Code of Conduct

EyeConnect International Code of Conduct, Guidelines and "Netiquette"

Welcome to EyeConnect International (ECI), a worldwide peer-to-peer online community for sharing clinical information among ophthalmologists,. EyeConnect International is a valuable benefit that is available to all currently licensed Ophthalmologists. Members are enrolled when they provide proper credentials as an ophthalmologist and complete the verification process. Verified members simply need to adjust their user preferences and customize how they wish to receive information and engage with the platform.

To ensure the best possible experience for all members, participants are required to follow basic guidelines. Participating members should familiarize themselves with these guidelines and the disclaimers set forth below. Failure to comply may result in termination of access to EyeConnect International.

By using EyeConnect International, you agree that you have read and will follow the guidelines set for this platform. This is a great resource to use to solicit advice from your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in ongoing conversations. Questions about EyeConnect International and technical issues should be directed to support@forum.eyeconnectinternational.com.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. To preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, EyeConnect International reserves the right to suspend or terminate membership for members who violate these guidelines.

EyeConnect International Guidelines

Topics are restricted to those subjects that directly impact Ophthalmic surgeons and their business practice.
Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the list(s) is available for all members to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
EyeConnect International participants may not reproduce any information from this site in any manner.
When posting messages please be sure they are directly relevant to ophthalmologists and use the most appropriate forums.
Defamatory, disparaging, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive language is prohibited.
It is understood that from time to time there may be respectful challenges of scientific or clinical perspectives. Personal challenges or attacks are strictly prohibited. Remain polite and respectful at all times.
Do not spam several forums with the same message
Do not forward messages that include personal information from EyeConnect International to any other list serve or discussion group.

Attachments

When including an attachment, please provide a name and appropriate "tags" or keywords that help others to search the archives. Don't forget to step through the naming and tagging process so your item can be searched. Please respect all copyright laws.

Forum Etiquette

A signature tag will be included on all posts. This will include your professional name/title, affiliation, and location. You may optionally include one phone number and one email address if you choose to share this information. No additional images, text, or information is allowed in the signature block. Long signature blocks make the threads difficult to read and consume precious bandwidth and storage space.
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.
Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that everyone can benefit from.
Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me too" to individuals--not to the entire list. You can send private messages by using the message center function.
Users shall not post threads or comments related to politics, religion, money, or sexual references. Posts referencing these issues will be deleted at the sole discretion of the moderators or administrators without apology or further explanation of our actions. Discussion of how politics affect the practice of medicine are allowed, but users are cautioned to be polite, respectful, and not to push the boundaries of what political discussions will be allowed. Also be cognizant that this is an international forum. Country specific politics are likely to be a turn-off and are likely to dissuade the participation of members from outside of your country. Other internet platforms exist in which members can freely discuss their political opinions. EyeConnect International does not welcome political discussion which do not foster good will and education among the membership. If a political discussion is appropriate (eg. Medicare funding cuts) it should be posted in the Business of Medicine forum. Creating a political post in a forum devoted to medical content is a violation of ECI policies and may result in sanction.
Do not send administrative messages through the forums. Instead, the user profile page can be used to change your settings. Refer to the Help section prior to posting questions to the moderators. Please contact support@forum.eyeconnectinternational.com for further assistance.

Legal Acknowledgements

This platform is provided as a service of EyeConnect International which is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. EyeConnect International disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by EyeConnect International or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall EyeConnect International be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.
Do not post any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials. Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants EyeConnect International and users of this list the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.
Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or implicitly 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.
Be certain to NEVER POST IDENTIFYING PATIENT INFORMATION on the platform IN ANY FORM. Often members will upload photographs of testing results which may contain a patient name. Meticulously mask any and all patient information form all images and never mention identifying patient information any post. Feel free to change the detail of a case as needed to protect patient information. EyeConnect International Administrators and Moderators will immediately delete posts containing any patient information. If users notice any identifying patient information in a post, image, or video please flag the post and alert an ECI administrator or moderator immediately.
EyeConnect International will take appropriate action as detailed below (See: Penalties and Termination) in response to any inappropriate posts.

Penalties and Termination

If, in the sole opinion of EyeConnect International, a member has failed to abide by these guidelines, that event may result in suspension, restriction or removal of a participant's access and privileges, and if repeated, possible loss of membership in EyeConnect International.
In the event that the EyeConnect guidelines are violated, the offending member may be barred from using the List for up to sixty days for a first violation, but this does not preclude termination of the EyeConnect International member for any serious first-time guideline infractions. Upon return of EyeConnect International privileges, any additional violation of the guidelines may result in a permanent loss of privileges and possible termination of EyeConnect International membership.
PLEASE NOTE THAT INDIVIDUALS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO EYECONNECT INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS, WHO POST INFORMATION ON THIS SITE DO SO IN THEIR PERSONAL CAPACITY UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED. THE STATEMENTS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO POST INFORMATION OR SERVE AS MODERATORS FOR SPECIFIC DISCUSSIONS ARE THEIR PERSONAL OPINIONS AND SHOULD NOT BE TREATED OR RELIED UPON AS ESTABLISHING THE STANDARD OF CARE. PHYSICIANS WHO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SITE MUST MAKE THEIR OWN DETERMINATIONS ABOUT THE PROPER TREATMENT FOR THEIR PATIENTS.