEx Community account into moderation for one year.

You have no proprietary interested in the Community, and these Rules provide only a limited license to use its features. Be aware that content used on Reg Ex may be stored or archived indefinitely, backed up by others, reposted by others to different media, or shared with others without notice to or permission from you. RAPS reserves the right to view, monitor, and/or record activity on the Community to maintain security and to comply with government or court appointed authorities when necessary. Accordingly, users should not have any expectation of privacy while using the Community.

Any questions about RAPS and its products and services should be directed to the RAPS Solutions team via raps@raps.org.

 

Discussion Group Etiquette

  1. By participating in RegEx, you are opting into a community environment. Other RAPS members may be able to see your profile information and send you private messages. Private messages should not include solicitations, calls for participants in studies, or advertising for personal gain. Keep in mind that the rules that apply to public posts to RegEx also apply to private messages.
  2. State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line of your posting. This allows participants to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for participants to search the archives by subject.
  3. Include a basic signature tag on all messages, including your name, affiliation, and location, except in the case of anonymous posting (see Anonymous Posting Etiquette section).
  4. Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any header information, and put your response before the original posting.
  5. Strive to communicate as clearly and accurately as possible in the Community, so as to avoid misunderstandings. The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation, not to create contention. Don't challenge or attack others. Let others have their say, just as you may. Personal attacks and antagonistic language will not be tolerated.
  6. Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that the majority can reasonably benefit from. Messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" should be sent to the individuals - not to the entire list. A response to individuals sent by using the "Reply to Sender" link.
  7. Do not send administrative messages, such as "remove me from the list" to the Community. Instead, visit your account settings page 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. A change to your e-mail address can be carried out by simply changing your settings.
  8. 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."
  9. Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the Community is available for all Community participants to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws, as well as these Rules, including the Terms of Use below.


Anonymous Posting Etiquette

  1. Anonymous posting should only be used in the instance where proprietary, sensitive, or otherwise delicate information is being shared that requires a members' name not to be attached to the message.
  2. Anonymous posting should never be used to attack, defame, harass, or abuse other members.
  3. All anonymous posts will be subject to full moderation by the Community Manager before being posted to the RegEx open forum.

 

Terms of Use

  • Community participants must adhere to the following: You agree not to upload, post, transmit, or otherwise make available any information or material that is unlawful, defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, harassing, tortious, vulgar, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, obscene, offensive, hateful, or illegal; such information and materials are strictly prohibited.
  • You agree not to use this Community to harm minors or as a means to contact or interact with a minor in any way; impersonate any person or entity; or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent affiliation with a person or entity.
  • Users are prohibited from posting commercial messages or promotions, advertising, selling, or soliciting goods or services in the Community. This includes links to blogs, webinars, articles, etc. that belong to you or the company you work for. For-profit organization surveys are not allowed. If a member asks for consultant recommendations in the Community discussion, you may publicly recommend other consultants, but you may not recommend yourself/your company. If you believe product and service information would help someone, contact that person privately and outside of the Community.
  • By posting to the Community, you warrant and represent that you own the copyright with respect to such material, you have received permission from the copyright owner, and/or that the material is in the public domain, such that you have all rights and permissions necessary to available any content in your posts. You further warrant and represent that you have the full and unencumbered rights and permissions necessary to post any material in your posts and that submitting, displaying, or making available such material will not infringe any rights or interests of others.
  • You grant RAPS and other users of the Community a royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide and sublicenseable license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, and use the contents of your post, including all information and materials included therein, and otherwise exploit such content without payment to you, for any lawful purpose. 
  • Materials protected by copyright (such as photos and written ideas) may not be posted without the permission of the copyright owner. You agree not to use any words, logos, or other marks that would infringe upon the trademark, service mark, certification mark, or other intellectual property rights of owners of such marks without the permission of such owners.
  • You acknowledge that your submissions are non-confidential for all purposes. Personal and confidential information (such as names and histories of individuals, customer lists, trade secrets, or company data) may not be shared. You agree not to publish any personal and/or non-public information or content about other businesses or individuals, including but not limited to current, former, or prospective RAPS employees, or RAPS members and their current, former, or prospective employees. You further agree not to post any confidential or other information that would infringe upon the proprietary, privacy, or personal rights of others.
  • Messages or documents must be posted only once and participants should undertake reasonable efforts to post to the most appropriate lists or library within the Community. Spamming several lists or libraries with the same message is prohibited.
  • You agree you will not post or transmit anything that contains or distributes malicious code, viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of the Community or RAPS or another’s data, network or systems.

DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. The Community is provided as a service for the members of RAPS. RAPS is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others.  THE COMMUNITY IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES AND MAY INCLUDE ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES.  RAPS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF THE COMMUNITY OR ANY INFORMATION POSTED IN THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS. RAPS’ MAXIMUM LIABILITY FOR ANY REASON SHALL BE LIMITED TO $100.  

Antitrust Compliance Reminder

RAPS has a strict policy of complying with all applicable antitrust laws and expects users of the Community to comply with these laws. This Community should not be utilized in any manner that violates federal or state antitrust laws or other laws prohibiting anticompetitive practices. The antitrust laws generally prohibit any agreement or understanding inconsistent with the right and obligation of competitors to exercise independent business judgment in pricing their products or services, dealing with their customers and suppliers, and selecting the markets in which to compete, among other business practices. No express agreement or understanding is required; one can be inferred from statements or conduct. Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate or appear to encourage or facilitate Community participants 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 contain information about the following subjects are inappropriate and prohibited: 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.

No Pre-Screening of Comments 

RAPS has the right, but not the obligation, to actively monitor or moderate the Community for any user submitted postings. Any views expressed on the Community do not necessarily reflect the views of RAPS. If links to other sites on the Internet are provided or made available through the Community, please note that these sites have not necessarily been reviewed by RAPS and are maintained by third parties over which RAPS exercises no control and for which RAPS will not be responsible. Any use and/or reliance on any information obtained through the Community is at your own risk.

Amendments to these Rules

RAPS reserves the right to update or modify these Rules or the features of the Community at any time without notice. Your continued use of the Community following any change to these Rules or the Community shall constitute your acceptance of such updates or modifications. Therefore, RAPS encourages you to review these Rules on a periodic basis.

Supplemental Terms

In connection with your use of the Community, you may be asked to consent to policies or terms and conditions in addition to these Rules. Please read these supplemental policies and terms carefully before making any use of such portions of the Community. Any supplemental terms will not vary or replace these Rules regarding any use of the Community, unless otherwise expressly stated.

Waiver

The failure of RAPS to enforce any provisions of the Rules or to respond to a breach by you or other parties shall not in any way waive its rights to enforce subsequently any terms or conditions of the Rules or to act with respect with similar breaches.

Governing Law

These Rules have been made in and will be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland as applied to agreements entered into and completely performed in the State of Maryland.

I, BEING 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE FOREGOING COMMUNITY RULES AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET FORTH HEREIN. PLEASE MANIFEST YOUR ASSENT TO THESE RULES BY CLICKING ON THE APPROPRIATE LINK BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE RULES, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE COMMUNITY.

Read the RAPS Privacy Policy here.