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Welcome to vBuddy. We at vBuddy do our best to create an environment in which individuals of many different backgrounds are able to express themselves through personal networking, building a climate within which we can all discuss the issues that face us in daily life, or just be entertained. It is the goal of these Terms of Service to outline the responsibilities of those who participate in the vBuddy community. The vBuddy Membership Guidelines and Terms of Service are available at http://www.vbuddy.com/docs/tos. I. vBuddy Services and Conditions of Use These Terms of Service govern the use of the vBuddy Web Site (www.vBuddy.com), hereafter referred to as the "Site." The term "vBuddy" shall be used to refer to vBuddy. The Site provides registered members (each a "Member") with access to content and services ("Membership"). vBuddy may, at its discretion, add, delete, or modify the Terms of Service without notice. By registering as a Member, you agree to use the Site in a manner consistent with all applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations and in accordance with the Terms of Service discussed below. Basic vBuddy services and content are available FREE OF CHARGE, exclusive of other Internet or other telecommunications fees. vBuddy is supported by advertisement banners placed in member pages. These banners are inserted dynamically by our system. Member shall not attempt to defeat such features in any manner. Any conduct that causes a member page to not display vBuddy ads correctly shall be grounds for termination of membership. vBuddy reserves the right to place advertisements on any/all member pages at any time. Member shall not attempt to defeat such features in any manner. Any conduct that causes a member page to not display vBuddy ads correctly shall be grounds for termination of membership. vBuddy reserves the right to delete any member page at any time for any reason or no reason at all. If your account gets terminated, signing up again will be grounds for another termination. For security and privacy reasons, in the event that a Member account is deleted, vBuddy is not obligated to disclose the reasons for the account deletion without a proper court-ordered subpoena. Additionally, vBuddy does not keep notes on account deletions after they are terminated. Once an account is terminated, all data/information on that account is deleted as well. This is why it is important for a Member to perform regular backups of his/her data. Backing up your files is very important. Please make daily backups offline on your own. Should your account be lost (due to account termination or any other reasons) it is NOT vBuddy' responsibility to restore these files. vBuddy may terminate any Membership (and any and all related information, communications, postings, or pictures) at any time, without notice, for conduct that violates local, state or federal laws or regulations, these Terms of Service or other policies or guidelines set out by vBuddy elsewhere on the Site, or for material that vBuddy in its sole discretion believes is harmful to other Members, the business of vBuddy, or other third-party information providers. Individuals who have had their Memberships terminated may not continue to utilize member privileges in any manner or for any reason without the express written permission of vBuddy. II. Terms of Membership a) Membership is available to anyone 18 years of age or older, who registers and accurately provides all the required information, provides a legitimate electronic mail address and obtains a unique vBuddy Member Name and password. Membership is non-transferable. vBuddy does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or sexual orientation. Due to the possible nature of the content, only adults over the age of 18 are eligible to become Members. b) vBuddy allows one Membership per individual with a legitimate electronic mail address. c) Please be courteous when selecting your vBuddy Member Name. vBuddy does not permit the use of vulgar or offensive language for your Member Name. You may not use the name of any person other than yourself, the name of any entity or organization, or any term that is a trademark, service mark, or copyright, or that violates any other proprietary right held by another. vBuddy may, at its discretion and without notice, delete or revoke any Membership associated with a Member Name of this nature. d) If Membership is terminated, any/all fees paid to vBuddy will not be refunded. You acknowledge that vBuddy may charge for service in the future or offer premium Memberships for a fee. Failure to pay for service, if subscribed, will result in Membership termination. III. Member Pages a) vBuddy provides Members with profile pages and the associated storage (collectively known as a "Member Page") as a free service to Members. vBuddy Member Pages are intended to be brief descriptions of Members and the content contained in Member Pages must conform to the same content standards set forth in the Member Content Guidelines. b) vBuddy is not responsible for the content of any Member Page, and the views expressed on vBuddy Member Pages are the responsibility of the posting Member and not vBuddy. vBuddy does not preview Member Pages in any way before they appear on the Member Area of the Site. The selection of a site for inclusion in a specialized section of the Member Area does not imply an endorsement of that site or its content by vBuddy. c) By submitting a Member Page to vBuddy, you grant vBuddy a royalty-free license to copy and distrubute the content. d) vBuddy does not monitor member disputes. It is your responsibility to resolve such matters on your own. We may, at our sole descretion, monitor or get involved, however. e) vBuddy makes no guarantees as to information Members have marked as "Private". Our system will attempt its best to deny access for those not authorized to view it, however. IV. Public Communication vBuddy offers its Members the ability to communicate on-line through the use of mail, bulletin boards, chat rooms, journals, comments, and conferencing. It is the intention of vBuddy to allow open and diverse communication through the use of these systems. Though conduct in these areas is governed by the guidelines set forth in this Terms of Service, vBuddy does not guarantee that these guidelines will be followed and, therefore, expressly disclaims any and all liability arising from or relating to any failure to follow such guidelines. V. vBuddy Member Page and Member Conduct Guidelines The following is a non-exclusive list of actions and content that are prohibited on the Site. vBuddy may cancel any Membership associated with such actions or content or may remove any associated Member Page with or without prior notice, in its sole discretion. a) Any use of copyrighted, trademarked, patented or servicemarked material without the express permission of the author or owner, the commission of any acts of copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or other intellectual property infringement, or contributing to, inducing, or facilitating such infringement. This prohibition shall include, without limitation, the following forms of piracy: i) Making available any content for which the user does not own the copyright or have the legal right to make available. ii) Making available serial numbers for software that can be used to illegally validate or register software. b) Material that exploits the images of children under 18 years of age, or that discloses personal identifying information belonging to children under 18 years of age. vBuddy reserves the right to report violations of this provision to, and will cooperate with, law enforcement authorities. c) Material that is, in vBuddy' view, grossly offensive to the vBuddy Community, including, but not limited to clear expressions of bigotry, racism, or other hate speech, or threats of violence. d) Material that promote illegal activity and any promotion of or provision of instructions for illegal activity. e) Material that defames, abuses, or threatens others or is libelous. f) Material that is invasive of privacy or publicity rights, including posting another person's private information. g) Use of a Member file as storage for remote loading, or as a door or signpost to another home page. h) Creation of a Member Page that contains hyperlinks to content not permitted on vBuddy. i) Transmission of unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, or other forms of solicitation via email or news groups that lists a Member Page. j) Creation of a Member Page that solicits passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes. k) Misrepresentation of your identity or impersonation of any person including, but not limited to, employees of vBuddy. l) Use of vBuddy for the purpose of gathering personal identifying information from individuals for commercial or unlawful purposes. m) Acting in a manner that disrupts the flow of normal conversation in messages including, but not limited to, the harassment of other members, the excessive use of vulgarity, or the use of hate speech. n) Conduct that is deemed by vBuddy, in its sole and absolute discretion, harmful to vBuddy, any third party content provider, or other individuals. o) If there is no activity related to a Member Page for ninety days. p) Any use of a Member Page in connection with "spamming" or the sending of unsolicited messages. All judgments concerning the application of these guidelines are made at the sole and absolute discretion of vBuddy. If, in its sole discretion, vBuddy determines that law enforcement officials should be notified regarding any Member Page, vBuddy will provide copies of the Member Page in question to the appropriate officials without notice to the user. vBuddy will cooperate with all law enforcement efforts to locate persons who have posted Member Pages that are illegal or that promote illegal conduct. This may result in vBuddy disclosing to law enforcement officials user information and Internet protocol addresses pursuant to a subpoena or court order or, in circumstances where vBuddy in its sole discretion deems appropriate, at the request of law enforcement officials. VI. Reporting a Violation of these Terms of Service If you witness a violation of these guidelines, please notify us at abuse@vBuddy.com. Complaints may be investigated by vBuddy but vBuddy is under no obligation to act or not act with regards to any complaint. Any action taken will be at the sole discretion of vBuddy. It is the policy of vBuddy to respond expeditiously to claims of intellectual property infringement. vBuddy will promptly process and investigate notices of alleged infringement and will take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") and other applicable intellectual property laws. Upon receipt of notices complying or substantially complying with the DMCA, vBuddy will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any material claimed to be infringing or claimed to be the subject of infringing activity and will act expeditiously to remove or disable access to any reference or link to material or activity that is claimed to be infringing. vBuddy will terminate access for subscribers and account holders who are repeat infringers. Please put "Notice of Infringement" in the subject line of all such notifications. Due to the overwhelming amount of spam, not putting that subject may lead to your mail being mis-tagged as spam and deleted. When vBuddy removes or disables access to any material claimed to be infringing, vBuddy may attempt to contact the user who has posted such material in order to give that user an opportunity to respond to the notification, although vBuddy makes no promise to do so. Any and all counter notifications submitted by the user will be furnished to the complaining party. vBuddy will give the complaining party an opportunity to seek judicial relief in accordance with the DMCA before vBuddy replaces or restores access to any material as a result of any counter notification. If vBuddy becomes aware of the presence of material on its server that violates any other right of any party, either in the course of its ordinary and reasonable business activities, or through notification by a third party who alerts vBuddy, preferably by certified mail, of the specific location of the alleged presence of such materials, vBuddy will contact the member responsible for the material and alert him or her of the allegations and notify the person that within five days he or she must respond as to why the material does not violate the rights in question. vBuddy also will alert the Member that, absent such a response, vBuddy reserves the right to delete the Member Page; and, if the member fails to respond within five days, vBuddy will make a decision whether to remove the Member Page. In all cases, if in its sole and absolute discretion, vBuddy concludes that one of the Member Pages violates the rights of any other party, vBuddy reserves the right to delete the offending Member Page at any time without prior notice. VII. Privacy vBuddy knows that if our dream of creating a vital online community is to come true, we must do everything we can to develop and maintain that old-fashioned village sense of trust. This statement discloses the privacy practices for the Site. Our Privacy Vow We at vBuddy believe that strong electronic privacy is crucial for the ongoing success of the Internet as a service, commercial, and entertainment medium but we do need to understand user behavior in order to server you better. To achieve this goal, we need to understand what differentiates you from each of our millions of other unique users. We collect information in two ways: registration and cookies. Registration vBuddy gathers information about our Members that allows us to offer compelling services and easily accessible online content in a manner that provides personal privacy protection as well. When you join vBuddy we ask you to provide us information such as your first and last name, zip code, email address, and country. We ask these questions in the event that we need to verify your identity for security purposes. As a standard practice, vBuddy assigns a random number to each user for anonymously tracking content preferences and traffic patterns. This random number lets us keep track of "How many" times customers are doing specific things - like visiting our site each month - without really knowing who those customers are. This random number is kept in a file on your computer called a "cookie." Cookies are pieces of information that Web sites transfer to your computer's hard drive for record-keeping purposes. vBuddy uses cookies to make visiting the Site easier. Cookies allow us to save passwords and preferences for you so that you won't have to re-enter them the next time you visit. Cookies, by themselves, cannot be used to determine the identity of any user: Unless you specifically tell us, vBuddy will never know who you are. In addition, third party advertising networks may issue cookies when serving advertisements. The use of cookies is now an industry standard, and you'll find them used on most major web sites. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can restart your browser either to notify you when you've received a cookie, or to refuse to accept cookies. You should understand that areas of certain sites will not function properly if you set your browser to not accept cookies. Use of Information We analyze search habits in hope of presenting our users with the most relevant and valuable advertising information. We develop summary - not individual - reports for our advertisers. The advertisers who make it possible for you to use vBuddy for free need information to determine the effectiveness of their advertising investments. We never tell our advertisers who it was that saw or clicked on their advertisements unless you have specifically told us this is acceptable. Except as described in this Privacy statement, vBuddy will not disclose any information about any individual user except to comply with applicable law or valid legal process or to protect the personal safety of our users or the public. Sharing of Information Except as described in this Privacy statement, vBuddy will never willfully disclose individually identifiable information about its customers to any third party without first receiving that customer's permission. The individually identifiable information that you provide will be used extensively within the vBuddy to provide a personalized experience to you. It will also be shared with vBuddy's partners that provide some of the personalized content on our site (see "Use of the Information" above for some examples) and other third parties unrelated to offerings on the vBuddy, but only if you have given your permission for this to occur. Our privacy guarantee to you remains unchanged. vBuddy believes its users should control the communications directed to them. Currently, as a vBuddy member you can set your privacy settings by going to http://www.vbuddy.com/privacy. There you can set your contact preferences. VIII. Limitations of Liability and Warranty a) THE MEMBER AGREES THAT THE USE OF THE SITE IS ENTIRELY AT THE MEMBER'S OWN RISK. THE SITE IS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE, ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED, AND STATUTORY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF PROPRIETARY RIGHTS, ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VBUDDY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES FOR THE SECURITY, RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SITE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VBUDDY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES FOR OTHER SERVICES OR GOODS RECEIVED THROUGH OR ADVERTISED ON THE SITE OR THROUGH ANY LINKS PROVIDED ON THE SITE, AS WELL AS FOR ANY INFORMATION OR ADVICE RECEIVED THROUGH THE SITE OR THROUGH ANY LINKS PROVIDED IN THE SITE. NEITHER VBUDDY NOR ANY THIRD-PARTY CONTENT PROVIDER MAKES ANY WARRANTY WITH RESPECT TO ANY CONTENT, INFORMATION, SERVICES, OR PRODUCTS PROVIDED THROUGH OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SITE. b) UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL VBUDDY BE LIABLE TO ANY USER ON ACCOUNT OF THAT USER'S USE OR MISUSE OF THE SITE OR RELIANCE ON THE SITE. SUCH LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SHALL APPLY TO PREVENT RECOVERY OF DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE AND EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (EVEN IF VBUDDY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES). SUCH LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SHALL APPLY WHETHER THE DAMAGES ARISE FROM USE OR MISUSE OF THE SITE OR RELIANCE ON THE SITE, FROM INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, OR FROM THE INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION, OR TERMINATION OF THE SITE OR SERVICES OFFERED ON THE SITE (INCLUDING SUCH DAMAGES INCURRED BY THIRD PARTIES). SUCH LIMITATION SHALL ALSO APPLY WITH RESPECT TO DAMAGES INCURRED BY REASON OF OTHER SERVICES OR GOODS RECEIVED THROUGH OR ADVERTISED ON THE SITE OR RECEIVED THROUGH ANY LINKS PROVIDED ON THE SITE, AS WELL AS BY REASON OF ANY INFORMATION OR ADVICE RECEIVED THROUGH OR ADVERTISED ON THE SITE OR RECEIVED THROUGH ANY LINKS PROVIDED ON THE SITE. SUCH LIMITATION SHALL APPLY, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TO THE COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, LOST PROFITS, OR LOST DATA. SUCH LIMITATION SHALL APPLY WITH RESPECT TO THE PERFORMANCE OR NON-PERFORMANCE OF THE SITE OR ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR MERCHANDISE THAT APPEARS ON, OR IS LINKED OR RELATED IN ANY WAY TO, THE SITE. THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY. SUCH LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. c) VBUDDY MAKES NO IMPLIED OR EXPRESS REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE RELIABILITY, OR ACCESSIBILITY OF THE MEMBER PAGES OR THE ASSOCIATED STORAGE FACILITIES. VBUDDY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED BY LOSS OF ACCESS TO, DELETION OF, FAILURE TO STORE, FAILURE TO BACK UP, OR ALTERATION OF Member PageS; INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING AND CREATING BACKUPS OF THEIR PAGES, IN THE CASE OF PREMIUM MEMBERSHIPS, VBUDDY'S ENTIRE LIABILITY, IF ANY, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF THE PREMIUM MEMBER'S MOST RECENT MEMBERSHIP FEE PAYMENT. d) The Member specifically agrees that vBuddy and third party content providers are not liable for any conduct by Members associated with the Site, including, but not limited to, Member Pages, resumes, Member Profiles, surveys, chat rooms, or conferencing. e) vBuddy and third-party content providers make no guarantee of the accuracy, correctness, or completeness of any information on the Site and are not responsible for (i) any errors or omissions arising from the use of such information; (ii) any failures, delays, or interruptions in the delivery of any content or services contained within the Site; or (iii) losses or damages arising from the use of the content or services provided by the Site. f) vBuddy is not responsible for the delivery of any goods or services sold or advertised through its sponsors, advertisers or its members' commercial home pages or affiliate program pages. g) vBuddy makes available certain information provided by third parties related to various professional fields such as medicine, law, and accounting. vBuddy does not give advice in any such fields and in no way endorses any of the information provided in this manner. If you intend to use any such information, you should carefully re-read capitalized words set forth above, as they will have special importance for you. All information made available through the Site is made available subject to these Terms of Service, including this Section X. vBuddy STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT YOU SEEK ADVICE FROM A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL REGARDING ISSUES IN ANY PROFESSIONAL FIELD. IX. Indemnity and Release Each Member agrees to indemnify vBuddy and any third-party content provider against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising from the Member's use of the Site. This includes, without limitation: (i) Member's responsibility for any and all liability arising from the violation or infringement of proprietary rights, copyrights, trademarks, or servicemarks and (ii) Member's responsibility for any and all liability arising from any libelous or unlawful material contained within Member Pages, resumes, profiles, or postings. By using the Site you are hereby agreeing to release vBuddy and its affiliates, officers, and employees from any and all claims, demands, debts, obligations, damages (actual or consequential), costs, and expenses of any kind or nature whatsoever, whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, that you may have against them arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or to our products and services. You hereby agree to waive all laws that may limit the efficacy of such releases. X. Choice of Law This Agreement shall be constructed and controlled by the laws of the Commonwealth of California, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising hereunder will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of California. Each Member agrees to personal jurisdiction by tile state and federal courts of the Commonwealth of California. XI. Merger Clause These Terms of Service constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter contained herein and supersedes any other agreement, proposals and communications, written or oral, between vBuddy representatives and each Member with respect to the subject matter hereof. vBuddy may amend these Terms of Service at any time without notice. We hope your enjoyment of vBuddy's services and content will be enhanced by the application of the Terms of Service outlined in this document. It is our belief that you understanding of the guidelines that we have sent forth will allow the vBuddy community to continue to be a place where each of us can prosper, grow, and enjoy ourselves within an open and non-threatening environment. Thank you for taking the time to read the vBuddy Terms of Service and we hope you enjoy our services. |