Community Rules & Etiquette and Privacy Guidelines

Thank you for being part of our community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium. This is a great 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 member services department via the Contact Us link on this site.

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

The Rules

• Don’t attack others. The discussions on the community platform are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.
• Don't post commercial messages. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.
• Collaborate messages should not contain promotional material, special offers, job offers, product announcements, or solicitation for services. The ACOS reserves the right to remove such messages and potentially ban sources of those solicitations.   
• Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on any platform is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
• All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited and may be removed.
• Send your message only to the most appropriate platform.
• 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.
• Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted to the Community.
• Remember that the ACOS and other participants have the right to reproduce postings.

Some general tips to help you maintain good etiquette when reproducing content.

§  Be courteous. Please ask participants for permission to republish their words elsewhere (especially if elsewhere would be a publicly viewable setting).

§  When citing ACOS member community discussions, please include a link back to the original discussion or to the ACOS homepage. 

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.
• 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. 
  

Community Violation Policy
The ACS community rules and etiquette should not be seen as all-inclusive, but rather to give our members a general idea of the guidelines one should follow when participating in the online community. In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, the ACOS reserves the right to suspend, remove content, or terminate participation on all lists for members who violate these rules.

 

Taking action against one of our members, particularly in regard to removing an account, is something we would like to avoid, but realistically may have to happen in order to protect the quality of service we strive to provide to our members. This restriction is not intended to limit in any way the professional networking and educational advantages of the ACOS community.

 

When unsure whether content is consistent with these policies, please err on the side of caution and do not post the content in the ACOS community. If there are any questions on what content is appropriate to please contact the community manager.

 

The community rules and etiquette may be revised from time to time and it’s the member’s responsibility to stay abreast of any changes.

 

Possible disciplinary actions for Terms of Agreement/Rules and Etiquette violations

• An email, private message or phone call is communicated to the member that explains the violation that occurred.
• An email or phone call is communicated to the member who violated the guidelines. The member’s community account may be put into moderation. Member may be placed in a 30-day moderation queue, where messages from his/her account are reviewed by the community manager before they are posted online.
• An email/private message warning is communicated to the member who violated the guidelines. The member’s community account may be put into moderation. Member may be placed in moderation for three months; where messages from his/her account are reviewed by the community manager before they are posted online. Member may be subject to removal from communities.
• A formal written letter is sent to the member who violated the guidelines. The member may be removed from participating in the ACOS community.
• The ACOS reserves the right to edit or delete a post. However, the ACOS generally will not edit or delete posts for members, unless there has been a severe violation of the ACOS member community Rules and Etiquette (as mentioned).
• To clarify or edit a message posted, we recommend the original poster to reply to the existing message. At the ACOS'S discretion, older messages that may cause confusion or contain outdated information may be archived or deleted.

Appeal process

A member may not appeal his/her moderation reprimand. A member may appeal his/her removal from the ACOS community by contacting the community manager in writing; final decisions will be will be reviewed and decided upon by a panel of peers.

 

Appeals should 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, include any relevant or supporting evidence.

For any further questions or comments please contact the community manager.

 

 

The Legal Stuff

This site is provided as a service for the members of American College of Osteopathic Surgeons.  American College of Osteopathic Surgeons 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 American College of Osteopathic Surgeons or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall American College of Osteopathic Surgeons 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 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 American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and users of this site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, 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.

American College of Osteopathic Surgeons 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 American College of Osteopathic Surgeons we will take all appropriate action.

American College of Osteopathic Surgeons reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.

 

ACOS Data Privacy policy                                                                                                                                       

Effective date: 08/15/2018

Introduction

This Notice explains how the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, including the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons Trust Fund (“ACOS”, “we”, or “us”) collects and processes your Personal Data. Each time you use our Site, the current version of this Notice will apply. Accordingly, whenever you use our Site, you should check the date of this Notice (which appears at the top) and review any changes since the last version. This Notice is applicable only to Site visitors, registered users, and other users of our Site located in the European Union (“EU”) who use our Site or services in connection with ACOS’s offering of goods or services in the EU.

“Personal Data” is any information that enables us to identify you, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier such as your name, identification number, location data, online identifier or one or more factors specific to your physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity.

By visiting www.facos.org or related properties, (together the “Site”), you acknowledge that you have read and understood the processes and policies referred to in this Notice.

Who we are

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”), the Data Controller is the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons registered in Virginia USA with a registered address at 1680 Duke Street, Suite 500, Alexandria, VA 22314.  Our Chief Executive Officer, Linda Taliaferro, is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this Notice for the purposes of the GDPR.

How to contact us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Notice, please contact us using info@facos.org.  Alternatively, you can contact us by phone at (703) 684-0416, or by mail to 1680 Duke Street, Suite 500, Alexandria, VA 22314.

How we collect personal data

Personal Data that you give us

We may collect and process the following Personal Data:

·         Contact information, which you provide when corresponding with us by phone, e-mail or otherwise. This includes information you provide when you participate in discussion boards or other social media functions on our Site and when you report a problem with our Site. The information you give us may include your name, address, e-mail address, phone number, financial information and/or credit card information.

·         Membership information, including your name, contact details such as address, phone number and email address (business or personal), age, job title, government identification numbers (e.g. social security number, passport number etc.), year of admission and any other information related to your membership. Membership information may be provided by you during the registration process, or by your employer on your behalf.

·         Dues payment information, including financial information such as credit/debit card and account numbers used to register or renew your membership.

·         Purchase information, relating to purchases made by members and non-members of delegate passes and event participation, books, reports, journals or newsletter subscriptions either in-person or via our Site. Purchase information will include financial information as well as information concerning the content and time of the purchase.

·         Disciplinary information, relating to ethics/disciplinary programs in which complaints against members are adjudicated, with the result being possible suspension/expulsion from membership. This may include extensive information about a member's business or professional activities, including employment information, and similar information relating to other individuals involved in the investigation, though would usually not include financial information.

·         Certification information, relating to certification programs, in which members are granted certification if they meet specified educational/employment experience requirements and/or pass an exam. This may include extensive information about the experience/performance of those certified or accredited. Where the certification concerns institutions or businesses, this may include similar information identifying employees and other members of staff including volunteers.

·         Residency training information, relating to surgical residency training programs, in which members and non-members are granted approvals if they meet specified education/employment experience requirements and/or satisfy training requirements.

Personal data we collect from you

With regard to each of your visits to the Site we will automatically collect the following information:

·         Technical information, including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your computer or device to the Internet, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform;

·         Information about your visit, including pages you viewed or searched for, page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), methods used to browse away from the page, and any phone number used to call our customer service number; and

·         Location information

Personal Data we collect from others

We may receive information about you from publicly available and third-party databases or services that provide information about business people that we believe will help us identify provide products and services that may be of interest to you. We will obtain your consent before contacting you if required by the law of the country in which you are located.

Non-Personal Data

We collect information that is sent to us automatically by your web browser and we may use this information to generate aggregate statistics about visitors to our Site, including, without limitation:

·         IP addresses

·         Browser type and plug-in details

·         Device type (e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet, phone, etc.)

·         Operating system

·         Local time zone

We may use non-Personal Data for various business purposes such as providing customer service, fraud prevention, market research, and improving our Site. Please check your web browser if you want to learn what information your browser sends or how to change your settings.

How we use your Personal Data

We will only process your Personal Data, including sharing it with third parties, where (1) you have provided your consent which can be withdrawn at any time, (2) the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party, (3) we are required by law, (4) processing is required to protect your vital interests or those of another person, or (5) processing is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests, except where such interests are overridden by your rights and interests.

Personal Data that you give us

We may use Personal Data that you provide directly to us for the following purposes:

·         to carry out our obligations arising from your membership, or any other contract entered into between you and us and to provide you with the information, products and membership services that you request from us;

·         to organize events that you have purchased or registered for, and to provide you with information, and other materials, relating to the content of the event, the speakers, sponsors and other attendees;

·         to provide our newsletter and other publications to our members;

·         to respond to your questions and provide related membership services;

·         to provide you with information about other events, products and services we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased, provided you have not opted-out of receiving that information;

·         to provide you, or permit selected third parties to provide you, with information about events, products or services we feel may interest you, provided you have given your consent;

·         to transfer your information as part of a merger or sale of the business;

·         to notify you about changes to our membership service; and

·         to ensure that content from our Site is presented most effectively for you and your computer.

Information we collect about you

We will use Personal Data that we have collected about your use of our Site:

·         to administer our Site and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes;

·         to improve our Site to ensure that content is presented most effectively for you and your computer;

·         as part of our efforts to keep our Site safe and secure;

·         to measure or understand the effectiveness of advertising we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant advertising to you; and

·         to make suggestions and recommendations to you and other users of our Site about goods or services that may interest you or them.

Personal Data we receive from other sources

We will combine this information with information you give to us and information we collect about you. We will use this information and the combined Personal Data for the purposes set out above (depending on the types of information we receive).

When we share and who can access your Personal Data

We may share your Personal Data for the purposes described in this Notice with:

·         a member of our group

·         partners, suppliers and sub-contractors, for the performance of obligations arising from your membership, or any other contract we enter into with them or you or to provide you with the information, products and membership services that you request from us

·         analytics and search engine providers that assist us in the improvement and optimization of our Site

·         trusted third-party companies and individuals to help us provide, analyze, and improve the Site and our membership services (including but not limited to data storage, maintenance services, database management, web analytics and payment processing)

·         in the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we will disclose your Personal Data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets

·         if ACOS or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case Personal Data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets.

We will only transfer your Personal Data to trusted third-parties who provide sufficient guarantees in respect of the technical and organizational security measures governing the processing to be carried out and who can demonstrate a commitment to compliance with those measures.

Selling your Personal Data

We will never sell your Personal Data to third parties without your opt-in consent.

Security

Although we use security measures to help protect your Personal Data against loss, misuse or unauthorized disclosure, we cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to us over the internet.  All information you provide to us is stored on secure servers.  Any payment transactions will be encrypted using SSL technology.

Transfer of Personal Data outside of the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and International Users

We are headquartered in the United States. Your Personal Data may be accessed by us or transferred to us in the United States or to our affiliates, partners, merchants, or service providers who are located worldwide. If we transfer your data to an entity in a country outside of the EEA, we will ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your personal data.  If you are visiting our Site from outside the United States, be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located, and our central database is operated.

How Long we Store your Personal Data

We will store your Personal Data, in a form which permits us to identify you, for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which the Personal Data is processed. We may retain and use your Personal Data as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements and rights, or if it is not technically reasonably feasible to remove it.

Member Data Retention

We will retain information about our members for as long as the membership account is active. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you service, contact us at info@facos.org. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

Non-Member Data Retention

We collect certain categories of Personal Data about non-members, described in further detail above.  The storage period for this data is as follows:

·         Contact information: We retain this information indefinitely for archiving and recordkeeping purposes, as well as to track historical trends for our site and organization, unless you specifically request that we delete your Personal Data as described below.

·         Purchase information: We retain this information indefinitely for archiving and recordkeeping purposes, as well as to track historical trends for our site and organization, unless you specifically request that we delete your Personal Data as described below.

·         Residency training information: We retain this information indefinitely for archiving and recordkeeping purposes, as well as to track historical trends for our site and organization, unless you specifically request that we delete your Personal Data as described below.

·         Technical information, information about your visit to our Site, and location information: We retain this information indefinitely for archiving and recordkeeping purposes, as well as to track historical trends for our site and organization, unless you specifically request that we delete your Personal Data as described below.

Where we store your personal data

The Personal Data that you provide to us is generally stored on servers located in the United States. If you are located in another jurisdiction, you should be aware that once your Personal Data is submitted through our Site, it will be transferred to our servers in the United States and that the United States currently does not have uniform data protection laws in place.

Cookies and SIMILAR TECHNOLOGY

ACOS uses cookies for session management, and to enable saving your username and passwords for system login. We do not use cookies to track user activity. You have a variety of tools to control cookies including browser controls to clock and delete cookies.

Links to Third Party Sites and Services

Our Sites may contain links to third-party websites, applications and services not operated by us. These links are provided as a service and do not imply any endorsement by us of the activities or content of these sites, applications or services nor any association with their operators. Company is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of any third party including websites or services directly linked to our Service. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site that you link from our Service.

Your rights

Access

You can request an electronic copy of your personal data contained within our system.  Requests should be made by contacting us at info@facos.org.  In order to comply with your request, we may ask you to verify your identity.

Correction

If any of the information that we have about you is incorrect or incomplete, you may correct this information by visiting your ACOS Profile or contacting us at info@facos.org. 

Removal

You may ask us to delete or remove your Personal Data.  Requests should be made to info@facos.org.  We will evaluate your request in light of the applicable law.  In some situations, deletion of certain Personal Data may mean that it is no longer possible for you to gain access to certain parts of our site or retain access to membership activities.

Restrict or Object to the Use of Your Data

You may ask us to restrict or block the processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances.  Requests should be made by e-mailing us at info@facos.org.  Additionally, if you prefer not to receive marketing messages from us, please let us know by clicking on the unsubscribe link within any marketing message that you receive or by sending a message to us at info@facos.org.

Data Portability

You have the right to obtain your Personal Data from us that is contained in our system or ask us to transfer your data to another organization, in certain circumstances.  Requests for your data should be made by e-mailing us at info@facos.org.

Withdraw Consent

If we rely on your consent to process your Personal Data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on your prior consent. Requests should be made by e-mailing us at info@facos.org.

Lodge a Complaint

If you have a concern about our privacy practices, including the way we have handled your Personal Data, you can report it to the data protection authority that is authorized to hear those concerns.  The relevant authority is the data protection authority in your country of residence, the country where you work, or the country in which the alleged unlawful use of your Personal Data occurred.

Changes to this Notice

If we make any material changes to this Notice or the way we use, share or collect personal Data, we will notify you by revising the “Effective Date” at the top of this Notice, prominently posting an announcement of the changes on our Site, or sending an email to the email address you most recently provided us (unless we do not have such an email address) prior to the new policy taking effect.

Any changes we make to this Notice in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notification sent to you by e-mail. Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to this Notice.