User Terms

Welcome to AlignThoughts.com.

AlignThoughts is dedicated to bringing quality content online from all across the globe. While doing this, we strive to maintain a website with a positive user experience at the same time protecting both our rights and user rights. We respect every individual’s privacy and will always strive to limit the usage of user data on our website.

We have developed these User Terms to govern your use of the website as well as your use of any other services and channels of AlignThoughts including, but not limited to, our mobile applications(if any) and all social media and other channels. This also includes AlignThoughts’ various profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest; emails in response to requests for submissions and ‘Other Channels.’

This ‘User Terms’ applies to all users of the Services, including, without limitation, users who are contributors of content, information, and other materials or services, registered, or otherwise.

In this context, we will use terms like ‘Site’ that refer to our whole website and all of its services.

By registering for and/or using the Site in any manner, including but not limited to browsing or visiting the Site, you agree to this User Terms and all other operating policies, rules, and procedures that may be published by us on the Site from time to time, each of which is incorporated by reference and each of which may be updated from time to time with or without notice to you.

Posting Rules

Interactive areas of the Site (e.g., Comments sections) and Other Channels (e.g., social media platforms) are intended to encourage public debate. AlignThoughts expect people to differ in opinion and judgment. And we also encourage freedom of speech and a marketplace of ideas. Remember by using these areas of the Website and Other Channels; you are participating in a community that is intended for all our users around the world.

Hence, we reserve the right to remove any content posted on the Site or Other Channels at any time for any reason without notice. AlignThoughts’ posting rules will solely help to make decisions as to whether content violates its discretion after we have actual notice of such posting.

AlignThoughts has attempted to provide the following guidelines to those posting content on the Site and Other Channels. When using our Site or Other Channels, please do not post material that:

  • violates or infringes the copyright, trademark, or any other personal or proprietary rights of AlignThoughts or any third party.
  • discriminates on the grounds of religion, race, national origin, age, gender, marital status, disability or sexual orientation, or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law.
  • is threatening, defamatory, disparaging, false, grossly inflammatory, deceptive, misleading, inaccurate, fraudulent, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violates the privacy rights of any third party, is unreasonably offensive or harmful to any individual or community, contains any actionable statement, or tends to reflect or mislead on any other person, business or entity.
  • contains vulgar, abusive, profane, or hateful language, slurs or epithets, illustrations or text in poor taste, inflammatory attacks of a personal, racial or religious nature, or expressions of bigotry, discrimination, hate, or racism.
  • violates any municipal, federal, or state law, regulation, rule, or ordinance, or attempts to encourage such an evasion/violation.
  • unfairly interferes with any third party’s uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the Site or Other Channels.
  • uploads or transmits viruses or other harmful, disruptive, or destructive files.
  • uploads copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind on the Site without the express permission of the owner of that material.
  • uses or attempts to use another’s account, password, service, or system except as expressly permitted by these Terms and Conditions.
  • advertises, promotes, or offers to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose.
  • includes photos, articles, images, or any other content that promotes, constitutes, or encourages violation or illegal acts of any right of any individual or entity, violation of any international, national, state or local law, regulation, rule, or guideline, or otherwise creates liability.
  • disrupts, interferes with, or otherwise harms or violates the security of the Site, or any services, accounts, passwords, system resources, networks or servers connected to or accessible through the Site, Other Channels or affiliated or linked sites if any.
  • disguises the origin of the post.
  • “inflames” any individual or entity (e.g., sends repeated messages related to another user and/or makes derogatory or offensive comments about another individual), or repeats prior posting of the same message under multiple threads or subjects.
  • is unrelated to the specific interactive area or the interactive area’s topic.
  • collects or stores other users’ personal data.
  • shall not be deemed confidential and shall be publicly available to third parties. You agree not to reveal any private information, including but not limited to health, financial, and personally identifiable information if you do not wish this information to be published. Furthermore, you agree not to reveal the health or other private information of third parties without their knowledge and consent.
  • you are solely responsible for your reliance on and use of such content. AlignThoughts is not responsible for the consequences of any communications made through the Communities. In cases where you feel threatened or believe someone else is in danger, you should take appropriate action such as contacting your local law enforcement agency immediately.
  • is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, slanderous, threatening, harassing, hateful, abusive, embarrassing to any other person or entity, or that is otherwise inappropriate.
  • you shall remain solely responsible for the content of messages or comments you post. AlignThoughts cannot review every message or comment posted in the Communities (e.g. comments posted on the Site or Social media channels or any other public forum) and is not responsible for the content of these messages.
  • all messages, information, or other materials submitted to the Communities are non-confidential for all purposes at the time they are posted.
  • your participation in the Communities is solely at your own risk.
  • you agree to cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any claim.
  • you agree not to post chain letters or pyramid schemes; impersonate another person or allow another person or entity to use your identification for posting or viewing comments; distribute viruses or other harmful computer code; harvest or otherwise collect information about others (including email addresses) without their consent, or post the same note more than once or “spam.”
  • you agree not to disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, or post comments that are not related to the topic being discussed (unless it is clear the discussion is free-form), or otherwise engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Communities or the Site, or which, in the judgment of AlignThoughts, exposes AlignThoughts or any of its affiliates, licensors, licensees, customers or suppliers to any liability or detriment of any type.
  • if you become aware of a violation of these policies, please notify AlignThoughts by sending a detailed email message to our support.

AlignThoughts reserves the right, but is not obligated to do any or all of the following:

  • record the dialogue submitted by the Communities.
  • investigate an allegation that a communication(s) do(es) not conform to these policies and/or the Terms of Use and determine in its sole discretion to remove or request the removal of the communication(s).
  • delete, move or edit communications that are determined, in the sole discretion of AlignThoughts, to be abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, otherwise illegal, disruptive, or otherwise unacceptable for any reason.
  • terminate a user’s access to any or all of the Communities and/or this Site upon any breach of these policies and/or the User Terms.

Submissions

By placing material on, or communicating with, the Site or Other Channels (e.g., posting a comment to an AlignThoughts article; publishing a video or picture on AlignThoughts’ Facebook profile; participating in an AlignThoughts Internet conversation by publishing a Tweet which incorporates a hashtag encouraged by or otherwise referencing AlignThoughts; submitting content to AlignThoughts via email in response to a request for submissions on the Site or Other Channels) you represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you provide, that the content is accurate, that it does not violate these User Terms, and that it will not cause injury to any entity or person. You grant AlignThoughts and its affiliates and related entities a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable right and license to (or permit others to) use, copy, modify, display, archive, store, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works from all information you publish, post, or otherwise provide to us via the Website or Other Channels, in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future. Without limiting the generality of the previous sentence, you authorize AlignThoughts to include the information you provide in a searchable format that may be accessed by users of the Website and Other Channels. You also grant AlignThoughts and its affiliates and related entities and other parties the right to use your name and any other information about you that you provide in connection with its use and with the reproduction or distribution of such material, and also grant AlignThoughts the right to use any information, material, concept, ideas, know-how or techniques contained in any communication, content, or materials you send to us for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to publishing, developing, manufacturing or marketing products using such information. All rights in this paragraph are granted without the need for additional compensation of any sort to you.

Please note that AlignThoughts does not accept unsolicited materials or ideas for use or publication. AlignThoughts is not responsible for the similarity of any of its content or programming in any media to materials or ideas transmitted to AlignThoughts.

Security Rules

You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of the Website or Other Channels, including, without limitation, (a) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a network or system or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization, (b) accessing data not intended for you or logging into an account or server which you are not authorized to access, (c) attempting to interfere with service to any network, user or host, including, without limitation, via means of submitting a virus to the Site, overloading, “mailbombing”  or “flooding”, or “crashing”, or (d) forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail, forum, or newsgroup posting. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. AlignThoughts will investigate occurrences that may involve such violations and may involve, and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting those who are involved in such violations.

Communications with Third Parties

Your dealings or communications through the Website and Other Channels with any party other than AlignThoughts are solely between you and that third party. For example, certain areas of the Website and Other Channels may contain links to our sponsors or even allow you to conduct transactions or purchase goods or services. In most cases, these transactions will be conducted by our third-party partners and vendors. Under no circumstances will AlignThoughts be liable for any goods, services, resources, or content available through such third-party dealings or communications, or for any harm related thereto. Please review that third party’s policies and practices carefully and make sure you are comfortable with those policies and practices before you engage in any transaction. Any complaints, concerns, or queries you may have relating to materials provided by third parties should be forwarded directly to the third party.

Termination

In the event that we hold memberships on our Site, AlignThoughts holds the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to all or any part of the Services on the Site, with or without notice, effective immediately, which may result in the forfeiture and destruction of all information associated with your membership. If you wish to terminate your Account, you may do so by following the instructions on the Site or through the Services. All provisions of these User Terms which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination.

Disclaimer

ALL THE SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS”, “AS AVAILABLE” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY WARRANTIES IMPLIED BY ANY COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE OF TRADE, ALL OF WHICH ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED.

THE CONTENT PUBLISHED ON THE WEBSITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY MADE TO THE INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE. ALIGNTHOUGHTS AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES TO THE WEBSITE OR OTHER CHANNELS AT ANY TIME INCLUDING CHANGES TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. THE WEBSITE OFFERS A SEARCH FEATURE WITHIN THE SITE. ALIGNTHOUGHTS EXPLICITLY DISCLAIMS ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENT OR AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION CONTAINED IN OUR SEARCH INDEX OR DIRECTORY.

WE AND OUR DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, PARTNERS, AND CONTENT PROVIDERS DO NOT WARRANT THAT: (I) THE SERVICES WILL BE SECURE OR AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION; (II) ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED; (III) ANY CONTENT OR SOFTWARE AVAILABLE AT OR THROUGH THE SERVICES IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR (IV) THE RESULTS OF USING THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Limitation of Liability

AS A CONDITION OF USE OF THIS WEBSITE AND ANY OTHER CHANNELS, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD HARMLESS, ALIGNTHOUGHTS AND ITS SUPPLIERS (IF ANY), EACH OF THEIR PARENT AND AFFILIATED COMPANIES, AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTNERS, SUPPLIERS, LICENSORS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, MEMBERS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, CONTRACTORS AND AGENTS, FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CLAIMS FOR DEFAMATION, TRADE DISPARAGEMENT, PRIVACY, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT) AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COURT COSTS) ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO ANY ALLEGATION REGARDING (A) YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY OTHER CHANNELS; (B) ALIGNTHOUGHTS’ USE OF ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE, AS LONG AS OUR USE IS NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THIS AGREEMENT; (C) INFORMATION OR MATERIAL POSTED OR TRANSMITTED THROUGH YOUR MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT (IF ANY), EVEN IF NOT POSTED BY YOU; AND, (D) ANY VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BY YOU.

If you are dissatisfied with any AlignThoughts material, or with any of AlignThoughts’ terms and conditions, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Website or Other Channels, as applicable.

Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall AlignThoughts, or its affiliates be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the content, unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data, the content or any errors or omissions in the content, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. You specifically acknowledge and agree that AlignThoughts is not liable for any conduct of any user.

Contact

Contact [email protected] with questions or problems with the use of the Site.