D2L Brightspace Community Rules
Last modified: April 2, 2018
We hope that the time you spend in the Brightspace Community site is valuable and enjoyable. When we refer to the “Community”, we mean the site, services and all content, including user content. To ensure that everyone has the best experience possible, we have established these Rules. Please take the time to read them. By registering for a Community account, by using or visiting the Community, you are subject to these Rules, including the mandatory arbitration and class action waiver provision, and to all applicable laws. If you do not agree to all of these Rules, you should not access, visit or participate in the Community. We reserve the right to refuse or terminate access to the Community to anyone, at any time, without notice, and for any reason.
Follow the Golden Rule.
It’s simple: treat others the way you would like to be treated. Anything you post – whether it be a comment, private message or discussion post – should use appropriate language and be respectful of Community members and the public. You must not engage in any “Offensive Conduct”, by which we mean doing things such as flaming, trolling, infringing, using offensive language, spamming, hacking, posting anything defamatory or obscene, posting bots or anything that may cause harm (e.g., malware), or other problematic activities.
Be Honest.
When submitting information to us, you cannot misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person, nor may you use the account, username, or password of another user at any time. By providing your personal information to D2L, you consent to the collection, processing and storage by D2L of your personal information in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Statement.
Permitted Uses.
You can only use Community for your own lawful, non-commercial, personal purposes. We are providing the Community for the benefit of our customers, partners, developers and users only. Please tell us if you believe that someone is using Community under false pretenses or in a manner that is contrary to D2L’s or the Community’s best interests.
Help Us Help You.
If you’re looking for help, have a question or just want to connect with a member of the Community – don’t hesitate to reach out. Your Community Management team will ensure you receive a response.
Sharing is Caring.
Within the Community there are users with years of experience and those who are just getting started. Take some time to offer your expertise to Community members who are looking for support or resources. What goes around comes around.
Take the Lead.
Do you want to get more involved? We’re always happy to connect with members who want to contribute more to the Community. Send the Community Management team a message so we can explore ways to support your development as a Community leader.
Privacy.
Through various activities on the Community, you may have access to the email addresses and personal information of other Community members. All users must respect each member’s right to privacy. Unauthorized use of personal information and email addresses of Community members for the purposes of spamming or other commercial use is not permitted. D2L has a Privacy Statement that describes how we collect information from you or about you, why we collect this information, and how we will use or disclose this information. In addition, it sets out our general policies on information security as further detailed in D2L’s Privacy Statement, which is also incorporated into and made a part of these Rules.
Children’s Privacy.
The Community is intended for adults aged 18 and older. It is not intended for or directed at persons under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, you may not register or submit personally identifiable information to or through the Community. D2L does not collect personally identifiable information through Community from any person D2L actually knows to be under the age of 18.
Community Analyses.
To deliver, develop, test and improve the Community, we may collect, analyze, and interpret data elements acquired by, associated with, or provided in the use of the Community. All individual data elements of such analyses are property of their respective owners. All usage data related to use or performance of the Community and all algorithm, computational, or cumulative results of the analyses are wholly-owned by D2L.
Competition and Non-Solicitation.
The Community is for D2L clients, partners, users, developers and staff only. D2L competitors and their employees or contractors are prohibited from registering as Community members or otherwise interacting with D2L clients, partners, users, developers and staff through Community. Third party solicitation via private messaging of Community members or visitors for third party business development or sales activity is strictly prohibited. If you are a registered member or guest visitor to the Community and are solicited or contacted by third parties through the Community, or if you suspect a user is improperly using the Community for sales activity, please report this activity to the Community Management team immediately so we can help ensure the best possible Community experience.
Copyright.
D2L respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users do the same. We respond expeditiously to clear notices of alleged copyright infringement and terminate accounts of repeat infringers according to the process set out in the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act or the laws of another jurisdiction.
If you believe your copyrights are being violated and want to notify us, you can find information about submitting notices and D2L’s policy about responding to notices in our Notice and Takedown Procedure.
If you supply or post any information or material to the Community, you guarantee to us that you have the legal right to post such material and that it will not violate any law or the rights of any person or entity. By posting any materials (other than those that may be subject to a license as must be clearly noted and included upon posting), you give D2L the royalty-free, irrevocable,
perpetual, worldwide right to use, distribute, display and create derivative works from this material, in any and all media, in any manner, in whole or in part, without any restriction or responsibilities to you.
If you decide to use any licensed materials posted on the Community, you agree to abide by the obligations and restrictions in the applicable licenses.
Topic and Content Relevance.
The purpose of our Community is to exchange knowledge and expertise about D2L products, online learning and pedagogical techniques. Please ensure that your postings and content are relevant to the subject at hand. It is normal for some topics to drift from the stated subject. However, to ensure maximum benefit for everyone, we encourage you to keep your postings as close to the subject as possible, and move side conversations to their own topic. There are many places for conversation in the Community. While we do not control and are under no obligation to control or monitor Community activities, we reserve the right to highlight content or messages we think are particularly useful or relevant, move messages that are off topic, or point the author to a more appropriate location to engage.
Third Parties.
Links to third party web sites or information are provided solely as a convenience to you. If you use these links, you will leave the Community. Such links do not constitute or imply an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by D2L of the third party or the third-party site. D2L is not responsible for the availability of any such sites, or for their content. If you use third party sites, you will be subject to the terms of use and privacy policy applicable to those sites, and D2L shall not be responsible for any disclosure, modification or deletion of your data resulting from any such access by the providers of these sites.
Community is hosted and serviced by third party vendors, and your data may be hosted and processed by these vendors in a country other than your country of residence. You agree to allow such third party vendors to host and process your data as may be required for purposes of your participation in Community.
Abuse Mitigation.
As we said above in the Golden Rule, Offensive Conduct is not tolerated in this Community. In the event that any Offensive Conduct is reported to or discovered by the Community Management team, the Community Management team reserves the right to take action without notice to suspend, revoke or terminate a user’s membership, delete content, or take other actions that we feel are necessary to protect the Community.
Member Submissions.
Anything you post to Community is on a nonconfidential basis (other than personal information which is covered under the D2L Privacy Statement, or information that may be posted to closed user groups and made subject to separate nondisclosure agreements), and D2L shall be free to use and disclose the content of any such communication, including without limitation any ideas, inventions, concepts, techniques or knowhow disclosed therein, for any purpose including without limitation developing, manufacturing and/or marketing goods and services. You agree to not assert any ownership right of any kind in such communications (including without limitation copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, unfair competition, moral rights, or implied contract) and you hereby waive such moral rights in favour of D2L and its affiliates, licensees, successors and assignees. You also acknowledge that you have no right to receive any financial or other consideration in connection with such communication.
Consent To Receive Emails And Communications.
By participating in Community, you consent to receive communications from D2L via the email address you have submitted, and you agree that all notices and other communications that D2L may send you will meet any legal requirement that such communication would satisfy if it were in writing. We may also use your email address to send you other messages including information about D2L and its partners. You may opt out of such email by sending an email to [email protected] or by writing to us at the address provided at the end of these Rules.
Storage.
While we allow you to upload and store content on Community, we are entitled to stipulate the storage conditions. In particular, the amount and duration of storage may be limited at our discretion. If we decide that we are running out of room on Community, we may delete your content without prior notice. Therefore, please ensure that you maintain regular backups of your content because we do not accept any responsibility for any loss of data.
Termination.
Your failure to comply with these Rules may, at D2L’s sole discretion, result in suspension, revocation or termination of your Community account. Your obligations to D2L will continue upon termination of your rights, including restrictions regarding the Content, disclaimers, indemnification obligations and liability limitations under these Rules.
Disclaimer of Warranties.
D2L MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS WHATSOEVER WITH RESPECT TO THE COMMUNITY. D2L DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NONINFRINGEMENT, WITH REGARD TO THE COMMUNITY. D2L DOES NOT WARRANT THAT COMMUNITY WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR ERRORFREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE COMMUNITY WILL BE CORRECTED. D2L DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, LEGALITY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE COMMUNITY, OR THAT ANY ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED. THE COMMUNITY IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. D2L CANNOT AND DOES NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT FILES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOADING FROM THE COMMUNITY WILL BE FREE OF SOFTWARE VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPUTER CODE, FILES OR PROGRAMS. THIS DISCLAIMER ALSO APPLIES TO LINKS SET UP BY USERS ON PAGES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
Limitation of Liability.
IN NO EVENT WILL D2L BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR OTHER INDIRECT DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE COMMUNITY OR YOUR USE THEREOF, EVEN IF D2L HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE YOUR USE OF COMMUNITY. D2L ACCEPTS NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR CONTENT GENERATED BY USERS OR FOR THE ACTIVITIES OR OPINIONS OF USERS, OR FOR LOSS OF DATA.
IF THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES IS NOT PERMITTED BY LAW, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY. IN SUCH CASE, D2L’S LIABILITY IS LIMITED AND WARRENTIES ARE EXCLUDED TO THE MINIMUM ALLOWABLE AMOUNT AS PERMITTED BY LAW. D2L RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE LIABILITY OUTSIDE OF JURISTICTIONS IN WHICH IT CAN BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
Responsibility and Indemnity.
You understand and agree that you are personally responsible for your behavior, activities and content on Community. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless D2L, its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, joint venturers, business partners, licensors, employees, agents, and any third-party information providers from and against all claims, losses, expenses, damages and costs (including, but not limited to, direct, incidental, consequential, exemplary and indirect damages), and reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from or arising out of your use, misuse, activities, behaviour, content, or inability to use Community, or any violation by you of these Rules.
Governing law.
If any part of these Rules is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, it will not impact any other provision of these Rules, all of which will remain in full force and effect. Any and all disputes relating to these Rules, D2L’s Privacy Statement, your use of the Community, any other D2L site, the service or its content are governed by, and will be interpreted in accordance with, the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, without regard to any conflict of laws provisions.
We make no representation that any content or other materials available through Community are appropriate or available for use in any particular location. Those who choose to access Community do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.
Dispute Resolution and Arbitration; Class Action and Jury Trial Waivers.
PLEASE READ THESE SECTIONS CAREFULLY BECAUSE THEY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS.
Arbitration. If we are not able to amicably resolve any dispute, claim, action or proceeding between us arising out of or concerning these Rules, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise at law or in equity (each, a “Dispute”), then such Dispute shall be resolved only by final and binding arbitration conducted by a single neutral arbitrator and administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) in accordance with the provisions of its Commercial Arbitration Rules and the supplementary procedures for consumer related disputes of the AAA, excluding any rules or procedures governing or permitting class actions, or a similar arbitration service selected by us, in a location mutually agreed upon by us. The prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. The arbitrator’s award shall be final, and judgment may be enforced by any court having jurisdiction. The Dispute, including the scope and enforceability of this arbitration provision shall be determined by the arbitrator. This arbitration provision shall survive the termination of these Rules for any reason.
Class Action Waiver. Any arbitration under these Rules will take place on an individual basis; class arbitrations and class/representative/collective actions are not permitted. WE AGREE THAT WE MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN OUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PUTATIVE CLASS, COLLECTIVE AND/ OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING, SUCH AS IN THE FORM OF A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION AGAINST THE OTHER. Further, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.
Waiver of Jury Trial. Each of us hereby knowingly and voluntarily waives our right to trial by jury with respect to any Dispute arising out of or in connection with these Rules, or by our conduct or relationship.
Thank you for adhering to these Rules while participating as a member of the Brightspace Community. We reserve the right to amend or change these Rules at any time and encourage you to periodically review these Rules to ensure you are in compliance.
Questions or comments about the Brightspace Community or its Rules can be directed to the Community Management team by email at [email protected], or by mail:
Community Management Team
D2L Corporation
151 Charles Street West, Suite 400
Kitchener, ON, Canada
N2G 1H6
Further Reading:
D2L Privacy Statement
Terms of Use
D2L Cookie Policy