PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE
These Terms of Use describe the terms and conditions under which you, the user,
are granted the right to use the websites operated by GateHouse Media, Inc.
(“GateHouse”) and certain of GateHouse’s subsidiaries, including this website
(the “Website” or “Websites”).
USER AGREEMENT
BY USING THIS WEBSITE YOU REPRESENT YOU ARE OF LEGAL AGE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND
BY THESE TERMS OF USE, AND ANY SUBSEQUENT MODIFICATIONS, AND THE OTHER POLICIES
POSTED ON THE WEBSITE. Your use of this Website is contingent on the foregoing
agreement, and if you do not agree, you must cease using the Website. Your
electronic acceptance of these Terms of Use and other posted policies through
your use of this Website shall have the same force and effect as if you had
actually signed an agreement embodying these terms. GateHouse may change these
Terms of Use at any time by posting changes on this page of the Website. It is
your responsibility to review these Terms of Use prior to each use of the
Website. By continuing to use the Website, you agree to any such changes.
WEBSITE AND CONTENT
Website Availability
We may change, suspend or discontinue availability of any aspect of the Website
at any time. We may also impose limits, registration requirements or fees on
certain features or services or restrict your access to parts or the entire
Website without notice or liability.
In addition, the Website contains links to other Internet sites, resources, and
sponsors or advertisers on the Website. We are not responsible for the
availability of these outside resources, or their contents, and accordingly,
you should direct any concerns regarding any link or other website to the site
administrator or webmaster of such site.
Copyright
All content on the Website is protected by copyright, and owned or controlled
by GateHouse, or the party accredited as the owner or provider of the content.
You must abide by all copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained
in any content accessed through the Website.
Personal Non-Commercial Use
This Website is for your personal and noncommercial use only. This Website uses
the Creative Commons licensing standards (www.creativecommons.org). By using
this Website, you agree to be bound by the Creative Commons license associated
with this Website. The terms of the license are available through a link
located at the bottom of each page of the Website. You may download or copy the
content on this Website for personal use, but only if you preserve and display
all copyright and other notices relating to that content. Any other use of the
content is prohibited without prior written permission from GateHouse (see
Contact Us at the end of these Terms of Use), or the copyright owner identified
in the copyright notice in the content.
Links/Advertisements/Search Engines
The Website may link to other sites operated by third parties. The inclusion of
any link to such sites does not imply endorsement or recommendation by the
Website, or by GateHouse or its affiliates of these sites, but is for your
reference and convenience only. We are not responsible for the content or
accuracy of any off-site pages or any other sites linked to the Website.
Linking to any other off-site pages or other sites is at your own risk and
subject to the terms and conditions of use of those sites.
The Website also contains advertisements by third parties. Unless otherwise
specifically stated on the Website, we do not endorse or make any
representation or recommendation regarding the quality, or accuracy of any
products or services featured in, or linked to any advertisement that appears
on the Website.
Unless otherwise prohibited under these Terms of Use, you are permitted to create
hyperlinks to the content on the Website (including “deep linking” to articles
or pages within site), provided that (1) the hyperlink text accurately
describes the content as it appears on the Website, (2) no “scraping” of the
content by any means (i.e., extracting content from the Website and
reformatting it, aggregating it with other content or redistributing it other
than in its complete originally displayed format), (3) under no circumstances
may you "frame" the Website or any of its content or copy portions of
the Website to a server, except as part of an Internet service provider's
incidental caching of pages and (4) each page within the Website must be
displayed in full (including all trademarks, branding, advertising and
promotional materials), unaltered without any accompanying frame, border,
margin, design, branding, trademark, advertising or promotional materials not
originally displayed on the page within the Website. We reserve the right at
any time in our sole discretion to revoke this permission generally, or your
right to use specific links. If you have any questions regarding these linking
policies you may contact us, or if you wish to link in a manner not authorized
in these Terms of Use, you must get our prior written permission (see Contact
Us below).
Search engines and indexing agents are required to obey the Robots.txt file
relating to the Website and its contents.
Commercial Transactions
Certain portions of the Website may act as a venue to allow anyone to offer,
sell, and buy items from one other. However, the Website is not a store or
"e-commerce" provider, and it is the SOLE RESPONSIBILITY of users to
complete transactions. The Website has no control over the quality, safety or
legality of the items advertised, the truth or accuracy of the posts, the
ability of sellers to sell items or the ability of buyers to pay for items. We
cannot ensure that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction, and
we do not transfer legal ownership of items.
No Representations or Warranties
GateHouse and its affiliates make no representations or warranties as to the
validity, truthfulness, accuracy or legality of any content on the Website,
including without limitation any content submitted by any user (see Legal Terms
below).
USER CREATED CONTENT
Submissions
You must be at least 13 years old to contribute content to this Website.
By submitting any material (text, photos, videos or other content) to GateHouse
either through the Website or physical delivery, you agree to be bound by these
Terms of Use, and to the terms of the Website’s Creative Commons license as to
other users of the Website. The Creative Commons license terms are available
through the link in the footer of the Website and may be updated at any time.
It is your responsibility to review and understand these terms at the time of
your submission. Under this Creative Commons license, you retain copyright
ownership, but agree to free, non-commercial redistribution and use of your
content by other users, and to the license to GateHouse and its affiliates as
described below.
Through your submission of any materials of any kind (whether text, photos,
video or other content), you grant to GateHouse and its affiliates the
irrevocable, nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, transferable
and sub licensable right and license to host, index, cache, tag, encode, use,
copy, modify, adapt, transmit, excerpt, remove, publish, distribute, publicly
display and perform, and create derivative works of, in each case in any media
now or hereafter known and in any manner for any non-commercial or commercial
purpose (collectively “Use”) the content submitted by you with no monetary
compensation at any time. By making any submission, you waive any moral rights
you may have if the materials are changed in a manner not agreeable to you.
GateHouse has no obligation to provide attribution for any content you post. If
you do not agree to these terms, do not submit any content.
Nothing in these Terms of Use prohibits you from redistributing or selling your
original content to other parties.
You are solely responsible for all content that you post, email or otherwise
make available through the Website. For all content provided by you, you agree
to indemnify GateHouse Media and its affiliates as provided in Legal Terms
below.
Content Submission Rules and Restrictions
By submitting any content, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either own
the content or have all necessary rights to use and submit it; (ii) all
information you provide is true, accurate and complete, and does not violate
these Terms of Use or the terms of any third party license; and, (iii) the
content will not cause injury, embarrassment or harm to any person or entity.
You agree to obtain written consent from any
persons shown in any photo or video you post on the Website. You further agree to obtain all
necessary consents from persons identified in or implicated by your
submission. If a minor is
identified in a photo or video you submit on the Website, you must obtain
consent from the minor’s parent or legal guardian, as appropriate.
You agree not to submit any content in any interactive areas including forums,
chat rooms, discussion boards, emails or otherwise that:
• is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, grossly inflammatory, false,
misleading, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair or otherwise illegal; contains
photographs or illustrations in poor taste;
• is threatening, abusive or disruptive to other users (including without
limitation repetitive, meaningless messages, personal attacks, content
constituting spam, etc.)
• abuses or discriminates on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender,
sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, etc. , or refers to such
matters in any manner prohibited by law;
• infringes any party’s intellectual property rights, including without
limitation copyrights and trademarks;
• impersonates another person or misquotes another person;
• violates or inappropriately encourages the violation of any municipal, state,
federal or international law, rule, regulation or ordinance or violates any
party’s rights; or
• offers, promotes or advertises any goods or services or solicits any funds or
consideration, except in areas of the Website specifically designated for such
purpose
violates any right of the Website or any third party.
In addition, you agree not to contact any users of the Website (including
through off-line communication) for the purpose of threatening, harassing or
abusing them due to their content submissions on the Website.
You are solely responsible for the content you submit. GateHouse does not and
cannot review every submission made and is not responsible for the content of
any submissions. However, content that is deemed inappropriate or in violation
of these Terms of Use, in GateHouse’s sole discretion, will be removed from
public view. You may contact us if you disagree with any removal (see Contact
Us below); however, all decisions regarding content and compliance with these
Terms of Use will be determined by GateHouse in its sole discretion. If you
disagree with these conditions, do not submit any content.
Classified Advertising
You agree that any classified advertisement you submit for publication on the Website (the “classified ad”) becomes the property of GateHouse. By submitting the classified ad, you assign all ownership interest in the classified ad as it appears on the Website to GateHouse under copyright law or otherwise. You understand that submission of a classified ad to GateHouse does not constitute a commitment by GateHouse to publish the classified ad on the Website and that publication of the classified ad does not constitute an agreement for continued publication of the classified ad on the Website. We will accept only standard abbreviations and require proper punctuation in the classified ad. GateHouse reserves the right to edit, reclassify, revise, reject or cancel any classified ad at any time, in our sole discretion, Rates and specification for classified ads are subject to change at any time without notice.
Real Estate Advertising
It is illegal under The Federal Fair Housing
Act (“FHA”) to advertise “any preference, limitation, or discrimination because
of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin,
or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination. In addition to the federal
guidelines, state laws may also prohibit discrimination based on specific
factors. GateHouse will not
knowingly accept any real estate advertisements in violation of state or
federal laws. All persons are
hereby informed that all dwellings advertised on the Website are available on
an equal opportunity basis.
Identity and Privacy
You must use a consistent handle or account name for any submissions you make,
and you may not submit content under another person’s name. If you are an
elected official, you must submit content identifying yourself as such when
posting about a political issue. “Sock puppets” are not permitted (i.e., using
a fake or alternate identity to post content for a deceptive purpose, such as
without limitation, praising a person or company without disclosing an
underlying affiliation with that person or company).
We reserve the right to include your real name on your internet postings if
required through registration or otherwise provided to us, or when republishing
your material in a printed edition of one of our publications.
GateHouse does not warrant or claim to have verified the identity of any user.
There may be users who participate under a false identity.
For information on our privacy policies regarding personal information gathered
on the Website, please see our Privacy Policy link at the bottom of the page.
Real-world Meetings
The Website offers some social networking opportunities, including enabling
users to create profiles that are designed to allow individuals to meet each
other for any purpose. In addition, any posting to the Website will be publicly
viewable, and your identity may be discovered by other users. We cannot vouch
for the safety of offline meetings of individuals you meet through the Website,
and such meetings are held at your sole risk and liability. Furthermore, you
are advised to be careful not to accidentally divulge personally identifying
information about yourself, including but not limited to your telephone
number(s), street addresses, URLs or email addresses publicly on the Website.
If you do provide this information on the Website or to a third party who you
met through the Website, it is at your sole risk. In addition, if you choose to
submit content to the Website in an area that requires that your real identity
be disclosed, you do so at your sole risk and liability.
WEBSITE REGISTRATION
Registration
Some areas of the Website may require registration in order to gain access or
submit content. You may not create more than one account unless expressly
permitted in the registration rules. If you create multiple accounts, you are
prohibited from creating the appearance that multiple accounts controlled by
you are in fact all different individuals.
It is your responsibility to maintain the
confidentiality of your password, if one is established. You are entirely
responsible for any and all activities that occur on this Website under your account,
and you agree to notify GateHouse immediately of any known or suspected
unauthorized use of your account, including loss, theft or unauthorized disclosure of your password..
Termination
You agree that at our sole discretion, and in our sole judgment, we or our
agent may terminate your account at any time with or without cause.
Termination for cause may include, but is not limited to:
Violations of these Terms of Use
Violations of other posted rules
of conduct
Violations of law or intellectual
property rights
Harassment or belittling conduct toward individuals, companies or other third
parties
An expression of your unwillingness to abide by these terms and conditions or
other clearly posted site rules
Failure to abide by the instructions for guidelines of forum moderators,
editors or other authorized members of the community to provide such
moderation.
Failure to provide real, verifiable information about your true identity where
requested or instructed
Termination of a user’s account may include any of the following actions:
A complete deletion (non
recoverable) from all files, databases and any and all storage mechanism of the
user’s files, uploads, content, and personally identifiable information. In
such a case, neither GateHouse nor its affiliates, partners or vendors have any
obligation to retrieve or restore deleted data, or otherwise make good in any
fashion the loss of such data.
User data, including without
limitation submitted content, errant code or personal information, may also be
hidden from public view, but not destroyed. In such a case, neither GateHouse
nor its affiliates, partners or vendors are under any obligation to retrieve or
restore such data.
Users who are terminated are prohibited from creating new accounts without prior
written consent of GateHouse. Users who are terminated for cause may apply for
a new account after more than 30 days has passed, and GateHouse will determine
in its sole discretion whether to reinstate. Users may also appeal account
termination by writing to:
Webmaster/Online Participation
GateHouse Media
350 WillowBrook Office Park
Fairport, NY 14450
When applying for a new account, or appealing a termination decision, please
include print outs of all relevant data, e-mails, postings, including the
domain name where the primary account was held and the date the account was
terminated. Once your termination is under review, all subsequent communication
will be through e-mail, so please be sure to include a current and working
e-mail address with your letter. You acknowledge and agree that GateHouse will
make the final determination in its sole discretion as to any terminated
account, or re-application for a new account after termination and that this
represents your sole and exclusive remedy for any terminated account.
LEGAL TERMS
No Representations or Warranties as to Website
THE WEBSITE AND ALL CONTENT PROVIDED BY GATEHOUSE OR ITS AFFILIATES, OR ITS
THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS IS DISTRIBUTED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. GATEHOUSE
AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT OPERATION OF THE
WEBSITE (OR SERVICES OR PRODUCTS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE) WILL BE
UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE AND DO NOT PROVIDE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE USE,
SUFFICIENCY OR ACCURACY OF ANY CONTENT. ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS,
INDEMNITIES AND GUARANTEES AS TO PRODUCTS AND SERVICES PROVIDED BY GATEHOUSE
AND ITS AFFILIATES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ARISING BY LAW, CUSTOM, PRIOR
ORAL OR WRITTEN STATEMENTS BY GATEHOUSE, ITS AFFILIATES, ITS AGENTS OR OTHERWISE
(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, TITLE OR
NON-INFRINGEMENT) ARE HEREBY OVERRIDDEN, EXCLUDED AND DISCLAIMED.
Limitation of Liability
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL GATEHOUSE OR ITS AFFILIATES (OR THEIR DIRECTORS,
EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PERSON FOR ANY
CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, OR LOST
PROFITS OR LOST DATA, WHETHER FORESEEABLE OR UNFORESEEABLE, ARISING FROM YOUR
USE OF THE WEBSITE, ANY APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE, OR ANY OF
THE WEBSITE CONTENT OR OTHER MATERIALS ON, ACCESSED THROUGH OR DOWNLOADED FROM
THE WEBSITE. IN ADDITION, AND NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY
CONTAINED HEREIN, GATEHOUSE AND ITS AFFILIATES’ LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE
WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE
LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY YOU FOR THE WEBSITE PRODUCT OR SERVICE
ACCESSED BY YOU, BUT IN NO CASE WILL SUCH LIABILITY TO YOU EXCEED $1000. YOU
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF NO FEES ARE PAID BY YOU FOR THE WEBSITE, YOU SHALL BE
LIMITED TO INJUNCTIVE RELIEF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE PERMITTED BY LAW, AND SHALL
NOT BE ENTITLED TO DAMAGES OF ANY KIND FROM GATEHOUSE OR ITS AFFILIATES,
REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION.
CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE
EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR
ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU,
AND YOU MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.
Indemnity
You agree at your expense to indemnify and hold harmless, GateHouse and its
affiliates and each of their respective partners, suppliers, licensors,
officers, directors, shareholders, employees, representatives, contractors and
agents, from any and all claims, suits, actions and investigations, and any
costs, expenses, liabilities or damages therefrom (including attorneys' fees
and court costs) arising from or relating to any allegation regarding: (a) your
use of the Website; (b) the Website’s or GateHouse or its affiliates’ use of
any content or information you provide, as long as our use is not inconsistent
with these Terms of Use; (c) information or material posted or transmitted through
your registration account or user ID, even if not posted by you; and, (d) any
violation of these Terms of Use by you (collectively “Claims”).
GateHouse reserves the right to select counsel and conduct the defense or
settlement of any such Claim, which shall not relieve you of your obligation to
indemnify as provided above.
Governing Law and Venue.
The agreement regarding these Terms of Use has been made in and shall be
construed and enforced in accordance with New York law, without regard to its
principles of the conflicts of law. Any action to enforce this agreement shall
be brought in the federal or state courts located in New York City, and you
hereby waive any objections to such action. Any cause of action you may have
with respect to the Website or these Terms of Use must be commenced within one
year after the claim or cause of action arises or such claim or cause of action
is barred.
Severability; Waiver.
If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid by any court
having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not
affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use, which
shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of these Terms of Use shall be
deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other
term or condition.
Copyright Violations.
Users are prohibited from uploading, posting or otherwise transmitting on the
Website any materials that violate another party's intellectual property
rights. When we receive proper notification of alleged copyright infringement,
we promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material and
terminate the accounts of repeat infringers in accordance with the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act. If you believe that any material on the Website
infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, please notify us at
copyrights@gatehousemedia.com. (Please direct all general questions to webmaster@gatehousemedia.com).
Informational Purposes
The information on the Website is provided
solely for informational purposes , and does not constitute professional
advice. You should not rely on
this Website except as an informational resource.
CONTACT US
General Questions:
If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, please contact us in one of
the following ways:
E-mail us at: webmaster@gatehousemedia.com and insert only the words “Re: Terms
of Use” in the subject line header of the email.
Write to us at:
Webmaster
GateHouse Media, Inc.
350 WillowBrook Office Park
Fairport, NY 14450
Call us at: (585) 598-0030 and ask for the GateHouse webmaster
Copyright violations
E-mail us at: copyrights@gatehousemedia.com and insert only the words “Re:
Copyright Violation” in the subject line header of the email.
Last revised March 2011