Community Rules & Etiquette and Privacy Guidelines
Thank you for being part of our MyOKBar Communities. 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 keep discussions on an appropriate professional level and that files and forms which are shared are advisory only. Lawyers must do their own independent research when using any legal form. Posting content prohibited by law and/or harassing and discriminatory language is strictly prohibited, will cause immediate loss of user privileges and will be reported to the office of the OBA General Counsel. This is a great medium to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our OBA staff via the Contact Us link on this site.
Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact us. In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate participation in the MYOKBAR communities for anyone who violates these rules.
Rules of Use
- Treat everyone with respect. Don't attack others. The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.
- Don’t post any facts about clients or client matters. Hypothetical discussions or questions are appropriate but be aware hypothetical fact situations posted about true situations may still impact confidentiality.
- The Oklahoma Bar Association is an arm of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and thus an agency of the State of Oklahoma. Oklahoma law prohibits the use of state property including web services to promote political candidates or positions on initiative petitions. Use of any Community for electioneering is strictly prohibited.
- OBA policy strictly prohibits members, sections or committees from using OBA resources or communication tools to take positions on legislation unless it is done as part of the OBA Legislative Agenda or has been sanctioned by the Board of Governors. Community pages and postings may not be used to advocate for, or against any legislation excepted a provided otherwise herein. If the Oklahoma Bar Association House of Delegates and/or Board of Governors has made a matter part of the Legislative Agenda or otherwise stated a position pursuant to the Bylaws of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Association may utilize Community postings to aid in notifying OBA members of the Association’s position. OBA members may share personal opinions regarding the legal ramifications of any pending legislation as long as it is clear that the members are speaking only for themselves and their message is not reflective any opinion or position of the OBA.
- Don't post commercial messages on the system in any area where others might see it. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe the information would be useful to them.
- Use caution when discussing anything involving a client or client’s matter. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all members to see, and cannot be considered confidential. Comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
- All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want to be attributed to you.
- Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted.
- Remember that other participants have the right to reproduce postings to this site. While you may specify your desire that items not be reproduced, the OBA is unable to enforce such statements of desire.
- Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate lists or libraries. Do not spam several lists or libraries with the same message. All messages must add to the body of knowledge. We reserve the right to reject any message for any reason.
DISCUSSION GROUP ETIQUETTE
- Include a signature tag on all messages, including your name, and address or contact information.
- 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.
- Generally send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals--not to the entire group. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link to the left of every message.
- Do not send administrative messages, such as remove me 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.
The legal stuff
This site is provided as a service for the members of the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) OBA 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 the OBA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall OBA 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 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 the OBA 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.
The OBA does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and generally does not, on its own, undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of the OBA will take action that has been determined appropriate by the governing bodies and executive director of the OBA.
The OBA reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.
Privacy Policy
Government and Legal Disclosures
We may disclose the personal information we collect through this Site, 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 3rd party content providers such as newsfeeds.
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. 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.