Community Platform Terms of Use
1. Overview
Welcome to The Association’s Community Platform. This platform aims to enable and support you to engage with your peers, share your experiences, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation.
2. Purpose
The purpose of these Terms of Use is to set out the rules which govern the use of the Community Platform between platform users and the Association and its related entities, AICPA and CIMA (referred to as ‘we’ to help ensure all participants have the best possible experience in using the Community Platform and making it a safe place for engagement.
Prior to joining the Community Platform, please ensure you have read and understood these Terms of Use. We may change these community rules at any time and will publish the updated rules on Community platform rule Terms of Use page.
By joining and using the Community Platform, you agree that you will comply with these Terms of Use as well as The Association Terms and Conditions (https://www.aicpa-cima.com/help/terms-and-conditions).
3. Community Rules/Code of Conduct
Respect others. Focus on the content of posts and not on the people making them. Please extend the benefit of the doubt to members; each participant is entitled to express their own opinion and view without critical judgement.
3.1 Members agree to comply by the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and/or the CIMA Members' Handbook, as applicable based on the member’s underlying membership. Association staff must also comply with the Association Code of Conduct and External Communications Policy.
3.2 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.
3.3 Use caution when posting. Information posted on the discussion groups and in the libraries is available for all platform users to see, and comments are subject to applicable laws, including defamation and competition laws.
3.4 Do not upload or post any information to the Community Platform that is deemed “sensitive” or “special category” under applicable laws (sensitive information), including your own sensitive information or sensitive information about other people.
3.5 Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner.
3.6 Remember that other participants have the right to reproduce postings (repost, share, quote, copy etc.) to this site unless you specify otherwise.
3.7 Do not impersonate any persons or entity while using the Community Platform.
3.8 All platforms users agree to comply with the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct and/or the CIMA Members' Handbook, as applicable. Association staff must also comply with the Association Code of Conduct and External Communications Policy.
3.9 Do not use the Community Platform for any purposes other than originally intended, as noted in the Higher Logic Acceptable Use Policy (https://www.higherlogic.com/legal/acceptable-use-policy/) and in the Association’s Terms of Use (Terms & Conditions | AICPA & CIMA). It is strictly forbidden to promote employment opportunities or request employment, except in spaces specifically designated for this purpose.
3.10 User Content that you post will be available for use on a global basis by the Association, other members and others who view the User Content on the Internet, without royalties or restrictions. The Association shall have no obligation to compensate you for any feedback or content that you provide, or requests that you submit on the platform.
3.11 The Association is not responsible for user content or the accuracy of any user content posted. Participants shall remain solely responsible for the user content they post. User content does not represent the views or opinions of the Association. The Association does not guarantee that any user content is correct or accurate, and does not endorse any user content.
4. Community posting etiquette
4.1 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.
4.2 Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate communities on the Community Platform. This helps to ensure all messages are targeted towards the most relevant participants and successful engagement and discussion.
4.3 Include a signature tag on all messages that includes your name.
4.4 Only send a message to the entire community when it contains information that everyone can benefit from.
4.4.1 When replying with messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals, do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link in every message. This will ensure notifications are relevant and effective and the messages are directed to the appropriate participant.
4.5 Do not post commercial messages to the entire community. Contact people directly with product and service information if you believe it would help them.
4.6 Do not spam the community with repeated posts in multiple discussions. Tagging many members in a discussion or private messaging a large number of members with the same communication is considered to constitute spamming.
4.7 Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the list,” to the group. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing email addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from a list and rejoin under your new email address. Simply change your settings.
5. Community platform breach and violations
To preserve an environment that encourages both respectful and productive dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership of this community for anyone who violates the Community Rules/Code of Conduct and these Terms of Use.
However, we understand that people may inadvertently violate the rules, and therefore in most cases we will not immediately suspend or terminate membership of the community following a single violation. To ensure we have an amicable environment for our community, the Association will address violations on a case-by-case basis. This could include removal of a post, putting the individual’s community account into moderation for 30 days, or suspension. Individuals who are put into moderation or suspended will be notified in writing by the Association through email. In addition to addressing violations, in exceptional circumstances the Association may immediately remove a post, put the individual’s community account into moderation and suspend a member and notify the member afterwards.
6. Artificial Intelligence:
6.1 For the purposes of these Terms, AI means the use of any machines and/or computer-based systems, machine learning, large language models, and/or algorithms including generative technology (such as Chat GPT), and chat bots.
6.2 We generally consider that answers sourced from large language models, such as ChatGPT, are usually insufficient or inaccurate to be viable as legitimate responses at this point in time. However, any information generated, copied, and/or reproduced using and form of AI and published in the Platform must be clearly identified and attributed with the source.
6.3 Be aware of the limitations of generative AI tools. These tools are not perfect, and they can sometimes produce inaccurate or misleading content. Therefore, any content generated must be reviewed prior to posting.
6.4 Pay attention to ethical issues: Do not use generative AI tools to create content that is false, misleading, defamatory, discriminatory, or offensive.
6.5 Use of any bots, including any chat bots on this Platform is prohibited, and may result in action as set out in section 5.
6.6 Any post that we consider does not comply with these Terms may be deleted and may also result in the permanent removal and/or suspension of the Participant from the Platform.
7. Service Provider (Higher Logic) Acceptable Use Policy and Anti-Spam Policy
In addition to these Community Rules and without limiting them, you must also familiarize yourself with and comply with the Higher Logic Acceptable Use Policy (https://www.higherlogic.com/legal/acceptable-use-policy/) and Higher Logic Anti-Spam Policy (https://www.higherlogic.com/legal/anti-spam-policy/)(including any updated from time to time by Higher Logic) (the https://www.higherlogic.com/legal/). If there is any conflict between these Community Rules and the Higher Logic Policies, the Higher Logic Policies will prevail.
8. Miscellaneous
8.1 The Community Platform is provided as a service for the members of the Association. The Association may alter, modify, suspend or cease the Community Site Coordinator. In the event the Association or you terminate your access to the Community Platform, you shall immediately cease all use of the Community Platform.
8.2 The Association is not responsible for the opinions, views and information posted on the Community Platform by others.
8.3 The Association does not warrant or make any representations as to the accuracy, completeness, suitability or fitness for purpose of any information contained, communicated or posted via the Community Platform (including by the Association or any third party). The Association expressly disclaims all and any liability to any person in respect of anything and the consequences of anything, done or omitted to be done by any such person in reliance, in whole or part, of any information, communication, or post published and/or shared on the Community Platform.
8.4 Information posted and or communicated on this Community Platform, in part or full, is not intended to be professional advice and should not be considered professional advice. It is also not intended to replace consultation with an appropriately qualified professional or provider. The Association is not liable for any decision taken by any individual on the basis of any information published on the Platform.
8.5 In no event shall the Association be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever including but not limited to resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any communication and/or information posted on the Platform.
8.6 Do not post any defamatory, derogatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, illegal materials or material that may be contrary to any applicable professional standards.
8.7 Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the prior 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 have received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants the Association and users of this Community Platform the non-exclusive and perpetual right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, re-share and use such information or other material.
8.8 Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or implied 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.
8.9 The Association does not actively monitor the Community Platform 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 the Association, it will take all appropriate actions.
8.9.1 The Association reserves the right to reject and remove any post for any reason and to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines
8.10 The laws applicable to the use of the Community Platform and to disputes arising in connection with the Community Platform are the laws applying in the applicable laws in the place where you are located.
8.11 Do not collect or scrape date, participant contact details or any other form of content from this platform for personal use or gain, as further detailed in section 3.3 of the Association Terms and Conditions (https://www.aicpa-cima.com/help/terms-and-conditions).
8.12 The Association shall use its best efforts to maintain the confidentiality of all users with respect to their use of the Community. However, the Association shall not be liable in any form for any harm that the user suffers as a result of any breach of confidentiality.
8.13 Online Privacy
8.13.1 We respect your privacy and will only process information about you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. By using the Community Platform, you agree to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.
8.13.2 Notwithstanding the foregoing, we have the right to cooperate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Community Platform. We may disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy, and to any law enforcement officer, without liability.