TERMS OF SERVICE
Welcome to Strausnews.com and its related sites: advertisernewsnorth.com, advertisernewssouth.com, spartaindependent.com, townshipjournal.com, warwickadvertiser.com, thephoto-news.com, chroniclenewspaper.com, westmilfordmessenger.com, pikecountycourier.com, dirt-mag.com (collectively “Straus News” or “The Sites”). We are committed to providing visitors an interactive and positive experience, while at the same time protecting our rights and the rights of our users.
If you choose to use The Sites, you agree to abide by all of the terms and conditions of these Terms of Service between you and Straus News. The Sites are provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Users may not reproduce, republish or redistribute material from the Sites in any form for commercial purposes without the written permission of Strausnews.com or the original copyright holder.
We may change, add, or remove portions of these Terms of Service at any time, which shall become effective immediately upon posting. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF OUR SITE AND ANY AFFILIATE SITES FOLLOWING THE POSTING OF CHANGES TO THESE TERMS WILL MEAN YOU ACCEPT THOSE CHANGES. It is your responsibility to review these Terms of Service prior to each use of the Site and by continuing to use the Site, you agree to any changes. Unless we provide you with specific notice, no changes to our Terms of Use will apply retroactively.
We may change, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Services at any time, including the availability of any Services feature, database or content. We may also impose limits on certain features and services or restrict your access to parts or all of the Services without notice or liability.
Copyright
All the information, content, services and software used in connection with The Sites, including for example, directories, guides, news articles, opinions, reviews, text, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips and object code, software, data and the like (collectively the Content) is owned by Straus News or the party credited as the provider of Content. You must abide by all additional copyright notices, information or restrictions contained in any Content accessed through the Service. Copying or storing of any of the content for other than personal use is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from Straus News.
User-provided Content
Copyright on contributed materials is held by the individual creators.
All postings, messages, text, files, ideas, story submissions, images, graphics, photos, audio clips, sounds, video or other materials posted on, transmitted through, or linked from the Site, are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. You acknowledge that you are entirely responsible for all Content that you post, email or otherwise make available through the Site. You acknowledge that any Content you submit to Straus News may be edited, removed, modified, published in any form, transmitted, and displayed by Straus News and you waive any rights you may have in having the material altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you. By uploading or otherwise posting any Content on the Site, you represent and warrant: (i) you own or otherwise have all necessary rights, including but not limited to copyrights, to the content you provide and the rights to use it as provided in this Terms of Service; (ii) all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete, and does not violate these Terms of Service; and, (iii) the content will not cause injury to any person or entity.
License
For all such information and material, you grant Straus News, its affiliates and related entities, and its affiliated newspapers, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, modify, publish, distribute, publicly perform, host, index, cache, tag, encode, display, archive, store, distribute, reproduce, adapt (including without limitation the right to adapt to streaming, downloading, broadcast, mobile, digital, thumbnail, scanning or other technologies) and create derivative works from such information, in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future.
Terms of Use
The Sites are community sites. As such, there are weblogs, forums, photo galleries and other interactive areas where users can express opinions and share ideas and information. Strausnews.com cannot and does not monitor all of the material posted or transmitted to the Site. Additionally, Strausnews.com does not control, and is not responsible for, Content made available through The Sites by others.
By using the Site, you may be exposed to Content that you may find offensive, indecent, inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise objectionable. There may also be risks of dealing with underage persons or people acting under false pretense. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of the Site and any of its Content, including but not limited to whether you should rely on said Content.
You also agree that under no circumstances will Straus News be liable in any way for any Content or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed or otherwise made available via the Site. You acknowledge that The Sites do not pre-screen or approve Content, but that Straus News shall have the right (but not the obligation) in its sole discretion to refuse, delete or move any Content that is available via The Sites, for violating the letter or spirit of the Terms or for any other reason. The Sites reserve the right to delete any posting, message or photograph at any time, for any reason or no reason.
Online behavior, posting rules
You agree not to post, email, or otherwise make available Content:
· that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, libelous, or invasive of another's privacy, or harms minors in any way;
· that harasses, degrades, intimidates or is hateful toward an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;
· that purports to be from any person or entity, or falsely states or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity;
· that includes personal or identifying information about another person without that person's explicit consent.
· that is false, deceptive, misleading, deceitful, mis-informative, or constitutes "bait and switch";
· that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party, or Content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships.
· that constitutes or contains "affiliate marketing," "link referral code," "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or unsolicited commercial advertisement.
· that constitutes or contains any form of advertising or solicitation if (1) posted in areas which are not designated for such purposes; or (2) emailed to users who have requested not to be contacted about other services, products or commercial interests.
· that advertises any illegal services or the sale of any items the sale of which is prohibited or restricted by applicable law.
· 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 equipment;
· that disrupts the normal flow of dialogue with an excessive number of messages (flooding attack) to the Site, or that otherwise negatively affects other users' ability to use the Site; or
· that employs misleading email addresses, or forged headers or otherwise manipulated identifiers in order to disguise the origin of Content transmitted through the Site.
Additionally, you agree not to:
· contact anyone who has asked not to be contacted;
· "stalk" or otherwise harass anyone;
· collect personal data about other users for commercial or unlawful purposes;
· post irrelevant Content, repeatedly post the same or similar Content or otherwise impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure;
· attempt to gain unauthorized access to The Sites’ computer systems or any other user's computer systems, or engage in any activity that disrupts, diminishes the quality of, interferes with the performance of, or impairs the functionality of, the Site.
Membership and registration
Certain areas of The Sites may require registration or ask you to provide information to participate in certain features or access content. The decision to provide this information is purely optional. When you register or become a member of The Sites, you agree to provide only true, accurate, current and complete information. You accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password. Purchases made through Strausnews.com require that you supply your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, credit card number or other billing information.
To enable the purchase of photographs and other products, we collect and store billing and credit card information. This information will only be shared with third parties who perform tasks required to complete the purchase transaction. Examples of this include fulfilling orders and processing credit card information.
Fees
For all charges for any products and services sold on the Web Site, Straus News will bill your credit card or alternative payment method offered by Straus News. In the event legal action is necessary to collect on balances due, you agree to reimburse Straus News for all expenses incurred to recover sums due, including attorneys’ fees and other legal expenses. You are responsible for purchase of, and payment of charges for, all Internet access services and telecommunications services needed for use of this Web Site.
Third Party Links
From time to time, this Site may contain links to web sites that are not owned, operated or controlled by Straus News or its affiliates. All such links are provided solely as a convenience to you. If you use these links, you will leave this Web Site. Neither we nor any of our respective affiliates are responsible for any content, materials or other information located on or accessible from any other web site. Neither we nor any of our respective affiliates endorse, guarantee, or make any representations or warranties regarding any other web sites, or any content, materials or other information located or accessible from any other web sites, or the results that you may obtain from using any other web sites. If you decide to access any other web sites linked to or from this Web Site, you do so entirely at your own risk.
Access and Interference
You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Web Site for any purpose without our express written permission. Additionally, you agree that you will not: (i) take any action that imposes, or may impose in our sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; (ii) interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the site or any activities conducted on the Web Site; or (iii) bypass any measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to the Web Site.
Disclaimers
Your use of these Sites is at your risk. The information, materials and services provided on or through this website are provided “as is” without any warranties of any kind including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, security or non-infringement of intellectual property. Neither Straus News, nor any of its affiliates warrant the accuracy or completeness of the information, materials, or services provided on or through this website. The information, materials and services provided on or through this website may be out of date, and neither Straus News, nor any of its affiliates makes any commitment or assumes any duty to update such information, materials or services. The foregoing exclusions of implied warranties do not apply to the extent prohibited by law. Please refer to your local laws for any such prohibitions.
Limitations of liability
Neither Straus News nor any of its affiliates accept any responsibility, or will be liable, for any damages to, or any viruses that may infect your computer, telecommunication equipment, or other property caused by or arising from your access to, use of, or browsing this Web Site, or your downloading of any information or materials from this Web Site. In no event will Straus News, or any of its officers, directors, employees, shareholders, affiliates, agents, successors or assigns, nor any party involved in the creation, production or transmission of this website, be liable to you or anyone else for any indirect, special, punitive, incidental or consequential damages (including, without limitation, those resulting from lost profits, lost data or business interruption) arising out of the use, inability to use, or the results of use of this web site, any web sites linked to this web site, or the materials, information or services contained on any or all such web sites, whether based on warranty, contract, tort or other legal theory and whether or not advised of the possibility of such damages. You specifically acknowledge that Straus News shall not be liable for user submissions or the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any third party, and that the risk of harm or damage from the foregoing rests entirely with you. The foregoing limitations of liability do not apply to the extent prohibited by law. Please refer to your local laws for any such prohibitions.
In the event of any problem with The Sites or any content, you agree that your sole remedy is to cease using this website. In the event of any problem with the products or services that you have purchased on or through this website, you agree that your sole remedy, if any is, from the manufacturer of such products or supplier of such services, in accordance with such manufacturer’s or supplier’s warranty, or to seek a return and refund for such product or services in accordance with the returns and refunds policies posted on this website. In no event shall Straus News’ total liability to you for all damages, losses, and causes of action whether in contract, tort (including, but not limited to, negligence), or otherwise exceed the greater of (a) twenty five dollars or (b) the value of your purchase on the website.
Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold Straus News and any affiliated company or individual harmless from any and all liabilities, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, related to or in connection with (i) the use of the Web Site or the Internet or your placement or transmission of any message or information on this Web Site by you or your authorized users; (ii) your violation of any term of this Agreement, including without limitation, your breach of any of the representations and warranties above; (iii) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any right of privacy, publicity rights or Intellectual Property Rights; (iv) your violation of any law, rule or regulation of the United States or any other country; (v) any claim or damages that arise as a result of any User Generated Content that you provide to Straus News; or (vi) any other party’s access and use of the Web Site with your unique username, password or other appropriate security code.
Release
In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users of the Web Site, you release Straus News (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.
Termination
You or we may suspend or terminate your account or your use of this Web Site at any time, for any reason or for no reason. You are personally liable for any orders placed or charges incurred through your account prior to termination. We may also block your access to our Web Site in the event that (a) you breach these Terms of Use; (b) we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us; or (c) we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us.
PRIVACY
We are committed to protecting consumer privacy online. The purpose of our policy is to inform you about the types of information we gather about you when you visit the Site, how we may use that information, whether we disclose it to anyone, and the choices you have regarding our use of, and your ability to correct, the information.
The Sites may contain links to other web sites, including web sites directed to children. We have no control over the privacy practices or the content of any of our business partners, advertisers, sponsors or other sites to which we provide links from the Site. We may use personally identifiable information (e.g. your name, e-mail address, street address, telephone number and other information) subject to the terms of this privacy policy.
When you share or recommend any Straus News articles or content to your Facebook profile, that action is governed by the Facebook Privacy Policy. We do not track or store a record of those comments or actions.
We may change, add, or remove portions of the Privacy Policy at any time, which shall become effective immediately upon posting. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF OUR SITE AND ANY AFFILIATE SITES FOLLOWING THE POSTING OF CHANGES TO THE PRIVACY POLICY WILL MEAN YOU ACCEPT THOSE CHANGES. It is your responsibility to review the Privacy Policy prior to each use of the Site and by continuing to use the Site, you agree to any changes. Unless we provide you with specific notice, no changes to our Privacy Policy will apply retroactively.
How we gather information from users
How we collect and store information depends on the page you are visiting, the activities in which you elect to participate and the services provided. You can visit some pages on the Site without providing any information. Other pages may prompt you to provide information, such as when you register for access to portions of the Site. You may also provide information when you participate in sweepstakes and contests, voting and polling activities, photo galleries, message boards and other interactive areas of the Site.
Like most web sites, we collect information automatically and through the use of electronic tools that may not be transparent to our visitors. We may collect information about the computer, mobile telephone, smartphone, tablet computer or other device you use to access Straus News. For example, we may log the name of your Internet Service Provider or use "cookie" technology. Among other things, the cookie may store your user name and password, sparing you from having to re-enter that information each time you visit, or may control the number of times you encounter a particular advertisement while visiting the Site. As we adopt additional technology, we may also gather information through other means. In certain cases, you can choose not to provide us with information, for example by setting your browser to refuse to accept cookies, but doing so may inhibit Site functionality.
What we do with the information we collect
We will use your information only as permitted by law. Aggregated Information (information that does not personally identify you) may be used in many ways. As one example, we may combine information about your usage patterns with similar information obtained from other users to learn which pages are visited most or what features are most attractive. Aggregated Information may occasionally be shared with our advertisers and business partners, but cannot be used to contact you individually.
We also collect information to enhance your visit and deliver more individualized content and advertising.
We may use personally identifiable information collected to communicate with you regarding something you have posted, our Terms of Service and privacy policy, products and services offered us or our affiliates and partners, administration of sweepstakes and contests, processing e-commerce transactions and other topics we think you might find of interest. We reserve the right to share this information with other Straus News business units and affiliates, including for example our affiliated newspapers and entities in which Straus has an ownership interest.
Personally Identifiable Information collected by Straus Newspapers may also be used for other purposes including but not limited to site administration and troubleshooting. Certain third parties who provide technical support for the operation of the Site (our web hosting service, for example) may access such information.
As we continue to develop our business, we may sell, buy, merge or partner with other companies or businesses. In such transactions, user information may be among the transferred assets and you acknowledge and consent to such transfers. We may also disclose your information in response to a court order, at other times when we believe we are reasonably required to do so by law, in connection with the collection of amounts you may owe to us, and/or whenever we deem it appropriate or necessary to give such information to law enforcement authorities or in emergency or exigent circumstances to protect you, any user of the Sites, or our property or reputation. Please note we may not provide you with notice prior to disclosure in such cases.
Affiliated sites, linked sites and advertisements
Straus News expects its partners, advertisers and third-party affiliates to respect the privacy of our users. However, third parties, including our partners, advertisers, affiliates and other content providers accessible through our site, may have their own privacy and data collection policies and practices. For example, during your visit to The Sites you may link to, or view as part of a frame on a Straus News site, certain content that is actually created or hosted by a third party. Also, through The Sites you may be introduced to, or be able to access, information, web sites, advertisements, features, contests or sweepstakes offered by other parties. Straus News is not responsible for the actions or policies of such third parties.
While on our site, our advertisers, promotional partners or other third parties may use cookies or other technology to attempt to identify some of your preferences or retrieve information about you. For example, some of our advertising may be served by third parties and may include cookies that enable the advertiser to determine whether you have seen a particular advertisement before. Through features available on our site, third parties may use cookies or other technology to gather information. Straus News does not control the use of this technology or the resulting information and is not responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties.
Please be careful and responsible whenever you are online. Should you choose to voluntarily disclose personally identifiable information in public areas on the Site, such as in message boards, chat areas or in advertising or notices you post, that information can be viewed publicly and can be collected and used by third parties without our knowledge and may result in unsolicited messages from other individuals or third parties. Such activities are beyond the control of Strausnews.com and this policy.
Children
StrausNews does not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from or about children under the age of 13 except as permitted by law. If we discover we have received any information from a child under the age of 13 in violation of this policy, we will delete that information immediately. If you believe The Straus News Sites have any information from or about anyone under the age of 13, please contact us at webmanager@strausnews.com. Children under the age of 13 are specifically prohibited from registering as Members of strausnews.com.
How Do I Opt-Out or Correct Information About Me
You may always opt-out of receiving future e-mail messages and newsletters from Straus News. We provide you with the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from us at the point where we request information about you. We also give you access to a broad range of information about your account to permit you to correct or update Personal Information that you have previously provided to us. To do so, you can send us a message at webmanager@strausnews.com.
DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (“DMCA”) NOTICE
In operating the Web Site, we may act as a “services provider” (as defined by DMCA) and offer services as online provider of materials and links to third party web sites. As a result, third party materials that we do not own or control may be transmitted, stored, accessed or otherwise made available using the Web Site. Straus News has in place certain legally mandated procedures regarding allegations of copyright infringement occurring on the Website. Straus News has adopted a policy that provides for the immediate removal of any content or the suspension of any user that is found to have infringed on the rights of Straus News or of a third party, or that has otherwise violated any intellectual property laws or regulations, or any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement. If you believe any material available via the Web Site infringes a copyright, you should notify us using the notice procedure for claimed infringement under the DMCA (17 U.S.C. Sect. 512(c) (2)). We will respond expeditiously to remove or disable access to the material claimed to be infringing and will follow the procedures specified in the DMCA to resolve the claim between the notifying party and the alleged infringer who provided the Content. Our designated agent (i.e., proper party for notice) to whom you should address infringement notices under the DMCA is Jeanne Straus at nyoffice@strausnews.com.
Please provide the following notice:
- Identify the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
- Identify the material on the Web Site that you claim is infringing, with enough detail so that we may locate it on the Web Site;
- A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
- A statement by you declaring under penalty of perjury that (a) the above information in your notice is accurate, and (b) that you are the owner of the copyright interest involved or that you are authorized to act on behalf of that owner;
- Your address, telephone number, and email address; and
- Your physical or electronic signature.
We may give notice to our users of any infringement notice by means of a general notice on any of our websites, electronic mail to a user's e-mail address in our records, or by written communication sent by first-class mail to a user's physical address in our records. If you receive such an infringement notice, you may provide counter-notification in writing to the designated agent that includes the information below. To be effective, the counter-notification must be a written communication.
Additional Terms and Notices
These Terms of Service have been made in and shall be construed and enforced in accordance with New York law. Any action to enforce these Terms of Service shall be brought in the federal or state courts located in New York.
Straus News, Straus Newspapers, The Chronicle, The Photo News, The Warwick Advertiser, The Advertiser-News (North), The Advertiser-News (South), The Sparta Independent, The Township Journal, The West Milford Messenger, The Pike County Courier and dirt Magazine are trademarks and service marks of Straus Newspapers.
