Welcome to NACA’s online community, which allows members to network,
share ideas and advice, and discuss cases and strategies in a safe and
confidential environment.
To promote productive conversation and a positive experience for all members,
we have developed guidelines of conduct for the community. By participating in
our community, you agree to abide by these guidelines at all times. Repeated
violation may result in temporary or permanent removal from the
community.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding these guidelines or the community in general, please email membership@consumeradvocates.org.
Confidentiality and Privacy
All information shared in list conversations and the resource library is
accessible only to NACA members. All communications on these lists must be
treated as privileged, co-counsel communications. Never forward or share any
information from a list conversation or the resource library to anyone who is
not part of that list. For example, you may not forward an email or quote any
part of a list member’s email. You may cut and paste publicly available
information, such as case cites or articles, but you may not forward the email
itself.
While this is a private online community for current members in good standing,
NACA cannot guarantee that your fellow members will comply with the community
rules 100% of the time. Use good judgment when sharing any information of a
particularly sensitive nature, such as client and case details, or making
comments about peers or firms. Conversations are archived and easily
searchable.
Using Community Information
It is understood that information (whether factual or legal) from the
community can be used as appropriate. For instance, if you learn of an
unreported case on this list, there is no reason you can’t use that case in
your own brief. Or if you learn that a company has already had a class action
filed against it, you can contact the lawyer who filed the suit. Or if a
document is provided as an attachment, you can use the document.
If you do NOT want information to be released outside the group, you should:
not post the information at all; post a general description and ask for private
contact by interested members (from whom you can extract a clear promise of
confidence); or post the information and clearly ask group members to contact
you before using the information in any way.
Posting to the Community
Relevancy of Posts
The purpose of posting is to add value and knowledge to the group’s
conversation. Keep all posts on topic and relevant to the discussion. If going
off topic in an instance would make a good point and be worth the time of the
entire group, please begin that subject line with “OFF TOPIC” followed by a
brief subject description. If any member of a list asks that an off-topic
discussion end, it should cease immediately.
Courtesy Posts
Avoid sending non-substantive or personal messages to the entire group.
If you wish to thank or apologize to someone or to have a conversation that is
not relevant to the entire group, send a private message. To do this, use the
“Reply to Sender” link to the right of the message.
Subject Lines
When posting a message, use a clear and concise subject line so that
others can quickly identify the topic of the message and also so that posts can
be easily searched in the archives.
Contact Information
Please include your contact information when posting a message.
Respectful Language
Be civil and respectful of others when posting. Wholesome disagreements are fine, but do not use insulting, defamatory, or threatening language. Do not post any language or material that is offensive, explicit, racist, or illegal.
Capitalization
Do not “shout” on the lists by using all caps. You may emphasize a word or two by using caps, but do not capitalize entire sentences.
Quoting in Messages
If you quote a prior message when replying to it, please quote only the part to which you are replying and not the entire message. When posting material that is not your own, whether it comes from a previous post or another source, be sure to follow all copyright laws and give proper credit for the material.
Cross-posting Messages
When posting a message to more than one listserv, post separately to each list and begin the subject line with “CROSS-POSTED” followed by a brief description of the subject. When cross-posting, be sure that the content is relevant to each list on which it is being posted—do not spam lists by posting content that is unrelated to the list’s main topic.
Advertisements
Do not post advertisements or promotions on community lists. If you believe a product or service would help an individual, send the information via a private message.
Administrative Requests
Do not send any administrative requests (such as “unsubscribe”) through the lists themselves. You can change your settings and remove yourself from lists by editing your profile. If you need help with this, check the FAQ page or email NACA staff at membership@consumeradvocates.org.
External Sites
NACA takes no responsibility for the content of external sites that may be shared by members on these lists. Exercise good judgment and caution when opening links posted to the lists.
Updated March 2019.