Forum Guidelines

ISBER Forum Guidelines

The ISBER Forums are available to all ISBER members and are intended as an informational, and problem-solving resource. 

Forums are not to be used for direct advertising of services, job postings, events, other societies, or for soliciting sales, but vendor members of ISBER may respond to inquiries for information about their products and services privately.

A vendor may engage in a conversation of a commercial nature with an ISBER member individually. Etiquette and legal guidelines have been established to ensure the best possible experience for all Forum members and are listed below. By joining and participating in the Forum you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines.

Guidelines for Basic Forum Etiquette:

  • Be respectful in your posts. The discussions in the Forum are meant to stimulate conversation, not create contention.  All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited and will be removed from the Forum.  Violators right to publish on the Forum will be revoked.   
  • Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the Forum is available for all to see. Comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
  • 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.
  • 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 they own the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants ISBER and users of the Forum the non-exclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.
  • Remember that ISBER and Forum participants have the right to reproduce postings to this Forum. ISBER has the right to remove any forum posts. ISBER reserves the right to not publish posts.
  • Please include a signature tag on all messages.  You can create a signature by clicking on "My Signature" on the Forum homepage.
  • Report any misuse of the Forum by clicking on the "Report" option located at the top right of each post.

Disclaimer and Legal Guidelines:

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

ISBER’s Forum is moderated by Head Office and posts will be evaluated to ensure they comply with these guidelines. Posts with unclear classification may be reviewed by leadership. In general, most posts will be approved within 24 hours of posting. However, during statutory holidays and on weekends, the length of time for postings will be longer. Forum postings that adhere to the guidelines are generally approved. Duplicate Forum postings will not be approved.

In the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of ISBER, either via e-mail or by using the "report" option located on each post, ISBER will take all appropriate action.

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

Definitions

  1. Benefit ISBER Directly or Indirectly: ISBER and/or its membership will benefit from the post; the post supports ISBER’s mission and vision.
  2. Adverse to ISBER’s interests: The posting is contrary to the ISBER’s mission and vision.
  3. Negatively Impact ISBER: Posting results in a financial or reputational damage to the association.
  4. Put ISBER at Risk: The post puts ISBER in an uncomfortable situation where significant resources need to be invested to resolve.
  5. Negatively Affect a Partner: The post will harm an ISBER partner.
  6. Breach of Agreement: The post is contrary to an existing ISBER MOU—affiliate or associate.
  7. Advancing Biobanking Science: The post creates knowledge, furthers thought and debate on biobanking.
  8. Relevance to ISBER: The post addresses the mission, vision and goals of the organization.

Privacy Policy

We respect your privacy

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

With Whom Do We Share the Personal Information We Collect Through This Site

Our Service Providers. 
We may share your personal information with companies (including our affiliates) that perform services on our behalf, for example, companies that help process credit card payments. Our service providers are required by contract to protect the confidentiality of the personal information we share with them and to use it only to provide specific services on our behalf. 

Business Transfers. 
Your personal information may be transferred to another entity (either an affiliated entity or an unrelated third party) in connection with a merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar corporate event. If such a transfer were ever to occur, the acquiring entity’s use of your personal information will still be subject to this 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. In addition other Internet sites or services that may be 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.  For any other information please contact us using the Contact Us page.