Terms of Service for Best Practical Websites
This states the Terms of Service applicable to the bestpractical.com, forum.bestpractical.com , issues.bestpractical.com and wiki.bestpractical.com (aka rt-wiki.bestpractical.com) websites (each a “Website,” collectively “the Websites” or “these Websites”) as of June 7, 2018. Please review this document carefully. As used herein, the words “user,” “you,” and “your” mean users of or visitors to the Websites. The words “we,” “our,” “the Company,” “BPS,” and “Best Practical” mean Best Practical Solutions, LLC, the owner and operator of the websites. These Terms of Service specifically pertain to using these Websites and does not apply to our Products (Request Tracker aka RT and Request Tracker for Incident Response aka RTIR.) Because our Products are Open Source and licensed under GNU General Public License, each instance is governed by the organization which operates, administers, and/or hosts it. These Terms of Service also do not include any third party services for which a separate Terms of Service is applicable.
Sections:
- Section 1: Terms of use
- Section 2: General terms - Content and communications
- Section 3: Copyright and other restrictions
- Section 4: Disclaimer of liability
- Section 5: Limitation of liability
- Section 6: Indemnity and release
- Section 7: User information and privacy
- Section 8: General
- Section 9: Contact
Section 1: Terms of Use
These terms of use constitute a binding legal agreement (the "Agreement") between you and BPS. If you do not accept the terms stated here, do not use the Websites. This Agreement contains the complete terms that apply to your use and participation, and by using the Websites you agree to be legally bound by the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. This Agreement is subject to change and may be modified at any time, and any such modification shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified agreement on the Website. Use of the Websites after such changes are posed constitutes acceptance of all changes. If you find changes in these terms that are unacceptable, you should discontinue your use of the Websites.
Section 2: General Terms - Content and Communications
(a) The Websites are a venue to provide and share information about Best Practical and its Products; however, there may be content or information provided or generated by third parties that is intentionally or accidentally incorrect. The Websites may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors.
Any contacts you make with another person or entity, or decisions you make facilitated through the Websites are strictly on your own. You must do your own due diligence and use your best judgment. The use, posting, distribution, or publication of any content or information does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, advice, opinion or comment by BPS nor an assurance of legality, quality or safety by BPS. We cannot guarantee, and assume no responsibility for verifying, the truthfulness or accuracy of the information provided by users of the Websites.
(b) We are not obligated to screen communications or postings in advance and are not responsible for screening or monitoring content posted by third parties on the Websites. However, you acknowledge and agree that we have the right to monitor the Websites electronically from time to time in our sole discretion, and to disclose any information as necessary or appropriate to satisfy any law, regulation or other governmental request, to operate the Website properly, or to protect BPS or users of the Websites.
(c) If we are notified of communications or content that allegedly do not conform to this Agreement, we may investigate the allegation and determine in our sole discretion whether to remove the content or terminate use of the Websites. BPS has no liability or responsibility to users for performance or nonperformance of such activities. If you view content or receive communications allegedly inconsistent with this Agreement, you may notify us by sending an e-mail to contact@bestpractical.com stating the observed behavior. Following receipt of such correspondence, we will make appropriate decisions regarding user terminations, removal of posted content, or other actions we deem appropriate in our sole discretion. All decisions made by BPS are final and do not imply or impose on BPS any responsibility or liability for the form, intent, or accuracy of the original, or any future, posted content by or communications between anyone.
(d) We may monitor use of the Websites at any and all times to determine compliance with this Agreement. Please also note that if we determine you have abused or violated the letter or intent of any of these terms, conditions or guidelines, or any applicable law, we may terminate or suspend your access to the Websites and all related services, initiate an investigation, remove materials from our servers, issue a warning, block any prohibited activity, and take any other responsive action.
Section 3: Copyright and Other Restrictions
(a) Authorization of Use and General Prohibited Uses. Best Practical authorizes you to view and download a single copy of content on the Websites, including content provided by RSS feed, atom feed, or other web feed, solely for your lawful, non-commercial and personal use as expressly permitted by and subject to the restrictions contained in this Agreement. The Websites shall not be used by any person to post, transmit, display, publish, or distribute content that (i) is in violation of this Agreement, (ii) infringes the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights of others or violates the privacy or publicity or other personal rights of others, (iii) is false, fraudulent, deceptive, defamatory, obscene, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, or embarrassing to another user or any other person or entity, including without limitation, a sexually-explicit or parody image or text, chain letters or pyramid schemes or (iv) violates applicable laws. Your right to use the Website will terminate immediately, without any further action by BPS, if you breach any of the terms of this Agreement.
(b) Spiders. Users may not use any robot, spider or other automatic device or process to monitor or copy any portion of the Websites or the Material in any manner prohibited by BPS, or attempt to circumvent any "/robots.txt" file, "/spider.txt" file or other means of robot or spider exclusion used on the Website.
(c) Copyright; Prohibition Against Copying BPS Content.The contents of the Websites developed or contributed by BPS, such as the compilation and arrangement of content including text, graphics, images and other materials, and the hypertext markup language (HTML), scripts active server pages (ASP), content provided by RSS feed, atom feed or other Web feed or certain other content or software used in the Websites (the "BPS Content"), are protected by copyright under both United States and foreign laws. All rights in the BPS Content are reserved to BPS. Unauthorized use of the Best Practical Content may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. Regardless of the extent to which the BPS Content is protected by copyright, you agree that you may not sell or modify the BPS Content or copy, display, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish, broadcast, or otherwise use BPS Content in any form or media for any public or commercial purpose, including the generation of derivative material, except as expressly permitted by Best Practical. You must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original BPS Content on any copy you make of the BPS Content. The use of the BPS Content on any other website or other telecommunication media or in a networked computer environment for any purpose, without our express prior written permission, is prohibited.
(d) User Content. The Websites blogs and forums are intended to be an Internet destination where individuals exchange diverse viewpoints and ideas. The interactive nature of the blogs and forums make it impossible for us to assume responsibility for the materials posted by our users. The ideas, suggestions, opinions, comments and observations made by users, and any text, data, photographs, video, music, sound, chat, messages, files or other material provided by users (all of which are referred to as “User Content”) are not endorsed by BPS, and we make no guarantee regarding the reliability, accuracy or quality of any User Content that is posted on the blogs or forums. You acknowledge that you will evaluate and bear any risks related to your use of any User Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of such User Content. All User Content posted to the Websites is the sole responsibility of the person who originally posted the User Content, and your sole recourse for any damage you may suffer as a result of User Content shall be to such individual.
Any User Content that you post on the Websites or send to us will be deemed non-confidential. By submitting User Content, you are representing that you are the creator of the material you submit or have authorization to distribute it. After posting User Content, you continue to retain your ownership rights in such User Content, and you continue to have the right to use your User Content in any way you choose. By sending User Content to us or posting it on the Websites, you expressly grant Best Practical a perpetual, irrevocable and unrestricted license to publicly display, use, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute and sublicense the User Content in any form.
We may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the Websites, including, for example, limits on the number of: (1) days that blogs, message board postings or other uploaded content and User Content will be retained; (2) groups to which you may belong; (3) files (including graphics, photographs, videos or sound/music files) that may be posted; (4) disk space that will be allotted on BPS’ servers on your behalf, and (5) times you may access the Websites in a given period of time (and the maximum duration of your visits to the Websites.)
You agree that Best Practical has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other communications or other User Content, provided by you or otherwise, maintained or transmitted by BPS.
(e) Trademark. Best Practical, Request Tracker, RT, Request Tracker for Incident Response, RTIR, related logos, and other marks are tradenames and trademarks of BPS. Our trademarks may not be used by any person in connection with any product or service that is not offered by BPS, in any manner that is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace, or that disparages or discredits Best Practical.
Section 4: Disclaimer of Liability
Best Practical does not warrant that the Websites will operate error-free or that the Websites and their servers are free of computer viruses or other harmful mechanisms. If your use of the Websites results in the need for servicing or replacing equipment or data, we are not responsible or liable for those costs. BPS does not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to the Websites, and numerous factors outside of our reasonable control may interfere with operation of the Websites. The Websites contains links to third party websites. These links are provided solely as a convenience to you and not as an endorsement by BPS of the content on such third party websites. We are not responsible for the content of linked third-party sites and do not make any representations regarding the content or accuracy of materials on such third party websites. If you decide to access linked third party websites, you do so at your own risk.
The Websites and Best Practical Content and the User Content are provided on an 'as is' basis without any warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, BPS disclaims all warranties, including without limitation the warranties of merchantability, non- infringement of third party rights and fitness for a particular purpose. Best Practical makes no warranties about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, intent, usefulness, or timeliness of the BPS Content, User Content, services and links. Use of the Websites is at your own risk.
Section 5: Limitation of Liability
In no event shall Best Practical, its affiliates, agents, suppliers, partners, information providers, and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors and agents or any third parties mentioned at the Websites be liable for any damages whatsoever (including without limitation, incidental, consequential, punitive and exemplary damages, lost revenues, or damages resulting from lost data, inconvenience or business interruption) resulting from the use or inability to use the Websites, and the content, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory, and whether or not BPS or such other parties are advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall BPS or the aforementioned parties be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you or anyone else in reliance on the Website or any of its content. In no event shall the aggregate liability to you for all claims directly or indirectly arising from the use of the Websites exceed one dollar ($1.00). Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation of liability, so the foregoing limitation may not apply to you.
Each party recognizes and agrees that the warranty disclaimers and liability and remedy limitations in this Agreement are material bargained for bases of this Agreement and that they have been taken into account and reflected in determining the consideration to be given by each party under this Agreement and in the decision by each party to enter into this Agreement.
Section 6: Indemnity and Release
(a) As a material inducement to provide you with use of the Websites, you hereby indemnify, defend and hold BPS, and its officers, directors, owners, agents, partners, information providers, and affiliates (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties") harmless from and against any and all demands, damages, liability, claims, actions, demands and costs incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of any breach by you of this Agreement, including, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
(b) If you have a dispute involving the Websites with a third party, you release each of the Indemnified Parties from all claims, demands, damages, liability, claims, actions, demands and costs 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. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code §1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor.”
Section 7: User Information and Privacy
Collection, use, retention, and disclosure of your information is subject to Best Practical’s Privacy Policy, found at bestpractical.com/privacy-policy.
Section 8: Infringement Notice
It is BPS’ policy to respond to claims of intellectual property infringement. We will promptly process and investigate notices of alleged infringement and take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(2) ("DMCA") and other applicable intellectual property laws. In accordance with the DMCA, notifications of claimed copyright infringement should be submitted to the following Designated Agent for the Websites: contact@bestpractical.com.
To be effective under the DMCA, the notification must be a written communication that includes the following:
1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works on the Websites are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works on the Websites;
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
5. A statement that the complaining party has a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Section 8: General
Nothing herein shall be construed to limit our right to warn, suspend or terminate access to the Websites by any user who breaches this Agreement, provides inadequate authentication of identity, or whose activities, as determined by BPS in its sole discretion. pose a possible legal or business risk to anyone, including BPS. We may discontinue or change the Websites at any time. This Agreement is personal to you and may not be assigned without our prior written consent. BPS makes no claims any BPS Material is appropriate or may be downloaded outside of the United States. Access to the BPS Material may not be legal by certain persons, or in certain countries. This Agreement will not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Each party shall comply with all applicable export laws, restrictions, and regulations of any United States or foreign agency or authority and will not export or re- export, or allow the export or re-export of any product, technology or information it obtains or acquires in connection with the Websites (or any direct product thereof) in violation of any such laws, restrictions or regulations. If you access the Websites from outside of the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction. This Agreement is governed by the internal substantive laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Jurisdiction for any claims arising under this Agreement shall lie exclusively with the state or federal courts in Boston, Massachusetts where BPS has its principal place of business. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of any term of this Agreement shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term. Captions are for reference purposes only and do not define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of any section. Except as expressly provided in a particular "Legal Notice," written license or material on particular web pages, this Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between you and BPS with respect to the use of the Websites.
Section 9: Contact
If you have any questions about the above Terms of Service, please contact:
Best Practical Solutions, LLC
PO Box 441333
Somerville, MA 02144
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