TERMS OF USE
Welcome to blogs, sites and services provided by Vashistha.com and its affiliated companies (the “Services”). You may not use our Services unless you agree to abide by the following terms.BY USING OR BY SIGNING UP TO USE OUR SERVICES:. YOU SIGNIFY THAT YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS (”Terms of Use”);. YOU CONSENT TO THE INFORMATION PRACTICES OF THE OPTIMIZE GOVERNANCE PRIVACY POLICY; AND. YOU AGREE TO RECEIVE NOTICES AND TERMS FROM US ELECTRONICALLY.If you do not agree, do not use our Services. CHANGES TO THE TERMS OF USE.We may change these Terms of Use at any time. You can review the most current version of these terms by clicking on the “Terms of Use” hypertext link located at the bottom of our homepage. If we make changes, you are bound by the new terms if you continue to use our Services. ABOUT THE SERVICE; REGISTRATION Our Services are intended for general audiences. If you sign up to use any of our Services, you agree to provide accurate information about you. You must keep this information up to date. You must be legally competent to enter into contracts. ADDITIONAL TERMS.If we offer features and sites where you can upload or download files, you agree that these features may be subject to supplemental rules that will be binding on you. ELECTRONIC DELIVERY POLICY AND YOUR CONSENT.You give us consent to provide you with required notices, agreements and information concerning our Services electronically. We will provide you our notices either by sending them to the e-mail address that you give to us or by posting the notices on the home page of the relevant web page of the applicable service. If you want to withdraw your consent to receive notices electronically, you must discontinue your use of our Services. PRIVACY POLICY.You can review the Privacy Policy by clicking on the “Privacy Policy” link located on the Terms page of our Services. CHANGES We may discontinue or change any service or feature on our Services at any time and without notice. YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES.You may use our Services for lawful purposes only. You may not engage in any conduct that:. violates or infringes the rights of others including, without limitation, patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, publicity or other proprietary rights;. is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, obscene, pornographic, invasive of another’s privacy, tortious, or contains explicit or graphic descriptions, or accounts of, sexual acts;. victimizes, harasses, degrades, or intimidates an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability;. impersonates any person, licensed professional, business or entity, including our employees and agents;. contains viruses or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment, or otherwise permit the unauthorized use of a computer or computer network;. encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, or that gives rise to civil liability;. offers, promotes or encourages betting or wagering prohibited by law;. violates these Terms of Use, guidelines or any policy posted on our services, or. interferes with the use of our Services by others;. causes damage or impairs our servers or network;. interferes with any other party’s use and enjoyment of our Services; or. attempts to gain unauthorized access to our services, user accounts, computer systems or networks.We may take any legal, disciplinary and technical remedies to prevent the violation of these Terms of Use. NO SPAM.You may not transmit, directly or indirectly, any unsolicited bulk communications (including e-mails and instant messages) through our Services. You may not harvest information about our users for the purpose of sending, or to facilitate the sending, of unsolicited bulk communications. You may not induce or allow others to use our Services to violate the terms of this section. We may terminate immediately your access to our Services and take any other legal action if you, or anyone using your access to our Services, violates these provisions. We may take any technical remedies to prevent unsolicited bulk communications from entering, utilizing, or remaining with in our computer or communications networks. CONTENT AND PROPRIETARY RIGHTS.We, our suppliers, and our users who lawfully post text, messages, information, software, images, audio and video (”Content”) on the Services own the property rights to that Content. The Content is protected by international treaties, and by copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret laws and other proprietary rights. For example, we own a copyright in the selection, organization, arrangement, and enhancement of the Content, as well as in our original Content. The look and feel of our color combinations, button shapes, and other graphical elements on our Services are our trademarks. You acknowledge that our Services do not give or purport to give medical, legal, financial or other professional advice. Your use of any information from the Services is at your own risk. LICENSE TO USE THE SERVICES.You may use the Services only for personal, non-commercial purposes. You may not use the Content in a manner that exceeds the rights granted for your use of the Content. You may not use any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools on the Content, frame any portion of our Services or Content, or reproduce, reprint, copy, store, publicly display, broadcast, transmit, modify, translate, port, publish, sublicense, assign, transfer, sell, loan, or otherwise distribute the Content without our prior written consent. You may not circumvent any mechanisms included in the Content for preventing the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of the Content. Email us for information on how you can request permission to reproduce certain Content from our Services.CONTENT YOU POST TO PUBLIC AREAS.Certain areas of our Services may allow you to post Content that can be accessed and viewed by others, including the public in general. You may only post Content to public areas on our Services that you created or that you have permission to post. You may not post Content that violates these Terms of Use. We do not claim ownership of any Content that you may post. However, by submitting Content to public areas of our Services, you grant us, our parent, affiliates, and distributors the right to use, copy, display, perform, sell, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. NO DUTY TO MONITOR.You agree that we are not liable for Content that is provided by others. We have no duty to pre-screen Content, but we have the right to refuse to post or to edit submitted Content. We reserve the right to remove Content for any reason, but we are not responsible for any failure or delay in removing such material. PROCEDURE FOR MAKING CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.We respect the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on a Service in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please follow the instructions on how to contact us to report possible copyright infringement. THIRD PARTY SITES; ADVERTISERS.Our Services may include links to third party websites, including links provided as automated search results. Some of these sites may contain materials that are objectionable, unlawful, or inaccurate. These links do not mean that we endorse these third party sites or services. We are not responsible or liable for any Content or other materials on these third party sites. Any dealings that you have with advertisers found on our Services are between you and the advertiser and you acknowledge and agree that we are not liable for any loss or claim you may have against an advertiser. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES.We provide our Services “as is”, “with all faults” and “as available.” We and our suppliers make no express warranties or guarantees about the Services. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE AND OUR SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM IMPLIED WARRANTIES THAT THE SERVICES AND ALL SOFTWARE, CONTENT AND SERVICES DISTRIBUTED THROUGH OUR SERVICES ARE MERCHANTABLE, OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, ACCURATE, TIMELY, FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NEED, OR NON-INFRINGING. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT OUR SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, ARE ERROR-FREE, RELIABLE, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF OUR SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY SUPPORT SERVICES, WILL BE EFFECTIVE, RELIABLE, ACCURATE OR MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS OUR SERVICES (EITHER DIRECTLY OR THROUGH THIRD-PARTY NETWORKS) AT TIMES OR LOCATIONS OF YOUR CHOOSING. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY ANY OF OUR REPRESENTATIVES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. You may have additional consumer rights under your local laws that this contract cannot change. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE WITH US IS TO DISCONTINUE YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES. IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR LIABILITY, OR THE LIABILITY OF OUR PARENT AND OUR SUPPLIERS FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE USE OF A SERVICE EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SERVICE FEES THAT YOU PAID US DURING A ONE-YEAR PERIOD FOR THE SPECIFIC SERVICE AT ISSUE.WE, OUR PARENT, AND OUR SUPPLIERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF, INABILITY TO USE, OR RELIANCE UPON THE SERVICES. THESE EXCLUSIONS APPLY TO ANY CLAIMS FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES, EVEN IF WE KNEW OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH STATES OR JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY, AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR PARENT AND SUPPLIERS, SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. INDEMNIFICATION.Upon a request by us, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless us and our parent and other affiliated companies, and our respective employees, contractors, officers, directors, and agents from all liabilities, claims, and expenses, including attorney’s fees that arise from your use or misuse of the Services. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will cooperate with us in asserting any available defenses. INTERNATIONAL USE.We make no representation that Content on the Services is appropriate or available for use in locations outside the United States, and accessing it from territories where the Content is illegal is prohibited. If you choose to access a Service from a location outside the U.S., you do so on your own initiative and you are responsible for compliance with local laws. CHOICE OF LAW AND LOCATION FOR RESOLVING DISPUTES.You agree that the laws of the State of California, USA govern this contract and any claim or dispute that you may have against us, without regard to California’s conflict of laws rules, and that the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods shall have no applicability. You further agree that any disputes or claims that you may have against us will be resolved by a court located in the Commonwealth of Virginia and you agree and submit to the exercise of personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of litigating any such claim or action.PLEASE NOTE THAT BY AGREEING TO THESE TERMS OF USE, YOU ARE: (1) WAIVING CLAIMS THAT YOU MIGHT OTHERWISE HAVE AGAINST US BASED ON THE LAWS OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS, INCLUDING YOUR OWN; (2) IRREVOCABLY CONSENTING TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF, AND VENUE IN, STATE OR FEDERAL COURTS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA OVER ANY DISPUTES OR CLAIMS YOU HAVE WITH US; AND (3) SUBMITTING YOURSELF TO THE PERSONAL JURISDICTION OF COURTS LOCATED IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA FOR THE PURPOSE OF RESOLVING ANY SUCH DISPUTES OR CLAIMS. SEVERABILITY AND INTEGRATION.This contract and any supplemental terms, policies, rules and guidelines posted on our Services constitute the entire agreement between you and us and supersede all previous written or oral agreements. If any part of these Terms of Use is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect. TERMINATION.Your right to use our Services automatically terminates if you violate these Terms of Use or any rules or guidelines posted in connection with our Services. We also reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate your access to all or part of our Services, for any reason, with or without notice.Updated: 5-23-08
Privacy Policy
Optimize Governance cares about the privacy of our visitors and our members and takes various steps to protect their privacy. By visiting Optimize Governance’s primary website or related websites that Optimize Governance controls or operates (collectively “Optimize Governance Sites”), or using any of our services, you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in this Privacy Statement.What this Privacy Statement CoversThis Privacy Statement covers Optimize Governance’s treatment of personally identifiable information (”Personal Information”) that Optimize Governance gathers when you access Optimize Governance Sites. This Privacy Statement does not apply to the use of your Personal Information by third parties that Optimize Governance does not own or control, or to individuals that Optimize Governance does not control or manage.Links to Other SitesOptimize Governance Sites contains links to blogs and other websites that are not owned or controlled by Optimize Governance. We are not responsible for the privacy policies of such other sites.Information Collection & UseOptimize Governance is the sole owner of information collected on Optimize Governance Sites. We do not share or sell your information with anyone without your authorization or consent in ways different from what is disclosed in this Privacy Statement.RegistrationOptimize Governance provides some features exclusively to its members. Our registration process requires you to provide Optimize Governance with a valid email address as well as a username and password of your choice. Optional information such as your first and last name, year of birth, zip code, and country of residence helps Optimize Governance have a better understanding of its visitors and members. You can choose not to provide us with certain information, but then you may not be able to take advantage of special features offered only to our members.Surveys or ContestsWe may provide you the opportunity to participate in contests or surveys on Optimize Governance Sites. If you participate we will request certain Personal Information from you. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and you therefore have a choice whether or not to disclose this information. The requested information typically includes contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code).We only use this information internally to determine eligibility, notify contest winners, and to measure the success of our efforts.Communications from Optimize Governance SitesNewslettersIf you choose to subscribe to our newsletter(s) we will use your name and email address to send the newsletter to you. Unsubscribe instructions accompany each email.Service-related AnnouncementsWe will send you strictly service-related announcements on the rare occasions when it is necessary to do so.You may not opt-out of these communications, which are not promotional in nature. If you do not wish to receive these announcements you have the option to deactivate your account.Customer ServiceBased upon the Personal Information you provide us we will send you a welcoming email to verify your username and password. We will also communicate with you in response to your inquiries, to provide the services you request, and to manage your account. We will communicate with you by email or by telephone in accordance with your wishes. Information Sharing and DisclosureAggregate Information (non-personally identifiable)We share aggregated demographic information about our visitors and the world of weblogs in general with our partners and advertisers. This information does not identify individual visitors or members. We do not link aggregate visitor or member data with Personal Information.If users choose to display their membership information because they have claimed a blog, their user name, blog(s), blogroll(s), vCard(s), hCard(s), and/or Friend Of A Friend files and member photos will be shown as associated with their blog to other users on the Optimize Governance Sites. Any member’s information outside of these six kinds of information (user name, blog(s), blogroll(s), vCard(s), hCard(s), and/or Friend Of A Friend files and member photos), including other information from the membership form or any emailed information we receive from members, will not be shared outside the company, except as aggregated statistics, or as required by law. We do not share any individual user information with any of our business partners or outside vendors without permission. We may share aggregated statistics with business partners or outside vendors without permission.We may employ other companies and people to perform tasks on our behalf and need to share your information with them to provide products or services to you. Examples of such services include sending email, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, processing credit card payments, and providing customer serviceWe reserve the right to disclose your Personal Information when we believe in good faith that release is necessary to (1) comply with the law; (2) enforce or apply our conditions of use and other agreements; (3) or protect the rights, property or safety of Optimize Governance, our employees, our users, or others.Security and ConfidentialityTo prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.Choice/Opt-outWe provide you the opportunity to access and edit all of your Personal Information within our member profile page or by emailing Customer Support at editor@optimizegovernance.com. Information collected for the membership process, if requested, will be deleted within 21 days from the Optimize Governance Sites. However, some Personal Information may need to be maintained if it is connected with billing information or as required by law.Users of the Optimize Governance Sites are always notified when their information is being collected by any outside parties. We do this so our users can make an informed choice as to whether or not they should proceed with services that require an outside party.You may opt-out of receiving our newsletter by following the instructions included in each newsletter or by contacting us by email.We gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, requested pages, operating system, and the time and date your browser requested our pages. We use this information, which does not identify individual visitors, to analyze trends, to administer the Optimize Governance Sites, to track visitor movements around the Optimize Governance Sites and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. We do not link this collected data to Personal Information.CookiesWe store a small text file called a cookie on your computer to track session data and persist your login for your convenience. A session cookie expires when you exit your browser. A persistent cookie stays on your computer until it is deleted. You can remove persistent cookies by following the directions provided in your browser’s “help” files.If you reject cookies you may still use the Optimize Governance Sites.Some of our advertisers may use cookies on the Optimize Governance Sites. We have no access or control over these cookies. This Privacy Statement covers the use of cookies by Optimize Governance only and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.Third Party AdvertisersThe advertisements appearing on Optimize Governance are delivered by a third party. For information about our advertising partner, please visit their website through the link included in the presentation of the advertisements on the Optimize Governance Sites.Business TransitionsIn the event Optimize Governance goes through a business transition such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, your Personal Information will likely be among the assets transferred. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur, and that any acquirer of Optimize Governance may continue to use your Personal Information as set forth in this Privacy Statement. You hereby consent to Optimize Governance sharing your Personal Information under the above circumstances. Optimize Governance will contact you at the email address you provided at registration to communicate such transfer. We will also place a prominent notice on the Optimize Governance home page for 30 days after such transfer of your Personal Information.Changes in this Privacy StatementThis Privacy Statement is a living document. We will modify this document as we add new features to Optimize Governance Sites. We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Statement at any time. If we make material changes to our privacy policy we will post those changes to this Privacy Statement, the Optimize Governance.com homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.Contact Us If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy please contact us.
