Community Rules & Etiquette and Privacy Guidelines
Updated December 22, 2022

Thank you for being part of our my.ASTHO community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established some basic (but required) rules and guidelines for participation.

By joining or using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines and you agree that you may be subject to sanctions, including but not limited to having your access to this community temporarily or permanently revoked in the event of violation of one or more rules or 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 peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our my.ASTHO Community Manager via the Contact Us link on this site.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important rules and guidelines. If you have questions, please contact us. In order to preserve an environment that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate participation or membership in this community for anyone who violate these rules.

The Rules

• Respect others. Focus on the content of posts and not on the people making them. Please extend the benefit of the doubt to newer guests and members; there is no such thing as a stupid question.
• Respect the purpose of the community. Use the community to share successes, challenges, constructive feedback, questions, and goals instead of products or services that you provide. If you have found a product or service helpful, please share your experience with the group in a respectful way.
• Use caution when discussing products or services. Information posted on the discussion groups and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.  Please do not discuss pricing or product/service costs.
• Do not post any content that is sensitive personally identifiable information about yourself or another person (including but not limited to medical information, financial information, political or religious opinions, racial or ethnic origin).
• Do not post any content that impersonates any person or entity or otherwise misrepresents your identity or affiliation with another person or entity.
• Do not post or share any contact that is defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal. Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.
• Respect intellectual property. Only post content that you have personally created or have clear permission to use in the applicable forum. Make proper attribution to the applicable content creator. This applies to all posts, including the use of images, video, and other media posted to the site.
• Do not share any content that was posted to a my.ASTHO forum unless express permission has been given by the original poster.
• Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate communities. This helps ensure all messages receive the best response by eliminating "noise."
• Job Openings and Vacancy Notifications may not be posted in the Open Forum of my.ASTHO. Postings that include this content will be removed.
  • While job postings on Open Forum are strictly prohibited, note that any job postings in other communities must first be approved by a community administrator and also be posted on www.publichealthcareers.org, then linked within the discussion post on my.ASTHO.
• Our Member Directory and the information within (including contact details) are available only to other Members of my.ASTHO. This information should be considered sensitive and not shared with non-members without permission.

Discussion Group Etiquette

• 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.
• The like button functions the same as other social platform and lets the poster know you appreciate or agree with their post and/or reply.
• 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 in every message.
• Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the list,” to the group. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing email addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new email address. Simply change your settings.

The Legal Stuff

THESE RULES AND GUIDELINES CONSTITUTE A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU (referenced herein as “You,” or “user” or with “your”) AND THE ASSOCIATION OF STATE AND TERRITORIAL HEALTH OFFICIALS (referenced herein as “ASTHO,” “we,” or “us”) THAT APPLIES EACH TIME YOU USE OR ACCESS THE ASTHO WEBSITE (referenced herein as the “Site”). This Site is provided as a service for the members of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (“ASTHO”) and this agreement (“Agreement”) governs your use of the Site. By using the Site, You are agreeing to all of the rules and guidelines and other terms and conditions herein. If You do not agree with these terms, please stop using the Site immediately. ASTHO reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not accept or abide by these terms.

This Agreement gives You a personal and limited license to use the Site as long as You follow its rules, guidelines, terms, and conditions. However, it does not give You the right to modify, decompile, distribute, or otherwise use or exploit the Site in any manner not expressly permitted herein. By downloading, accessing, or using the Site, you represent that You are at least eighteen (18) years of age ((or the legal age of majority) (whichever is greater)) and will, always, provide true, accurate, current, and complete information when submitting any materials to or posting on the Site. In addition, you agree to comply with all applicable laws when using the Site. You may not use the Site to engage in, foster, or promote illegal, abusive, or irresponsible behavior, including, without limitation, accessing or using ASTHO’s data, systems, or networks in an unauthorized manner. Although ASTHO has endeavored to create a secure and reliable Site, your use of the Internet and access of the Site is solely at your own risk.

You may 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, You warrant and represent that You own the copyright with respect to such material or have received permission from the copyright owner to post such material. In addition, by posting materials or information, You grant ASTHO and users of this Site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, create derivative works, 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.

ASTHO does not pre-screen or monitor the Site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of postings. However, if any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, we will take all appropriate action. ASTHO reserves the right, at any time and without notice, to modify, suspend, terminate, or interrupt operation of or access to the Site, or any portion of the Site in order to protect the Site or ASTHO. ASTHO also reserves the right to remove any postings on the Site within its discretion.

ASTHO 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 ASTHO OR ANY THIRD PARTY. THE SITE IS MADE ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. ASTHO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, RELIABILITY, LEGALITY, OR ACCURACY OF THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS (TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW) ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR ANY OTHER IMPLIED WARRANTY UNDER THE UNIFORM COMPUTER INFORMATION TRANSACTIONS ACT AS ENACTED BY ANY STATE.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL ASTHO BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF THE SITE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, AND EVEN IF ASTHO HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN ADDITION, TOTAL LIABILITY OF ASTHO FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER RELATED TO USE OF THE SITE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO ASTHO IN CONNECTION WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PARTICULAR DISPUTE OR $1,000 (US), WHICHEVER IS LESS.

Privacy Policy

Any personal information you provide to us including and similar to your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address will not be released, sold, or rented to any entities or individuals outside of our organization except as noted below.

With Whom Do We Share the Personal Information We Collect Through This Site:

Our Service Providers
We may share your personal information with companies (including our affiliates) that perform services on our behalf, for example, companies that help process credit card payments. Our service providers are required by contract to protect the confidentiality of the personal information we share with them and to use it only to provide specific services on our behalf.

Business Transfers
Your personal information may be transferred to another entity (either an affiliated entity or an unrelated third party) in connection with a merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar corporate event. If such a transfer were ever to occur, the acquiring entity’s use of your personal information will still be subject to this Privacy Policy.

Government and Legal Disclosures
We may disclose the personal information we collect through this Site, when we, in good faith, believe disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law (or a court order or subpoena); to prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft; to enforce our Terms and Conditions or other agreements that govern your use of this Site; or to protect the rights, property or safety of our company, our users, or others.

External Sites
We are not responsible for the content of external internet sites. You are advised to read the privacy policy of external sites before disclosing any personal information.

Cookies
A "cookie" is a small data text file that is placed in your browser and allows us to recognize you each time you visit this site (personalization, etc.). Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and we do not use cookies to collect personal information. Cookies may also be used by 3rd party content providers such as newsfeeds.

Remember The Risks Whenever You Use The Internet
While we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to us and you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any passwords or other account information. In addition, other Internet sites or services that may be accessible through our site have separate data and privacy practices independent of us, and therefore we disclaim any responsibility or liability for their policies or actions. Please contact those vendors and others directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.  For any other information please contact us using the Contact Us page.

ASTHO only allows use of the Site. This Agreement does not transfer any ownership or intellectual property ownership in the Site to You. The Site is Copyright © 2023 Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and ASTHO and all other names, designs, logos, and icons identifying ASTHO and its programs, events, solutions, and services are proprietary trademarks of ASTHO, and any use of such marks, including, without limitation, as domain names, without the express written permission of ASTHO is strictly prohibited.

This Agreement will take effect the moment You register, and/or begin downloading, accessing, or using the Site, whichever is earliest. It will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with its terms and conditions. You may also terminate this Agreement at any time by ceasing use of the Site, but all provisions regarding ASTHO’s proprietary rights, disclaimers of warranty and liability and governing law will survive termination of this Agreement for any reason.

This Agreement has been made in and will be construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Failure to insist on strict performance of any terms or conditions in this Agreement does not constitute a waiver of any subsequent default or failure of performance. If any part of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most clearly matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of this Agreement will remain in effect. No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between You and ASTHO as a result of this Agreement. This represents the entire agreement between You and ASTHO regarding this Site and You may not transfer any rights under this Agreement without the prior written consent of ASTHO. ASTHO reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of this Agreement by posting a revised Agreement. Your continued use of the Site will constitute acceptance.