Rules & Etiquette

Rules & Etiquette

Welcome!

Before you get started, please read through the rules and guidelines for our online community. It is imperative that you read and understand these terms as you will be subject to them. When you have finished, press the "I accept" button at the bottom of the page to proceed onto NDIA Connect.

WELCOME TO NDIA CONNECT!

Thank you for being a part of NDIA’s online discussion community. Here, you will find a combination of vibrant and growing communities made up of interested and engaged people from all sectors of the defense industrial base. As our mission is to support the warfighter through education and collaboration, NDIA Connect is intended to foster conversations that are helpful, informative, and engaging for all. We invite you to join us by contributing to such conversations while ensuring the best possible experience for all members according to the participation rules and etiquette guidelines outlined below.

THE SHORT VERSION

Be sure to:
  • Treat other community members as you would treat them in real life
  • Be tolerant of other community members’ viewpoints; respectfully disagree when opinions do not align
  • Protect your privacy and personal information while respecting those of other community members
  • Use messaging responsibly while keeping your comments focused and on topic
  • Communicate with courtesy and respect
Please do not:
  • Make personal attacks on other community members
  • Use defamatory remarks or make false statements against other community members
  • Post profane or prejudiced statements
  • Discuss sensitive information, politics, or any details pertaining to contracts of any kind
  • Bully or make inflammatory remarks to other community members
  • Advertise or solicit for any event or product unless it is a strictly NDIA event or product
  • Violate NDIA Connect’s community guidelines in any way at any time

RULES

NDIA has created NDIA Connect as an online discussion community that is a member benefit and service. It is intended to facilitate conversation and collaboration between members through the sharing of information, tools, and advice. We invite you to learn from your peers and their experiences, and participate in conversations related to defense and national security all while following our rules and guidelines. In order to preserve a climate that encourages respectful and professional dialogue, NDIA reserves the right to monitor use, delete posts, or terminate accounts for community members who are found to be in violation of these guidelines. By participating in NDIA Connect, you confirm that you have read and will follow these guidelines.

Please note that this list and these guidelines are not comprehensive; NDIA and its moderators reserve the right to take appropriate action when inappropriate material or behavior is identified. If you have questions about these guidelines or how to use the online community, please contact us at NDIAConnect@NDIA.org.
Spam – Spam, including self-promotion, of any kind will not be tolerated. Messaging/email or the use of personal contact information made available through the online community or the Member Directory—including names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media accounts, or employment information—for any commercial, advocacy, promotional, or political purpose is prohibited. Prohibited activities also include solicitations for business or personal services, fundraising, cold-calling of any kind, mass-mailings, or broadcast e-mails. Any content containing spam will be deleted from the community.
Solicitation – It is against the rules to solicit on behalf of any event or product that is not strictly an NDIA event or product, with a narrow exception for Other Transaction Authority (OTA), Technical Challenge, and white paper solicitations/announcements from organizations that do not require respondents to pay a fee to participate. Moderators will remove all prohibited solicitations. NDIA Staff will remove prohibited commercial messages in discussions, library entries, or anywhere else on the site. This rule also prohibits the posting of links intended to gather leads by collecting email addresses or other contact information in exchange for items such as information or webinar access.
Personal Attacks – Do not attack or insult another community member or anyone else via defamatory remarks, insults, derogatory comments, or discrimination. Posts containing personal attacks will be removed.
Personal Information – Exercise caution when it comes to discussing personal information or sharing intellectual property. Information posted in discussion groups and libraries is visible to all members; NDIA Staff will not always recognize proprietary information. Accordingly, respect intellectual property. Only post content that you either have personally created or have the creator’s permission to use, properly attributing credit to the creator.
Privacy – When posting items in our collaborative environment, clearly mark any material that you would not like disseminated outside of the discussion. Please note that posts made in the General Discussion Community may be showcased on the homepage and made visible to non-community members.
Doxing – Never reveal someone else’s personal information for any reason. Posts containing personal information will be deleted.
Illegal Activities – Posts that engage in, allude to, or encourage illegal activities are prohibited. Such posts include those that contain links to illegal downloads, media not labeled for reuse, or instructions on performing an illegal activity.
Defamatory Remarks – Do not post or use defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, or offensive language. 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. Any content containing defamatory remarks will be removed.
On-Topic Threads – Post your messages or documents to the most appropriate communities to avoid the creation of unnecessary noise that hinders engagement and participation. Do not take a specific thread or discussion off topic.
Spreading Misinformation – NDIA Connect is not a platform for the sharing of conspiracy theories or misinformation. Any post containing an identified or presumed falsehood will be removed.
Complaints – Use appropriate channels for complaints and inquiries. NDIA Connect is not the appropriate platform for resolving personal issues or starting disputes against any community member, individual, or organization. Posts of this nature will be removed. Correspondence with NDIA Staff should generally be handled via private email and not on a discussion forum.
Please note: All comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.

ETIQUETTE

  • Transparency is very important in gaining trust in online relationships. Therefore, be clear about who you are and who you work for when posting on any platform. Include your real name, disclose your employer, and use a profile picture of your likeness—not your company’s logo.
  • State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line to allow members to respond appropriately while making it easier to search the archives by subject.
  • Send messages such as "Thanks for the information" or "Me, too" to individuals rather than to the entire list by using the "Reply to Sender" link that appears in every message.
  • Do not send administrative messages such as “Remove me from this 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.
  • When citing NDIA discussions, please include a link back to the original discussion or to NDIA Connect's homepage: Connect.NDIA.org.
  • Use appropriate channels for complaints and inquiries. NDIA Connect is not the appropriate platform to resolve personal issues or start disputes against any community member, individual, or organization. NDIA Staff will remove posts of this nature. Correspondence with NDIA Staff should generally be handled via private email and not on a discussion forum.

MODERATION

In order to ensure that NDIA Connect remains a platform on which community members can exchange ideas and comments freely but without the risk of discrimination or malpractice of any sort, moderators are charged with monitoring the online community. Above all, the moderators work to keep the conversations friendly, informative, engaging, and productive. If it appears that a comment or post harms this endeavor, the moderators will take appropriate action.

We invite community members to be cognizant of our rules and guidelines so that they, too, can moderate content. Community members can flag inappropriate material to alert NDIA to its existence so that appropriate action can be taken.

VIOLATIONS

NDIA reserves the right to take immediate action against any post that or community member who violates the community rules and guidelines. Such action includes but is not limited to issuing warnings, removing content, and terminating accounts and/or subscriptions.

NDIA reserves the right to remove any content deemed inappropriate for the online community and/or to revoke any community member's access to NDIA Connect at any time and for any reason. However, given that situations and interpretations vary, we also reserve the right to take no action. While NDIA may modify these rules and guidelines, your continued use of the community signifies your assent to the updated terms of use.

If you are a victim of or a witness to inappropriate content or behavior in any NDIA online community discussion thread, resource library, or member profile, please notify NDIA immediately by emailing us at NDIAConnect@NDIA.org.
 

STATEMENT OF INTENT

NDIA does not intend for its rules and etiquette to limit the professional networking or educational opportunities available to community members. However, all community members contribute to NDIA’s reputation as the trusted leader in defense associations. Thus, we expect community members to adhere to standards that uphold and enhance NDIA’s reputation.

NDIA Connect’s rules and etiquette provide community members with guidelines for use but should not be viewed as exhaustive or all-inclusive. In order to preserve a climate that encourages respectful and productive dialogue, NDIA will remove content deemed detrimental to the Association’s mission.  As a last resort, NDIA reserves the right to suspend or terminate participation for members whose violations of the rules or etiquette disincentivizes broad participation in the communities or runs counter to NDIA’s collaborative culture.

When unsure whether content is consistent with NDIA’s policies, please err on the side of caution and do not post the content into the online community. If you have questions about whether content is appropriate to post, please contact us at NDIAConnect@NDIA.org.

NDIA will periodically review and revise its rules and etiquette; community members must remain aware of any changes in policy.

CONSEQUENCES

NDIA reserves the right to take appropriate action in the instance of guideline violations to ensure privacy, fairness, and equality in the online community. We request that any and all community members report behavior that violates our guidelines to NDIAConnect@NDIA.org.

An email or private message will be sent to the community member, explaining the violation that occurred. The community member’s NDIA Connect account may be put into moderation. A community member may be placed in a 30-day moderation queue, where messages from his/her account are reviewed by the community manager before they can be posted online.

NDIA reserves the right to edit or delete a post. However, NDIA will not generally edit or delete posts for community members unless there has been a severe violation of the aforementioned rules and etiquette.

To clarify or edit a posted message, we recommend that the original poster reply to the existing message. At NDIA’s discretion, older messages that may cause confusion or contain outdated information may be archived or deleted.

APPEAL PROCESS

The removal of posts that have violated the community guidelines cannot be appealed. Additionally, warnings cannot be appealed. However, the removal of community members that have repeatedly violated the community guidelines from NDIA Connect can be appealed by contacting us directly. Final decisions will be reviewed and made by a panel of peers.

Appeals should be made in writing to NDIAConnect@NDIA.org and must include the following pieces of information: 
  • First name
  • Last name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Full disclosure of any previous violations
  • Why you feel the community removal should be overturned, including any relevant or supporting evidence

LEGALITIES

This online community is a member service of NDIA. NDIA is not responsible for the opinions or information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by NDIA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall NDIA be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits that arises out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.

Do 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, 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 NDIA and users of this site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.

Content should not be posted if it encourages or facilitates community 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. NDIA does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of NDIA, we will take appropriate action.

NDIA reserves the right to delete a community that is no longer active. If community deletion occurs, all participants may be placed in a more active and vibrant community without prior notice based on the following criteria:
  • If there have been no discussions since creation or within the last six months.
  • If there have been no discussions and the last library entry is at least six months old, then the library may be archived and the community will be deleted.
  • If the discussions would be more beneficial to another community.

WITH WHOM WE SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED THROUGH NDIA CONNECT

Our Service Providers
We may share your personal information with companies (including our Affiliates) that perform services on our behalf such as 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 in several instances: 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 third party content providers such as news-feeds.

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.

TERMS OF AGREEMENT

By logging onto NDIA Connect and activating your profile, you are considered to be in agreement with the terms and conditions listed herein and on the Rules and Etiquette page. It is imperative that you have read and understand these terms as you will be subject to them.
 
NDIA reserves the right to block any community members who do not abide by these guidelines.

NDIA's privacy statement is located at NDIA.org/Privacy-Statement