Thank you for participating in EPA’s on-line communities. To help our members make the most of the communication tools we provide, we’ve created these guidelines.

By using EPA’s forums, e-mail lists and other communication tools, you agree to abide by these guidelines for our industry discussion groups and networking tools. Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact EPA. Although EPA members are well-behaved collegial folks, EPA does reserve the right to suspend or terminate access to forums and lists for members who do not abide by these rules.

Our rules

• Don't attack others. The discussions on the lists are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Feel free to have your say, but let others do the same. This is a place for civil discussion and reasoned discourse.
• Don't post commercial messages. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them. Use caution when discussing products or vendors.
• Because these lists are available to all members, comments may be regulated by libel, slander, and antitrust laws. Offensive and illegal materials are strictly prohibited.
• Unless explicitly labeled “off the record,” material posted in EPA forums is considered “fair game” to be quoted and used elsewhere. Please remember that a forum filled with journalists is not a great place to share things  you’d like to have kept private.

Our manners

• Include a signature on all messages indicating your name, affiliation and e-mail address. 
• Make sure the subject line concisely and clearly reflects the topic of your comments. If you are replying to a message but heading off in a new direction, create a new subject line. This helps others respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject. 
• Include only relevant portions from the original message in your reply. There’s no need to include an entire e-mail chain, or headers from a previous message.
• If your message is really meant for just a single member, contact them directly by using you’re the forwarding option in your e-mail program and typing in or cutting and pasting in the e-mail address of the individual to whom you want to respond.  

The long arm of the law

Forums and lists hosted by EPA are provided as a service for members. EPA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. EPA disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by EPA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall EPA 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 illegal materials. Do not post any 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 EPA and its members the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.

To comply with antitrust laws, messages should 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 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.

EPA does not constantly monitor the site for inappropriate postings and generally does not take editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to EPA’s attention, EPA will take all appropriate action.

EPA reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.