Virtual Community Policies

APBS Virtual Community Disclaimer

The Association for Positive Behavior Support (“APBS”) Virtual Community continues to expand both through interactive features on the website and via various social media platforms. This virtual community provides a platform for networking amongst existing members, a mechanism to engage potential new members, and a communication outlet for the community at large. The intent of this virtual community is to responsibly promote and expand the research and evidence based utilization of positive behavior support with regard to practices, systems, frameworks, and policies. The intent is not to provide a platform for individuals or organizations to market or advertise specific products or services. All posts, discussions, and resources shared should reflect the values of positive behavior support and APBS. While APBS supports the infrastructure and further development of the APBS Virtual Community, it does not necessarily endorse all content and is not responsible for the content presented.

The opinions and or views expressed on APBS virtual network pages, member profiles, and social media platforms represent the thoughts of individuals and online communities, and not those necessarily of APBS or any of its partners, networks, affiliates or any of their respective board members, officers, or employees. The opinions and views expressed on these pages do not in any way reflect the views of the website they are posted on, other websites affiliated with the website, the staff involved with maintaining the website or any members of the website.

APBS does not warrant or represent that the content posted on its network pages, member profiles, and social media platforms is fair, accurate, complete, up-to-date or current. APBS does not warrant or represent that such information is free from technical inaccuracies or programming or typographical errors.

APBS makes reasonable efforts to monitor and/or moderate content posted on its network pages, member profiles, and social media platforms. APBS expects, however, the APBS Virtual Community to function primarily as a self-monitoring community. In order for the APBS Virtual Community to effectively self-monitor, APBS Network Administrators must have an active APBS membership, be identified as one of the two APBS Network leads, and moderate content created by their own network members on the APBS platform. APBS Network Administrators agree to watch the “APBS Network Virtual Community Expectations” webinar and to meet monthly or as requested with the APBS Network and/or Website Contractor for support and quality oversight. Further, APBS expects APBS Virtual Community members to report content that conflicts with APBS’ mission, any one of APBS’ policies, or any APBS Virtual Community expectations listed below. Content reported as out of compliance will be reviewed by the contractor operating the APBS website and may be forwarded to APBS leadership for further review. The process for reporting content is described below. APBS Network Administrators, the APBS Website Contractor, and the APBS Network Contractor will formally report individuals who violate this policy to the APBS Board.

In no event will APBS be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages arising from your use of or inability to use the APBS website and/or any content provided in connection with your use of the APBS website, or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the APBS website, including but not limited to loss of data or interruption in its use or availability. Additionally, APBS shall not be liable for negative repercussions to any party based on the use of or inability to use the APBS website, including but not limited to lost goodwill or lost profits. APBS shall be liable only to the extent of actual damages incurred by you, not to exceed the amount you actually paid to APBS for goods or services in the prior six (6) months, if anything. APBS is not liable for any personal injury, including death, or property damage caused by your use or misuse of the APBS website or the content. Remedies under these terms are exclusive and are limited to those expressly provided for herein. Because some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, in such states or jurisdictions the liability of APBS will be limited to the greatest extent permitted by applicable law. The website and various social media platforms provide you specific legal rights. You may also have other rights which vary from one jurisdiction to another.

Content Reporting Process

The APBS website does, or may in the future, permit the submission of various forms of content submitted by you and other users, such as materials, statements, reviews, ratings, opinions, personal stories, documents, images, graphics, logos, designs, videos, text files, audio files, and comments (collectively, “User Content”) and the hosting, sharing, downloading, publishing and/or republishing of such User Content. APBS does not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any User Content. To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, you agree that you will not provide any User Content that contains personally identifiable information (such as name, phone number, email or mailing address, social security number, etc.) belonging to you or anyone else. Uploading images or video of other people without their permission is strictly prohibited.

APBS will not permit any content known by us to be infringing to remain on the website. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) provides resources for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under US copyright law. If you believe in good faith that content or material hosted by or appearing on the website infringes your copyright, you (or your agent) may send APBS a notice requesting that the website content or material be removed, or access to it be blocked, by following the procedure set forth below.

Procedure for Submitting Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Notices

Follow the process below to submit a DMCA notice or counter-notice:

Submit a DMCA notice/counter-notice by completing this brief form: https://new.apbs.org/dmca (alternatively, click the “DMCA” link at the bottom of any webpage on apbs.org).

To provide APBS with notice or counter-notice of a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claim, please provide the following information:

The notice must include the following information: (a) a physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (or if multiple copyrighted works located on the website are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works); (c) identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or the subject of infringing activity, and information reasonably sufficient to allow APBS to locate the content or material on the website; (d) the name, address, telephone number and email address (if available) of the complaining party; (e) a statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the content or material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and (f) a statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

If you believe in good faith that a notice of copyright infringement has been wrongly filed against you, the DMCA permits you to send us a counter-notice. Notices and counter-notices must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA; see http://www.loc.gov/copyright for details. Notices and counter-notices with respect to the website should be sent to APBS by completing the online DMCA form at: https://new.apbs.org/dmca as set forth above. APBS suggests that you consult your legal advisor before filing a notice or counter-notice. Also, be aware that there can be penalties for false claims under the DMCA.

Procedure for Reporting Problem Website Content

Follow the process below to report problem content that you believe violates the Virtual Community Expectations (listed below), APBS Policies, or APBS Mission:

Submit a report by completing this brief form: https://new.apbs.org/report-content (alternatively, click the “Report Content” link at the bottom of any webpage on apbs.org).

APBS Virtual Community Expectations

You shall be solely responsible for your User Content and the consequences of posting or publishing it. You represent and warrant that you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to use and to authorize APBS and other users of the APBS website to publish such User Content and to enable inclusion and publication of the User Content on the APBS website, as APBS deems appropriate.

1. Be Respectful of the Other Users of this Website
   • Positive Example: Use Person-first language when communicating on the APBS Network and Social Media Platforms. (please review the information about Person-first Language available at the end of this document)
   • Nonexample: Breaking the law or encouraging others to do so (this includes defamation, breaching privacy, breaching another person’s intellectual property rights such as copyright, condoning illegal activity and contempt of court).
2. Stay on Topic and Focus on Communicating in a Positive Manner When Responding to Others
   • Positive Example: When responding to a comment that is antagonistic but not offensive, respond with positive strategies that address the individual’s concern.
   • Nonexample: Uploading content or posting a comment that is unrelated to the purpose of this consultation/website.
3. Use Person-first Language
   • Positive Example: When referring to an individual with a disability or exceptionality, refer to the person before explaining their disability or exceptionalism.
   • Nonexample: Using language that is offensive, inflammatory or provocative (this includes swearing and obscene or vulgar comments) Identifying people using only their disability status [e.g., writing an “autistic child” (non-example) instead of “a child with autism” (positive example)].
4. Keep All Personal Information Private
   • Positive Example: When you do not have direct permission to refer to a person’s identity, refer to them as a “friend” or “colleague”. Vague details are acceptable (e.g., “colleague at another university”), but follow best-practices in de-identification when possible.
   • Nonexample: In the course of using the community areas of this website, posting personal information—addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other online contact details—relating to either you or other individuals.
5. Speak Accurately and Truthfully on the Website
   • Positive Example: Back up any viewpoints you share with evidence including research data or explain your logic based on objective information.
   • Nonexample: Impersonating or falsely claiming to represent a person or an organization. Attempting to log on using another user’s account.
6. Help Create a Community Atmosphere
   • Positive Example: Visiting the Member’s Website for information about new job opportunities.
   • Nonexample: Engaging in commercial endorsement or promotion of any product, service or publication.
7. Promote Relevant Resources Consistent with the APBS Mission that Do Not Present a Direct Conflict of Interest.
   • Positive Example: Link to Family Resources on APBS Website (In general, when referring to resources, the primary emphasis is on freely available online resources rather than commercial products, when available.)
   • Nonexample: Advertising one’s own Consulting Services.
   • Direct Conflict of Interest by Example
     • Direct Conflict:
       a. Link to online bookseller for book on which you are an author.
       b. Exclusive promotion or advertisement of own or own group’s consulting services.
       c. Soliciting clients for consulting services.
       d. Promoting commercial toolkits or online teaching platforms in which you have a business or financial interest.
     • No Direct Conflict
       a. Reference to article freely available online on which you are an author.
       b. Referencing a list of resources, commercial or freely available, without directly promoting any one of those resources.
       c. Referencing a list of services or services providers withouth directly promoting any one of those providers or services.

You shall be solely responsible for your User Content, and the consequences of posting or publishing it. You represent and warrant that you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to use, and to authorize APBS and other users of the APBS website to publish such User Content and to enable inclusion and publication of the User Content on the APBS website, as APBS deems appropriate.

APBS reserves the sole right (but not the obligation) to pre-screen, review, edit and/or delete any comments it deems are inappropriate. Comments including but not limited to the following may be deleted or edited by the moderators:

• Abusive or hurtful comments about another participant;
• Off-topic and redundant comments (this includes promotion or solicitation of events, groups, pages, websites, organizations, products and programs not related to or affiliated with APBS);
• Comments that use foul language or hate-speech (including but not limited to racially- or ethnically-offensive, homophobic, misogynistic, or anti-LGBTQ language);
• Personal attacks or defamatory statements or comments (i.e., making negative personal or untrue comments about a participant), instead of criticizing the content of his/her posting, opinion or comments;
• Comments that violate the privacy of any individual; and
• Any posts which do not reflect the values of positive behavior support or APBS.

Non-APBS Member Access to the APBS Network Platform

The APBS Virtual Community provides the APBS Network platform for current and potential APBS members to collaborate regarding positive behavior support related interests. While APBS Network administrators will encourage APBS membership, becoming a member is not a requirement for access to the APBS Network pages. Non-APBS members who are verified members of an APBS Network can be granted a restricted user account for the APBS Virtual Community that will 1) limit participation only to the pages of the APBS Network(s) of which they are a member and 2) restrict access to members only content in the larger APBS Virtual Community. Non-APBS members must contact an administrator of their APBS Network to request restricted access to the APBS Virtual Community. Regardless of membership status, all participants must abide by expectations outlined within the Virtual Community Policy. In order to become a member of APBS, a membership application can be completed online or printed and mailed in with payment and supporting documentation (if needed).

User Accounts for APBS Virtual Community

To the extent you create a user account (a “User Account”) and access APBS content resources posted on the APBS website via the membership page, including archived conference presentations and webinars, the following shall apply:

1. Create a User Account.
   1. To access certain types of features and the content available through the website, we require the use of a username and password to set up a User Account. We use reasonable precautions to protect the privacy of your username, password, and other User Account information. You, however, are ultimately responsible for protecting your username, password, and User Account information from disclosure to third parties, and you are not permitted to circumvent the use of required encryption technologies, if any.
   2. You agree to immediately notify APBS of any unauthorized use of your username, password, or User Account, or any other breach of security; ensure that you exit from your User Account at the end of each session; and use a security passcode to secure your device where your User Account information is stored. While we may provide certain encryption technologies and use other reasonable precautions to protect your confidential information and provide suitable security, we do not and cannot guarantee or warrant that information transmitted through the Internet is secure, or that such transmissions are free from delay, interruption, interception or error.
2. Provide Accurate Information.
   • In creating and using your User Account, you agree to: provide true, accurate, current, and complete information about yourself on any registration form (such information being the “Registration Data”); maintain and promptly update the Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete; and maintain and promptly update payment information to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, or if APBS has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, then we have the right to suspend or terminate your User Account and refuse any and all current or future use of your User Account.
   • ii. User Accounts and usernames are non-transferable, and all users are obligated to take preventative measures to prohibit unauthorized users from accessing the website and our networking platforms with his or her username and password. We are entitled to act on all instructions received by anyone using your User Account.
3. The APBS Virtual Community is Not Intended for Children.
   1. We do not collect personal information from any person that we know to be under the age of 13. Specifically, the APBS website is not intended or designed to attract children under the age of 13. You affirm that you are more than 18 years of age, or an emancipated minor, or possess legal parental or guardian consent, and are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations, and warranties set forth herein.
   2. In any case, you affirm that you are over the age of 13, as THE WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13 THAT ARE UNACCOMPANIED BY HIS OR HER PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN.

What is Person-First Language?

Person-first language puts the person before a disability or category. Instead of referring to someone as an autistic person, we describe the person as having autism. The idea is that we do not use a diagnosis as a defining characteristic.

APBS is committed to the use of person-first language throughout all correspondence including the website, conference media, and any business emails. This means that individuals use person-first language when they submit their conference proposals including titles, abstracts, and session descriptions. It also means that as of November, 2010, we will not be posting information on the members’ website that does not conform to “Person-First” language.

For more information go to:

• Kathie Snow’s “A Few Words about People First Language”
• Guidelines for Reporting and Writing about People with Disabilities, Seventh Edition
• UC Davis Mind Institute Bookmarks
• What is People First Language?

All links to other websites linked from APBS’s network pages, member profiles, and social media websites are provided as a service to readers, but such linkage does not constitute an endorsement of those websites by APBS, and as such, we are not responsible for the content of external websites.

By submitting content to any of APBS’ network pages, member profiles, and social media websites, you understand and acknowledge that this information is available to the public on social media websites and to general APBS membership for network pages and member profiles and that APBS may use this information for internal and external promotional purposes and fundraising purposes. If we decide to change some or part of the terms of the APBS Virtual Community Disclaimer, we will make an effort to post those changes on this web page so that you will always be able to understand and agree to the terms and conditions governing your use of the website. Your use of the website following your acceptance of any amendment of these terms will signify your assent to and acceptance of its revised terms for all previously collected information and information collected from you in the future. Please note that other participants may use your posted information, which is beyond the control of APBS. If you do not wish to have the information you have made available via this website used, published, copied, and/or reprinted, please do not post on this web page.