Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct – Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers

Thank you for being part of MyMBREA. We have established these participation guidelines to ensure a positive experience for everyone and to help you make the best use of this resource. MyMBREA provides a medium to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation.

Please take a moment to review the guidelines to understand what is expected of you and your peers in this environment. Above all, while MyMBREA offers an open, engaging and enjoyable environment, keep in mind that it is part of your professional association. We expect you to demonstrate the highest ethical standards in your participation. We always welcome your questions and comments at staff@mbrea.org or by phone at 781-329-1996.

Your decision to participate in MyMBREA indicates that you have read and accept, without limitation or qualification, this Code of Conduct. You acknowledge that you are solely responsible and can be held personally liable for your Postings and agree to abide by the following:

Community Etiquette

1. Post messages only to the most appropriate discussion forums based on content.
2. Don't attack. The communities are meant to stimulate conversation, not to create contention. Contradictory opinions are welcomed, but always be thoughtful and respectful rather than sensational or angry.
3. Post a message to an entire discussion forum only when it contains information for everyone's benefit. Messages like "Me, too!" should be sent to the individual using the "Reply to Sender" link.
4. Make your subject line as concise and specific as possible. This makes it easier for people to respond appropriately and to search the archives by subject.
5. Do not send administrative messages, such as "remove me from the list," through the eGroups. Instead, use the 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. 
6. Please refrain from posting any material that could be viewed as offensive to any group of people or organization.
7. Don't post messages that you wouldn't want traced back to you. MyMBREA maintains a permanent record of your posts.
8. Do not harvest e-mail addresses or other personal information from MyMBREA for commercial use.
9. Do not post commercial messages, including solicitations for money, goods or services for charitable purposes or private gain.
10. 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, 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.
11. Do not submit any Postings that violate or infringe upon the rights of others or that you do not have the right to make available. This includes material that constitutes an invasion of privacy or infringement of publicity rights or which is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right, or derivative works thereof, without first obtaining permission from the owner or right-holder.
12. Do not submit any false, misleading or fraudulent Postings.
13. Do not use MyMBREA to communicate with potential participants in formal research of any kind, including market research, surveys, or academic studies without prior approval of MBREA.    

The Legal Stuff

1. This site is provided as a service for the members of the Massachusetts Board of Real Estate Appraisers (MBREA).  MBREA is not responsible for information posted on this site by others. Members' opinions are expressed strictly in their individual capacities, and not as representatives of MBREA.
2. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by MBREA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall MBREA 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. You must evaluate and bear all risks associated with the use of any content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of such content.
3. 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 MBREA the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.
4. MBREA may monitor MyMBREA, although we have no obligation to do so. We do not pre-screen or regularly review posted content, but reserve the right to remove at our discretion any content that we believe violates this Code.
5. We strictly prohibit defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive and illegal content and actions.
6. All postings, commentary and messages are subject to libel, slander, copyright and antitrust laws.
7. We reserve the right to disclose any posting and the name of its original poster when we believe such disclosure is appropriate to comply with the law (or a court order or subpoena); to prevent or investigate a possible crime or other violation of law; to enforce the MBREA Code of Conduct; or to protect your rights, property or safety or the rights, property or safety of the MBREA Entities or others.
8. Participants are required to provide complete and accurate information when they register for MyMBREA, including their name and verifiable e-mail address. If there is a substantive change in your registration information, you agree to update your information. You may not transfer your account to others without permission from MBREA.
9. We reserve the right at our discretion to suspend or terminate MyMBREA access to participants who we believe have violated this Code.

Violation of the Code of Conduct

We will investigate any complaints of possible policy violations that come to our attention and take any action that we believe is appropriate, including, but not limited to issuing warnings, removing content and terminating accounts and/or subscriptions. However, because situations and interpretations vary, we also reserve the right to take no action.

If you see what you believe is inappropriate content in the discussion forums, resource libraries or member profiles, notify MBREA immediately by clicking on the "Report Inappropriate Content" link or e-mailing staff@mbrea.org.

If you believe that any materials published in the Community infringe the copyrights of others, please notify us by e-mailing staff@mbrea.org.

We will adhere to the following "Three Strikes" Policy outlining consequences for participants who violate the Code of Conduct:

1. Upon the first violation, the participant will receive a written warning from an MBREA staff member.
2. A second violation will result in a three-month suspension from MyMBREA.
3. A third violation will result in immediate and permanent suspension of all MyMBREA privileges.