Terms of Service (TOS)
TOS in a Nutshell
Okay, here's the short version: If you're using this site, you are already implicitly agreeing to abide by all conditions of our Terms of Service—full details below. If that bothers you, better sign off now. But, you'll find that our Terms of Service are straightforward, honest, and fair. If you want the whole banana, everything is spelled out below in more detail about Terms of Service in legalish babblese.
US: Basically, we agree that we'll protect your privacy, not spam you, do our best to get our facts straight, and bring you occasional enlightenment, chuckles, and outrage. At least, that's the plan. Sometimes, we'll bring truth minus chuckles or enlightenment. If you're reading EdgyBear, we assume you're already outraged.
YOU: You agree not to steal our stuff (i.e., not violate our copyright), not to behave in a rude or offensive manner, not to be a snarly destructive troll, and not to expect us to do unreasonable things—like, we don't give financial, medical, or astrological advice. On the other hand, we might suggest a good choice in an upcoming election.
US: Basically, we agree that we'll protect your privacy, not spam you, do our best to get our facts straight, and bring you occasional enlightenment, chuckles, and outrage. At least, that's the plan. Sometimes, we'll bring truth minus chuckles or enlightenment. If you're reading EdgyBear, we assume you're already outraged.
YOU: You agree not to steal our stuff (i.e., not violate our copyright), not to behave in a rude or offensive manner, not to be a snarly destructive troll, and not to expect us to do unreasonable things—like, we don't give financial, medical, or astrological advice. On the other hand, we might suggest a good choice in an upcoming election.
Full EdgyBear USER AGREEMENT
Please read this whole User Agreement before using our Service. By using our website, you are implicitly agreeing to abide by all conditions of this User Agreement.
1. MEANINGS: The words "We" and "Our" mean EdgyBear.com. The word "User" means you. The word "Service" means all the components of the EdgyBear website and community. The word "Agreement" means all the Terms of Service in this entire User Agreement.
2. NOTICE: We reserve the right to change the terms of this Agreement and modify, suspend, or terminate any features of the Service at any time without notice to you. You agree to be bound by any such changes. Any changes to this User Agreement shall become a part of the Agreement and shall apply immediately.
3. UPDATES: The most current version of our Terms of Service and User Agreement can be viewed publicly here on this site.
4. ACCEPTANCE: By using this Service, you implicitly agree to all our terms, conditions and policies.
5. CHANGES Any new features, tools, or functions added to the Service shall be subject to this User Agreement. We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue this Service (or any part thereof) , temporarily or permanently, with or without notice. You agree that we shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of the Service.
6. COPYRIGHT. This Service (including, without limitation, text, photographs, graphics, audio, and video content) is protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. Unless otherwise signified, each individual article, photograph, graphic, audio, or video, and any other elements that comprise this Service, are copyrighted works. In all cases, you must abide by any and all copyright notices or restrictions contained in this Service.
7. SHARING CONTENT. This Service is licensed under a Creative Commons license "Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works" 3.0 Unported agreement. Under this license, the ownership of contents of EdgyBear.com is retained and contents remain fully protected under provisions of U.S. federal copyright law and any and all related international agreements. This Creative Commons 3.0 license grants you the right to Share selected portions of our content (meaning: to freely copy, distribute, and transmit) without cost and without asking for direct permission, so long as you follow these rules and conditions:
- Attribution: You must always attribute the work properly as specified by EdgyBear.com [see attribution below], but not in any way that suggests that we endorse you or your use of the work. For proper attribution, simply include a hyperlink on your site back to "edgybear.com" as the work's source by clearly, legibly, and visibly publishing this notice with any portion(s) shared: "Used courtesy of www.EdgyBear.com (Copyright © 2007), protected under a Creative Commons License 3.0."
- Noncommercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you are considering such a use, please contact us at copyright@edgybear.com to request legal permission.
- No Derivative Works: You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
- Notices: For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to the appropriate Creative Commons web page: Creative Commons license 3.0.
- Stipulations: Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from us as the copyright holder. Nothing in this license likewise impairs or restricts the author's moral rights.
8. THIRD-PARTY CONTENT. From time to time, with permission of the copyright owners, this Service may incorporate, publish, or use third-party works that have been created by others who themselves own the copyright. Such works will clearly display copyright notices in the standard form. In such cases, the original owners shall retain complete ownership and copyright protection of their individual works. You shall not assume, nor act as if, any of these authors has granted you the same permissions under the Creative Commons license as does our Service. If any doubt exists, you must request direct permission of the copyright owner, prior to any use.
9. POSTINGS & SUBMISSIONS. By making voluntary postings on this site, or submitting content to the Service (regardless of form or medium, whether text, videos, photographs, audio, or otherwise), you are granting us the right to display or publish such content on the Service and in related forums (in the form submitted, or as a derivative or adapted work); the right to store any such content; and the right to distribute and use such content for promotional and marketing purposes. You shall be solely responsible for your own submissions and the consequences of posting or publishing them. For various reasons, not every submission, in whatever form (text, photo, graphic, video, audio, or otherwise), can or will necessarily be published or used. Submissions cannot be returned.
10. RULES OF CONDUCT: Users of this site who do postings or make submissions shall be expected to display appropriate conduct, as determined and specified by the EdgyBear staff. EdgyBear's general Rules of Conduct are available at Rules of Conduct. The right for anyone to post on our website, or submit materials or information, shall be suspended temporarily, or terminated permanently, if—in the sole judgment and complete discretion of EdgyBear's editors and staff—the person has ignored or failed to observe acceptable conduct. Posting shall be treated as a privilege, not a right.
11. VIOLATIONS: You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the EdgyBear website and community against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, that result from any violation by you of this Agreement, in whole or in part.
12. CONDITIONS OF USE: This service is available "as is." We do not warrant that this Service will be uninterrupted or error-free. We are not responsible for the availability or content of other services that may be linked to by this Service. Because we have no control over such services, you acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the availability of such external services, and that we do not endorse and are not responsible or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such services.
13. LIABILITY: The EdgyBear website, contributors, and community are not liable for incidental, indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages of any kind, including, without limitation, lost revenues or profits, loss of business or loss of data that are in any way related to this Service or for any claim, loss or injury based on errors, omissions, interruptions or other inaccuracies in this Service (including, without limitation, as a result of breach of any warranty or other term of this Agreement). Any claim against us shall be limited to the amount you paid, if any, for use of this Service.
14. TERMINATION: This Agreement may be terminated by either party for any reason at any time, although thereafter the basis of this Agreement shall survive such termination.
15. JURISDICTION: This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the United States and of the State of Tennessee, applicable to agreements made and to be performed therein without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.
16. CONSENT: By continuing to use this service, you agree to abide by the terms of this Agreement.
Rules of Conduct
Play Nice, Please
The EdgyBear website and community are built on a spirit of openness, honesty, and trust. Just by visiting here, you gain appreciation and respect. So, please show the same spirit of kindness and acceptance towards others.
We invite everyone to join the conversation and share their ideas, insights, and viewpoints: this is a raucous community, not a silent library where frowning people shush you to be quiet. We seek a great conversation, so please speak up.
We don't like rules. At all. But, y'know, we don't like air pollution, bee stings, or lying politicians, either. But they're all unavoidable parts of dreary life on earth. Just like rules. Rules are best if you know what's expected before the fact, So, here are EdgyBear's on-line Rules of Conduct. No surprises.
Rule of Conduct
If you make posts, add comments, or express yourself on this site, please adhere to these guidelines:
- No name-calling.
- No personal attacks.
- Always show respect.
- Avoid rants and rages.
- Use profanity sparsely.
- Support emotions with facts.
- Stay inside the lines (we talk here about grassroots, community, activism, progressives, and such).
A Double Standard
We obviously have a double standard. Since we are satirists, commentators, and activists, we probably violate all our own rules when we write columns, analyses, and diatribes against the foolishness in Washington or the scandals in Texas. But that's our job. The Rules of Conduct apply to how we all treat each other in the EdgyBear community. Who says we have to be "fair and balanced" towards Bush & Cheney?
