CERF communication guidelines

Posts that go against these guidelines may be removed. Members who repeatedly violate these guidelines may be removed. 

If you notice a post that is offensive or goes against these guidelines, please contact the CERF administrator.

Rule 1: Practice the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Your posts are read by real people, who are all deserving of respect.

Rule 2: Adhere to the standards of professional behavior. Act within the laws and ethical manners of society on this site. Do not post offensive remarks or engage in libel or copyright infringement. 

Rule 3: Be aware that CERF is a professional site where courteous and supportive dialogue is required. It is not a place for trolling, spoofing, joking, or attacking individuals or entities. Do not post obscene, hateful, blasphemous or derogatory content. Be respectful of other people’s opinions and ideas. We are here to help each other. 

Rule 4: Respect other people's time. Keep communications concise. Make your communications focused and meaningful, without extraneous text or superfluous graphics. Add value when you post. Do not post valueless contents, such as a post:  "agreed", "thanks," “What they said” etc. Avoid duplication of post content by checking to see if there is already a post open on the subject. 

Rule 5: Check your writing before you post. Check for spelling and grammar errors. Check your facts and state your message clearly. Make sure your message is courteous, pleasant, and polite. 

Rule 6: Share your expertise. Post links to resources and references about the subject matter. Share relevant CERF information that might be of interest to others. However, please do not paste lengthy or entire copyrighted articles into a post.

Rule 7: No Flame Wars. Flaming is when people express a strongly held opinion in an emotional fashion. Angry posts must be avoided, or the camaraderie of this group could be compromised. Do not feed the flames; instead keep the discussion focused and moving in a productive direction.

Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy. Please use discretion when using the discussion board and CERF site. We ask that content is kept within CERF to maintain a safe and respectful environment. If you would like to share content outside of CERF, please get permission from the person who owns the information or who made the statement.  

Rule 9: Be responsible and do not abuse your power. Knowing more than others or having more power than others does not give anyone the right to demean or take advantage of others.

Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes. Not everyone has the same amount of experience and not everyone knows the rules of netiquette. You may see a “stupid" question or comment, read an unnecessarily long response, or encounter misspelled words. If this happens, practice kindness and forgiveness. If you feel compelled to respond to a mistake, do so in a private email rather than in a public forum.

Rule 11. No spam, commercially promotional material, or self-promotional comments/material, or links promoting self, fundraising, advocacy, religious, political movements, etc. are permitted.

Modified from Shea V. Core Rules of Netiquette. Educom Review. 1994;29(5):58-62.

These guidelines are updated as of December 16, 2020