DIVISION 29 LISTSERV POLICY
(Revised September 2006)

(Note: Some details of this policy have been adapted from the listserv policies of APA Divisions 42 and 49.)

The APA Division of Psychotherapy (Division 29) provides an online discussion forum (listserv) as a service and benefit to Division members. The Division offers the listserv to facilitate communications among its members on topics pertaining to psychotherapy and professional psychology, to provide information from the Division's governance, and to promote the general aims of the Division.

To Subscribe: Send an email to listserv@lists.apa.org and type "subscribe div29 your@email.com Your Name" in the body of the message.

To Unsubscribe: Send an email to listserv@lists.apa.org and type "signoff div29" in the body of the message.

The resources (hardware, software, and technical assistance) for the Division 29 listserv are provided, without charge, by the American Psychological Association as a public service. The listserv is offered to all Division members, associates, and student affiliates as a benefit of membership, provided members adhere to general and specific rules for participation as described below and as may be adopted from time to time by the Division.

The Division seeks to foster a supportive, collegial listserv environment. Consistent with APA ethical principles, list members are aware of and respect cultural, individual, and role differences, including those based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status. Listserv members consider these factors when communicating with other listserv members and when communicating about others on the listserv.

The listserv is administered by the Division 29 Internet Editor, who in turn reports to the Publications Board, which in turn reports to the Board of Directors.

USE OF THE LISTSERV TO CONDUCT RESEARCH

In August 2006, the American Psychological Association changed its policy of prohibiting the posting of requests for survey participants on APA-sponsored listservs, including the Division 29's listserv (click to see APA's letter). The revised policy now allows divisions to decide whether they will permit students and other researchers to post their calls for survey participants on the division's listserv.

At their Fall 2006 Board meeting, the governing officers of Division 29 voted to PERMIT students and other researchers who are due-paying members of Division 29 to post their calls for survey participants on the Division 29 listserv. It is hoped that this policy will encourage more research in and on psychotherapy.

THE FOUR RULES

There are few rules as a member of this listserv/forum. Few restrictions, we have found, result in the greatest number of useful contributions. However, four rules promulgated for APA listservs are critically important. If you subscribed to this forum and especially if you send messages to the forum, you are agreeing to these rules. Here are the four rules:

Rule 1: Do not use the forum for illegal purposes, including but not limited to defamation, violation of intellectual property laws, violation of antitrust or unfair competition laws or violation of criminal laws.

Rule 2: Do not intentionally interfere with or disrupt other forum members, network services, or network equipment. This includes distribution of unsolicited advertisement or chain letters, propagation of computer worms and viruses, and use of the network to make unauthorized entry to any other machine accessible via the Forum.

Rule 3: Do not use the Forum for commercial purposes. "Commercial" as used for purposes of evaluating listserv messages means communications whose primary purpose is to advance the business or financial interests of any person or entity, or otherwise to promote a financial transaction for the benefit of the author directly or indirectly. Examples of prohibited communications include advertisements for products or services, notices regarding rental of office space, or direct solicitations of listserv members to purchase products or services. Examples of messages that may be of financial benefit to listserv members but are not prohibited because they do not inure to the financial benefit of the author include news of job listings or position openings, or discussion of professionally-related products or services where the listserv member conveying the information is not in the business of selling the products or services. Announcements that provide useful professional information to List members but may also have some incidental commercial benefit to the sender (e.g., an author who is a list member merely advising the List of publication of a professional book) typically would not be "commercial" for purposes of this restriction.

Rule 4: Do not use this forum for any communication that could be construed in any way as support for or opposition to any candidate for a federal, state or local public office. The Federal law providing for the American Psychological Association's tax exempt status absolutely forbids the use of APA resources or facilities, including this forum, in any way that would even appears to support or oppose such a political candidate.

If anyone on the Division 29 listserv is found to violate any of the above rules, the following steps will be taken. These steps are necessary to enforce the rules that govern the very heart of our arrangements with our service provider.

1. In an attempt to be educative, the Internet Editor will send an email message to the person informing him/her of the specific violation.

2. The Internet Editor will then post the Division's Internet Policy on the listserv (without identifying the individual violator) to educate others about the violation.

3. If the said person again violates the rule(s), the Internet Editor, in consultation with Division 29 Publication Board and the Division President, may remove the person from the listserv.

4. The violator will be informed of his/her right to appeal the removal by directly communicating with the Division president.

THE STANDARDS

In addition to these rules, various standards have emerged within the culture of electronic list forums. These standards do NOT mean requirements. By following these standards, you will contribute to a climate of trust and collegiality that encourages a friendly, informed, and yet spontaneous discourse.

Standard 1: Please sign each of your messages, including your email address. This enables us to communicate with you in response to your message. Most email software includes a signature option that automatically generates this information and any other you wish.

Standard 2: Always check the address line before sending your message. With some email programs, it is easy to send a message to the whole group by mistake when you think you are replying to an individual. Besides cluttering everyone's mailbox, this could prove embarrassing or even damaging to you or someone else.

Standard 3: Be sure your subject heading reflects the content of your message. Sometimes when a thread develops, the main content changes. If you continue to use the original subject heading, others may be confused as to the current content of your message.

Standard 4: Please keep your messages constructive, courteous, and brief. When possible, put your reply at the start of the message so that readers do not have to scroll past repeated information to get the current message. Send personal messages (e.g., "Enjoyed dinner last night") back channel to the intended reader, not to the whole list.

Standard 5: If you are replying to another person's message, include only the essential information from the previous message. Some email programs utilize an option that repeats the message to which you are responding. Please do not repeat any part of the message that is not essential. This will save considerable space (bandwidth) for everyone who receives your message.

Standard 6: Think globally. Although most of our members are from the U.S., some listserv members may not be as familiar with the U.S. culture as well as U.S. members. Thus, try to avoid the use of terms that may not be well known internationally, or long and complicated sentences (think about trying to wade through many messages in French, for example, if your first language is English).

Standard 7: Please be supportive of fellow listserv members and show mutual respect. As discussion gets going furiously on some topic, don't forget that some people on the listserv don't know you are a sweetheart under that sarcastic growl! Keep it cool.

Standard 8: Please do not copy and distribute other members' communications unless you have obtained their expressed permission to do so. Listserv members' email communications are intended for the listserv membership only. Essentially, this will maintain a boundary between the members' forum and cyberspace at large and protect intended meanings and contexts.

Standard 9: If you are running for an elected office of Division 29 or the APA, please avoid using the listserv for campaigning purposes.

Standard 10: Use copyrighted material only with permission (see "APA Listserv: Legal Risks" which follow).

Below is an informative commentary from the General Counsel of APA on the legal risks of being part of a listserv.

APA Listserv: Legal Risks
Nathalie F. P. Gilfoyle, General Counsel
American Psychological Association

It is amazing to think that 10 years ago it was rare to meet someone who participated in an electronic listserv. Today listservs are the means of choice for people across the country and around the world to discuss issues of common interest. This is particularly true in a professional association like APA where knowledge is highly valued and lively debate is welcome.

Lists or listservs have many positive attributes and can serve the interests of furthering organizations' purposes in myriad ways. But because this article is being written by APA legal counsel you probably know that it will highlight some of the pitfalls that can ensnare the unwary in list discussions. So here are a few of the top trouble areas and some guidance on how List Administrators and List members can avoid problems.

1. Copyright -- Not infrequently a list member wants to tell others about an article or news item related to the issues discussed on the List. It may surprise you to learn that sending the entire article to the list, without the permission of the author or publisher, results in a prima facie case of copyright violation. While there can be defenses to a claim of copyright infringement where the purpose of copying is clearly not for commercial purposes (e.g. "fair use" or academic teaching exceptions), those defenses are complicated, have been construed differently in different jurisdictions and are not necessarily applicable to listserv distribution. It is okay to provide a brief quote from the copyrighted material or to provide a link to the story if it is published electronically but it is best to refrain from posting an entire item to the List.

2. Defamation -- Sometimes a robust debate about ideas spills over into ad hominem attacks on the proponents or opponents of the ideas. List members need to be reminded that a false statement that harms someone's reputation can be actionable as libel. There is a substantial difference between disagreeing with how someone did their research or treated a patient and accusing the person of fraud or incompetence. Because negative statements that impugn someone's professional qualifications can cause substantial economic and emotional harm, this is an area for careful scrutiny. Keeping criticism on an objective basis that is factually verifiable and skipping personal commentary about character, competence or motive minimizes legal risk.

3. Antitrust concerns -- The antitrust laws are broad and complex but on a very basic level they operate to prohibit and even in some cases criminalize certain anticompetitive agreements between competitors. A professional association like APA is almost by definition a group of competitors that has come together to pursue common interests. Where those common interests involve agreements on such terms of competition as rates charged, salaries paid, standards applicable to members of the profession, and other issues of the marketplace, the antitrust laws apply. Listservs provide a written record of statements that can create an antitrust risk even when there is no anti-competitive intent. Thus for the protection of everyone discussions about rates charged in a given area, efforts to exert collective pressure on payors, terms of contracts with insurance companies, internship salaries, etc, all are prohibited.

4. Risks affecting tax exemption -- While using the list to endorse political candidates in a federal, state, or local election or for commercial purposes likely won't expose a member to personal legal risk, it can jeopardize APA's tax exempt status under section 501 (c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code. To keep this advantageous tax status, APA cannot ever be involved in or support in any way electioneering or endorse a candidate for federal, state, or local political office. APA must assure that its activities are focused on the scientific, educative, and charitable purposes for which it gained tax-exempt status.

This list of legal risks is not exhaustive but List administrators who keep an eye on these areas should be in good shape. As always if you have doubt or questions contact any of us in the APA Office of General Counsel.