RULES & PROHIBITIONS RESULTING IN A WARNING
The following are Listserv violations, which will result in a warning. These violations will apply to posts to the Listserv and replies to Listserv messages. The AALPI Board of Directors will review your post and may ask you to make changes and resubmit the post to the Listserv before it is sent to the membership.
1. Post questions, concerns, or comments about the Association, the AALPI President, the Board of Directors, the Executive Director or their staff, or AALPI matters or policies, unless specifically authorized by the Board of Directors.
2. Using the Listserv to address a dispute with AALPI, an AALPI member, a person who is not a member of AALPI, or any government or business entity.
3. Use of inflammatory, derogatory, profane, or vulgar language.
4. Endorsements of candidates for AALPI or any non- AALPI election campaign. No campaign posts, positive or negative, or attacks against candidates are permitted.
5. Debating public policy issues or politically based posts.
6. Fundraising for events not related to AALPI without first receiving approval from the AALPI President or the AALPI Listserv Committee.
7. Dissemination of messages on behalf of members whose Listserv privileges have been modified or suspended.
8. Repetitive, redundant posts by the same member on an identical topic within thirty (30) days, aside from posting announcements for District Meetings or other sanctioned AALPI events.
9. Requests for unlawful or questionable services, as defined: Information about a person or entity that cannot, in all probability, be accomplished in compliance with all the laws applicable to that activity. Examples include, but are not limited to, personal information that is contained in telephone, medical, social security, tax, and financial records, including banks and credit card providers, or information that requires a release of the owner of the information.
10. Disclosure of personal identifiers regarding your investigative subject. Do not post the name, address, date of birth, social security number, or other information that might identify a person.
11. Warning of or asking for opinions of potential clients or another investigator by personal or entity name.
12. Posting “warning” messages not already approved by the AALPI President or AALPI Listserv Chair, which alert members to potential viruses, trojan attacks, identity theft concerns, or other computer security issues.
13. Advertisements or promotional announcements for any organization, person, or business, including notices for other association meetings or seminars, or for your services or the services of others, are prohibited unless approved in advance by the Listserv committee. A new AALPI Member may make a single, one time only announcement via the AALPI Listserv in which they introduce themselves, discuss their areas of expertise, and the services they offer. For the purposes of this rule, a new member is defined as someone who has not been a member of AALPI for more than three (3) months.
14. Promoting or recommending a service provider is permitted; however, any further reference to “quality of service” or “pricing” of services is prohibited.
15. No jokes or motivational messages. The AALPI Listserv is for professional and business-related postings only.
16. Polling of the AALPI membership, unless specifically approved in advance by the AALPI President or the AALPI Board of Directors.
17. Posting on behalf of a non-member is prohibited.
18. Responses to specific questions should be sent to the posting originator and not to the entire Listserv unless the response is well thought out and is of interest, or possible interest, to the entire membership.
19. The posting member’s signature line must contain their name, company name, and private investigators license number.
20. In general, selling items on the AALPI Listserv is prohibited. A member who holds a Service & Industry Level Membership may ‘On Occasion” and, with the approval of the AALPI BOD, post to the AALPI Listserv about a special event or item they wish to sell AALPI Members who do not sell items as the primary function of their business, may “On Occasion” send a post in which they offer new or used items for sale that they no longer have a use for the members offering these new or used items must accurately state whether the item is new or used and cannot state the price; they can only state that it is available for purchase. The member should make one post with multiple items for sale rather than making multiple posts. Only one post will be forwarded to the membership. Members who are retiring or leaving the Private Investigator profession may offer their business for sale. A price or details related to the sale of the business should be left out of the member’s Listserv post. AALPI is not liable for the condition of the items or for the false advertising by its members on the AALPI Listserv.
PROHIBITIONS RESULTING IN A WARNING AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF LISTSERV PRIVILEGES
The following two (2) violations will result in a warning or possibly a loss of Listserv privileges. A first-time violation will result in a warning via email, and a second violation will result in an automatic thirty (30) day loss of Listserv privileges. A third-time violation will result in a permanent loss of Listserv privileges. The thirty (30) day loss of Listserv privileges may be appealed via a written complaint to the AALPI Board of Directors, which will be reviewed at the next regularly scheduled executive session of the AALPI Board of Directors. A permanent loss of Listserv privileges will be immediate but will not become permanent until the AALPI Board of Directors makes the final decision to do so at the next regularly scheduled AALPI Board of Directors meeting.
21. FORWARDING MESSAGES: Forwarding messages to non-members or members with suspended or revoked Listserv privileges is strictly prohibited. Non-members also include your staff or business associates. Members of AALPI who have access to the AALPI Listserv include those who hold an Active, Associate, Affiliate, and Service & Industry level membership.
22. PRICE FIXING: Messages should not be posted, and replies should not be made, 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.
PROHIBITIONS RESULTING IN IMMEDIATE LOSS OF LISTSERV PRIVILEGES
The following three prohibitions are Listserv violations, which will result in an immediate loss of Listserv privileges. The loss of Listserv privileges will remain in place until the AALPI Listserv Committee or the AALPI Board of Directors reviews the violation. If the committee asks the AALPI Board of Directors to review the violation, this will be done in executive session at the next regularly scheduled AALPI Board of Directors meeting.
23. ILLEGAL OR CRIMINAL: Replying to a Listserv message or attempting to send a Listserv message that suggests, recommends, or offers illegal services or those of a criminal nature. Illegal or criminal services are defined as those prohibitions commonly found in federal and state penal codes, civil codes, or other statutes and propositions. Replying to a Listserv message includes both replying directly to the AALPI Listserv or replying directly to the original sender of the message.
24. DISCRIMINATION: Replying to a Listserv message or attempting to send a Listserv message that is discriminatory. Discrimination based on race, gender, religion, national origin, physical disability, mental disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity will not be tolerated in the Listserv community. Replying to a Listserv message includes both replying directly to the AALPI Listserv or replying directly to the original sender of the message.
25. DEMEANING, THREATENING, OR HATEFUL: Replying to a Listserv message or attempting to send a Listserv message that is demeaning, threatening, or hateful in any way will not be tolerated. Replying to a Listserv message includes both replying directly to the AALPI Listserv or replying directly to the original sender of the message.
DISCLAIMER AND LEGAL RULES
The AALPI Listserv is the property of AALPI. Its use is a privilege, not a right of membership.
The AALPI membership or fee(s) is nonrefundable once membership has been approved. You will not receive a refund or credit if the AALPI Listserv is not available to you or the membership for all forms of technical reasons or because you had your AALPI Listserv access temporarily or permanently suspended for violations of the AALPI Listserv rules.
The AALPI Listserv is provided as a service of the AALPI. AALPI accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted on the Listserv by others. AALPI disclaims all warranties regarding information posted on the Listserv, whether posted by AALPI or any third-party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall AALPI 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 the Listserv.
By using the AALPI Listserv, members agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless AALPI and its Representatives from and against all losses, claims, demands, causes of action, liabilities, and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs arising from any claims concerning any breach of these guidelines by the user or any omission or act taken by the user.
AALPI does not guarantee the timeliness of sending your message to the Listserv. Due to unforeseen delays or the time you send your message, your message may not be immediately posted to the AALPI Listserv.
The AALPI Listserv Committee, the AALPI Board of Directors, and the AALPI President reserve the right to make immediate changes to the Listserv rules and policies at any time without notice to the membership.
The AALPI Listserv Committee, the AALPI Board of Directors, and the AALPI President reserve the right to make decisions and moderate posts that are not covered under the Rules & Prohibitions listed above.
AALPI reserves the right to terminate access to any member who does not abide by these guidelines.