Terms and Conditions

APA Communities Rules, Etiquette, And Conditions

APA Communities discussion boards are provided by APA as a convenience to members who wish to discuss psychiatric issues and APA matters in a respectful, professional and empathetic manner. APA reserves the right to remove content and/or suspend or terminate participation of participants who do not abide by these guidelines and conditions.

To report a subscriber that violates these rules, please send an email to CommunitiesSupport@psych.org with the name of the Community discussion board as the email's subject, the email address of the user in question, and the text of the messages you are reporting in the email body.

Rules

By using the APA Communities platform, participants agree to comply with the following Rules and agree that their failure to do so may result in sanctions, up to and including removal from the platform. If in doubt as to whether a particular message complies with these Rules, contact support prior to distributing the message at CommunitiesSupport@psych.org.

• Rule 1: Subscribers will comply with all applicable U.S. law, will not use the forum for illegal purposes, including but not limited to defamation, violation of intellectual property laws, violation of antitrust or unfair competition laws, or violation of criminal laws.
  • Rule 1.1: It is usually acceptable to include a link to an article, but copying and pasting the actual text of the article may be in violation of copyright laws.
  • Rule 1.2: Professional associations such as APA are, almost by definition, a group of competitors that has come together to pursue common interests. Where those common interests involve agreements on such terms of competition as rates charged, salaries paid, and standards applicable to members of the profession, antitrust laws apply. Do not post any material that:
    1. References specific fees charged or paid for professional services;
    2. Discusses prices, discounts, terms or conditions of sale regarding medical suppliers or other vendors or terms and conditions of provider agreements relating to reimbursement levels, bonus payments, and other price or cost-related items;
    3. Addresses salaries or terms of employment;
    4. Attempts to allocate patient markets or encourage collective or coercive activity regarding third-party payers, hospitals, other health care providers, or suppliers;
    5. Includes information that could otherwise be construed to impose a restraint on trade and inhibit free and fair competition;
    6. Encourages or helps 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; and
    7. Encourages or facilitates an agreement about 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 supplier.
       
       
• Rule 2: Subscribers shall not personally attack or make characterizations that question a person's motives, qualifications, or attributes. Abusive, profane, and threatening language is strictly prohibited.
  • Rule 2.1: Keep criticism on an objective, topic-focused basis that is factually verifiable. Robust debate is encouraged. Personal commentary about the character, competence or motive of another person is prohibited. Because negative statements that impugn someone's professional qualifications can cause substantial economic and emotional harm, this is an area for scrutiny. Remember that false statements that harm someone's reputation can be actionable as libel. APA reserves the right to edit or delete a post or discussion thread if there has been a severe violation of the guidelines.
    
    
• Rule 3: Subscribers shall not intentionally interfere with or disrupt other forum members, network services, or network equipment. This includes distribution of unsolicited advertisements or chain letters, and the propagation of computer worms or viruses.
  
  
• Rule 4: Subscribers shall not use APA Communities to share commercial viewpoints, including advertising, marketing, solicitation of business, vending, attempting to sell or promote products or services, or as a forum for a small number of members to hold a conversation among them on contentious issues.
  • Rule 4.1: You may not post advertisements for products or services, news of job listings or position openings, and direct solicitation of other subscribers to purchase products or services.
  • If a conversation on a contentious issue begins to have back and forth between just a few members (e.g. more than two responses), that conversation should move to the Member To Member Community.  If any member in the Community requests that the topic move to the Member To Member Community after two or more responses, the moderator should ensure that the parties move it.
    
    
• Rule 5: Subscribers shall not forward or copy, in whole or in part, any messages or postings to others outside APA Communities.
  • Rule 5.1: Subscribers agree not to post to APA Communities personal correspondence that was sent outside of APA Communities without the express, written consent of every author and recipient of the correspondence being included in the post.
    
    
• Rule 6: Subscribers shall comply fully with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and applicable state and federal privacy laws. APA Communities is not the appropriate place to discuss individual patient cases.

Etiquette

Subscribers should follow APA Communities etiquette below.

1. Exercise common courtesy. APA Communities is meant to stimulate conversation on professional topics, not to create contention. Use brevity and diplomacy in communications to be respectful of other APA Communities participants.
   
   
2. Avoid off-topic posting. APA Communities should not be used as a personal blog. APA Communities are intended for distributing topic-related information that the participants as a group might benefit from sharing.
   
   
3. Discussions on topics surrounding current events should be posted or moved (if receiving multiple comments) to the Member To Member Community, a space reserved for timely discourse.  Current events not directly related to the topic of the Community should be initially posted on the Member To Member Community.
4. Do not include images or attachments unless necessary.
   
   
5. Avoid "me too," "thanks for the information," and other personal replies that should be directed to specific individuals, rather than to the entire list. Use the Reply to Individual feature to whom you want to respond.
   
   
6. You may not collect names or email addresses to be used for contacting any participant outside APA Communities.
   
   
7. State concisely and clearly the specific topic of your comments in the subject line.
   
   
8. Include a signature tag on your messages so that you can be immediately recognized by the community. A signature tag should include your full name, affiliation, and location.
   
   
9. Do not send administrative messages such as "Remove me from the list" through APA Communities. You may update email settings through the APA Communities platform or remove yourself from groups through your my.psychiatry.org profile. 

Conditions

APA Communities is a service provided by APA in furtherance of its nonprofit and tax-exempt purposes. Messages posted to this platform are not official policy or opinion of APA. By participating in this platform, you agree that APA is not liable for the opinions and information posted on APA Communities by others. APA disclaims all warranties regarding information posted on APA Communities, whether posted by APA or others, including all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall APA be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages, or damages of any kind 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 APA Communities.

APA reserves the right to deny, suspend, or terminate access at its discretion. Participants who violate any of APA’s guidelines will be subject to the following disciplinary actions, in the following order:

• 1^st violation - notification in writing (via email) that an offense has occurred, documentation has been made of the notification, and confirmation that a second offense will result in having posting privileges suspended.
  
  
• 2^nd violation - notification in writing (via email) that the participant’s posting privileges have been suspended for ninety (90) days.
  
  
• 3^rd violation - notification in writing (via email) that participant’s posting privileges have been permanently removed.
  Should a participant violate the law, to include antitrust, IP, and defamation, they will be immediately and permanently removed.

Updated as of February 2025.