PetitionHost - Terms of Service

PETITIONHOST.COM TERMS OF SERVICE Last Revised October 31, 2007
PetitionHost is a free service of Boardhost.com, Inc. This agreement governs your access to and use of Boardhost.com, Inc.’s ("Boardhost" or "we") PetitionHost service's facilities, petitions, message boards, and services (collectively the "Service"). In consideration for your right to use the Service, you agree as follows:
SERVICE PROVIDED
Boardhost.com, Inc. provides tools to create and maintain an online petition and/or message boards, and access to administrative functions for petitions and message boards to the user, who is at least eighteen (18) years old, or is a minor over the age of thirteen (13) who has parental permission. Service is provided "as is." There may, among other things, be unexpected downtimes, loss of data, or interruptions of service. BOARDHOST SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES YOU MAY SUFFER AS A RESULT OF SUCH SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS OR DATA LOSSES, OR OTHERWISE AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOSS OF BUSINESS.
Boardhost is not obligated to monitor the Service, but may do so and may remove or edit any message or signature or adjust the settings of your account and/or petitions and message boards. Messages or content that Boardhost may, in its sole discretion, elect to remove or edit include without limitation those which violate the "Content Restrictions" enumerated herein.
You will be subscribed to our "PetitionHost Updates" newsletter, which ordinarily will provide notice of account changes, scheduled downtimes, or new features. You may opt out of receiving "PetitionHost Updates," by configuring your account in the account management area.
You agree that Boardhost will place advertisements on your petition and message board and throughout the service in exchange for the service provided. It is Boardhost's sole discretion as to how many advertisements appear, and the form of these advertisements. You agree not to interfere with the placement or display of such advertisements. You agree to place no additional advertisements or revenue generating links anywhere on your petition and/or message board.
You agree to monitor your petition, checking at least once per day for, and removing, any content that violates these terms. Unmonitored petitions and message boards are not allowed.
CONTENT RESTRICTIONS
The following content is not allowed to appear on your petition or message board:

Racism

Hatred

Harassment

Adult content

Obscene material

Nudity or pornography

Material that infringes intellectual property or other proprietary rights of any party

Material the posting of which is tortious or violates a contractual or fiduciary obligation you or we owe to another party

Piracy, hacking, viruses, worms, or warez

Any illegal content

Commercial Banner advertisements or revenue generating links (other than those which we have placed on your petition or message board)

Any link to or any image from a site containing any material outlined in these restrictions

Any material deemed offensive or inappropriate by Boardhost, in its sole discretion, after you have been informed that Boardhost so deems the material (you agree that Boardhost may remove such material or direct you to remove it without prior notice, however)

In addition, you may not use our services if your website contains any content outlined in this section.

NO UNSOLICITED E-MAIL
Individuals or organizations that promote or use spamming (unsolicited bulk e-mail) or methods thereof are not allowed to create or use PetitionHost petitions or message boards. Any reported incident of spamming, or any form of unsolicited e-mail or newsgroup posting that includes a link to or references to your petition or message board, may result in IMMEDIATE termination of your account, and a ban from registering for any Boardhost services. You may not directly solicit new visitors to your petition by any means of e-mail communication.
TERMINATION
Boardhost reserves the right to remove your petition and message board and account access, without warning, for any reason at its sole discretion.
Acts or failures to act for which Boardhost ordinarily will terminate an account include without limitation the following:

Inactivity for a period of more than 30 days.

(Inactivity is defined as a period when no one signs your petition.)

Failure to maintain an accurate e-mail address with Boardhost.

Any attempt to defeat, disrupt, or degrade our advertisements.

Infringing, or tolerating infringement by those who sign or leave messages to your petition or message board of, the intellectual property or other rights of third-parties or Boardhost.

Significant or repeat violations of any provision of these terms.

MODIFICATION
Boardhost reserves the right to modify these terms of service at any time. You agree to review these terms of service regularly, and, at a minimum, to review these terms of service at least once every 15 days. Failure to close your account within twenty-five (25) days of any such changes constitutes your acceptance of the new agreement. Boardhost may also, at its sole discretion, attempt to notify you by e-mail, via PetitionHost Updates, or otherwise, of such changes. If Boardhost notifies you by e-mail, your failure to close your account within ten (10) days of such notification constitutes your acceptance of the new agreement. Boardhost shall not be responsible for your failure to receive e-mail notices that we have sent.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. BOARDHOST EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER IMPLIED OR EXPRESS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM BOARDHOST (INCLUDING ITS CONTRACTORS, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS AND AFFILIATES) OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS OF SERVICE.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT PERMIT DISCLAIMERS OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS HEREIN MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
WAIVER OF DAMAGES
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:
NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING ELSE IN THESE TERMS OF SERVICE OR OTHERWISE, BOARDHOST SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS, GOODWILL, DATA, OR OTHER LOSSES (EVEN IF BOARDHOST HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT PERMIT EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE LIMITATIONS HEREIN MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Boardhost and its contractors, agents, employees, officers, directors, shareholders, and affiliates from any losses, damages or costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, resulting from any claim or demand arising out of or related to your (including your agents, affiliates or anyone using your petition or message board, whether or not on your behalf, and whether or not with your permission) use of the Service, including without limitation claims arising out of or related to your violation of these terms of service, or your violation of the rights of another person. Should Boardhost be notified of a pending legal action, or receive notice of the filing of a legal action, Boardhost may seek written confirmation from you concerning your obligation to indemnify Boardhost, and you agree to provide such confirmation promptly.
GENERAL TERMS
You agree to take all reasonable steps to ensure that those who sign or post ("Posters") to your petition or message board are at least thirteen (13) years of age, including without limitation informing any Poster to your petition or message board that you learn or believe is younger than thirteen (13) that they may no longer sign or post to your petition or message board and deleting any posts or signatures made by that person.
You agree that Boardhost may preserve content and membership information and may release any or all preserved content or membership information to governmental agencies, courts, or other third-parties if we believe, in our sole discretion, that you have or may have committed illegal activities, violated these terms of service, violated the rights of third-parties, impaired in any respect the ability of Boardhost to operate the Service properly, or endangered in any respect Boardhost or third-parties, or in the event that the information is subpoenaed or subject to other judicial or administrative process.
Boardhost does not claim ownership of content you or third-parties post to your petition or message board. With respect to content that you post or make available through your petition or message board, however, without limiting any other rights these terms of service afford to Boardhost, you grant Boardhost a world-wide, perpetual, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform, and publicly display such content for the purpose of providing and promoting the Service.
You agree to, at all times, maintain information reasonably sufficient to permit viewers of your petition to contact you, at a minimum, including an e-mail address on your petition. This information should be made available in the "Petition Author" section available by logging in to your account.
You agree that your petition and its content may be in the English language only.
You acknowledge and agree that the Service and any necessary software used in connection with the Service ("Software") contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. You further acknowledge and agree that content contained in sponsor advertisements or information presented on your petition or message board is protected by intellectual property or other proprietary rights and laws.
Notices to you may be made via either e-mail or regular mail. Boardhost may also provide notices of changes to these terms of service or other matters by displaying notices or links to notices to you generally on the PetitionHost website or on the Service.
Boardhost shall have the sole discretion as to what constitutes a violation of any of these terms of service.
You may not sell or resell the Service or otherwise charge or receive any fees in connection with the Service.
You may not assign or otherwise transfer this agreement without Boardhost's explicit written permission, and subject to any requirements or restrictions on which Boardhost may condition such permission.
This agreement creates no third-party beneficiaries.
You warrant that all information you supplied to Boardhost during the account creation process is true and accurate to the best of your knowledge. You agree promptly to notify Boardhost of any changes to this information.
CHOICE OF LAW AND FORUM
The Boardhost Terms of Service shall be governed by the laws of the State of Iowa, USA, exclusive of choice-of-law principles. You hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Iowa, USA in any and all disputes arising out of, or related to, your use of Boardhost's services.
SEVERABILITY
If any condition in these terms of service is found unenforceable, Boardhost reserves the right to modify the condition to comply with the law. All remaining conditions shall remain valid and enforceable.
ENTIRE AGREEMENT
These terms of service contain the entire agreement of the parties and there are no other promises or conditions in any other agreement whether oral or written. These terms of service supersede any prior written or oral agreements between the parties.
NO WAIVER
Boardhost’s failure at any time to enforce any provision of these terms of service shall not constitute a waiver or limitation of Boardhost’s right subsequently to enforce every provision of the terms of service.
CHECKING THE "I HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THE PETITIONHOST TERMS OF SERVICE" BOX ON THE ACCOUNT CREATION PAGE, OR CREATION AND/OR USE OF YOUR PETITION HOST PETITION AND/OR THE PETITIONHOST ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT AREA CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS OF SERVICE.