Resources / Forums / ToS

ToS

Our mission is to develop a forum community that empowers Alberta municipal OHS & HR professionals to grow their networks, spark discussion, and support the sharing of resources, knowledge, and experience. The AMHSA Forum is a natural evolution of the Safety Advisor Email List, with the added benefits of search features, post history, content categorization, moderation, and customizable notification settings.

For more information, comments, or concerns, please contact us ([email protected]) 

This document was last updated October 4, 2021.

Table of Contents

Terms and conditions of use

Introduction - General

The terms and conditions of use for the AMHSA Forum constitute a legal agreement and are entered into by and between you and Alberta Municipal Health and Safety Association ("Company," "we," "us," "our"). The following terms and conditions ("Terms and Conditions") govern your access to and use, including any content, functionality, and services offered on or through https://forum.amhsa.net/ (the "Forum").

We reserve the right in our sole discretion to revise and update these terms and conditions from time to time. Any and all such modifications are effective immediately upon posting and apply to all access to and continued use of the Forum. You agree to periodically review the terms and conditions in order to be aware of any such modifications and your continued use shall be your acceptance of these.

The information and material on this Forum, and the Forum, may be changed, withdrawn, or terminated at any time in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if, for any reason, all or any part of the Forum is restricted to users or unavailable at any time or for any period.

No Reliance

The content on the Forum is provided for general information purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain more specific or professional advice before taking, or refraining from, any action or inaction on the basis of the content on our site.

Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on the Forum, we make no representations, warranties, or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on the Forum is accurate, complete, or up to date. Your use of the Forum is at your own risk and the Company has no responsibility or liability whatsoever for your use of this Forum.

This Forum includes content provided by third parties, including from other users and third-party licensors. All statements and/or opinions expressed in any such third-party content, other than the content provided by the Company, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. Such materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Company. The Company has no responsibility or liability whatsoever to you, or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any third-party materials.

Membership

Forum membership is restricted to individuals who are employed as Safety Advisors, Disability Managers, Human Resource professionals (or equivalent) for Alberta municipalities or other member organizations. To become a member of a forum, individuals must provide their contact information (including name, email, organization, job title) to AMHSA and must read and accept the forum guidelines, rules, privacy policy, and the platform’s terms of use. Users are approved at AMHSA’s sole discretion.

Membership is opt-in and members may opt-out of the forum at any time. Members may also request that any and all content created, posted, or otherwise owned by the user is removed from the forum. Any request for removal will be completed within 10 business days.

Any username, password, or any other piece of information chosen by you, or provided to you as part of our security procedures, must be treated as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any other person or entity. You must exercise caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information. You understand and agree that should you be provided an account, your account is personal to you and you agree not to provide any other person with access to this Forum or portions of it using your username, password, or other security information. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your username or password or any other breach of security. You also agree to ensure that you logout from your account at the end of each session. You are responsible for any password misuse or any unauthorized access.

We reserve the right at any time and from time to time, to disable or terminate your account, any username, password, or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including any violation of any provision of these Terms and Conditions.

By submitting your application to become a Forum Member, you represent and warrant that you meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements and that your information is accurate and true. If you are not eligible, you must not submit an application, access or use the Forum.

Moderation

The forums are moderated by a team of AMHSA staff members. Moderators are able to approve or deny membership, view usage analytics, change forum settings, remove posts/content, add/remove tags, and highlight or pin posts. Moderators also act as support for forum members, answering questions, participating in discussions, and posting events, promotions, and other applicable content from AMHSA.

Any user that feels threatened, unsafe, or is aware of a breach in any of the forum guidelines or policies should contact a moderator for assistance.

Trust Levels (Discourse platform only)

Trust levels are a form of automatic moderation that grants increasing rights to users who participate in the forums. Trust levels are increased by spending time in the forums, reading posts, adding posts, and driving discussion. Users begin at trust level 1 and increase to trust level 5 over time. When a user has increased their trust level, an automated message will let them know.

Users must reach trust level 2 in order to post links and embed media. Users must reach trust level 3 to send private messages.

Click to view more information on Discourse Trust Levels

Automated Moderator (Discourse platform only)

Discobot is an automated moderation bot that can respond to messages, welcome new users, disable inappropriate posts or comments, and acts as an interactive tutorial for new users.

Click to learn more about Discobot

Warnings vs Bans

A user that does not follow the forum rules or guidelines will be provided a warning or removed (banned) from the forums either temporarily or permanently, depending on the severity of the offense. Following a warning, continued contravention of the forum guidelines may lead to a temporary or permanent ban at the moderator’s discretion. If a user is issued a warning, moderators may also downgrade the user’s account trust level.

All moderation decisions must conform to the forum guidelines and policies but is otherwise at AMHSA’s discretion.

Content Guidelines and Rules

Our goal for the AMHSA Forums is to create a thriving and valuable community for members that is respectful, relevant, and informed.

We ask that all members and moderators seek to:

  1. Treat members and moderators with respect
  2. Improve discussion and participate
  3. Always be civil (agree to disagree) and welcoming
  4. Comply with rules, guidelines, and terms of service

As a condition of your access and use, you agree that you may use the Forum only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. In order to ensure that the forum is safe, accurate, and friendly, the following content standards apply to any and all content, material, and information a user submits, posts, publishes, displays, or transmits (collectively, "submit") to the Forum, to other users or other persons (collectively, "User Submissions") and any and all submissions through any functionality of the forums ("Interactive Functions"). Without limiting the foregoing, you warrant and agree that your use of the Forum and any User Submissions shall abide by the following rules:

  1. Do not post, comment, or message offensive content, links, or images or otherwise create a hazardous or unwelcome environment.
    • AMHSA maintains a zero-tolerance policy for any and all acts, content, or messages that include or condone discrimination, harassment, bullying, threatening language, harm to yourself or others, illegal acts, and violence.
    • Offensive content includes any language, messages, comments, links, images, video, or other media that is inappropriate to an inclusive and safe working environment. This includes, but is not limited to, copyright or intellectual property violations, illegal activity, harassment, hateful conduct, impersonation, scams, graphic content, and bullying. Additionally, content should not encourage any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the forum, or which, as determined by the Company, may harm the Company or users of the Forum or expose them to liability.
    • Any content that is deemed inappropriate will be removed and the user will be banned from the forum.
  2. Do not spam or post unsolicited advertising, selling or promotions
    • Spamming is defined as multiple inappropriate posts, comments, or messages.
    • We welcome you to respond to questions relating to products or services, but do not allow for self-promotion, out of context product information/links/media, or promotions not authorized by the moderation team. If a user has an existing relationship with a product, brand, or service in question, the relationship must be disclosed.
      • YES - “My organization is looking at using Product A, does anyone have recommendations or experience with this?”
      • YES - “We’ve used 2 different products at Organization. We used Product A for 2 years but eventually moved to Service B for its additional features”
      • NO – “I’m selling Completely Unrelated Product. CLICK HERE NOW TO VISIT MY WEBSITE. You can win a free tuba with purchase!”
    • Any content that is deemed spam or unsolicited advertising/promotions will be removed and the user will be given a warning or ban depending on the severity of the offense.
  3. Stay on topic and provide accurate and informed content
    • The AMHSA Forum has been designed as a place for members to share, question, and discuss occupational health and safety related information and topics. All content is to be provided in good-faith and should be accurate to the best of the user’s ability.
    • Posts that are deemed to be off topic or inaccurate/misinformed will be removed and the user will be given a warning or ban depending on the severity of offense.
    • No user should impersonate or attempt to impersonate the Company, a Company employee, another user or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses, or screen names associated with any of the foregoing)
    • You understand and agree that you, not the, are fully responsible for any User Submissions you submit or contribute, and you are fully responsible and legally liable, including to any third party, for such content and its accuracy. We are not responsible or legally liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Submissions submitted by you or any other user of the Forum.
  4. Do not use the Company name, logo and all related names, product and service names, designs, images and slogans of the Company or its affiliates or licensors without the prior written permission of the Company.
    • You understand and agree that the Forum and its entire contents, features, and functionality, including, but not limited to, all information, software, code, text, displays, graphics, photographs, video, audio, design, presentation, selection, and arrangement, are owned by the Company, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected in all forms by intellectual property laws including without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and any other proprietary rights.
    • Other names, logos, product and service names, designs, images, and slogans mentioned, or which appear on this Forum are the trademarks of their respective owners. Use of any such property, except as expressly authorized, shall constitute an infringement or violation of the rights of the property owner and may be a violation of federal or other laws and could subject the infringer to legal action.
    • You may only use the Forum for your personal and non-commercial use. You shall not directly or indirectly reproduce, compile for an internal database, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any of the material on our Forum, in any form or medium.
    • If you print off, copy or download any part of our Forum in breach of these Terms and Conditions, your right to use the Forum will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. You have no right, title, or interest in or to the Forum or to any content on the Forum, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by the Company. Any use of the Forum not expressly permitted by these Terms and Conditions is a breach of these Terms and Conditions and may infringe or violate copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property or other proprietary laws.
  5. Respect privacy and confidentiality
    • Our goal is to create a space in which members feel comfortable asking questions, providing feedback, and sharing documents and resources. All posts and content are to remain within the forum unless explicit permission is provided by the content owner.
    • Any user that is found to have shared identifying information (also known as doxing), documentation, posts, or other content without the express permission of the content owner will be banned from the forum.
  6. Do not share your login information or account with others
    • Forum membership is by approval only and is maintained at AMHSA’s discretion. We welcome all Alberta municipal Safety Advisors (or equivalent) to apply for membership.
    • Any user that has shared their login information or account will be banned from the forum.

A user that does not follow the rules or guidelines may be provided a warning or removed from the forums at AMHSA’s sole discretion, depending on the severity of the offense.

AMHSA has the right, without provision of notice to:

  1. Remove or refuse to post on the Forum any User Submissions for any or no reason in our sole discretion.
  2. At all times, take such actions with respect to any User Submission deemed necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including, without limitation, for violating the Forum and User Submissions and Site Content Standards or Terms and Conditions.
  3. Take appropriate legal action, including, without limitation, referral to law enforcement or regulatory authority, or notifying the harmed party of any illegal or unauthorized use of the Forum. Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to fully cooperate 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 Forum.
  4. Terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Forum for any or no reason, including, without limitation, any violation of these Terms and Conditions.

YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS AMHSA FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMPANY RELATING TO ANY, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER THE OR BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

Any user that feels threatened, unsafe, or is aware of a breach in any of the forum guidelines or policies should contact a moderator for assistance immediately.

Any user with questions or comments relating to moderation, guidelines, or content, is welcome to contact any member of the moderation team.

Privacy and Data Collection Policy

AMHSA is committed to protecting the privacy and data of all forum members.

AMHSA collects information from users when registering for the forum and gathers data when a user participates in the forum by reading, posting, commenting, or evaluating content. AMHSA uses identifying details provided during registration to confirm login information and membership applicability. When a user is registered and posting, we record the IP address that the post originated from and may retain server logs which include the IP address of every request to our server. Analytics, such as time spent, category use, browser information, trending search terms, and engagement, are automatically collected while participating in the forum. All posts, comments, and messages may be reviewed by moderators and staff.

Information collected by AMHSA is used to enhance the experience of our members by:

  • Improving customer service - member information helps us to respond to customer service requests and support needs more effectively.
  • Personalizing the forum experience - member information helps us to better respond to your individual needs and areas of interest.
  • Improving AMHSA content - we continually strive to improve our content, materials, resources, and website based on the information and feedback we receive from members.

None of the User Submissions you submit to the Forum will be subject to any confidentiality by the Company. By providing any User Submission to the Forum, you grant us and our licensees, successors, and assigns the right to a world-wide, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive licence to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute, and otherwise disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose and according to your account settings and/or incorporate such material into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. You further waive any moral rights or other rights of authorship as a condition of submitting any User Submission.

Use of Cookies

Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow). These cookies enable the site to recognize your browser and, if you have a registered account, associate it with your registered account.

We use cookies to understand and save your preferences for future visits and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.

Disclosure of Information to Third Parties

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our site, conducting our business, or servicing members, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release member information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others’ rights, property, or safety. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be used by AMHSA for marketing, advertising, or other purposes.

The AMHSA Forum has been created using the Discourse open-source discussion platform developed by CDCK and is currently hosted on Discourse servers. Both CDCK and Discourse are considered to be trusted third parties.

Click to view CDCK privacy and data use information

Click to view the Discourse Terms of Service

Third Party Links

Occasionally, at AMHSA’s discretion, we may include or offer third party products or services on our site. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. AMHSA has no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about third parties.

Online Privacy Policy Only

This policy applies only to information collected through the registration and use of the AMHSA Forum and not to information collected offline or via other platforms.

Consent

AMHSA will not republish or otherwise repurpose any and all content created or posted by forum members without express permission of the content owner.

Membership is opt-in and members may opt-out of the forum at any time. Members may also request that any and all content created, posted, or otherwise owned by the user is removed from the forum. Any request for removal will be completed within 10 business days.

However, we may disclose your personal information:

  1. To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request, in accordance with applicable law.
  2. To enforce or apply our terms of and other agreements.
  3. If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of AMHSA, our customers, or others.

Data Retention

Except as otherwise permitted or required by applicable law or regulation, we will only retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. Under some circumstances we may anonymize your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

Please read this policy carefully to understand our policies and practices for collecting, processing, and storing your information. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use the Forum. By accessing or using this Forum, you indicate that you understand, accept, and consent to the practices described in this policy. This policy may change from time to time at the sole discretion of AMHSA. Your continued use of this Forum after we make changes indicates that you accept and consent to those changes, so please check the policy periodically for updates. We will notify you in advance of any material changes to this policy and obtain your consent to any new ways that we collect, use, and disclose your personal information.

This “Privacy and Data Collection Policy” was adapted from the privacy policy developed by Discourse/CDCK, and used under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 License (CC BY-SA 2.0 CA). Discourse and its parent organization CDCK does not endorse this policy or accept liability for its use.

Disclaimer of Warranties

You understand and agree that your use of the website, its content, and any services or items found or attained through the website is at your own risk. The website, its content, and any services or items found or attained through the website are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without any warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The foregoing does not affect any warranties that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Neither the company nor its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, service providers, contractors, licensors, licensees, suppliers, or successors make any warranty, representation, or endorsement with respect to the completeness, security, reliability, suitability, accuracy, currency, or availability of the website or its contents. Without limiting the foregoing, neither the company nor its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, service providers, contractors, licensors, licensees, suppliers, or successors represent or warrant that the website, its content, or any services or items found or attained through the website will be accurate, reliable, error-free, or uninterrupted, that defects will be corrected, that our website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or other harmful components.

We cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files or data available for downloading from the internet or the website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are solely and entirely responsible for your use of the website and your computer, internet, and data security. To the fullest extent provided by law, we will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by denial-of-service attack, distributed denial-of-service attack, overloading, flooding, mailbombing, or crashing, viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data, or other proprietary material due to your use of the website or any services or items found or attained through the website or to your downloading of any material posted on it, or on any website linked to it.

Limitation of Liability

Except where such exclusions are prohibited by law, under no circumstance will the company nor its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, service providers, contractors, licensors, licensees, suppliers, or successors be liable for negligence, gross negligence, negligent misrepresentation, fundamental breach, damages of any kind, under any legal theory, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including, but not limited to, personal injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of revenue, loss of profits, loss of business or anticipated savings, loss of use, loss of goodwill, loss of data, and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract, breach of privacy, or otherwise, even if the party was allegedly advised or had reason to know, arising out of or in connection with your use, or inability to use, or reliance on, the website, any linked websites or such other third-party websites, nor any website content, materials, posting, or information thereon even if the party was allegedly advised or had reason to know.

Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Company, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, service providers, contractors, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your breach of these Terms and Conditions or your use of the Forum, including, but not limited to, your User Submissions, third-party sites, any use of the Forum’s content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms and Conditions.

Waiver

No failure to exercise, or delay in exercising, any right, remedy, power, or privilege arising from these Terms and Conditions operates, or may be construed, as a waiver thereof. No single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power, or privilege hereunder precludes any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power, or privilege.

Page updated: October 4, 2021