Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Table of Contents

Copyright and Restrictions

All material and information displayed, transmitted or carried on www.herald-mail.com (the "Site") including, but not limited to, directories, guides, news articles, opinions, reviews, text, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips, video clips, trademarks, service marks and the like in all currently available and future formats (collectively the "Content") is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. No Content may be reproduced, modified, transmitted, distributed, shared, displayed, published, linked or broadcast without the prior written permission of The Herald-Mail Company ("Herald-Mail"). The Herald-Mail, its affiliates or third party licensors, owns the Content.

You may not copy, frame, cache, modify, publish, transmit, transfer, sell, reproduce, create derivative work from, distribute, repost, perform, archive, display, or in any way commercially exploit any of the Content or infringe upon trademarks or service marks contained in the Content. You agree to abide by all copyright notices and restrictions attached to any Content accessed through the Site, not to alter the Content in any way, and not to alter or remove any trademark, copyright or any other notice from copies of the Content.

Permitted Personal Use

You may make a single copy of the Content displayed on the Herald-Mail Web site for personal, non-commercial use only, provided that you do not remove any trademarks, copyright and any other notice contained in such content. With the exception of that copy, you shall not archive or retain any Content in any form without the written permission from Herald-Mail. You may not distribute (including via email or the Internet), or otherwise make available, copies of any Content to others, whether or not for payment or other consideration, without the written permission from Herald-Mail, except through the use of the "email story" service provided by Herald-Mail for any news story posted on the Site.

Permissions Request

Permission may be given at our discretion to allow other Web sites to post a direct link to stories found on the Site. You may submit requests in writing for permission to retain, distribute or reproduce Content to:

Library—Permissions Dept.
Herald-Mail
P.O. Box 439
100 Summit Avenue
Hagerstown, MD 21741
email: lesas@herald-mail.com

Copyright Complaints

Herald-Mail respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement or are aware of any infringing material placed by any third party on the Site, please contact us at: Copyright Agent, P.O. Box 439, 100 Summit Avenue, Hagerstown, MD 21741, or by email at copyrightnotice@herald-mail.com.

General Disclaimer, Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

The Site contains facts, views, opinions, statements and recommendations of third-party individuals and organizations. The Herald-Mail does not represent or endorse the accuracy, timeliness or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information displayed, uploaded or distributed through the Site. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such use of this Site, opinion, advice, statement or information shall be at your sole risk. The Herald-Mail makes no representation that the Content is appropriate or available for use outside of the U.S. Access to the Site from territories outside the U.S. where the Content is prohibited or illegal is hereby expressly prohibited.

If you access this Site from outside of the U.S., you are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. As a user of this Site in any manner, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Herald-Mail from any and all claims and damages arising from or relating to any allegation regarding your use of this Site, Herald-Mail's use of any Content or information you provide to the Site, and any violation of the terms and policies on this Site by you or those acting as your agent.

While Herald-Mail uses reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date information, we make no warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the Content and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omission in the Content. Herald-Mail does not represent or warrant that use of any Content will not infringe rights of third parties. The Site has no responsibility for actions of third parties or for content provided or posted by others.

Use of the site is at your own risk. All content is provided "as is" and "as available". Neither Herald-Mail nor any of its affiliated or related companies, nor any of the employees, agents, content providers or licensors of them, makes any representation or warranty of any kind regarding the site, the content, any advertising material, information, products or services available on or through the Site, and/or the results that may be obtained from use of the site or such content or services. All express or implied warranties, including without limitation warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, warranties against infringement, and warranties the site will meet your requirements, be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free, are specifically disclaimed. The site and its affiliates are not responsible or liable for content posted by third parties, actions of any third party, or for any damage to, or virus that may infect, your computer equipment or other property. In no event shall the Site or its affiliates, employees, agents, content providers or licensors be liable for any indirect, consequential, special, incidental or punitive damages including, without limitation, damages related to 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. In no event shall the Site or its affiliates, employees, agents, content providers or licensors be liable for any amount for direct damages in excess of $100.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless, Herald-Mail, its affiliated companies, and each of their respective partners, suppliers, licensors, officers, directors, shareholders, 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: (1) your use of the Site; (2) the Site's use of any content or information you provide, as long as such use is not inconsistent with these terms and conditions of use; (3) information or material posted or transmitted through your account on the Site, even if not posted by you; and (4) any violation of these terms and conditions of use by you.

Real Estate Advertising

All real estate advertised on the Site is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitations, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.

State law may also forbid discrimination based on these factors and others. We do not screen real estate advertisements posted on the Site for compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act. It is incumbent upon each person posting any such advertisement to comply with these terms and conditions, as well as all applicable law.

Recruitment Advertising

All employers are prohibited from structuring their job advertisement in such a way as to indicate that any group of people is excluded from consideration for employment on one of the bases enumerated in Section 703 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, i.e. race, sex, religion, age or national origin. We do not screen employment advertisements posted on the Site for compliance with the Civil Rights Act. It is incumbent upon each employer posting any such advertisement to comply with these terms and conditions, as well as all applicable law.

Governing Law

The policies herein and the use of this Site are governed by Maryland law. Any claim related to the Site or policies of the Herald-Mail shall be brought in a federal or state court in Hagerstown, Maryland, within one year after the claim arises. You agree no such claim may be brought as a class action. Users of this Site consent to the jurisdiction and venue of such court as the most convenient and appropriate for the resolution of disputes concerning this Site and all related policies. The Herald-Mail is controlled, operated and administered entirely within the United States. If you are located outside the United States, please note the information you provide to us will be transferred to the United States. You hereby consent to this transfer.

User-Provided Information and Content

By providing information to, communicating with, and/or placing material on the Site, including for example communication during registration, communication on any Herald-Mail bulletin board, message or chat area, posting any resume or other content, placing any classified advertisement, entering any sweepstakes, etc., you represent and warrant: (1) you own or otherwise have all necessary rights to the content you provide and the rights to use it as provided in these Terms and Conditions of Use; (2) all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete, and does not violate these Terms and Conditions of Use; and, (3) the Content you provide will not cause injury to any person or entity. Using a name other than your own legal name is prohibited (except in those specific areas of the Site that specifically ask for unique, fictitious names (e.g., certain message boards and chat rooms).

For any Content you provide to the Site, you grant Herald-Mail, its affiliates and related entities, including the Site, a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, modify, display, archive, store, distribute, reproduce and create derivative works from such Content, 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 Herald-Mail to share the information across all its affiliated Web sites, to include the information in a searchable format accessible by users of the Site and affiliated web sites, and to use your name and any other information in connection with its use of the material you provide. You also grant Herald-Mail the right to use any material, information, ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in any communication you send to Herald-Mail and/or the Site for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to developing, manufacturing and 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 neither Herald-Mail nor the Site accepts unsolicited materials or ideas for use or publication, and is not responsible for the similarity of any of its Content or programming in any media to materials or ideas transmitted to the Site. Should you send any unsolicited materials or ideas, you do so with the understanding no additional consideration of any sort will be provided to you, and you are waiving any claim against the Site and its affiliates regarding the use of such materials and ideas, even if material or an idea is used that is substantially similar to the idea you sent.

E-Commerce Transactions on the Site

During your visit to the Site you may elect to engage in a transaction involving the purchase of a product or service such as a newspaper subscription, a print or online advertisement or other tangible goods and services. To serve you most efficiently, credit card transactions and order fulfillment are often handled by a third party processing agent, bank or distribution institution. While in most cases transactions are completed without difficulty, there is no such thing as "perfect security" on the Internet or offline. If you're concerned about online credit card safety, in most cases a telephone number will be made available so you can call us and place your order by phone. The Site cannot take responsibility for the success or security of transactions undertaken or processed by third parties. On occasion, a product or service may not be available at the time or the price as it appears in an advertisement. In such event, or in the event a product is listed at an incorrect price or with incorrect information due to typographical error, technology effort, error in the date or length of publication, or error in pricing or product information received from our advertisers or suppliers, you agree the Site is not responsible for such errors or discrepancies.

Interactive Areas of the Site

Bulletin boards, chat rooms and other interactive areas of the Site are provided to give users an interesting and stimulating forum to express their opinions and share ideas and information. Given the nature of the Site and the volume of messages and postings, Herald-Mail cannot and does not monitor all of the material posted on the Site or transmitted through the Site by users and third party information providers. To protect your safety, please use your best judgment when using these forums.

We particularly discourage divulging personal phone numbers and addresses or other information that can be used to identify or locate you. If you make such disclosures either through postings on the bulletin boards, chat rooms, in classified advertising you place or in other interactive areas, or to third parties in any communication, you do so fully understanding the consequences of such disclosures and with a knowing consent that such information could be used to identify you. Herald-Mail reserves the right to delete, move or edit any communications at any time, for any reason or in its discretion, but has no obligation to review or remove any such Content.

Posting Rules

The interactive portions of the Site are intended to encourage public debate. Herald-Mail expects people to differ and it encourages freedom of speech and a marketplace of ideas. Nevertheless, by using the interactive areas of the Site, you are participating in a community that is intended for all of the Site's users. Therefore, Herald-Mail reserves the right to remove any Content posted on the Site at any time for any reason. Decisions as to whether any Content violates any Posting Rule noted below will be made by Herald-Mail in its sole discretion after it has actual notice of such posting. Without limiting Herald-Mail's right to remove any Content, Herald-Mail hereby provides the following general guidelines for posting Content on the Site. When using the Site, please do not post material that:

  • contains vulgar, profane, abusive, racist or hateful language or expressions, epithets or slurs, text, photographs or illustrations in poor taste, inflammatory attacks of a personal, racial or religious nature.

  • is defamatory, threatening, disparaging, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violates the privacy rights of any third party, is unreasonably harmful or offensive to any individual or community.

  • violates any right of the Site or any third party.

  • discriminates on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law.

  • violates or inappropriately encourages the violation of any municipal, state, federal or international law, rule, regulation or ordinance.

  • unfairly interferes with any third party's uninterrupted use of the Site.

  • advertises, promotes or offers to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose.

  • 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 of Use.

     

  • uploads or transmits viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files.

  • disrupts, interferes with, or otherwise harms or violates the security of the Site, or any services, system resources, accounts, passwords, servers or networks connected to or accessible through the Site or affiliated or linked sites.

  • "flames" 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.

Warning: a violation of the foregoing guidlines may be referred to law enforcement authorities.

Third-Party Communications Through the Site

Your dealings or communications through The Site with any party other than Herald-Mail are solely between you and that third party. For example, certain areas of the Site may 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 The Site 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 carefully that third party's policies and practices and make sure you are comfortable with them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, concerns or questions relating to materials provided by third parties should be forwarded directly to the third party. During your visit to the Site you may link to, or view as part of a frame, certain content that is actually created or hosted by a third party. You may be introduced to, or be able to access, information, web sites, advertisements, features, contests or sweepstakes offered by other parties. Herald-Mail is not responsible for the actions or policies of such third parties. You should check the applicable terms of service and privacy policies of those third parties when providing information on such a feature or page.

Privacy Policy

General

The Herald-Mail respects the privacy of every individual who visits our site. This Privacy Policy outlines the information the Herald-Mail and the Site may collect and how we may use that information. This Policy will also instruct you on what to do if you do not want your personal information collected or shared when you visit our site.

Personal Data

The Herald-Mail and the Site will not collect any personally-identifiable information about you (e.g. your name, address, telephone number, or email address ("Personal Data") through the Site unless you have provided it to us voluntarily. If you do not want your Personal Data collected, please do not submit it to us. When you do provide us with Personal Data, we may use that information in the following ways, unless stated otherwise: we may store and process that information to better understand your needs and how we can improve our products and services; we (or a fulfillment house or other third party on our behalf in connection with a promotion) may use that information to contact you; and/or we may provide other third parties with aggregate—but not individual—information about visitors to or users of the Site. We do not now and do not intend to sell, rent, or market Personal Data about you to unaffiliated parties.

Children/Direct Notice To Parents

The Herald-Mail has no intention of collecting any Personal Data from individuals under thirteen years of age without parental consent, but it does not require people to verify that they are over 13 years of age before submitting Content to the Site. In the event the Site runs an essay contest or other program that requires submission of information from children, your consent is required. Notice may be provided in a number of ways, including sending an email message or a notice by postal mail. At any time you may write to the email address below to request a summary of any information we have retained or to ask that it be deleted. Parents should be aware that the Site's Privacy Policy will govern our use of Personal Data, but that information which is voluntarily given by children (or others) in chat sessions, email exchanges, bulletin boards or the like may be used by other parties to generate unsolicited mail. Herald-Mail encourages all parents to instruct their children in the safe and responsible use of their Personal Data while using the Internet.

Additional Information Collected Automatically

In some cases, we may automatically (i.e. not via registration) collect information about you that is not personally identifiable. Examples of this type of information include the type of Internet browser you are using, the type of computer operating system you are using and the domain name of the website from which you linked to the Site.

Information Placed Automatically on Your Computer/Cookies

When you view our site, we may store some information on your computer. This information will be in the form of a "cookie" or similar file and can help us in many ways. For example, Cookies allow us to tailor a website to better match your interests and preferences. With most Internet browsers, you can erase Cookies from your computer hard drive, block all Cookies or receive a warning before a Cookie is stored. Please refer to your Browser instructions or help screen to learn more about these functions.

Miscellaneous

Herald-Mail reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions of Use at any time in its discretion. Your continued use of the Site after the posting of any amended Terms and Conditions of Use shall constitute your agreement to be bound by any such changes. Your use of the Site prior to the time these Terms and Conditions of Use was posted will be governed according to the Terms and Conditions of Use that applied at the time of your use.

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Contacting Us

For copyright and privacy related questions, we can be reached by contacting:

Lesa Selders, Librarian
Herald-Mail
P.O. Box 439
100 Summit Avenue
Hagerstown, MD 21741
Phone: 301-733-5131
Email: lesas@herald-mail.com