AISWorld List Usage Policy and Conditions

This is the Usage Policy and Conditions of the AISWorld List as approved by the Association for Information Systems (AIS). It comprises statements about AISWorld List policy and intended usage; conditions of use of the List; and sanctions that may be applied when the conditions of use are violated.

The Usage Policy and Conditions were first established when the List was created on 3 November 1994. They have been successively refined. The current version was approved by an AIS appointed Task Force on December 11, 2001.

AISWorld List Policy and Intended Usage

1. The AISWorld List is primarily for use by Information Systems faculty, doctoral students, and researchers.

2. The purpose of the AISWorld List is to be a broadcast medium for IS-related information of interest to, and relevant for, members of the IS academic community.

3. AIS does not publish messages on the AISWorld List: AIS and the AISWorld List service providers provide facilities that enable AISWorld subscribers who originate content to publish that content on the AISWorld List.

4. Only AISWorld subscribers may distribute messages over AISWorld.

5. The AISWorld List should not be used as a forum for discussion, unless that discussion is directly IS-related and is of significant importance to a large majority of AISWorld subscribers.

6. The AISWorld List should not be used to advertise events, items or services that are marketed to generate profit, without advance written permission of the AIS President.

7. The AISWorld list should not be used for personal communication (e.g. change of contact details) or self-promotion.

8. The AISWorld list should not be used to distribute file attachments. Instead, a message containing a URL to the file may be distributed.

9. The AISWorld List should not be used for student exercises.

10. The AISWorld List should not be used for repeated distribution of the same information.

11. Organizers of non-AIS conferences that are of interest to the IS community are permitted to distribute one call for papers (CFP) for their conference, plus one submission deadline reminder AND one message relating to registration/program information plus one reminder. This policy specifically denies CFP postings by individual tracks within a conference. Multi-track conferences should co-ordinate a single AISWorld posting containing URLs to further detailed information.

12. In order to minimize the level of superfluous postings, while maintaining the dynamics of an unmoderated list, replies to messages posted on the List are by default sent only to the Sender of the original posting.

13. Position announcements should not be posted to the listserv. Jobs should be posted with AIS Career Services and can be included in the bi-weekly Job Flash email.

14. AIS reserves the right to edit or amend AISWorld List policy.

AISWorld subscribers must periodically agree to the above AISWorld List Usage Policy to continue their subscription, and must agree to the following Conditions of Use to confirm their distribution of a message to the AISWorld List.

Conditions of Use

Senders must confirm that they accept the List Usage Policy and Conditions. In addition, the Sender accepts and agrees to be bound by the following conditions:

1. The Sender acknowledges that he or she is the publisher of the message to be distributed on the AISWorld List. AIS and the AISWorld List service providers take no responsibility for the content of any message, unless it is directly disseminated by AIS.

2. The Sender acknowledges that (i) the AISWorld List is not moderated, (ii) all messages will be automatically distributed in unedited form to all AISWorld subscribers, (iii) the content of the messages is limited to information systems matters, and (iv) the message has a subject line that clearly reflects the content of the message

3. The Sender warrants that the content of the message is not (i) confidential, (ii) in violation of any copyright law, (iii) defamatory, or (iv) in violation of any other law.

4. In addition, messages should be in good taste and not inflammatory, offensive, or political in content, tone or implication to any member of the diverse, global, and multi-cultural AISWorld community.

5. The Sender warrants that the content distributed is in the public domain, or that the Sender owns copyright in the material, or has a license to publish the material.

6. The Sender warrants that information contained within the posting has not been previously distributed over AISWorld. Individuals who are uncertain whether their posting has been successfully distributed should check the online archive to verify, rather than distributing the message a second time.

7. Individuals using AISWorld to solicit information from the AISWorld community should provide the community with a summary of the responses obtained, either by distributing the summary through AISWorld, or by distributing a URL for the summary. Requests for such inputs should stipulate that the replies should be returned to the sender instead of the list.

8. The Sender indemnifies AIS and the AISWorld List service providers against any liabilities that either may incur as a result of any message sent by the Sender.

9. At the sole discretion of the President of AIS, AIS reserves the right to temporarily or permanently unsubscribe any AISWorld subscriber who fails to abide by these conditions, and also to remove any and all postings from archives of this listserv with or without cause.

Code of Conduct

The AIS community is a mix of academics, students, and volunteers from all over the world, working on every aspect of the AIS mission of serving society through the advancement of knowledge and the promotion of excellence in the practice and study of information systems.

Diversity of opinions is one of our strengths, but it can also cause communication and interpretation challenges, with consequent untended emotional reactions. We ask that you not attribute to malice anything that could be explained by miscommunication or misinterpretation. To that end, we have a few ground rules that we ask people to adhere to. This isn’t an exhaustive list of things that you should or shouldn't do. Rather, take it in the spirit in which it’s intended - a guide to make it easier to enrich all of us and the communities in which we participate.

This code of conduct applies to all spaces within the AIS forum. If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, we ask that you report it by emailing AIS Membership Director (membership@aisnet.org).

• Be friendly and patient.
• Be welcoming. We strive to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, color, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability.
• Be considerate. Your comments will be read by others, and you in turn will be influenced by the comments of others. Any comment you make will affect others, and you should take those consequences into account when making comments. Remember that we're a world-wide community, so you might not be communicating in someone else's primary language.
• Be respectful. Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior or poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It’s important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Members of the AIS community should be respectful when dealing with other members as well as with people outside.
• Be careful in the words that you choose. We are a community of professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other participants. Harassment and other exclusionary behavior aren't acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Political advocacy, commentary, or debate
  • Violent threats or language directed against another person.
  • Discriminatory jokes and language.
  • Posting sexually explicit or violent material.
  • Posting (or threatening to post) other people's personally identifying information ("doxing").
  • Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
  • Unwelcome sexual attention.
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
  • Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop, then stop.
    

• When we disagree, try to understand why. Disagreements happen all the time and AIS is no exception. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. Remember that we’re different. The strength of AIS comes from its varied community, people from a wide range of backgrounds. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. Don’t forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn’t get us anywhere. Instead, focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.