Forum rulesThe PreamblePlease read this to understand what distinguishes the APIL forums from all other online discussion groups and communities.
IntroductionThe APIL forums have some very special characteristics, which lend themselves to an online community. Members are drawn together by a common purpose – to share information about their work and to network with other personal injury lawyers – and a common interest such as acting for the claimant. Whatever the motivation the underlying driver is the opportunity to benefit from the experience of others. This is the best reason to be part of a community, where the ethos is to share information and experiences. And there is no better medium than the internet to facilitate this.
The main areas of the site
The APIL Network is designed to encourage a range of enquiries and discussions. Each area is characterised by the content and style of exchange and by its management.
1 Discussion forums
Anyone, including APIL staff, can start and run or host a discussion on a topic with the intention of encouraging meaningful debate and to gain feedback from other APIL members.
2 Groups
If you prefer to meet like-minded members face to face to learn, socialise and network, find out when and where the next regional or special interest group meetings will take place and access our archive of presentations – all here in Groups. We have:
Regional groups;
Special Interest groups and Membership groups.
3. Frequently Asked Questions
If you are just looking for a quick answer to one of the more frequently asked questions, then visit Questions and Answers where other members have already offered suggestions. Go to:
http://www.apil.org.uk/frequently-asked-questions.
4. Ask the expert
Do you need a professional opinion? Ask the expert is where specialist APIL members talk about topics of interest to you and your practice.
5. Movers and Shakers
Keep track of who’s moving where in
Movers and Shakers. Let us know about your new appointments by contacting the Head of Membership Services:
marlene.lord@apil.org.uk.
Your rights and responsibilities
As a member of APIL Forums you have registered to join our “club” – the APIL Network – as well as gain access to valuable content. As with all clubs, the main principles of association are defined by the organisers – in this case The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers– and the club is run and managed by and for its members – you.
The APIL Forums are distinguished by three guiding principles, which define your rights and responsibilities:
1 You are who you say you are;
2 You own your own details;
3 You own your own words.
“You are who you say you are” means that no aliases or pseudonyms are accepted on the site.
From clicking on your name in the top right corner of the APIL forums, you can choose to be seen by others by first and last name or initial(s) and last name, including a prefix if preferred. With the declaration of one’s real identity there is commitment, greater likelihood that people will be truthful with each other and a stronger chance that relationships formed online will blend into long-lasting "real life" relationships.
“You own your own details” means that, through ‘Signature and Bio’ and ‘About’, you can add or remove your personal details at any time and therefore control who sees what. Your email address is only ever visible to the APIL staff for the specific purpose of communicating with you. It is not possible for any member to ever view or access your email address from the site unless you choose to advertise your email address in your ‘Public Contact Information’ on the ‘email’ tab when you click on your name in the forums.
The APIL Forums have no rights to the content of your details. Your details can only be used by the APIL Forums in the context of communicating with you. For a full explanation of the APIL Forums' policy regarding personal information, refer to the
Privacy Policy.
“You own your own words” means that you are directly responsible and liable for everything you choose to publish in the discussions, including third-party copyrighted material, and that you own the copyright and retain the moral rights in what you create and publish. However, in publishing on the APIL forums you accept the principle of fair use, which means that you grant the APIL Forums a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to reproduce your words in any medium for non-commercial purposes as long as attribution is given. Equally other members can quote your words within the forums with an accompanying attribution, by using the ‘quote’ button.
If APIL wishes to reproduce a particular statement, you will be contacted for permission prior to its use. A summary of discussions taking place on the APIL Forums, especially those which relate to key policy areas, is also compiled and circulated to APIL’s executive committee.
If you publish anything that someone else considers defamatory and the APIL Forums are put on notice of this happening, your posting will be removed and archived immediately and you will be informed, as will the complainant, of the action in person.
Bear in mind the source of any information you receive from other users on the APIL Forums. Many APIL members will have substantial practical and technical expertise. They may be on the cutting edge of legal thinking, initiatives, strategies and tactics. Their ideas may be novel or groundbreaking. Other members, however, may have little or no experience at all.
Why have Forum Rules?
There are in-built rules for acceptable behaviour in all of us. Online communities are no exception to these rules – however, because the natural visual and auditory clues are missing, we need to be more aware of how our written words might be understood by others.
Our Forum Rules are here to support us and remind us of the most appropriate ways to engage with our fellow members. The aim is to protect anyone who reads or contributes to the community and to help everyone have a fun and rewarding time. They are our rules that any one of us can contribute to and enhance.
When you engage with the community you are implicitly accepting these Forum Rules, and any on-going amendments, as part of the APIL members’ forum’s terms of use.
The Rules
Please read this to understand what defines acceptable behaviour in our discussions.
Monitoring behaviour can be carried out by any member, as well as the APIL Forums’ moderator and APIL staff. Responding appropriately to a member who transgresses is carried out by the APIL Forums’ moderator and/or the APIL staff.
As a member of the APIL Network and user of its forum discussions you agree to:
Style
1 Not shout at other members by posting in all capital letters;
2 Take care with humour that might work verbally but seems censorious and mean when
translated to words on a screen;
3 Present opinions and positions in a tactful and moderate fashion;
4 Consider your use-of-language for those whose first language is not English.
Manners
1 Exchange ideas in a civil and measured manner and to avoid “flames” (angry, mean-spirited
posts);
2 Assume good will and hold fire on the assumption that most misunderstandings arise from the
text-based format of the discussion rather than from negative intent on the part of others;
3 Practice good posting manners and refrain from dominating conversations with endless
sequential posts and self-gratifying boasting;
4 Learn to listen to written words and the person behind those words.
Content
1 Not post anything that could be interpreted as self-publicity (including spamming – posting the
same or similar message in many discussions), advertising, selling or soliciting;
2 Not post anything unlawful – for example, sending or posting material that is indecent, racist or
defamatory, or harassing and threatening;
3 Not post anything intended to disrupt or vandalise the service;
4 Not post any personal details of others, known both in and outside the forums;
5 Not post any third-party material that infringes any legal rights – for example, copyright or other
proprietary rights;
6 Keep the APIL forums free of discursive discussions;
7 Do post discussions into the most appropriate category, keeping the discussion forum neat and
tidy;
8 Find out who else is commenting on the topic and cite them - be generous;
Responsibility1 Accept responsibility for all material that you publish in the forums;
2 Accept responsibility for a discussion you have started – to keep it on topic and to recognise
when it has run its course;
3 Always acknowledge the name of the source of any third-party material legitimately quoted or
referred to;
4 Not quote any member who specifically requests not to be quoted;
5 Not intentionally misquote another member or the APIL forums’ representative;
6 Not falsely misrepresent yourself;
7 Not abuse the facility to send an individual member a personal message, (for example, to send
private messages which, if posted on the forum would breach these rules; to forcefully express
views simply because you disagree with a member’s viewpoint, or to solicit services;
8 Use the log-out button, especially on a public machine, to minimise intruder access.
Monitoring1 Report any transgressions to the APIL Forums moderator;
2 Report any misuse of the personal messaging facility to the APIL Forums moderator;
3 Do not misuse the channels for complaint – persistence may result in action by the APIL Forum
representatives against your account: go to
http://www.apil.org.uk/contactAPIL.aspx to register
a complaint or comment or make use of the ‘report abuse’ link at the end of every message;
4 APIL Forum representatives reserve the right to remove any contribution, or take action against
any APIL Forum members’ account, at any time, for any reason.
Further information
For a full explanation of the APIL Forums’ policy regarding the personal information collected about you, refer to the
Privacy Policy.
We'd appreciate your views on these Forum Rules - are there any improvements we could make? Anything that can be worded better or clarified?
Your insights are appreciated, as these guidelines will grow and change as we go along.
Please post your comments below, or contact the Forums Moderator, Helen Blundell. Email:
helen.blundell@apil.org.uk.