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Terms Of Use
 

Terms of Use

AGREEMENT BETWEEN USER AND POETS.COM

Welcome to Poets.com (previously known as The Poets’ Workshop).

This Agreement sets out the Terms of your use of this Website and your membership in Poets.com’s community. This Agreement may be modified from time to time. This Agreement includes Poets.com’s  Acceptable Use Policy for content published by you on the Website. By using this Website you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use.

You acknowledge that you are an adult user of the Service or that you are the parent or guardian for any minor whom you allow to access the Service, for whom you will be held responsible. Your use of the Service indicates that you are bound by this Agreement with us. This Agreement will remain in effect while you use the Service and/or are a Member. You may terminate your membership at any time, for any reason. We may also terminate your membership for any reason.

During the registration process we will ask you to create a username and password. Because any activities that occur under your username and password are your responsibility it is important for you to keep your password secure. Notify us immediately if you believe that someone has used your password without your authorization.

MODIFICATION OF THESE TERMS OF USE

Poets.com reserves the right to change the Terms, Conditions, and Notices under which the Poets.com website is offered, including but not limited to the charges associated with the use of the Poets.com website.

POETS.COM MEMBER BILL OF RIGHTS

The following is a brief overview of the Terms of Use.  Please refer to all specific rules, policies, and information provided within the entire Terms.

  • Poets.com members have the right to post original expressions and works of poetry and Poets.com will honor and protect your copyright within the site.
  • Poets.com members have the right and freedom to express their thoughts and opinions throughout the community as long as they respect others. Poets.com will use all reasonable efforts to prevent the abuse of the Communication Services provided.
  • Poets.com members have the opportunity to be reviewed and critiqued by other members in order to improve their craft. Poets.com will provide services that allow for the review process to take place in both an objective and subjective process, thus allowing the members to improve upon their craft.
  • Poets.com members are given the freedom and right to participate with honest reviews and opinion of other member's works, participate in open forums of discussion, and express their emotions. Poets.com will use its best efforts to remove those members that abuse, harass, or otherwise degrade the community through misuse of these Communication Services.
  • Poets.com members can expect their personal information and submitted work to be kept in a reasonably secure system. Poets.com will use its best efforts to allow access to only that information that the member grants permission (opt-in).

 

LINKS TO THIRD PARTY SITES

The Poets.com website may contain links to other websites ("Linked Sites"). The Linked Sites are not under the control of Poets.com and Poets.com is not responsible for the contents of any Linked Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Linked Site, or any changes or updates to a Linked Site. Poets.com is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any Linked Site. Poets.com is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Poets.com of the site or any association with its operators.

NO UNLAWFUL OR PROHIBITED USE

As a condition of your use of the Poets.com website, you warrant to Poets.com that you will not use the Poets.com website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms, Conditions, and Notices. You may not use the Poets.com website in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Poets.com website or interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of the Poets.com website. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the Poets.com websites.
 

USE OF COMMUNICATION SERVICES

The Poets.com website may contain bulletin board services, chat areas, news groups, forums, communities, personal web pages, poetry reviews, biographical information, photographs, profiles, poetry, calendars, and/or other message or communication facilities designed to enable you to communicate with the public at large or with a group (collectively, "Communication Services"). You agree to use the Communication Services only to post, send, and receive messages and material that are proper and related to the particular Communication Service. Our members are required to communicate responsibly, as they would act responsibly when communicating or interacting with others in their offline communities. As a result, we expect and require that our members take full responsibility for the content that they post or send through the Website. We also wish to remind you that you should choose carefully which information you post on the Website and that you provide to other members. Do not share any information that could endanger you. By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using a Communication Service, you will not:

  • Plagiarize the works of others.  All material posted will be original.
  • Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others. This includes the posting of identifying or contact information of others without their consent.
  • Use the site to solicit donations or contributions from site members.
  • Discuss or publicize legal matters (divorce, child custody, etc.). Expression of emotions pertaining to the cases and situations is allowable; however, actual specifics (settlements, evidence) will be immediately removed from the site, as well as any strong or explicit language used to attack one side of the legal dispute.
  • Publish, post, upload, distribute or disseminate any inappropriate, profane, defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent or unlawful topic, name, material or information.
  • Upload files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by rights of privacy of publicity) unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents.
  • Upload files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another's computer.
  • Advertise or offer to sell or buy any goods or services for any business purpose, unless such Communication Service specifically allows such messages.
  • Conduct or forward surveys, contests, pyramid schemes or chain letters.
  • Download any file posted by another user of a Communication Service that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner.
  • Falsify or delete any author attributions, legal or other proper notices or proprietary designations or labels of the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded.
  • Restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Communication Services.
  • Violate any code of conduct or other guidelines, which may be applicable for any particular Communication Service.
  • Harvest or otherwise collect information about others, including e-mail addresses, without their consent.
  • Violate any applicable laws or regulations.
  • Provide any content that encourages a criminal offense or violates the rights of any party.
  • Impersonate anyone else or misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.

 

We have established some Community Guidelines that we hope will increase your awareness of your responsibilities to others when using the Communication Process. The following Community Guidelines and Acceptable Use Policy apply to and govern your use of this Website:

Community Guidelines and Acceptable Use

  • Please contribute responsibly when reviewing other Members’ poetry. Remember poets on this site are amateur poets, not professionals. They share a common love of poetry, are trying to hone their skills, and wish to receive honest and respectful feedback on how to improve their poetic efforts.
  • Please treat others in the community with respect.
  • Please tell us if you come across content that you find offensive, possibly unlawful, or that you believe otherwise violates these Community Guidelines.

 

Poets.com has no obligation to monitor the Communication Services. However, Poets.com reserves the right to review materials posted to a Communication Service and to remove any materials in its sole discretion. Poets.com reserves the right to terminate your access to any or all of the Communication Services at any time without notice for any reason whatsoever.

Poets.com reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, in Poets.com's sole discretion.

Always use caution when giving out any personally identifying information about yourself and your family, including your children, in any Communication Service. Poets.com does not control or endorse the content, messages or information found in any Communication Service and, therefore, Poets.com specifically disclaims any liability with regard to the Communication Services and any actions resulting from your participation in any Communication Service. Managers and hosts are not authorized Poets.com spokespersons, and their views do not necessarily reflect those of Poets.com.

Materials uploaded to a Communication Service may be subject to posted limitations on usage, reproduction and/or dissemination. You are responsible for adhering to such limitations if you download the materials.

SUBSCRIPTION

Subscription membership in the Service is on a Continuous Service basis. This means that once you have become a subscribing member, your subscription will be automatically renewed and your credit card will be charged based on the subscription program (annual, quarterly, monthly, etc.) you have chosen. You may cancel your subscription at any time. Cancellations go into effect immediately; they do not occur at the end of your membership term.

COPYRIGHTS

By submitting poetry, reviews of poetry, biographical information, photos, and other content, contributors are certifying that these works are of their own original creation and do not violate any copyrights. By submitting material to the Poets.com website, you agree that we may display, modify (for appearance, not for content), transmit, distribute or delete your posting. We may remove content at any time at our sole discretion. Individuals who submit their poetry, reviews and other content or photos to us retain their copyrights, but grant to us the right to reproduce the submitted material on this Website.

MATERIALS PROVIDED TO POETS.COM OR POSTED AT POETS.COM

Poets.com does not claim ownership of the materials you provide (including feedback and suggestions) or post, upload, input or submit to any Poets.com website or its associated services (collectively "Submissions"). However, by posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting your Submission you are granting Poets.com permission to use your Submission in connection with the operation of this Website, including, without limitation, the rights to publicly display, translate and reformat your Submission for display, and to publish your username or name in connection with your Submission.

No compensation will be paid with respect to the use of your Submission, as provided herein (for display on this Website). Poets.com is under no obligation to post or use any Submission you may provide and may remove any Submission at any time in Poets.com's sole discretion.

By posting, uploading, inputting, providing or submitting your Submission you warrant and represent that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to your Submission as described in this section including, without limitation, all the rights necessary for you to provide, post, upload, input or submit the Submissions.

LIABILITY DISCLAIMER

The information, software, products, and services included in or available through the Poets.com website may include inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. Poets.com and/or its suppliers may make improvements and/or changes to the Poets.com website at any time. Advice received via the Poets.com website should not be relied upon for personal, medical, legal, or financial decisions and you should consult an appropriate professional for specific advice tailored to your situation.

Poets.com and/or its suppliers make no representations about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, and accuracy of the information, software, products, services, and related graphics contained on the Poets.com website for any purpose. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, all such information, software, products, services, and related graphics are provided “as is” without warranty or condition of any kind. Poets.com and/or its suppliers hereby disclaim all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, software, products, services, and related graphics, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall Poets.com and/or its suppliers be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever including without limitation, damages for loss of use, data or profits, arising out of or in any way connected with the use or performance of the Poets.com website, with the delay or inability to use the Poets.com website or related services, the provision of or failure to provide services, or for any information, software, products, services, and related graphics obtained through the Poets.com website, or otherwise arising out of the use of the Poets.com website, whether based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability or otherwise, even if Poets.com or any of its suppliers has been advised or any of its suppliers has been advised of the possibility of damages. Because some states/jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you. If you are dissatisfied with any portion of the Poets.com website, or with any of these terms of use, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Poets.com website.

SERVICE CONTACT: beta@poets.com

TERMINATION/ACCESS RESTRICTION

Poets.com reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to the Poets.com website and the related services or any portion thereof at any time, without notice. GENERAL: To the maximum extent permitted by law, this agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, U.S.A. and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of courts in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S.A. in all disputes arising out of or relating to the use of the Poets.com Website. Use of the Poets.com website is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of these terms and conditions, including without limitation this paragraph. You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Poets.com as a result of this agreement or use of the Poets.com Website. Poets.com's performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process, and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of Poets.com's right to comply with governmental, court and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Poets.com website or information provided to or gathered by Poets.com with respect to such use. If any part of this agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the agreement shall continue in effect. Unless otherwise specified herein, this agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the user and Poets.com with respect to the Poets.com Website and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between the user and Poets.com with respect to the Poets.com Website. A printed version of this agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form. It is the express wish to the parties that this agreement and all related documents be drawn up in English.

COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK NOTICES:

By submitting poetry, reviews of poetry, biographical information, photos, and other content, contributors are certifying that these works are of their own original creation and do not violate any copyrights. By submitting material to Poets.com, you agree that we may display, modify (for appearance, not for content), or delete your posting. We may remove content at any time at our sole discretion. Individuals who submit their poetry, reviews and other content or photos to us retain their copyrights, but grant to us the right to display the submitted material on this Website.

All contents of the Poets.com website are Copyright 2006 by Poets.com and/or its suppliers. All rights reserved.

NOTICES AND PROCEDURE FOR MAKING CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

Pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2), notifications of claimed copyright infringement under United States copyright law should be sent Certified mail, return receipt requested to Poets.com, 3600 Crondall Lane, Suite 100, Owings Mills, MD 21117, ATTN: COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT. All claims sent will be immediately investigated. Any claim not sent in this manner will be ignored due to the enormous traffic of messages received on other topics.
 
   
     
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