Terms and Conditions

communities_1.jpg
Welcome to The Dock, all members of The Dock agree to the terms and conditions rules and guidelines below. Specifically YOU AGREE to:

Avoid, not use Personal Health Information (PHI) about any individual, patient, case or research project

Anything that would be considering defamatory, (nasty language, slanderous, labile defaming etc)

Indemnify and hold Kennedy Krieger Institute and its associated entities, and their respective officers, directors, employees, members, and agents harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (i) content you make available through use of The Dock; (ii) your violation of this Code of Conduct; or (iii) your violation of any rights of another.

The Dock – Kennedy Krieger Trainee and Alumni Network (“The Dock – Kennedy Krieger Trainee and Alumni Network ,” “The Dock,” or “Community”) is a service provided by Kennedy Krieger Institute  (referred to as “Kennedy Krieger Institute,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) for selected former employees and trainees.  To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established this Code of Conduct governing participation.

By joining and using this Community, you agree that you have read and will follow this Code of Conduct. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to content that is best suited to this medium. The intent of The Dock is to facilitate peer and professional discussion. Please direct questions you have about The Dock, its content or use, or Kennedy Krieger Institute to the Contact Us link.

Please review this Code of Conduct fully.  To preserve a professional climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to The Dock – Kennedy Krieger Trainee and Alumni Network account if you violate this Code of Conduct or for any other reason in our sole discretion.

Community Rules and Etiquette Guidelines

The Rules

Remember that the discussions and comments are intended to be used for informational and reference purposes only, and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health issue, condition, or disease; or as a recommendation for a specific procedure, treatment plan, or course of action. Always exercise your independent clinical judgment as a healthcare professional. Before you act on any information shared on the The Dock – Kennedy Krieger Trainee and Alumni Network, you should independently confirm information that is important to your decision.

  1. Do not post commercial messages on The Dock, This means that you should not promote a commercial product, event or service.  Contact the Communities Administrator if you have a specific question or if there is an event or other service that you believe would be of benefit to the greater Kennedy Krieger Institute community.  Remember, the Dock is for discussion, networking and collaboration, generally promotions or announcements do not serve those goals, unless they are for training or academic purposes. We reserve the right to remove promotional messages that do not meet this criterion in our sole judgment. 
  2. Do disclose any relevant conflicts of interest relating to the subject matter of your posting or the thread.
  3. Do not disseminate surveys for any purpose. The Dock is intended to be a venue for collaboration, networking and discussion, surveys are not conducive to achieving those goals and are strictly prohibited.  However, Kennedy Krieger may, from time to time, use The Dock to survey members to improve user satisfaction or better understand a topic.  
  4. Use caution when discussing products, companies, or individuals. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all participants to see, and comments may be subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws, among other potential requirements. 
  5. Defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal content is strictly prohibited. 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. 
  6. Remember that other participants may reproduce postings to The Dock. Specify in your posting if you do not want it reproduced or copied.  Kennedy Krieger cannot guarantee that the postings will not be reproduced or copied. 
  7. Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate lists or libraries in The Dock. Do not broadcast the same message to multiple lists or libraries.
  8. Kennedy Krieger reserves the right to reject or remove any message for any reason.
  9. Do not include in posts personal details or private information about any other person, any confidential information, or any information that would infringe upon the proprietary, privacy, or personal rights of others. The Dock is not intended to be a place for the exchange of individually-identified health information, including Protected Health Information, as that term is defined in the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 and its implementing regulations. Do not post any individually-identified or identifying health information to The Dock.
  10. Do not post or attach copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright owner, except for Fair Use postings, e.g,. for academic discussion. Do not logos or trademarks that would infringe upon the trademark, service mark, certification mark, or other intellectual property rights of the owners of such marks without the permission of such owners. If you are uncertain whether posting or attaching certain materials would violate the intellectual property rights of others, refrain from posting or attaching the materials. Instead, provide a link or citation to where the materials can be found.

Please read carefully all items in this Code of Conduct, including the Legal Rules and Disclaimers below. 

Discussion Group Etiquette

  • Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, and location. 
  • 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. 
  • Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any header information, and put your response before the original posting. 
  • 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 to the left of every message.
  • Do not send administrative messages, such as asking to be removed from the list. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing e-mail addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new e-mail address. Simply change your settings.
  • Warn other list subscribers of lengthy messages either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body with a line that says "Long Message."   

Enforcement 

Remember that Kennedy Krieger Institute respects all of its community members, including alumni and former trainees, and is committed to providing The Dock as a useful tool for all participants. We understand that people make mistakes, and prefer not to ban someone from participating in The Dock.  We reserve the right to remove any post without notice to the member, Kennedy Krieger Institute also expects to follow a graduated enforcement policy with regard to individual participation in The Dock:

Kennedy Krieger Institute also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or terminate a member account for violating this Code of Conduct at any time.

Privacy Policy

We respect members’ privacy.

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

With Whom Do We Share the Personal Information We Collect Through The Dock

Our Service Providers

We may share your personal information with other organizations (including our affiliates) that perform services on our behalf or for us, e.g., for maintenance of The Dock and other reasons.  Our service providers are required to protect the confidentiality of the personal information we share with them and to use it only for specific services on our behalf or as required by law. 

Government and Legal Disclosures 

We may disclose your personal information when disclosure is appropriate to comply with law (including a court order or subpoena), satisfy a contractual duty, prevent or investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft, enforce this Code of Conduct or other agreements for the use of the Dock; or to protect the rights, property or safety Kennedy Krieger and others.

External Sites

We are not responsible for, and have no control over, the content of external internet sites that The Dock members may include in posts.  We do not endorse, and are not responsible in any way for, the content, the accuracy of the information, and/or the quality of the products or services provided by, made available through, or advertised on any third party websites.  In addition, other internet sites or services that may be linked/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. 

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 The Dock, in order, for instance, to provide a more personalized experience. Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and we do not use cookies to collect personal information. 

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. For any other information regarding Kennedy Krieger Institute Privacy Policy, please contact us using the Contact Us link

Legal Rules & Disclaimers

The Kennedy Krieger Institute does not offer medical advice or treatment recommendations via The Dock.  Content in The Dock is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for any individual treatment purposes.  Health care providers must exercise their own, independent clinical judgment in treating individual patients.  Individual patients should consult their doctor or other qualified health care provider for any questions about a medical condition or course of treatment.

Kennedy Krieger Institute is not responsible for the content, opinions and information posted in The Dock.  The views, opinions and positions expressed by members and commenters in The Dock are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Kennedy Krieger Institute or its affiliates.  Kennedy Krieger Institute makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability or validity of any information presented by individual members or commenters on The Dock. Kennedy Krieger Institute disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. 

The Dock is provided on an “as is” and “as available basis.”  Kennedy Krieger, and its affiliates, are not responsible for any loss, any special, indirect, or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever, resulting from or in connection with the use of The Dock or any content obtained from or otherwise made available through The Dock.  As a condition of using The Dock, all Users accept that use or reliance on any content is at their own, sole risk.  

By submitting material for posting, the submitting party warrants and represents that posting the material does not infringe upon the privacy, personal or property rights of others, e.g., that he or she owns copyright in the material, has received permission from the copyright owner or licensee to post, or is acting accord with the Fair Use doctrine, e.g., for criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Kennedy Krieger Institute retains all intellectual property rights in The Dock, which is provided solely for personal, noncommercial use. Kennedy Krieger Institute owns The Dock logo and affiliated service marks, which cannot be used except as authorized by Kennedy Krieger in writing.

Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Terms of Service may apply to the use of The Dock.  As a condition of using The Dock, all Users agree to abide such other terms and conditions as applicable, including Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Website Linking Policy.  If there is a conflict between this Code of Conduct and any other terms regarding The Dock, the Code of Conduct for The Dock will govern to the extent of the conflict.  

Kennedy Krieger Institute reserves the right to make changes or modifications to The Dock and this Code of Conduct. Users will be notified of any changes by a notice of changes displayed on The Dock.  This notice shall constitute effective notice of the changes on the day the notice is posted, and continued use of the Community thereafter shall constitute User’s acceptance of all such changes or modifications.

Do not post content that will encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or implicitly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade. Messages or content that encourages 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.

Kennedy Krieger Institute does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not, on its own, undertake editorial control of postings. In the event that any inappropriate posting (including posting that contains any prohibited defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal material) is brought to the attention of Kennedy Krieger Institute, we will take all appropriate action in our sole discretion, including, without limitation, removal of the offending post, and account suspension or termination. 

Kennedy Krieger Institute reserves the right to terminate access to any User who does not abide by this Code of Conduct.

Users agree to indemnify and hold Kennedy  Krieger Institute  and its associated entities, and their respective officers, directors, employees, members, and agents harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (i) content you make available through use of The Dock; (ii) your violation of this Code of Conduct; or (iii) your violation of any rights of another.

The failure of Kennedy Krieger Institute to exercise or enforce a right or provision of the Code of Conduct shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Code of Conduct is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Code of Conduct will remain in full force and effect.