Code of Conduct

Community Connection Rules & Etiquette

Thanks for being part of our community. To ensure the best possible experience for all Community Connection users, following are the basic guidelines for participation as established by the Michigan Townships Association (MTA). Please note that you must agree to all guidelines in order to be part of the community.

By joining and using this site, you agree that you have read and will follow the rules and guidelines set for these peer discussion groups. You also agree to limit discussions to topics best suited to the medium.

Questions about the Community Connection site should be directed to the MTA Community Center Administrator, Tammie Underhill. Questions on township matters should be directed to the MTA Member Information Department.

In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, MTA reserves the right to suspend or terminate membership in any and all Groups, Discussion Threads or other aspects of the Community Connection for individual users who violate these rules.

The Rules

(1)    Don't challenge or attack others. The discussions on the lists are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.

(2)    Don't post commercial messages in any Group or Discussion Thread. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.

(3)    Use caution when discussing products, companies or other persons. Information posted on the lists is available for others to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.

(4)    All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything in any message that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.

(5)    Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted to the list.

(6)    Remember that the MTA and other e-mail list participants have the right to reproduce postings to the Community Center.

(7)    Send your message only to the most appropriate Discussion Thread(s). Do not spam several Discussion Threads with the same message. All messages must add to the body of knowledge.

(8)    MTA reserves the right to reject any message for any reason.

e-Group Etiquette

(1)    Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location.

(2)    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.

(3)     Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any header information, and put your response before the original posting.

(4)    Only send a message to the entire Group or Discussion Thread when it contains information that everyone can benefit from.

(5)    Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals--not to the entire Group or Discussion Thread. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link to the left of every message.

(6)    Do not send administrative messages, such as remove me from the list, through the Group or Discussion Thread. Instead, use the Web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a Group or Discussion Thread. If you are changing e-mail addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the Group or Discussion Thread and rejoin under your new e-mail address. Simply change your settings.

(7)    Warn other Group or Discussion Thread subscribers of lengthy messages either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body with a line that says "Long Message." 


The Legal Stuff

These Groups and Discussion Threads are provided as a service of MTA for social networking and online collaboration.  MTA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. MTA disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by MTA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall MTA 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 MTA and users of the Community Center 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.
MTA 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 MTA’s attention, MTA  will take all appropriate action.

MTA reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.