SPE Connect Community Guidelines

To ensure the best possible experience for all members, SPE has established basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using this community website, 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 SPE Connect. This is a great tool to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. 

Please take a moment to read the guidelines. To preserve a climate that encourages both polite and fruitful dialogue, SPE reserves the right to suspend or terminate participation in this community for anyone who violates these rules and to reject any message for any reason. 

Questions about these guidelines should be directed to SPE at [email protected].  

Rules for Participation

• Don’t challenge or 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 commercial messages on any discussion list, resource library entry, or other area where others might see it. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.
• Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws. 
• 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 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. 
• Remember that other participants have the right to reproduce postings to this site unless you specify otherwise. 
• 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. SPE reserves the right to reject any message for any reason.
• Do not post head-hunter notices via the SPE group discussion boards. Such posts will be deleted. A primary focus of this group is the in-depth, technical discussions of industry topics. Please refrain from posting promotional items.
• Do not forward SPE Connect email digests directly from your email box as others will be able to login as you. You will need to use the “forward message” link on the right hand side of the message to forward.

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. 
• Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any header information, and put your response before the original posting. 
• Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that everyone can benefit from. 
• 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 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. 
• 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.”   

Legal Matters

This site is provided as a service for the members of SPE.  SPE is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. SPE disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by SPE or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall SPE 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 SPE 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.

SPE does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings. For technical communities, member-led Moderating Committees and other select communities, SPE may initiate the removal of inappropriate postings. With regard to all SPE Connect features, if an inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of SPE, we will take all appropriate action.

Do not post head-hunter notices via the SPE group discussion boards. Such posts  will be deleted. A primary focus of this group is the in-depth, technical discussions of industry topics. Please refrain from posting promotional items.

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

SPEI Trademarks and License
The SPE name and logo and all SPE related trade names, design marks, tag lines and slogans are the Intellectual Property of SPEI, and you may not use such without the prior written consent of SPE. All other product and service marks contained herein are the marks of their respective owners and may not be used without the prior written consent of such owners. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as granting to you or any user of this Website any license to or ownership rights in any Intellectual Property or other legal right of SPE or any third party.

Intellectual Property Infringement Complaints
SPE prohibits the posting, display, transmission, sharing, emailing, embedding, making available, or otherwise use in this nature of content that infringes the Intellectual Property rights of another person or party. In the event that a third party provides SPEI with a notification of any alleged Intellectual Property infringement, SPEI may immediately remove such content and may block access to and cancel such user’s registration. In addition, in the event of an alleged copyright infringement, SPEI shall act expeditiously in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and will take steps to have the allegedly infringing material removed or access to such blocked. 

Procedure for Submitting Notification of Alleged Copyright Infringement
It is SPE policy to respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the DMCA. With respect to copyright infringement, the DMCA requires SPEI to have a designated agent to receive notices of alleged copyright infringement. For any content that you believe infringes your copyright, please send a written notice of alleged copyright infringement to SPE’s designated agent at the following address:           

If by first class mail:
Copyright Agent for Notification of Claimed Infringement
SPE International
PO Box 833836
Richardson, TX 75080 USA

If by facsimile:
Attn: SPEI Copyright Agent
+1.972.952.9435        

Your written notification of alleged copyright infringement should include the following information:

• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple copyrighted works at the Website are to be covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works;
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit SPEI to locate the material on the website;
• Information reasonably sufficient to permit SPEI to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an email address at which you may be contacted;
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by you, your agent, or the law; and
• A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.