Code of Conduct

My Bar Access Rules & Etiquette

Thank you for being part of My Bar Access. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.

By joining and using this member group, you agree you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium. NOTE: Information posted in discussions and in the resources libraries is only viewable by MBA members, who login to My Bar Access.

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. Technical questions on association management issues should be directed to mybaraccess@massbar.org.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact the MBA at mybaraccess@massbar.org. In order to preserve a climate encouraging both civil and fruitful dialogue, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate membership in this member group for anyone who violates these rules.

The Rules

  • Do not challenge or attack others. The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation, not to create contention. Let others express their opinion and respect their viewpoint, just as you would appreciate in return. 
  • Do not post commercial messages on any discussion list, resource library entry or area where others might see it. Contact people directly with product and service information, if you believe it would help them.
  • Use caution when discussing products. Information posted in discussions and in the resource libraries is viewable by the public and comments are subject to libel, slander and antitrust laws.
  • All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive or illegal materials are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything you would not want the world to see or you would not want anyone to know came from you. 
  • Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted.
  • Remember other participants have the right to reproduce postings to this site unless you specify otherwise.
  • Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate discussions or resource libraries. Do not spam several lists or libraries with the same message.
  • All messages must add to the body of knowledge. We reserve the right to reject any message for any reason.

Discussion Etiquette

  • Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation and location.   
  • 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.   
  • Include only the relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any header information and put your response before the original posting.
  • Only send a message to the entire list ("Reply to Discussion") when it contains information everyone can benefit from.
  • Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals -- not to the entire discussion. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link to the left of every message.  
  • Do not send administrative messages, such as remove me from the list. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing e-mail addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new e-mail address. Simply change your settings.
  • Warn other discussion subscribers of lengthy messages, either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body, with a line that says "Long Message."

The Legal Stuff

This site is provided as a service for the members of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s My Bar Access. The MBA is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by the MBA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall the MBA 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 the MBA and users of this site 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 impliedly 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, 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.

The MBA does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of the MBA we will take all appropriate action.

The MBA reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.