Thank you for being part of the AVIXA® Xchange. To ensure the best possible experience for all members, we have established terms for participation that are intended to create a safe, inclusive and professional environment. 

By joining and using the AVIXA Xchange, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines. You also agree to reserve discussions and content that is best suited to the community. This is a great medium with which to make new connections and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our support feature within the platform.  

The fundamental concept of the AVIXA Xchange is an orientation around complete AV solutions, not individual products.  A focus on the Solution stage of the buying cycle promotes common topics, business problem solving, and end-user relevance. This is the common language of buyer-seller and the core focus of the Xchange. 

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. In order to preserve an environment that fosters community and connection, AVIXA reserves the right to remove posts in violation of our guidelines and suspend or terminate membership in this community for anyone who violates these rules. Any subscription fees paid by companies who violate these guidelines and are subsequently terminated will not be refunded. 

The Rules 

• Respect others. Focus on the content of posts and not on the people making them. Please extend the benefit of the doubt to newer guests and members. 
• Respect the purpose of the community. Use the community to strengthen your network and foster new connections via the AVIXA Xchange.  
• Information posted in the newsfeed, directory and groups is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws. 
• All defamatory, abusive, profane, discriminatory, harassing, threatening, offensive, or illegal comments or materials are strictly prohibited. Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you. 
• Respect intellectual property. Post content that you have personally created or have permission to use and have properly attributed to the content creator. 
• When posting items in our collaborative environment, please indicate if the item is not available for reuse. It’s also advisable to contact the owner of any material if you would like to reuse it. 
• Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate communities. This helps ensure all messages receive the best response by eliminating "noise." 
• The Xchange is not a transactional eCommerce platform. No sales of products or services are permitted on the site. All actual sales must be transacted externally. 
• All legal requirements of commercial business must be strictly adhered to including U.S. and foreign anti-trust laws. 

Violations 

To ensure these policies are followed, the following measures will be enforced should any violations occur. Taking action against a community member is something we wish to avoid, but in the interest of preserving a welcoming environment, AVIXA reserves the right to remove any posted content and suspend or permanently remove the individual or company in violation.   

Behaviors and Content that will not be tolerated include: 

• Suspicious, Spam or Fake Activity - Overt self-promotion, or improper posting practices, such as thread hijacking are not permitted. 
• Intellectual Property or Anti-Trust Infringement 
• Direct Selling of Product or Services 
• Harassment, Hate Speech, or Discrimination – behaviors such as bullying, defamation or intolerance  
• Violence or Harm - content that directly incites, glorifies, supports or encourages violence against anyone 
• Adult Content - obscene, graphic, or pornographic in nature 

How to Report a Violation  

Each Channel and Room within the Xchange has an assigned Ambassador designated to serve as a moderator. While these Ambassadors are coached to moderate in moderation to allow for lively conversations, they are also trained to identify, circumvent, and escalate potential issues should they occur.   

Should a community member identify a post or comment in violation of the community’s policy, they may flag the content via the Report a Community Violation link prominently displayed on the homepage as well as on the Xchange’s Support Page. This link is monitored by the AVIXA Customer Service team as well as the Xchange Community Manager for action. 

Violation by an Individual 

Any behavior involving harassment, hate speech, or discrimination, any reference to inciting violence or harm, or any posting of inappropriate content will result in immediate removal for the platform.  

Other violations will be subject to a three-transgression policy: 

1. A written communication informing them of the violation, educate them as to why their post was flagged and offer a suggested alternative 
2. Email informing them of 2nd violation and call to review. Call may include other stakeholders at the discretion of the Community Manager. Member will be placed on full moderation (posts must be approved before posting for the next 30 days).  
3. Final written notice and suspension from the Xchange. Based on the severity of the offense, the Community Manager and key stakeholders will determine if the suspension is temporary (30 to 90 days) or permanent.  

Incidents will remain viable for a 12-month period but are subject to the discretion of the Community Manager and AVIXA leadership based on severity of infraction. 

Note: As an individual’s behavior on the platform reflects on their employer, the individual’s employer will be alerted upon the first violation involving harassment, hate speech, discrimination, threats of violence or harm, or posting of inappropriate content and upon the second incident of other offenses.  

Violation by a Company 

Any behavior involving harassment, hate speech, or discrimination, any reference to inciting violence or harm, or any posting of inappropriate content will result in immediate removal for the platform. Any subscription or other Xchange fees paid by companies terminated for violating platform policies will be forfeit.  

Other violations will be subject to a three-transgression policy: 

1. A written communication informing them of the violation, educate them as to why their post was flagged and offer a suggested alternative. Key stakeholders within the company will be on copy. 
2. Email informing them of 2nd violation and call to review. Call may include other stakeholders at the discretion of the Community Manager. Member will be placed on full moderation (posts must be approved before posting for the next 30 days).  
3. Final written notice and suspension across the community. Based on the severity of the offense, the Community Manager and key stakeholders will determine if the suspension is temporary (30 to 90 days) or permanent.  

Incidents will remain viable for a 12-month period but are subject to the discretion of the Community Manager and AVIXA leadership based on severity of infraction. 

When unsure whether content is consistent with these policies, please err on the side of caution and do not post the content. If there are any questions on what content is appropriate to post, please contact the AVIXA Xchange community manager.  

The community rules may be revised from time to time. It is the member’s responsibility to stay abreast of any changes.  

Appeal Process  

A member may appeal their removal by contacting the AVIXA Xchange community manager in writing; final decisions will be reviewed and decided upon by AVIXA leadership.  

Appeals should include the following information:  

• Full name  
• Email address  
• Phone number  
• Full disclosure of any previous violations  
• Why you feel the community removal should be overturned, include any relevant or supporting evidence.  

For any further questions or comments please contact the AVIXA Xchange community manager.  

The Legal Stuff 

AVIXA Inc. is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by AVIXA Inc. or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall AVIXA Inc. 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. 

Do not post any defamatory, abusive, discriminatory, harassing, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal comments or materials. Do 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 he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants AVIXA Inc. and users of this site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material. 

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.  

AVIXA Inc. does its best to actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of postings. Users can be reported by other users for violating these terms. However, in the event any inappropriate activity is brought to the attention of AVIXA Inc. we will take all appropriate action. 

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

If you purchase our paid services, you agree to pay us the fees and taxes pertaining specific to the paid services. Failure to pay these fees will result in the termination of those paid services. Also, you agree that: 

• Your purchase may be subject to foreign exchange fees or differences in prices based on location (e.g. exchange rates). 
• We may change, suspend or discontinue any of our Services. We may also modify our prices effective prospectively upon reasonable notice. 

Antitrust Reminders and Meeting Guidelines

The policy of AVIXA (herein referred to as “AVIXA” or the “Association”) is to comply fully and strictly with U.S. and foreign antitrust laws. This policy is motivated by a firm respect for the antitrust laws and the free market philosophy underlying these laws as well as the potentially severe detrimental consequences of antitrust violations. Our aim is to conduct ourselves in such a way as to avoid any potential for antitrust exposure in the first instance.

Group activities of competitors are inherently suspect under the antitrust laws. Many agreements and activities among competitors, however, are both legal and beneficial to society and industry. Accordingly, AVIXA and its members must ensure that the Association and its various programs are used only to fulfill the mission of the Association, and not to restrict competition in any way, or even create the appearance of doing so. The following guidelines apply to all members whenever engaged in Association activities, whether at formal or informal meetings or during informal or social contacts with other members. It is expected that all member representatives involved in the activities of AVIXA, as well as AVIXA staff, consultants and meeting participants will be sensitive to the legal issues involving trade associations and take all measures necessary to comply with the U.S. antitrust laws and similar foreign competition laws.

Prohibited Discussions

Whether seriously or in jest, do not discuss or exchange information regarding:

Prices, including:

• Individual company prices, price changes, price differentials, pricing patterns or policies, terms and conditions of sale affecting price such as discounts, allowances, credit terms, warranties, rebates, special financing, or indemnification agreements.
• Industry pricing policies, price levels, price changes, pricing procedures, profit margins or other data that bear on price.
• Individual company data on costs, production capacity, inventory, sales, profit margins or other data that bear on price.

Production, including:

• Individual company plans concerning the design, production, distribution or marketing of particular products or product features, including possible or proposed customer territories.
• Agreements with competitors (1) to control or limit production, (2) restrict or allocate exports or imports, (3) control or limit product quality or research, or (4) allocate sales according to customers, territories or products.

Marketing Procedures, including:

• Matters relating to dealing or not dealing with actual or potential individual suppliers or
• competitors that might exclude them from the market.
• Territorial restrictions, allocations of customers, restrictions on types of products or any other
• kind of market division.
• Bid rigging, bid rotation, or otherwise distorting the bid process.

Certification and Standard Setting

• While certification and standard setting can serve valuable procompetitive purposes, programs that unreasonably further the interests of certain members to the exclusion of others may raise antitrust concerns. Any certification or standard setting program should be based on sound, objective justifications; reasonably related to the goals it is intended to achieve; no more extensive than necessary to accomplish those goals; and incorporate reasonable procedural safeguards to ensure that participants are not arbitrarily discriminated against. 

Public Policy Advocacy / Lobbying

• Under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine of antitrust immunity, joint action by an association or groups of competitors to influence government policy generally does not violate the antitrust laws. This doctrine generally includes legislative activity, litigation in the courts, and proceedings before administrative bodies, which are protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution. However, seeking government action in order to injure a competitor directly – rather than as a result of the government action – is not protected by this immunity. In addition, under certain circumstances there is no immunity if a company makes false or misleading statements when it petitions the government.

This list is not exhaustive and understanding and acting in compliance with U.S. and foreign antitrust laws sometimes can be difficult. Full compliance with the antitrust laws is a requirement for AVIXA membership, and responsibility for compliance rests with each member. If you have any questions about the propriety of AVIXA activities or discussions in an AVIXA meeting you are encouraged to contact AVIXA counsel or your company’s legal counsel. Violations of antitrust laws can result in criminal and civil penalties and liability for the companies and individuals involved.

We may modify these Terms at any time. When we make changes to these Terms, we will post the revised Terms on the platform.  

Copyright © 2022 AVIXA®, the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association. 

All rights reserved.