The ASHA Community is a place for members to share information, ask for help, discuss problems and lessons learned, and simply enjoy talking with colleagues. ASHA staff maintains and monitors the ASHA Community, but the nature of the discussion is a reflection of the interests of the members who take the time to be a part of the online community. These guidelines are the specific rules for participating. The Terms of Use for the ASHA Community provides the overall agreement for using the ASHA Community. ASHA members must also abide by the Code of Ethics. This document is subject to change, according to evolving membership consensus and interaction. The following guidelines cover messages sent to an entire discussion or to an individual community member.
- State concisely and clearly the topic of your message in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for them find relevant content when they search the archives by subject.
- Own your own words. You own your own words and, by the same token, should obtain permission before using the words of others. This means that you should assume that no one will copy and share part or all of your message(s) by e-mail, on a web page, or otherwise use them without your permission. You shouldn't do any of these things yourself, 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; posting a web link to the full article, when possible, is encouraged.
- Safeguard privacy. ASHA Community participation is limited to ASHA professional members and staff, who are expected to exercise good judgment in sharing personally identifiable or other sensitive information. E-mail and online forums are inherently insecure communication platforms, and ASHA cannot guarantee that your comments will remain private. To comply with privacy guidelines, ensure that any client specific information is de-identified. You can find more information at HIPAA and FERPA.
- Stay on topic. Your comments should be relevant to the area or topic where they are placed. If they are not, they may be moved or, in some cases, even deleted.
- Be professional. Discussion should be professional, not political. While issue advocacy that relates to the professions is acceptable, please refrain from posting partisan political messages.
- Research surveys. Please review the available options for surveying ASHA members before you post your survey. ASHA members may post messages inviting members to participate in survey research projects. Messages must be posted directly in an ASHA community discussion; no bulk private messaging. You may include a link to the survey in your discussion post, or you may provide an email address so interested participants can contact you directly.
- Do not post commercial messages. The ASHA Community is to be used for noncommercial purposes only. Sharing recommendations for products, services, events, and job openings for which you have no financial interest is permitted. Independent individuals can use our dedicated discussion for seeking or offering professional materials for sale. However, advertising job postings, products, services, or events in which you have a financial or commercial interest is not permitted.
Commercial representatives may reply to a specific inquiry or request for recommendations, but you must disclose your financial interest. ASHA offers a variety of marketing opportunities for promoting events, products, and services. ASHA has a dedicated Career Center that can be used by job seekers and by companies or institutions advertising new positions.
- Do not post messages or share information related to petitions.
- Remember that ASHA respects the community. We understand that people make mistakes, and we will not immediately ban someone from the community following a single violation. Rather, ASHA follows a graduated enforcement policy for these guidelines.
- First Violation—A written warning is sent to the member who violates the guidelines. Depending on the severity of the infringement, the message may be deleted.
- Second Violation—A written warning is sent to the member who violates the guidelines. The member's ASHA Community account is put into moderation, and messages from his/her account are reviewed before they are posted online.
- Third Violation—The violating post is not approved. The member's ASHA Community access is disabled for 6 months.