Gay.com User Agreement
Online Partners, Inc. ("Online Partners") currently provides online information, entertainment and communication services on the Web site, Gay.com, located on the Internet at www.gay.com ("the Site"). BY USING AND/OR REGISTERING TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SITE, YOU ARE STATING THAT YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS GAY.COM USER AGREEMENT (THE "AGREEMENT"). PLEASE READ THE AGREEMENT. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING IN THIS AGREEMENT, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SITE OR ANY SERVICES PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE.
If you have any questions regarding this Agreement, please feel free to let us know at feedback@gay.com.
SERVICES
To use the Site, you do not have to register to become a Gay.com member ("Member"). As a Member, however, you will have access to various services to which non-Members do not have access, some of which will enable you and other Gay.com Members to interact with each other ("Member Areas"). These Member Areas and services include, without limitation, the following:
• Gay.com Chat
• Gay.com Personals
• Gay.com Premium Personals
• Gay.com Polls
• Gay.com Newsletters
• Gay.com Message Boards
• Gay.com Member Email
• Gay.com Member Homepages
• Gay.com Member Reviews
If you would like to register to become a Member, please complete our membership registration form. You agree to (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information as prompted by the registration form and (b) maintain and update such information to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete at all times. If any information provided by you on the registration form is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if we have reasonable grounds to so believe, we have the right to suspend or terminate your membership and to refuse to provide you with any future membership. If we have reason to believe that you have registered someone other than yourself, we will cooperate with any law enforcement investigation that may result from such misrepresentations and shall have the right, in our sole discretion, to disclose any information you provided to us in connection with such registration.
Online Partners makes a good faith effort to prohibit registration as a Member by, and will not knowingly connect or store personal information from, children under the age of 13.
We reserve the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that Online Partners shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any such action.
FEES
We reserve the right at any time to charge fees for access to new Site content or services or to portions of the existing Site content or services or the Site as a whole. In no event will you be charged for access to any Site content or service, or to the Site as a whole, unless we obtain your prior agreement to pay such charges. If you do not consent to such charges, however, you may not have access to paid content or service.
SITE RULES
Following are some basic rules that apply to the Site and that you agree to follow. If you violate any of the Site rules, or if we have reasonable grounds to so believe, we have the right to deny you access to the Site, to suspend or terminate your membership and to refuse to provide you with any future membership.
You agree not to use the Site to:
upload, store, post, email or otherwise transmit any: (a) material that is inaccurate, unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, racist, bigoted or otherwise objectionable, (b) material that you do not have a right to transmit under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships, (c) material that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary right of any party, (d) advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of solicitation, except where specifically permitted, or (e) material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any material transmitted through the Site;
disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to scroll faster than other users of the Site are able to type, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real-time exchanges;
interfere with or disrupt the Site or servers or networks connected to the Site, of disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Site;
try to gain access to areas that are private to Online Partners or to other Gay.com users;
violate any applicable local, state, national, or international law or any regulation having the force of law;
stalk or otherwise harass another;
harm minors in any way, including, without limitation, to establish unlawful contact with minors (whether on or off the Site);
collect or harvest screen names; collect or store personal data about other users of the Site; or solicit or attempt to discover a user's password, screen name, or other registration information without the user's express knowledge and consent;
engage in or run raffles, lotteries, contests or sweepstakes;
promote or provide instructions of information about how to engage in illegal conduct or commit illegal activities, promote physical harm or injury, or promote any illegal act; or
store any information or use any Web page or directory you create for remote loading or as a door or signpost to another Web page, whether inside or outside the Site.
You acknowledge that we do not prescreen material posted or transmitted on the Site, but that we and our designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in our sole discretion to review and edit, delete or refuse to post any material submitted for display or placed on the Site, including but not limited to message board posts, Personals and reviews. Without limiting the foregoing, we and our designees shall have the right to remove any material that violates this Agreement, that we believe in good faith may create liability for us, or that we deem is otherwise objectionable. You acknowledge and agree that we may preserve material and may disclose material if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce this Agreement; (c) respond to claims that any material violates the right of third parties; or (d) in our sole judgment, protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Gay.com, its users and the public.
ADULT AREAS
Gay.com Premium Personals and all other areas that Online Partners may designate as containing adult content ("Adult Areas") are intended for adults. By registering to participate in or using Adult Areas, you certify that:
you are over 18 years of age (or the age of consent in the jurisdiction from which the Adult Area is being accessed), and that by viewing adult material you are not violating the laws of the jurisdiction in which you are located;
you will not permit any person(s) under 18 years of age to have access to any of the material contained within Adult Areas;
you are voluntarily choosing to access the Adult Areas, because you want to view, read and/or hear the material that is available in those Adult Areas;
you do not find images of nude adults, adults engaged in sexual acts, or other sexual material to be offensive or objectionable; and
you will exit from Adult Areas immediately if you are in any way offended by the sexual nature of any material.
PRIVACY
Our Privacy Policy states in full our policy regarding Member privacy; see that document for more details.
PUBLIC AREAS
A Public Area ("Public Area") of the Site is any area where you may submit material ("Submissions") for viewing by others or view Submissions of other Gay.com users, such as message boards, forums or chat rooms. In some of these areas, a Submission includes the name, ID, nickname, and/or other information that would be displayed with the submitted material, as applicable. You agree to use Public Areas in accordance with the Agreement and any policies for the Public Areas that are displayed on the Site.
BY SUBMITTING MATERIAL TO A PUBLIC AREA, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY ONLINE PARTNERS AND HOLD IT HARMLESS FROM ALL CLAIMS, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CLAIMS FOR LIBEL, SLANDER, INVASION OF PRIVACY, COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM SUCH SUBMISSION.
By making a Submission to any Public Area, you automatically grant Online Partners the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and display and distribute the content of the Submission (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed. You also permit any other user of the Gay.com Site to access, view, store, or reproduce the Submission for that user's personal use.
LINKS
Our provision of a link to any other site or location is for your convenience and does not signify our endorsement of such site or location of its contents. Online Partners shall not be responsible for any information, software, or links found at any other World Wide Web site, Internet location, or source of information, for your use of such information, or for e-commerce transactions conducted at or through any linked site or location.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY MATERIAL AND/OR DATA DEVELOPED BY ONLINE PARTNERS OR BY THIRD PARTIES ("INFORMATION PROVIDERS"), IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SITE, AND ANY CONTENT OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE, ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. ONLINE PARTNERS AND THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL SUCH WARRANTIES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE, TITLE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT, OR ANY WARRANTY AS TO RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SITE. ONLINE PARTNERS DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL FUNCTION WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, THAT THE SITE IS ERROR- OR DEFECT-FREE, THAT ANY SUCH DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE SITE AND THE SERVER(S) THAT MAKE THE SITE AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, THAT YOU OBTAIN FROM ONLINE PARTNERS OR OTHERWISE THROUGH YOUR USE OF THE SITE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY ON THE PART OF ONLINE PARTNERS OR THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS. FURTHER, ONLINE PARTNERS AND THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS DO NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT OR MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE OR FROM THIRD PARTIES WILL BE CORRECT, ACCURATE, TIMELY, RELIABLE OR OTHERWISE.
LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT SHALL ONLINE PARTNERS, THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY INVOLVED IN CREATING OR DISTRIBUTING THE SITE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, HOWEVER ARISING AND UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TORT, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE AND STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF CONTRACT OR BREACH OF WARRANTY), THAT RESULT FROM YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, ANY CHANGES TO THE SITE OR THIS AGREEMENT, UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSION OF DATA, ANY MATERIAL OR DATA SENT OR RECEIVED OR NOT SENT OR RECEIVED, OR ANY TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH THE SITE. ONLINE PARTNERS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY THREATENING, DEFAMATORY, OBSCENE, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONTENT OR CONDUCT OF ANY OTHER PARTY OR ANY INFRINGEMENT OF ANOTHER'S RIGHTS, INCLUDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE SITE OR THE SERVICES, CONTENT OR MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON OR THROUGH THE SITE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SITE. THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY SHALL BE APPLICABLE EVEN IF ONLINE PARTNERS OR THE APPLICABLE THIRD PARTY KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
ALLOCATION OF RISK
YOU AGREE THAT THE DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES, LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY, AND INDEMNIFICATION PROVISIONS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT REPRESENT AND AGREED UPON ALLOCATION OF RISK BETWEEN YOU AND ONLINE PARTNERS AND FORM AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE BASIS OF THEIR BARGAIN, WITHOUT WHICH ONLINE PARTNERS WOULD NOT ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT OR PROVIDE THE SITE.
OWNERSHIP OF MATERIALS
The contents of the Site, including without limitation text, software, photos, graphics, and all other audiovisual elements are copyrighted by Online Partners as a collective work under the United States copyright laws. Except for material in the public domain, Online Partners and its licensors hold copyrights to all content appearing on the Site. Online Partners permits, without charge, the reproduction and distribution of Online Partners material contained on the Site for non-commercial educational and personal uses; provided that such materials remain unaltered and are accompanied by a clearly visible copy of any copyright notice appearing on such materials and by the Site's URL (http://www.gay.com). All other reproduction, distribution, retransmission, modification, public display, and public performance of such materials is prohibited without the prior written consent of Online Partners. To obtain such consent, contact:
Copyright Administrator
Gay.com
Tel: (415) 644-8000
Fax: (415) 644-7980
E-mail: copyright@onlinepartners.com
Certain material on this site is used under license, including certain musical performances used under license from ASCAP or BMI.
REMOVAL OF MATERIAL FOR WHICH COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS CLAIMED
Online Partners respects the intellectual property rights of others. Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C.512, as amended by Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("the Act"), Online Partners has implemented procedures for receiving written notification of claimed copyright infringements and for processing such claims in accordance with the Act. If you believe your copyrights are being infringed by a Member, please fill out a Notice of Infringement Form and fax or mail it to the following Online Partners agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement:
Todd Huge
Gay.com
P.O. Box 500
San Francisco, CA 94104-0500
Tel: (415) 644-8000
Fax: (415) 644-7980
E-mail: infringement@onlinepartners.com
The information requested by the Notice of Infringement Form substantively complies with 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3)(A), which provides:
To be effective under this subsection, a notification of claimed infringement must be a written communication provided to the designated agent of a service provider that includes substantially the following:
(i) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
(ii) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.
(iii) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material.
(iv) Information reasonably sufficient to to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party such as an address, telephone number, and if available, electronic e-mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
(v) A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
(vi) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Notification from a copyright owner or from a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner that fails to comply substantially with the provisions above shall not be considered as providing actual knowledge or an awareness of facts or circumstances from which infringing activity is apparent.
Please provide a Notice of Infringement Form each time you wish to report alleged acts of infringement.
Please note that Online Partners will terminate in appropriate circumstances the account of any Member who repeatedly posts infringing material on the Site.
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to hold harmless Online Partners and its Information Providers and any other person or entity involved in creating or distributing the Site, as well as each of their respective affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) and expenses that such parties may incur as a result of or arising out of your (or, in the case of Members, anyone using your account's) use of, or conduct with respect to, the Site.
CHOICE OF LAW/JURISDICTION AND VENUE
You agree that the laws of the State of California and the United States will apply to all matters relating to this Agreement, as they would to agreements made and entered into entirely in California by California residents, notwithstanding your actual place of residence. You agree that all lawsuits arising out of this Agreement shall be brought exclusively in the Federal or State courts located in the Northern District of California, San Francisco County, and you hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of such courts for such purpose.
MODIFICATION OF AGREEMENT
You agree that Online Partners may change the terms and conditions of this Agreement, unilaterally, and at any time, by conspicuously posting notice of such change on the Site for a period of five (5) consecutive days. Continued use of the Site after such notice will constitute your acknowledgment and acceptance of the revised terms and condition.
GENERAL
This Agreement contains the complete and final statement of the understanding between you and Online Partners with respect to, and supercedes any and all prior or contemporaneous negotiations, agreements or communications, whether written or oral, between you and Online Partners concerning, the subject matter of this Agreement. If any provision of this Agreement is rendered by a court or governmental agency of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the remainder of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect and be enforced in accordance with its remaining terms. The waiver by Online Partners of a breach or default of any of the provisions of this Agreement by you shall not be construed as a waiver of any succeeding breach of the same or other provisions; nor shall any delay or omission on the part of Online Partners to exercise or avail itself of any right, power or privilege that it has or may have hereunder operate as a waiver of any breach or default by you. You agree that, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action that you may have arising out of or related to use of the Site or this Agreement must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section titles in this Agreement are solely used for convenience and have no legal or contractual significance. All provisions of this Agreement that, by their nature, survive termination of this Agreement will survive termination including without limitation, the Site Rules, Adult Areas, Public Areas, Links, Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitations on Liability, Allocation of Risk, Ownership of Materials, Indemnification, Choice of Law/Jurisdiction and Venue and General sections of this Agreement.
