IT’S SIMPLE. CONTRIBUTIVE, COLLABORATIVE, PROFESSIONAL
& RESPECT EACH OTHER.

The content shown on this website is intended as a starting point for discussions and collaborations among CBRNe practitioners. Please don’t take them as a legal/official source of information.

The Social Forums, Groups, and VR channels are the primary platforms for Community interaction.

Some of you come to get help. Some want to share knowledge/skills. Some just want to hang out and talk about anything.

Only one thing is certain: Everyone is different.

• Some know everything, others don’t.
• Some are very technical, others aren’t.
• Some are native English speakers, others have different native languages.
• Some are used to participating in online communities, others aren’t.

It is our aim that everyone feels welcome and can participate, regardless of their level of expertise or identity. The one assumption is that everyone is a respectful, professional adult.

The Social Forums and Groups are the main platform for Community interaction. The contents shown on this website are merely suggested starting points  to trigger discussions and collaborations between practitioner

This Code of Conduct applies to all participating Users and is a component of the PEERS project as part of the Horizon Europe program with respect to our Privacy Policy.

We expect all participating Users to conduct themselves accordingly. 

I- Do’s

1. If you need help, ask your questions clearly and stay positive.
2. Use the Social Forum’s Search fields in the Side Bar before starting a new thread.
3. Be as wordy as necessary; as concise as possible.
4. Choose a short and clear title for new threads.
5. If you don’t understand a reply, say so and ask for clarity.
6. If you are here to help, then be patient, welcoming and respectful.
7. It’s important that everyone feels welcome and part of the Community and has a positive experience.  
8. Be as wordy as necessary; as concise as possible.
9. Demonstrate understanding for the issues others are sharing.
10. If you feel that you are unable to help, leave that to a Moderator or to another User who may be able to. Otherwise, if you know someone in the community who is an expert in the interested isue,  you should send them an email or direct message.
11. Be respectful when giving or receiving feedback.
12. Treat discussions as a proactive, productive contribution to the Community.
13. Consider the fact that everyone reading may be in a position (now or later) to either help you or not.
14. Conduct yourself as if you are responsible for your words; you are.
15. When in doubt, ask more questions and explain your perspective.

II- Don’ts

1. Don’t insult or use hostile, unfriendly language, including ALL CAPS.
2. Don’t use content likely to offend based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or political views.
3. Don’t use sarcasm and jokes that can be misinterpreted (and if they are misinterpreted, acknowledge it and move on).
4. Don’t disrupt discussions with irrelevant, off-topic remarks, bully or intimidate others.
5. Users posting any of the following material will in some cases be warned but most of the time banned immediately: Spam, scams, harassment, pornography, copyright-infringing material, self-promotion/advertising, and/or any other language that is offensive or in violation of local or international laws.

The PEERS team reserves the right to determine what language is or is not acceptable in its absolute discretion. 

III- Social Forums/Group Rules

Participating Users must adhere to the following rules:

1. The PEERS  is making the Social Forums available to participating Users & the public for professional, educational and informational purposes only. The views, opinions and statements expressed by participating Users are their own and are not to be considered a representation of our views or an endorsement by us. 
2. We make no representations or warranties regarding the experience or qualifications of participating Users or the information provided by them. No information expressed on the Social Forums is intended nor should be construed as legal or financial advice or other advice for which a professional or regulatory license is required. Site readers and participating Users are cautioned to rely solely on their own judgment with respect to all issues discussed.
3. Information posted on the Social Forums is presented to the public domain. You may not treat the information you post as confidential; and, therefore, you may not disclose any confidential, proprietary, or sensitive information on the Social Forums with any expectation of privacy (and you are exclusively responsible for the consequences of doing so).
4. You acknowledge and agree that you:  (*) will not have any copyright or other property rights in or to content or information that you post, and (**) specifically waive any claim to such property rights.
5. You are prohibited from using the Social Forums to communicate about prices or terms of service, to exchange practice management or any other proprietary information, or otherwise communicate in a manner that may violate antitrust laws of any jurisdiction.
6. You may not use the Social Forums to transmit defamatory, obscene, and otherwise offensive communications.   
7. You may not post or distribute files, articles or other information subject to trademark, copyright, or other proprietary rights, except with the express consent of the owner of the rights.
8. You are prohibited from posting commercial messages or promotions, advertising, or selling goods or services on Social Forums, Groups or Comments.
9. You are prohibited from posting any information, content or link which exposes readers of the Social Forum to malicious code, malware, fraud or misinformation that may lead to the theft or misappropriation of personal or financial data, financial resources or which may otherwise facilitate the actions of hackers or other bad actors.
10. You may not attempt to gain access or provide access to areas private to us or any other registered User.
11. You are prohibited from using the Social Forums for any purpose that is or may reasonably be considered (in our absolute discretion) to be illegal.  
12. We may, in our absolute discretion: (*) remove any postings or other content that is not consistent with these Rules or otherwise not in the best interests of the Community; and (**) suspend or terminate participation to the Social Forums/Groups for violations of these Rules or for otherwise acting in a manner contrary to the interests of the Community.

IV- Forum Moderation

While the PEERS  team aims to be present on the Social Forums/Groups as much as possible, we rely on our dedicated group of volunteer Moderators for running the forum day-to-day and that participating Users are respectful, professional adults.

Moderators are unpaid volunteers, not PEERS  staff members, and we ask that you treat them with the utmost respect.

Moderators and PEERS members will take action on a case-by-case basis and at their discretion. If you have concerns about how a Moderator has dealt with a specific issue, contact us at: https://peers-project.eu/#contact. 

V- Reporting and Enforcement

We expect every visitor to our site to benefit from the Social Forums. If you come across behaviour that doesn’t follow our Code of Conduct or our Forum Rules, you may report the issue to the PEERS team by sending an email to:  Eu.peers-project@proton.me.

If you don’t follow this Code of Conduct or the Forum Rules, we will take the following action:

We will warn you
For most first-time misconduct, Moderators or PEERS members will edit or delete the offending content and send you a warning message.

We will suspend your account
For repetitive misconduct and some first-time misconduct, we will block your access to the service for a defined period of time or terminate it indefinitely depending on the violation (in our absolute discretion).

We will close your account
We put the interests of the Community first.  In some cases, we will have no choice but to terminate your User account. In severe cases of misconduct, such as spamming, we will skip the first two steps altogether.

We rely and trust on you to keep the Social Forums professional, respectful and constructive.