Discussion Group Guidelines and Policies

CSA Groups Policy and Procedure 

Definition: 

CSA Groups exist on the CSA website for the purpose of assisting and expediting the work of the CSA and its members. The Groups are exclusively owned and maintained by the CSA. Groups and their members shall adhere to the Privacy Policy of the CSA. Groups will be open only to CSA members, members of the CSA Executive Staff, Legislative and Legal Consultants. The addition of non-members may be necessary from time-to-time, but are added by special request to the CSA President, CEO, or Committee Chair.

All Groups will be available solely in the "Members Only" section of the CSA website. There are two types of groups, restricted and open. Restricted groups will be those involved in the Governance and Business work of the CSA such as the Board, Executive Committee, other committees, Divisions and Bulletin. Other restricted Groups may exist for a specific purpose, such as the Groups President's forum or a Group for the Members of a District of the CSA. Open Groups will be open to all CSA members who interested. An example might be a discussion Group on Critical Care or Pediatric Anesthesia. These may be formed if there is member interest and with the approval of the CEO or President of the CSA.

Group Members:

Restricted Groups: Immediately following the Annual Meeting and the appointment of Committee Chairs and members, restricted Groups shall be updated by the staff of the CSA.  The membership in Restricted Governance or Business Groups is limited to the members of that Board (voting and non voting), Committee, or Division. Those members whose terms have expired or who otherwise ceased being specific Board, Committee, or Division Members shall be removed. CSA Officers (on their request) and relevant CSA staff shall be in included in Group membership. Other individuals who have an interest in the work and business of a Group may be added to a Group at the discretion of the CEO, President of the CSA, or the Chair of the specific committee whose Group is adding the individual.

Non-Governance Groups: Any CSA member who meets the criteria for a restricted non-Governance Group may be a member of that Group.

Open Groups: Open Groups will be open to all CSA members who are interested in the topic of the Group. A request for a new Group to be added must be reviewed and approved by the CEO, the President, or the Chair of Electronic Communications. CSA Staff will then create the new Group. Once an Open Group is created any Member may join and it is not necessary for a member to contact staff to be added.

Posting to Groups:

All Group members shall adhere to the CSA Privacy Policy. By using CSA social networking and media platforms, members agree that CSA may use content generated by the member that is not otherwise owned by a third party. In addition all Group members must adhere to the rules below regarding proper etiquette on posting to a CSA Group site.

1. Identify your name and e-mail address when posting a message. In the subject line, be specific in describing the subject matter of your posting.
2. Put your response at the top of the original posting. Include only the relevant information to which you are responding. This will make others who read your message understand the context of the conversation. Economize space by including only the relevant portion of the original message. Delete the header information from the previous message.
3. Do not cite or reference members, staff, patients or other third parties without their approval. Do not post personal information of others. 
4. Send messages to the entire Group only when it contains information everyone needs to know. Otherwise, send your response directly to the e-mail address of the person who posted the message by clicking on your "Forward to" button and typing in or cutting and pasting in the e-mail address of the individual to whom you are responding.
5. Attacking others is not allowed. The discussions put forward in the CSA Groups are meant to stimulate conversation, but are not meant to create a contentious environment.
6. All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited.
7. Advertisements or promotion are not allowed
8. Unless explicitly authorized as provided in these guidelines, a member is prohibited from stating or implying on official CSA social networking and media that they speak on behalf of the CSA. 

Do not endorse political candidates and/or parties. Official CSA social networking and media platforms must not be used by members to endorse a political candidate or party for any public office, or voice an opinion that could be construed to constitute an endorsement by the Society of a candidate in any election. CSA, via LPAD and GASPAC will educate members and the public on the issues and where candidates stand on those issues but does not endorse specific candidates.

Respect CSA's disclaimers and policies. Official CSA social networking and media platforms will prominently display the following disclaimer: "The postings on this site do not necessarily represent the California Society of Anesthesiologists' positions, policies, programs, strategies or opinions." This may be dispensed with if the platform is set up for the purpose of communicating CSA positions and policies. Each disclaimer will further state: "CSA makes no warranties regarding the accuracy or correctness of the information or opinions provided herein and CSA accepts no liability for damages of any kind resulting from reliance on the information or opinions provided herein. Users should not rely on any such opinions provided herein. Users expressly waive any and all rights of action they may have against CSA arising out of the information or opinions on this site. As a condition of posting to this site, you agree to the terms set forth in the CSA Terms of Use, the Antitrust Policy and the Privacy Policy found on the CSA website at www.csahq.org.

Use of the CSA Groups is a privilege and not a right of CSA membership. In order to preserve this privilege members are required to comply strictly with the following guidelines for any information or materials they may transmit or distribute using the Groups site.

The Group site should be limited to providing and soliciting information on subjects which are consistent with the purposes of the CSA which include advancing the science and art of anesthesiology and stimulating interest and promoting progress in scientific, cultural and economic aspects of the specialty of anesthesiology.

Members may not transmit or distribute through the Group site any information or materials that are defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive or threatening; advocates or encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or foreign law or regulation; or violates any rights of privacy under applicable law. In particular, members should not to post any medical information that can be identified with a specific patient.

Similarly, members should not transmit or distribute through the Group site any information or material that advocates or suggests a boycott or attempts to fix prices at which anesthesia services will be provided to third parties. If a Member has a question about the appropriateness of material that Member wishes to post, he or she shall forward that material to the CEO for review before posting.

Additionally, members should not transmit or distribute through the Group site any information or material which contains an untrue or unproven statement about any person or organization suggesting commission of a crime or otherwise exposing the person or organization to contempt or ridicule.

CSA reserves the right to remove any information or material transmitted through the Group site which does not fully comply with these guidelines in addition to terminating a member's right of access to the Group site. As a general rule, if there is any doubt about particular information or material complying with the foregoing guidelines, it should not be transmitted or distributed through the Group site.

September 7, 2010