ASN Journals Code of Conduct for the use of Disqus
The ASN “Journals” (“Kidney360”, “Journal of the American Society of Nephrology”, “JASN”, and “Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology” “CJASN”, collectively or individually) are provided to ASN members, subscribers, and anyone else who has access (collectively “User” or “Users”) to the online versions of the Journals.
The Disqus commenting service is a tool added to the Journal sites where Users can comment about an article. To ensure the best possible experience for all Users, ASN has established this Code of Conduct governing usage.
By using Disqus, Users agree that they have read and will abide by these terms.
- Discussions and comments are intended as informational and for reference purposes only, and should not be interpreted as medical advice or a diagnosis of any health issue, medical condition, or disease; or as a recommendation for a specific procedure, treatment plan, or course of action. Before acting on any information read in the Journals or comments, Users should independently confirm any facts that are important to a decision or conclusion.
- Do not post commercial messages that promote any product, event, or service.
- Disclose any conflicts of interest relevant to the particular article. In any comments be sure to reveal any relevant conflicts of interest relating to the subject matter of the article and/or discussion.
- Use caution when discussing products. Information posted in Disqus comments are publicly available for all readers to see unless a User has specifically made a private comment (see instructions). Public comments may be subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
- All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal discourse are strictly prohibited and will be removed.
- Do not include in a comment personal details or private information about another person, any confidential information, any information that would infringe upon the proprietary, privacy, or personal rights of others. The Journals are not intended to be a place for the exchange of any information or data that would be regulated by the federal Health Insurance and Portability Act (“HIPAA”) of 1996 and its implementing regulations. Do not post any Protected Health Information, as that term is defined in HIPAA.
- Respect the intellectual property rights of others. Do not post or attach any copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright owner or using any words, logos, or other marks that would infringe upon the trademark, service mark, certification mark, or other intellectual property rights of the owners of such marks without the permission of such owners. ASN reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to remove any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal material, and to suspend or terminate a Disqus account for violating this Code of Conduct. ASN will do its best to monitor the Journals for inappropriate postings but will not on its own, undertake editorial control of postings.
Privacy Policy
ASN Journals are governed by the privacy policy of ASN located at: https://www.asn-online.org/terms/privacy.aspx. Users of Disqus are also governed by the Disqus Privacy Policy at: https://help.disqus.com/en/articles/1717103-disqus-privacy-policy
Legal Rules & Disclaimers
The American Society of Nephrology ("ASN") does not offer medical advice. All content in ASN publications, including this website, is for informational purposes only, and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, drug interactions, or adverse effects. This content should not be used during a medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Please consult your doctor or other qualified health care provider if you have any questions about a medical condition, or before taking any drug, changing your diet or commencing or discontinuing any course of treatment. Do not ignore or delay obtaining professional medical advice because of information accessed through ASN. Call 911 or your doctor for all medical emergencies.”
The Users’ use of the Journals and the Disqus functionality, including the Users reliance on any content, is at the sole risk of the User. The Journals are provided on an “as is” and “as available basis.” ASN disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
The User understands and acknowledges the views, opinions and positions expressed by commenters in the Journals through the Disqus functionality are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of ASN, any entity thereof, or any other organizations with which an individual is affiliated. ASN is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. ASN makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, suitability, or validity of any information presented by individual commenters. Any statements made in the Journals reflect only the views of their authors.
The User understands and acknowledges that Users are solely responsible for any loss or special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from, or in connection with, the use of any content obtained or otherwise made available through the Journals. Further, the User understands and acknowledges that any medical opinions or advice provided by any commenters are provided as a professional courtesy or an informal opinion and shall not, under any circumstance, be exclusively relied upon, or replace or otherwise substitute for the User’s own independent clinical judgement in making decisions for the User’s own patients.
The User acknowledges and agrees that ASN and its associated entities, and their respective officers, directors, employees, members, and agents shall not be liable to the User for any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, any special, direct, indirect, punitive, or consequential damages or any damages resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of, or in connection with, comments posted through Disqus.
The User acknowledges and agrees that ASN shall not be liable for any use or disclosure of Protected Health Information in violation of HIPAA through the Journals or Disqus, including, but not limited to, the transmission of Protected Health Information to an unintended recipient. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that the material does not infringe upon the privacy or personal rights of others, and further 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 party posting any information or material grants ASN the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or material.
The User acknowledges and agrees that ASN has the exclusive rights and privileges in and to the intellectual property rights of the Journals, and that the Journals are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. The Journals are provided solely for the User’s personal, noncommercial use. Unless explicitly authorized in this Code of Conduct, by the owner of the materials, or in additional terms and conditions that may apply to the Journals, the User may not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, translate, sell, create derivative works, exploit, or distribute in any manner or medium (including by e-mail or other electronic means) any material from the Journals without the express consent of ASN.
Additional terms and conditions, including, without limitation, ASN’s Terms of Service, may apply to the use of the Journals. The User agree to abide by such other terms and conditions as applicable, including ASN’s Website Linking Policy. If there is a conflict between this Code of Conduct and any other terms regarding the use of Disqus, this Code of Conduct governs to the extent of the conflict.
ASN reserves the right to make changes or modifications to the Journals and this Code of Conduct. The User agree to indemnify and hold the ASN and its associated entities, and their respective officers, directors, employees, members, and agents harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (i) content the User made available through the User’s use of the Journals; (ii) any User violation of this Code of Conduct; or (iii) any User violation of any rights of another.
The failure of the ASN to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Code of Conduct shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Code of Conduct is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Code of Conduct remain in full force and effect.