Code of Conduct
Thank you for being part of our community. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.
By joining and using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules, etiquette guidelines and Terms and Conditions. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium. This is a great medium with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our member services department via the Contact Us link on this site.
This is a self-moderated forum. NIRI does not actively monitor eGroups for inappropriate content and instead relies on members to "self-police" the site. NIRI encourages all members to actively engage by providing high quality dialogue that serves to elevate the investor relations profession. eGroups is best used to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in ongoing conversations in a non-commercial environment.
To preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, NIRI reserves the right to suspend participation in eGroups or terminate the NIRI membership of members who violate these rules.
Community Rules
Do not post commercial or promotional messages for a product or service in which you or your employer has a business interest in. If you believe that you can help a member with a product or service offered by you or your employer, you should contact that member directly. Promoting products and services is the #1 complaint of eGroups users. If you are considering making a posting but are unsure about the commercial nature of it, you should assume NIRI members will view it negatively as a commercial (spam) message.
Do not post material, non-public information about your company (or client companies). Although eGroups access is limited to NIRI members, these forums should be considered public.
You are welcome to post white papers and other thought leadership resources that other members would benefit from, provided that: 1) the resources don’t include promotional/commercial messages; 2) members would not be required to submit their email address or contact details in order to access that content; and 3) it is content that you have personally created or have permission to use and have properly attributed to the content creator. Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. When posting items, please indicate if the item is not available for reuse. It’s also advisable to contact the owner of any material if you would like to reuse it.
Respect others. Focus on the content of posts and not on the people making them. Please extend the benefit of the doubt to newer guests and members; there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Do not attack others. eGroups discussions are meant to stimulate conversation, not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.
Respect the purpose of the community. Use the community to share successes, challenges, constructive feedback, questions, and goals instead of products or services that you provide. If you’ve found a product or service helpful, please share your experience with the group in a respectful way.
Use caution when discussing products and services. Information posted on the discussion groups and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments can be subject to civil lawsuits as well as prosecution under state and/or federal antitrust laws.
Posts containing defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening and/or offensive language, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited and subject to removal. Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you.
Access to eGroups is restricted to NIRI members. eGroups postings should not be shared with anyone outside of the NIRI membership. This includes forwarding e-mails, taking screen shots, printing, posting to other social media platforms, or any other means of distribution.
Community Etiquette
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.
Send messages such as "thanks for the information" to individuals, not to the entire list. Do this by using the "Reply Privately" option.
Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that everyone can benefit from.
Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the list,” to the group. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list.
Penalties for Violations
Violations of the eGroups Code of Conduct may be punished by suspension from eGroups. Subsequent violations may result in expulsion from NIRI membership. Specifically, violations will be subject to the following penalties:
First offense: NIRI staff will issue a private e-mail warning to the poster. If the poster disagrees that a violation has been committed, the poster may appeal to NIRI’s CEO, who will refer the matter to the NIRI Ethics Council for a decision.
Second offense within 12 months of the first offense: NIRI’s CEO may suspend the poster from eGroups for 30 days; any appeal will be referred to the Executive Committee of NIRI’s Board of Directors.
Third offense within a two-year period: will be referred to the NIRI Board Executive Committee, which may suspend the offending poster from eGroups. The decision of the NIRI Board Executive Committee can be appealed to the full NIRI Board of Directors.
Any additional violation – ever – after a one-year suspension has been imposed: the offender will be immediately suspended from eGroups. The offender will be referred to the Ethics Council, which may recommend termination of membership by the NIRI Board of Directors pursuant to the procedures outlined in the NIRI Bylaws.
Terms and Conditions
Please see the eGroups Terms and Conditions for legal disclaimers and Privacy Policy information.
Diversity and Inclusion
NIRI welcomes everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, or disability. NIRI is committed to providing a safe, productive, inclusive, and welcoming environment for attendees, volunteers, staff, and others engaged in programs, meetings, events, and activities, including chapter programs. Diversity is valued in governance, speaking, thought leadership and other roles within NIRI.