Community Code of Conduct

Community Code of Conduct

PREAMBLE

This Code of Conduct applies to all individuals who opt to sign into HRPA's Online Communities Platform, as well as other digital properties owned by the Association which allow for some form of engagement with HRPA Members & Registrants, Staff and Associated Firms. For the purposes of this document, these parties are also referred to as "users". 

All users are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that honours HRPA’s reputation and does not violate any stipulations found within the Rules of Professional Conduct and does not detract from the public’s trust and confidence in HRPA and the HR profession. Accordingly, upon first login, all users agree to comply with the Code of Conduct described below.

COMMUNITY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT AND ETIQUETTE

To ensure the best possible experience for all users, we have established rules of engagement for participation.

By joining and using this community, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules. You also agree to reserve discussions and shared files and content to that best suited to the medium. This is a great medium with which to solicit the advice of your peers, benefit from their experience, and participate in an ongoing conversation. Questions should be directed to our support team via the Contact Us link on this site. Technical questions and/or issues should directed to the  Community Manager.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines. If you have questions, contact us. In order to preserve a climate that encourages both civil and fruitful dialogue, HRPA Staff, as well as Community Moderators, reserve the right to reject messages, as well as suspend or terminate membership in this community for anyone who violates these rules.

Legal Stipulations

This site, and all associated resources are offered as a service for the members of the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).  HRPA 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 HRPA or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall HRPA 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, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal 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 they own the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants HRPA 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. 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.

HRPA conducts periodic audits of all shared content. In the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of HRPA we will take all appropriate action.

HRPA reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines, and if required, escalate through the appropriate legal and disciplinary channels granted to it by the provincial government as a professional regulatory body. 

The Rules

  • Do not challenge or attack others whether by name or by implication. The discussions and comments are meant to stimulate conversation not to create contention. Let others have their say, just as you may.
  • No ‘trolling.’ The Urban Dictionary defines trolling as follows; “Trolling – (verb), as it relates to internet, is the deliberate act, (by a Troll – noun or adjective), of making random unsolicited and/or controversial comments on various internet forums with the intent to provoke an emotional knee jerk reaction from unsuspecting readers to engage in a fight or argument.”
  • You may disagree with an opinion, policy, or direction, but you must not criticize or disparage the author or others holding such a position.
  • Unless explicitly requested, do not post commercial messages on any discussion list, resource library entry, or other area on the community platform.
  • Do not post external job postings or volunteer opportunities outside of HRPA’s Hire Authority platform. The Online Communities platform should not be used as a job board.
  • Use caution when discussing products. Information posted on the lists and in the libraries is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws. 
  • Do not share false news or information, which is content that is considered to be debunked, controversial or from sources that are unverified or not credible. This is harmful to the community, erodes trust and is dangerous when being used to inform discussion on workplace practices.
  • Be especially careful with opinions that may be controversial. Such opinions should not be presented as fact, and it is up to all users to ensure their posts are fact-checked and from credible sources.
  • All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials are strictly prohibited. As highlighted in the point above on discussion products, all comments are subject to all libel, slander, and antitrust laws.
  • Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted. 
  • Remember that other participants have the ability to reproduce postings to this site.
  • Post your message or documents only to the most appropriate lists or libraries. Do not spam several lists or libraries with the same message.
    All messages must add to the body of knowledge and be constructive to the topic being discussed.
Digital Assets Shared

All files shared on the platform, either by other members or by Association staff are not to be shared or re-purposed in any way without the expressed approval of the content author. All digital assets, including profile photos, contact information, and digital badges (including any designation graphics which are trademarked property of HRPA) are not to be used or shared outside of the Online Communities platform. 

Discussion Group Etiquette


  • Include a signature tag on all messages. Include your name, affiliation, location. 
  • State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line. This allows users to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.  
  • Only send a message to the entire list when it contains information that everyone can benefit from. 
  • Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals--not to the entire list. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link to the left of every message.
  • Do not send administrative messages, such as remove me from the list. Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. If you are changing e-mail addresses, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new e-mail address. Simply change your settings. 
  • Warn other list subscribers of lengthy messages either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body with a line that says, "Long Message."
Anonymous Posting 


Since rolling out the HRPA All User's Forum, HRPA has enabled the option to allow users to make anonymous posts on the community. This feature makes it so that other users will not see the name or any other identifying factors of a member who chose to make their post anonymous.

HRPA acknowledges the value in being able to ask a question without potential judgement from a peer(s). That said, whenever a post is flagged to be in violation of Community Code of Conduct, moderators are able to access various backend reports and system logs which will indicate who authored an anonymous post. HRPA reserves the right to act accordingly on this information based on the violation committed within the post (legal threat, defamation, threat of violence, etc). 

HRPA Privacy Policy

Our Commitment

The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) is committed to protecting the privacy of personal information collected from its employees, members, students, customers, suppliers, and others, and to ensuring such information is used only for appropriate purposes.  

To read HRPA’s full Privacy Policy, click here.

Questions or Concerns Regarding Privacy Policy

Privacy practices for HRPA’s various activities are reviewed regularly and updated as necessary. Any questions or concerns regarding this policy or its implementation should be directed to the Privacy Officer via email.

Remember The Risks Whenever You Use The Internet

While we do our best to protect your personal information, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any passwords or other account information. In addition, other Internet sites or services that may be accessible or posted through this site have separate data and privacy practices independent of HRPA, and therefore we disclaim any responsibility or liability for their policies or actions. Please contact those vendors and others directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.  For any other information please contact us using the Contact Us Page.