Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the email discussion groups, blogs, list serves, websites, and other electronic forums (collectively, the “Services”) of the Society for Technical Communication (“STC”), and any of its communities, and any information, text, graphics, or other materials uploaded, downloaded or appearing on the Services (collectively, “Content”). Your access to and use of the Services is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. By accessing or using the Services you agree to be bound by these Terms.

Basic Terms

You are responsible for your use of the Services, for any Content you post to the Services, and for any consequences thereof. The Content you submit, post, or display will be able to be viewed by other users of the Services. You should only provide Content that you are comfortable sharing with others under these Terms.

You may not use the Services if you are a person barred from receiving such services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction. You may use the Services only in compliance with these Terms and all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, rules and regulations.

The Services are always evolving and the form and nature of the Services may change from time to time without prior notice to you. In addition, STC may stop (permanently or temporarily) providing the Services (or any features within the Services) to you or to users generally and may not be able to provide you with prior notice. We also retain the right to create limits on use at our sole discretion at any time without prior notice to you.

Purpose and Prohibition of Advertising and Other Uses

The Services are intended for professional discourse on topics related to technical communication and STC. You may not use the Services to post or transmit any Content that violates or infringes in any way upon the rights of others, or that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, vulgar, obscene, profane, or otherwise objectionable.

You may not use the Services to post advertisements, promotions or unsolicited commercial e-mail (“spam”). If you are interested in reaching the STC membership with your advertising or promotional message, please email STC.

Antitrust Laws

The antitrust laws of the United States generally prohibit any agreement or understanding inconsistent with the right and obligation of competitors to exercise independent business judgment in pricing their products or services, dealing with their customers and suppliers, and selecting the markets in which to compete. You may not post any Content on the Services concerning market shares, salaries, costs, sales territories, or profit margins.

No Political Activity

Because STC is a United States Section 501(c)(3) organization, you may not use the Services to discuss or advocate for the election or defeat of any candidate for political office, whether at the federal, state, or local level.

Privacy

Any information that you provide to STC is subject to our Privacy Policy, which governs our collection and use of your information. You understand that through your use of the Services you consent to the collection and use (as set forth in the Privacy Policy) of this information, including the transfer of this information to the United States and/or other countries for storage, processing and use by STC.

Passwords

You are responsible for safeguarding the password that you use to access the Services and for any activities or actions under your password. STC cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with the above requirements.

Content on the Services

All Content, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the person who originated such Content. We may not monitor or control the Content posted via the Services and, we cannot take responsibility for such Content. Any use or reliance on any Content or materials posted via the Services or obtained by you through the Services is at your own risk.

We do not endorse, support, represent, or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any Content or communications posted via the Services, or endorse any opinions expressed via the Services. You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabeled or are otherwise deceptive. Under no circumstances will STC be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the Services or broadcast elsewhere.

Your Rights

You retain your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Services. By submitting, posting, or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant STC a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).

You are responsible for your use of the Services, for any Content you provide, and for any consequences thereof, including the use of your Content by other users and our third party partners. You understand that your Content may be rebroadcasted and if you do not have the right to submit Content for such use, it may subject you to liability. STC will not be responsible or liable for any use of your Content by STC in accordance with these Terms. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power, and authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein to any Content that you submit.

STC Rights

All right, title, and interest in and to the Services (excluding Content provided by users) are and will remain the exclusive property of STC and its licensors. The Services are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of the United States. Nothing in the Terms gives you a right to use the STC name or any of the STC trademarks, logos, domain names, and other distinctive brand features.

Restrictions on Content and Use of the Services

We reserve the right at all times to remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services and to terminate users. We also reserve the right to access, read, preserve, and disclose any information as we reasonably believe is necessary to (i) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, (ii) enforce the Terms, including investigation of potential violations hereof, (iii) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, (iv) respond to user support requests, or (v) protect the rights, property or safety of STC, its users and the public.

STC does not disclose personally identifying information to third parties except in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

You may not do any of the following while accessing or using the Services: (i) access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Services, STC’s computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of STC’s providers; (ii) probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any system or network or breach or circumvent any security, or authentication measures; (iii) access or search or attempt to access or search the Services by any means (automated or otherwise) other than through our currently available, search engines that are provided by STC ; (iv) forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or posting, or in any way use the Services to send altered, deceptive, or false source-identifying information; or (v) interfere with, or disrupt, (or attempt to do so), the access of any user, host or network, including, without limitation, sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, mail-bombing the Services, or by scripting the creation of Content in such a manner as to interfere with or create an undue burden on the Services.

Copyright Policy

STC respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects users of the Services to do the same. We reserve the right to remove Content alleged to be infringing without prior notice and at our sole discretion. In appropriate circumstances, STC will also terminate a user’s account if the user is determined to be an infringer.

The Services are Available “AS-IS”

Your access to and use of the Services or any Content is at your own risk. You understand and agree that the Services is provided to you on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis. Without limiting the foregoing, STC DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. We make no warranty and disclaim all responsibility and liability for the completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, security, or reliability of the Services or any content thereon. STC will not be responsible or liable for any harm to your computer system, loss of data, or other harm that results from your access to or use of the Services, or any Content. You also agree that STC has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of, or the failure to store or to transmit, any Content and other communications maintained by the Services. We make no warranty that the Services will meet your requirements or be available on an uninterrupted, secure, or error-free basis. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained from STC or through the Services, will create any warranty not expressly made herein.

Links

The Services may contain links to third-party websites or resources. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible or liable for: (i) the availability or accuracy of such websites or resources; or (ii) the content, products, or services on or available from such websites or resources. Links to such websites or resources do not imply any endorsement by STC of such websites or resources or the content, products, or services available from such websites or resources. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of any such websites or resources.

Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, STC AND ITS AFFILIATES, CHAPTERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS, WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOOD-WILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM (i) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES; (ii) ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES; (iii) ANY CONTENT OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICES; AND (iv) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR CONTENT, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER OR NOT STC HAS BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, AND EVEN IF A REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

Waiver and Severability

The failure of STC to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision. In the event that any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect.

Controlling Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America without regard to or application of its conflict of law provisions or your state or country of residence. All claims, legal proceedings or litigation arising in connection with the Services will be brought solely in the state and federal courts of Virginia and you consent to the jurisdiction of and venue in such courts and waive any objection as to inconvenient forum.

Entire Agreement

These Terms and our Privacy Policy are the entire and exclusive agreement between STC and you regarding the Services, and these Terms supersede and replace any prior agreements between STC and you regarding the Services.

We may revise these Terms from time to time. The most current version will always be at www.stc.org. By continuing to access or use the Services after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Terms.

If you have any questions about these Terms, please email STC.