Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
Community Rules & Etiquette
Thank you for being part of the SME Community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) has established the following basic guidelines for participation.
By joining and using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines, and you acknowledge that SME may, in its discretion, take any and all appropriate actions with respect to conduct it deems inconsistent with 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 Communications department.
Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact the Communications department. In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership in, or otherwise block access to, this community for anyone who violates these rules.
The Guidelines
- 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 or solicitations. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would be of value.
- 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.
- 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 anyone to know came from you.
- Don’t post or refer to content that is, or that you believe might be: (i) confidential or material non-public information; (ii) subject to expectations of privacy; or (iii) subject to trademark, copyright or attribution issues.
- Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below.
- Note that you may not reproduce content posted by other users unless you have sought and obtained permission from the particular user(s) to do so; even with permission, reposting someone else’s content may be subject to other restrictions noted here (e.g., copyright, confidentiality, etc.). 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.
- We do not allow recruitment posts or job listings on the SME Community. If you are interested in advertising a job listing towards SME’s membership, please visit www.miningjobs.smenet.org or email cs@smenet.org to set up an Employer Profile on our Career Website.
- All messages must add to the body of knowledge. SME reserves the right to reject any message for any reason. Don’t reward others’ disruptive behavior with attention; bring it to the attention of the Human Resources department instead.
Discussion Group Etiquette
- Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, title, location. You should ensure that you are authorized to do so by your department.
- 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" option.
- 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, 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, for example, "Long Message."
The Legal Stuff
The SME Community is provided as a service for the members of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). SME 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 SME or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall SME 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.
Any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive or illegal posts, content or materials is strictly prohibited. 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: (i) he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner; and (ii) the posted material does not contain any material non-public information. The posting party also affirms that his or her conduct is consistent with any other relevant policies or procedures promulgated by the posting party’s own organization. In addition, the posting party grants SME and users of this site the non-exclusive 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.
SME 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 SME, management will take all appropriate action.
We will generally adhere to the following "Three Strikes Policy” outlining consequences for participants who violate the Code of Conduct, unless the circumstances in question, in SME’s sole discretion, warrant immediate action:
- Upon the first violation, the participant will receive a written warning from SME management.
- A second violation will result in a three-month suspension from SME Community.
- A third violation will result in immediate and permanent suspension of all SME Community privileges, including restrictions on access to SME Community pages, as applicable.