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About the HSS Website

Social Media Terms of Use and Rules of the Road

Effective:  October 1, 2012
Last Updated:  January 26, 2015

These Terms of Use & Rules of the Road govern your participation in the social media outlets through which Hospital for Special Surgery (“HSS”) provides information and educational materials, including but not limited to Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, foursquare, Instagram, Google+, Spotify, and Pinterest, as well as the blog “HSS on the move” (collectively, the “Services”).  

  1. By using the Services, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old.  If you are not 18 years old, by using the Services you confirm that you are using the Services in the presence of your parent(s) or guardian(s) and with his/her/their consent.
  2. The information and educational materials provided by HSS and its affiliated physicians through the Services is for general informational and educational purposes, and should not be considered medical advice for any individual problem you may have. This information is not a substitute for the professional judgment of a qualified health care provider who is familiar with the unique facts about your condition and medical history. You should always consult your health care provider prior to starting any new treatment, or terminating or changing any ongoing treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you read here. 

    In addition, information provided through the Services regarding rehabilitation/therapy, sports training, and exercise programs should not to be interpreted as a recommendation of a specific plan or course of action.  Rehabilitation/therapy, sports training, and exercise are not without risk, and any such program may result in injury. As with any such program, if at any point during your workout you begin to have pain, feel faint, or experience significant physical discomfort of any kind, you should stop immediately and consult a physician. You should consult with your physician or other health care provider before beginning any rehabilitation/therapy, sports training, or exercise program.
  3. Every post on the Services is the opinion of the author.  Even if the author is an employee of HSS or one of HSS’s affiliated physicians, the post should not be considered the official position of HSS.
  4. Please use the Contact Us function on HSS’s website (https://www.hss.edu/secure/contact-hss.asp) to contact us if you have any questions, or wish to arrange for a visit to HSS or a consult by an HSS affiliated physician, based on any information HSS provides through the Services.
  5. All information and educational materials provided by HSS and its affiliated physicians through the Services are the property of HSS, its affiliated physicians, and/or their suppliers, and are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws.  All such information and materials may be accessed, downloaded, or printed for your personal non-commercial use only. Without the prior written permission of HSS, you may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, or publish, in whole or in part, any information or materials provided by HSS through the Services.  Permission may be requested by contacting the social media team at socialmediacontact@hss.edu.
  6. Hospital for Special Surgery, HSS, and HSS’s logos (including the Mobility Man logo and the logo with the tagline “Where the World Comes to Get Back in the Game”) are registered trademarks of HSS, and may not be used without the prior written authorization of HSS.
  7. You should assume that anything you post on these Services will be kept permanently and will be viewable or otherwise available to anyone who accesses the Services.  So carefully consider what you say before you say it – on the Services, as elsewhere on the World Wide Web/Internet, it is nearly impossible to take something back once it has been posted.  This includes any photos, videos and/or other information that you may upload, post or otherwise make available through the Services – by doing so, you are authorizing HSS to make such photos, videos and/or other information available through any or all of the Services as HSS sees fit.  For example, if you submit a  picture or video through the “Share Your Story” button on the Back in the Game section of HSS’s web site, you are authorizing HSS to post or link to, or otherwise reference, that picture or video through the Services, including HSS’s Facebook page and/or HSS’s Twitter feed.
  8. In addition to these Terms of Use, you should also carefully read the legal terms and conditions that govern each of the Services (including any Terms of Use/Service, Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and Privacy Policies/Notice).  While HSS has no control over and thus cannot be responsible for the content of any of those Services-specific legal terms and conditions, HSS expects that you will abide by them when using the Services..
  9. The Services contain links to other sites on the World Wide Web/Internet.  Those links are provided for informational purposes and do not constitute endorsement of those sites, or the information, materials, products, or services contained on or accessible through those sites, by HSS or its affiliated physicians. HSS is not responsible for the availability or content of these outside resources.  Any questions or concerns regarding any external site linked to from the Services should be directed to the administrator or Webmaster of that site.
  10. In using the Services, you, like all persons who use the Services, are expected to follow these “Rules of the Road”:
    • No Health Information. To protect your privacy, HSS strongly advises against providing any personal health information when using the Services.  This is consistent with the fact that HSS uses the Services only for general information and education about topics in musculoskeletal medicine, and not to provide individualized medical advice.
    • No Personal Information. For your safety, HSS strongly advises against providing any detailed personal information (such as your full real name, email address, home address, phone number, personal web site address, social security number, health insurance plan identification number, etc.) when using the Services.
    • No Personal Attacks or Harassment. While HSS encourages lively discussion and healthy debate, we expect people to be respectful.  HSS therefore strongly discourages attacks or threats against an individual or a group.  Examples of an attack or threat on a person or a group include any posting that:
      • Directly insults another person (for example, “the previous poster is an idiot”) – disagreeing with someone is fine, but please do not make it personal.
      • Harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability.
      • Threatens violence or harm to any particular person or group (for example, "If you say anything like that again, I am going to find you and make you shut up").
      • Makes provocative comments that have no scientific or factual basis and are intended or likely to aggravate others (“Only stupid people get cancer”).
      • o Attacks someone because they attacked you – if you believe someone has attacked you in violation of this Rule, please let us know so HSS can try to address it.
    • No Impersonation of Others or HSS Staff. Any posting by a person who attempts to impersonate another person will be removed.  Any posting by a person who pretends to work for HSS, or falsely claims to be speaking for or acting on behalf of HSS, will be removed.
    • No Commercial Posts. Please do not use the Services to promote any product, service or anything else from which you may personally benefit, or to post any pyramid schemes, chain letters, or disruptive commercial messages.  
    • No Inappropriate or Infringing Posts. Please do not make any posting that is defamatory, obscene, or unlawful, or anything that infringes any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary right of any party (for example, an article from a website or magazine), unless you are the owner of those rights or have the permission of the owner to post the material. 
    • No Off-Topic Posts. HSS uses the Services to provide information and education about musculoskeletal medicine, including orthopedics, rheumatology, neurology, pediatrics, radiology and imaging, pain management, physiatry, sports medicine, sports performance, exercise physiology, physical therapy, nutrition, fitness, wellness, and prevention, treatment, management and rehabilitation options for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions.  All posts should be relevant to that topic.
    • No Disruptive Conduct. Please do not spam or flood the Services (multiple postings containing repeated lines, characters or statements), shout (using CAPS), or encourage other people to violate these “Rules of the Road.”
    • No Sexually Explicit Content. There are many places on the web to post or obtain sexually explicit content, but the Services are not one of them.  Please do not post pornography or other sexually obscene images or make sexually explicit comments on the Services.  You are, of course, welcome to address issues of sexual health and sexual activity as they relate to musculoskeletal medicine, but please do so in a respectful and tactful way.
    • No Profanity.
    • No Soliciting Money.
    • No Harvesting or Scraping Content.

HSS expects that these Rules of the Road will evolve over time as issues arise, so please check them regularly to see what has changed.  HSS will not notify you when the Rules of the Road are changed, and your use of the Services constitutes your agreement to the Rules of the Road as then in effect.

HSS does not moderate the Services. So if you see any posting on the Services that you believe violates these Rules of the Road, please notify us at socialmediacontact@hss.edu and HSS will look into it.  For Services not operated by HSS (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and foursquare), you should also notify the company that operates that Service.

Enforcement of the Rules:  When someone posts on the Services in a way that violates these Rules of the Road, HSS may (i) warn the person, (ii) delete some or all of the posting, and/or (iii) temporarily or permanently ban the person, depending on the gravity and number of violations and whether the operator of the Services allows it. Typically, a person will be warned (and the offending content removed) before that person is banned.  In certain cases (such as extreme personal attack, threats of violence, commercial posts), HSS may remove and ban the person immediately without a warning. 

Reservation of Rights by HSS: HSS reserves the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose to any third party any information you provide on the Services as HSS reasonably believes is necessary to (i) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process (such as a court order or subpoena), or governmental request, (ii) enforce the Rules of the Road, including investigation of potential violations hereof, (iii) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, (iv) respond to user support requests, or (v) protect the rights, property or safety of HSS, its medical staff members, its employees, contractors, and volunteers, and the public.