SOA Social Media Accounts & Listserv Terms and Conditions of Use

The purpose of the Society of Actuaries (“SOA”) Leaders' Blog (the "Blog"), the SOA LinkedIn Groups, including subgroups, ("LinkedIn Group") , the SOA Twitter Group ( "Twitter Group"), the SOA listservs (“listservs”) and the SOA Facebook Group ("Facebook Group") (collectively, “SOA Social Media Accounts”) is to provide an engaging forum in which SOA stakeholders and its leadership not only share timely information, but also have a mechanism to informally solicit feedback and encourage discussion.  All users of the SOA Social Media Accounts (“Users”) are encouraged to participate in the online discussions through comments and posts of their own.  

By accessing, browsing, or using the SOA Social Media Accounts, User agrees to be bound by the terms of the SOA Social Media Accounts & Listserv Terms and Conditions of Use (“Terms”). In addition to the Terms, Users that are current SOA members also agree to adhere to  Code of Professional Conduct and candidates agree to adhere to  SOA's Code of Conduct for Candidates. The SOA may at any time revise these Terms at any time; User's continued use of the SOA Social Media Accounts will confirm User's acceptance of the change. 

Rules and Restrictions on Submissions

1. Users should exercise common sense and courtesy in submitting comments or materials for the SOA Social Media Accounts ("Submissions"). Inappropriate Submissions would include, for example, comments or materials that:
1. make false or defamatory statements about others;
2. are obscene, vulgar, abusive, hateful or threatening;
3. harass or discriminate on the basis of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference or other factors;
4. are invasive of the privacy rights of others (e.g., by including addresses, phone numbers or other personal information about third persons without their consent.)
2. Submissions may not include content or materials that violate the copyrights, trademark rights or other intellectual property rights of third parties.
3. Submissions may not contain unauthorized disclosures of proprietary or confidential information.
4. Users may not use the SOA Social Media Accounts in a manner or for a purpose that could violate federal or state antitrust laws. For example, the SOA Social Media Accounts may not be used to communicate with competitors about prices, discounts, market shares, sales territories, or other terms or conditions of trade.
5. Users may not use the SOA Social Media Accounts to promote or provide instructional information about illegal activities or for any purpose that may be illegal.
6. Due to the SOA's status as a tax-exempt organization and legal limitations on its activities, User Submissions may not contain comments or materials supporting or opposing any candidates for political office or otherwise engage in political activity or activity inconsistent with the SOA's purposes.
7. Users may not use or attempt to use the SOA Social Media Accounts for commercial purposes. Submissions may not include advertisements for goods or services, solicitations, "spam", chain letters, surveys, pyramid schemes or the like. Users are not precluded from posting promotions for non-competing actuarial events, seminars and webinars, or job postings in the field of actuarial science.
8. Submissions may not include false or misleading representations of affiliation with any other person or entity. A User may not employ false identifiers to impersonate any person or entity or to misrepresent or disguise the true origin of any content.
9. The SOA believes that anonymous postings are neither necessary for purposes of the SOA Social Media Accounts, nor consistent with the professional level of dialogue expected. Therefore, the User's name (which must be provided) will be posted with the Submission. To the extent that a group of individuals, by way of example, an actuarial club, wishes to participate in discussions on the SOA Social Media Accounts, the group name shall be identified in connection with the Submission. It is not necessary, however, to identify each individual member of the group associated with the Submission, apart from identification of individuals in the attribution of quotes made in a Submission.
10. Submissions should facilitate constructive discussion regarding the actuarial profession and not to air or seek resolution of personal disputes with the SOA, with other members, or with other companies or organizations.

SOA's Right to Monitor and Administer

SOA reserves the right to monitor and administer the SOA Social Media Accounts and, in its sole discretion, to remove any Submissions to the SOA Social Media Accounts. The SOA also reserves the right to disallow the use of any particular screen name or email address, or to terminate any User's posting privileges at any time, including individual and group postings.

Compliance with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn User Agreements

When using the Facebook Group, Twitter Group or LinkedIn Group, Users must also comply with the terms identified in the Facebook User Agreement found  here, Twitter User Agreement found  here and/or the LinkedIn User Agreement found here.

Ownership of the SOA Social Media Accounts, the Contents and Associated Trademarks

All postings originated by the SOA and published on the SOA Social Media Accounts are protected by copyright and owned by the SOA. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright laws, the SOA Social Media Accounts and the contents thereof may not be copied, reproduced, republished or sold, posted, transmitted, distributed, modified, or used for the creation of derivative works without SOA's prior written consent. The SOA grants User a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license to access, display and/or download the Webpages within the SOA Social Media Accounts, solely on User's computer and for User's personal, non-commercial use, and provided that User agrees not to modify the content displayed on this site, including all copyright, trademark and other proprietary notices contained therein.

The SOA does not claim ownership of or copyrights in User Submissions. User understands that Submissions are not confidential and SOA will be free (without compensation to User) to use or disseminate such Submissions on an unrestricted basis for any purpose, so long as such use is within the terms of the Facebook User Agreement, Twitter User Agreement or LinkedIn User Agreement, as applicable. User agrees that Submissions may be published, displayed, copied, distributed, downloaded, or transmitted by the SOA or other participants, and User grants SOA and all other users of the SOA Social Media Accounts an irrevocable, unrestricted, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, copy, reproduce, display, publish, distribute, transmit, adapt, modify or use for the creation of derivative works (including in digital form) such Submissions, subject to any applicable restrictions in the Facebook User Agreement, Twitter User Agreement or LinkedIn User Agreement, as applicable.  All Submissions by any User and postings made to the Blog by SOA are provided and licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial NoDenvs 3.0 public license. Full terms of the license can be found here.

All Trademarks owned by the SOA and published on the SOA Social Media Accounts are property of the SOA. The SOA's trademarks may not be copied and used by Users without prior written approval from SOA.

SOA.org Website Security

When using the Blog or a listerv, a User may not upload, post or transmit any material containing software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt or limit the functionality of the SOA's website, computer software or hardware, or telecommunications equipment. A User may not attempt to decompile, reverse engineer, modify or hack the SOA website or underlying software to defeat or overcome any encryption or digital rights management technology implemented by the SOA, or to harm, disable, overburden, misuse or interfere with any other party's use of the Blog, listserv or the SOA website, servers, networks or systems.

Disclaimers

The SOA makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information posted on the SOA social media accounts, whether posted by the SOA or any third party. The SOA makes no warranty that the SOA social media accounts, or any computer, server, device, software, or other associated technology, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of warranties, so the above exclusions may not apply to you.

Postings, including but not limited to comments and replies to discussion topics, are not to be relied on as professional opinions or advice, and postings are not intended to constitute technical, financial or legal guidelines or to supplant individual judgment with respect to particular situations. Postings may not be construed in any way as investment or tax advice and are not intended to be used, and may not be used, by any person for the purpose of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.

The SOA does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service or organization presented or mentioned on the SOA Social Media Accounts, and information from there should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The views expressed on the SOA Social Media Accounts are those of the individual participants. They do not and should not be construed as representing the views of the SOA. While the SOA reserves the right to monitor the Group and remove Submissions or materials it believes are not in conformity with these Terms or in the best interests of the SOA and its members, the SOA undertakes no obligation to do so.

Limitations of Liability

Neither the SOA nor its officers, directors, employees, agents, or representatives shall be responsible for any loss or damage of any kind arising from or in any way relating to (a) the use of or inability to use the SOA social media accounts (b) errors in or omissions from the content, (c) any third party web sites or content therein directly or indirectly accessed through links in any SOA social media accounts’ content, (d) the unavailability of the SOA social media accounts, (e) any use or reliance by the user on any information or content contained therein; nor shall they be liable to users or any other person for any special, indirect, incidental, exemplary, or consequential damages arising from or in any way relating to the foregoing, even if they have been advised of the possibility of such damages occurring.

In no event may user bring any claim or cause of action against SOA more than one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arises.

Representations By Users; Indemnification

User is solely responsible for the contents of his/her submissions to the SOA social media accounts. User represents that he/she has all rights necessary to post the information, content or materials submitted to the SOA social media accounts without violating the copyrights or any other intellectual property rights of third parties, and that no submission by the user will violate the laws or the rights of third persons. User hereby indemnifies and agrees to hold harmless the SOA and its officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives from any and all claims asserted against them and any liability, loss, damage, costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) incurred or suffered by them in connection with or arising out of user's acts or omissions or the materials or information user submits to the SOA social media accounts.

Choice of Law and Venue

This Agreement will be interpreted and governed in all respects by the laws of the State of Illinois without regard to its choice of laws rules. Any dispute arising under these Terms or in connection with the User's use of the SOA Social Media Accounts shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of either the state or federal courts in and for Cook County, Illinois, and User and SOA hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts over them.

Procedures for Requesting the Removal of Infringing Material

The owner of a copyrighted work (or the agent for the owner) who believes that material posted on the SOA Social Media Accounts infringes on the copyrighted work may request that the allegedly infringing material be removed by notifying the SOA's designated agent for such purposes:

Chere LaRose
Society of Actuaries
475 N. Martingale Road, Suite 600
Schaumburg, IL 60173
+1-847-706-3570

clarose@soa.org

How to Contact the SOA

Questions regarding the Terms can be submitted in writing to: Society of Actuaries, 475 N. Martingale Road, Suite 600, Schaumburg, IL 60173, or by email sent to  customerservice@soa.org.