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The forum is a benefit of Turfgrass Producers International(TPI) membership and is intended to provide members the opportunity to communicate and share information with their peers. As such, all discussion forums will be restricted to TPI members only.

TPI accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. TPI disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by TPI or any third party. In no event shall TPI 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.

Established Rules & Policies for TPI's Turfgrass Forum:

General Content Guidelines
As Turfgrass Producers International(TPI) is a trade association, members should participate in discussions in a professional manner. Members must not post any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive or illegal information or materials. Additionally, members should maintain the integrity of discussions by posting only responses relating to the initial discussion topic or a subsequent response arising through the conversation. The TPI President or designee(s) shall hold the final decision on the appropriateness of information and materials posted.

Commercial Information
Members must not post any excessively commercial information or materials. Commercial information is considered acceptable only if it is posted in response to a member's message and does not compare one product or service with another.

Anonymous Postings
If a member would like to share sensitive information, but believes that it may result in personal or professional consequences if his name is revealed, the member may contact the TPI office for further information.

Copyright Guidelines
Members may not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that it owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants TPI and users of this discussion forum the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material. However, content from these forums may not be reproduced, published or otherwise widely disseminated, by TPI or any other third party, without the express permission of the individual author(s) involved.

Antitrust Guidelines
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.

Employment Postings
In addition, because the association has set in place procedures to protect members from unethical position announcements, TPI's discussion forums may not be used to post employment advertisements of any kind. If you wish to advertise an available position, please use TPI’s Classified Advertising service or contact TPI for further information.

Inappropriate Postings
TPI does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings, and does not (on its own) undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any questionable discussion forum posting is brought to TPI's attention, it will be forwarded to the TPI President or designee(s), who will review the material in accordance with these guidelines and make a determination on its appropriateness.

Should it be determined that a member's posting is inappropriate (for example, contains abusive or profane language), then the member will receive either a written request to edit their material or TPI will remove the offending post and a draft written warning advising the member of the violation. If the level of offense warrants, immediate revocation of the member's access privileges to the site's forums may be considered. A second such determination of inappropriate material or information will result in the immediate loss of such access for one month. A third such determination of inappropriate material or information will result in the immediate permanent loss of access.

The TPI Board of Trustees will oversee the process for any member wishing to appeal the determination of their materials or information as inappropriate. If a member wishes to begin the appeal process, the member should submit a written request via email to info@TurfGrassSod.org or postal mail to:

Turfgrass Producers International
2 East Main St.
East Dundee, IL 60118 USA

In the most inappropriate and severe cases, a member's conduct on the forum may be considered a violation of the TPI Code of Ethics. Members who object to a particular posting should contact the TPI office at info@TurfGrassSod.org to register a complaint.

Member Accountability
Members are accountable for all activities and postings made by individuals gaining access to Members Only features of the TPI website using their username and password, or registering for access with their member number. You agree that TPI will not be responsible to you for any indirect, consequential, special or punitive damages or losses you may incur in connection with our discussion forum or any of the data or other materials transmitted through or residing on TPI’s discussion forum, even if TPI has been advised of the possibility of such damage or loss. In addition, you agree to defend and indemnify TPI, its officers, directors, employees, and agents and hold TPI, its officers, directors, employees, and agents harmless from and against any and all claims, proceedings damages, injuries, liabilities losses, costs and expenses (including attorneys fees) relating to any acts or omissions by you or materials or information transmitted by you in connection with our discussion forum leading wholly or partially to claims against TPI, its officers, directors, employees, or agents or our discussion forum by other users or third parties.

Staff Involvement
TPI staff members will not participate in the discussion forums. However, when appropriate, certain staff members may post messages to:

• Respond to procedural questions.
• Provide factual information that clarifies or enhances existing discussions.
• Seek information needed to conduct association business.
• Generate discussion on TPI programs and services.

Staff members will not respond to postings that require discussion or interpretation of TPI policies or that are outside of their areas of responsibility. In these cases, staff members will work with the appropriate parties to post a response.

Message Archiving
To keep the content fresh and download speeds to a minimum, TPI will regularly archive messages. Messages will remain on the forums for 45 days before archiving. This procedure may be modified if the level of activity on a particular forum warrants it.

TPI reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.

Choice of Law/Forum
You agree that the law of the State of Illinois in the United States of America will apply to all matters relating to this Agreement and to our discussion forum. In addition, you agree and consent that, if there is ever any legal action against TPI, the state and federal courts located in Chicago, Illinois, USA, will have exclusive jurisdiction and be the exclusive venue for any such legal actions.

Entire Agreement
This agreement is the entire understanding between you and TPI regarding your relationship to our discussion forum. If either you or we fail to notify the other of any violations of this agreement, this will not mean that you or we cannot notify the other of future violations of any part of this agreement.

Acknowledgment and Acceptance
I have read and understand the discussion forum rules and agree to accept these rules and to use the discussion forums only in compliance with them.