ASTA Connect Rules and Etiquette
Thank you for being part of ASTA Connect. To ensure the best possible experience for all community members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation.
We understand that the world and our members are becoming more social and connecting online. We encourage all to participate in our online community. ASTA hosts several pages on public tools such as Facebook and Instagram, along with ASTA’s private members’ only online network. These platforms are great tools to get the advice of your peers, learn from their experience, and participate in ongoing conversations.
In order to preserve an open, honest, and helpful experience for all community members, ASTA reserves the right to remove any posts deemed not appropriate for this platform and may terminate participation in this community for anyone who violates the rules.
By participating on social platforms that are ASTA branded, you agree that you have read, understood, and will follow the rules and guidelines set forth below.
The Rules
Community Etiquette
- State the topic of your comments in the subject line concisely and clearly. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your post and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
- Include a signature tag on all messages that include your name, affiliation, and location. Placing a photo in your profile also helps connect you to the community.
- Include only relevant portions of the original message in your reply. Delete any header information and put your response before the original posting.
- Reply all only when your response contains information that everyone will benefit from. When replying to the sender directly or for messages such as “thanks for the information” or “me, too” use the “Reply to Sender” link.
- Warn other community members of lengthy messages either in the subject line or at the beginning of the message body with a “long message” tag.
- Do not send administrative messages such as remove me from this list. Instead manage preferences and changes in email addresses in your profile interface.
- Do not publicize employment opportunities/job postings on this site, instead please visit the ASTA Career Center. careers.astastrings.org
The Legal Stuff
This community connection platform is a service provided by the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) to further its nonprofit and tax-exempt purposes. This platform may only be used by ASTA members and only for the purpose of discussing matters related to string teaching and playing.
ASTA accepts no responsibility for the opinions and information posted here by others. ASTA disclaims all warranties with regard to information posted, whether posted by ASTA or others; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchant ability and fitness. ASTA shall not be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages, or damages of any kind 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 platform.
Do not post any messages that could be interpreted as enabling or encouraging members to agree on: prices, discounts, or terms and conditions of sale, salaries, profits, profit margins or cost data, market shares, sales territories or markets, allocation of customers or territories, decisions to deal with other businesses or professionals, selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers, or any other matter that could potentially raise risk to ASTA of antitrust liability.
Do not post any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal information or material, and do not utilize this community in any illegal manner. Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. Do not use 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. Do not post any confidential information or any information that would infringe upon the proprietary, privacy or personal rights of others. Do not post any information or other material that constitutes or could reasonably be construed as constituting advertising, marketing, solicitation of business, vending, attempting to sell or promote products or services, or otherwise engaging in or attempting to consummate commercial or professional transactions.
By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that it owns the copyright with respect to such material, has received permission from the copyright owner, and/or that the material is in the public domain. The posting party further warrants and represents that it otherwise has the full and unencumbered right to post such material and that such posting will not infringe any rights or interests of others. In addition, the posting party grants ASTA and users of this community a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or material in any manner, without payment to the posting party.
This community platform shall not be utilized in any manner that violates federal or state antitrust laws or other laws prohibiting anti competitive practices. The antitrust laws generally prohibit any agreement or understanding inconsistent with the right and obligation of competitors to exercise independent business judgment in pricing their products or services, dealing with their customers and suppliers, and selecting the markets in which to compete, among other business practices. No express agreement or understanding is required; one can be inferred from statements or conduct. Do not post any information regarding specific prices or fees charged or paid, and do not post any information concerning prices, pricing practices, discounts, or other terms or conditions of sale either obtained by or offered to another entity. Do not post any information concerning market shares, salaries, costs, sales territories, profit margins, or encouraging the selection or rejection of customers or suppliers.
ASTA does not actively monitor these sites for inappropriate postings and does not, on its own, undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to ASTA's attention, ASTA will take all appropriate action in a timely manner.
ASTA reserves the right to block any users who do not abide by these guidelines.
ASTA Privacy Policy
Effective Date: July 1, 2018
ASTA respects the privacy of its members and other visitors to its website. ASTA strongly believes that if online activities and electronic commerce are to flourish, consumers must be assured that information provided online is used responsibly and appropriately. By accessing or using the ASTA website and/or providing any personal information to us, you are accepting the practices described in this privacy policy. If you do not accept these practices, you must not access or use this site or provide us with your personal information.
To protect online privacy, ASTA has implemented the following policy.
What Information Does ASTA Collect?
Most of the data ASTA collects is only used to help us better serve our members. It is our general policy to collect and store only personal information that our members and visitors knowingly provide. If our privacy policies change, we will notify all users by email or a special announcement on our website.
From General Users: ASTA does not collect any personal information from users browsing its website. Only aggregate data—such as number of page views—is collected. Aggregate data is only used for internal and marketing purposes and does not provide any personally identifying information.
From ASTA Members: Conference Registrants, and Other Customers. To gain access to members-only resources or to purchase products or services, members and other users are asked to register and provide some limited information. This information is submitted voluntarily. ASTA asks users to provide their name, member number (if applicable), organization name, address, phone number, and email. Similar information may be submitted to ASTA through membership applications, conference or seminar registration, publication orders, subscriptions, and competition registrations. Additionally, when we send electronic newsletters and other communications through an email service provider, we track specific information regarding what recipients do with these emails—for example, we track whether recipients open and subsequently click through links provided in emails. ASTA only uses this information to improve its products and the distribution of those products to its members. This information is not sold or distributed in any manner.
How Does ASTA Use Data Collected?
ASTA uses information voluntarily submitted by members and other customers in the following ways:
ASTA Member Services and Products: Generally, ASTA and its direct subsidiaries use data collected to improve its own web content; to respond to visitors' interests, needs, and preferences; and to develop new products and services.
Disclosures to Third Parties: ASTA makes member contact information available through the ASTA Membership Directory to other members using its website and to those who register for its conferences. In addition, ASTA incorporates information users provide into hard copies of the membership directory that it provides to members and sells to requesters. On occasion, ASTA may also provide limited data to third parties who offer products and services. These limited data include names, job titles, companies, and business addresses, but do not include phone numbers, fax numbers, or email addresses. Users may request that ASTA refrain from disclosing the data it collects to third parties on the membership application form, conference registration form, or any other form on which they are providing information. Alternatively, users may contact ASTA at asta@astastrings.org or (703) 279-2113 to express their preferences if they determine they do not wish to have their personal information shared.
Credit Card Account Information: ASTA does not disclose credit card account information provided by its members and customers. When members and customers choose to pay using their credit cards, ASTA submits the information needed to obtain payment to the appropriate clearinghouse.
Where ASTA Stores Your Personal Data
The personal data you provide to us is generally stored on servers located in the United States. If you are located in another jurisdiction, you should be aware that once your personal data is submitted through our website, it will be transferred to our servers in the United States and that the United States currently does not have uniform data protection laws in place.
Transfer of Personal Data Outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) and International Users
ASTA is headquartered in the United States. Your personal data may be accessed by us or transferred to us in the United States or to our affiliates, partners, merchants, or service providers who are located worldwide. If you are visiting our website from outside the United States, be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and our central database is operated. By using our service, you consent to any transfer of this information.
How Long ASTA Stores Your Personal Data
We will store your personal data in a form that permits us to identify you for no longer than is necessary for the purpose for which the personal data is processed. We may retain and use your personal data as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements and rights, or if it is not technically reasonably feasible to remove it. Consistent with these requirements, we will try to delete your personal data quickly upon request.
Retention
We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with our site. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you service, contact us at asta@astastrings.org or (703) 279-2113. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. We maintain one or more databases to store your personal data and may keep such information indefinitely.
Links to Third-Party Sites and Services
Our website may contain links to third-party websites, applications, and services not operated by ASTA. These links are provided as a service and do not imply any endorsement by ASTA of the activities or content of these sites, applications, or services, nor any association with their operators. ASTA is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of any third party, including websites or services. ASTA encourages you to review the privacy policies of any third-party site that you link to from our site.
Children’s Privacy
Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13. If you are not 13 years or older, do not use our site without a parent present. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13. If we learn that personal data of persons less than 13 years-of-age has been collected through our site, we will take the appropriate steps to delete this information. If you are a parent or guardian and discover that your child or a minor under the age of 13 has posted, submitted, or otherwise communicated personal data to our site without your consent, then you may alert us at asta@astastrings.org or (703) 279-2113 so that we may take appropriate action to remove the minor's personal data from our systems.
Your Rights
Correction and Removal
If any of the information that ASTA has about you is incorrect, or you wish to have information (including personal data) removed from our records, you may do so by visiting your ASTA Profile, or contacting us at asta@astastrings.org or (703) 279-2113.
Opting Out
Additionally, if you prefer not to receive marketing messages from us, please let us know by clicking on the unsubscribe link within any marketing message that you receive, by visiting your ASTA Profile, or by contacting us at asta@astastrings.org or (703) 279-2113.
European Rights
FOR EUROPEAN RESIDENTS ONLY. You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you (before collecting your personal data) if we intend to use your personal data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your information to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right to prevent such processing by checking certain boxes on the forms we use to collect your personal data. You can also exercise this right by contacting us at asta@astastrings.org or (703) 279-2113.
Under European data protection law, in certain circumstances, you have the right to:
Request access to your personal data. You may have the right to request access to any personal data we hold about you as well as related information, including the purposes for processing the personal data, the recipients or categories of recipients with whom the personal data has been shared, where possible, the period for which the personal data will be stored, the source of the personal data, and the existence of any automated decision making.
Request correction of your personal data. You may have the right to obtain without undue delay the rectification of any inaccurate personal data we hold about you.
Request erasure of your personal data. You may have the right to request that your personal data is deleted.
Object to or restrict processing of your personal data. You may have the right to prevent or restrict processing of your personal data.
Request transfer of your personal data. You may have the right to request transfer of your personal data directly to a third party where this is technically feasible.
Withdraw your consent. In addition, where you believe that ASTA has not complied with its obligations under this notice or European law, you have the right to make a complaint to an EU Data Protection Authority, such as the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.
You may exercise any of these rights by contacting us at asta@astastrings.org or (703) 279-2113.
California Rights
FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS ONLY. Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code requires select businesses to disclose policies related to the sharing of certain categories of your personal data with third parties. If you reside in California and have provided your personal data to ASTA, you may request information about our disclosures of certain categories of personal data to third parties for direct marketing purposes. Such requests must be submitted to us via mail or email:
ASTA
Attn: California Privacy Rights
4155 Chain Bridge Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
asta@astastrings.org
What Means of Redress Are Available?
If any user thinks ASTA has handled its personal information in a manner that does not comply with this privacy statement, please contact us at asta@astastrings.org or (703) 279-2113.
Who Is ASTA
For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the GDPR), the data controller is the American String Teachers Association registered in Virginia, USA, with a registered address at 4155 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, VA 22030.
Changes to This Notice
If we make any material changes to this notice or to the way we use, share, or collect personal data, we will notify you by revising the effective date at the top of this notice, prominently posting an announcement of the changes on our website, or sending an email to the email address you most recently provided us (unless we do not have such an email address). Please check back frequently to see any updates or changes to this notice.