|
AMERICA ONLINE MEMBER AGREEMENT The America Online Member Agreement is a legal document that details your rights and obligations as an AOL member. You cannot become an AOL Member until you have accepted the terms of the Member Agreement. The Member Agreement provides very important information about your AOL membership, so you should take the time to read and understand it. You should also take the time to review the AOL Privacy Policy and the AOL Community Guidelines which reflect AOL's current policies. The Internet and online world is changing rapidly and as technology and AOL's business continue to evolve, these policies may have to be updated or revised. Since these Privacy Policies and Community Guidelines may change, you should check Keyword: TOS for the most current versions. For the same reasons, it may be necessary for AOL to update or revise certain provisions of the Member Agreement. By joining AOL and accepting the Member Agreement you agree that AOL may change the terms of this Member Agreement. If AOL makes material changes or revisions to the Member Agreement, we will provide notice to you thirty days in advance. If you don't agree to the changes proposed by AOL, or to any of the terms in this Member Agreement, your only remedy is to cancel your AOL membership.
Like any city, we take pride in -- and are protective of -- our community. That's why our community standards are important. Communities of all sizes rely on civic pride and the duty of all citizens to help with things like picking up litter, getting out of the way of ambulances, reporting crime, and abiding by the law. These Community Guidelines tell you what you can expect from AOL, as well as the kind of online behavior we expect of you. We include some tips for protecting yourself online. Community standards are always evolving, so it's important that you periodically check these Guidelines (as well as the guidelines in your favorite areas) for updates, new information, or additional safety tips. It's all part of taking pride in and protecting the AOL community. Thanks for doing your part. Here are the basics (read further for more detail): * Appropriate online content. * Proper online conduct. * Illegal behavior. * Unsolicited e-mail. * Protection of copyrights and trademarks. * Content and behavior on the Internet. * International online areas. * Getting help: Online resources. Appropriate online content. By content, we mean the information, software, communications, images, sounds, and all the material and information you see online. It is provided by AOL, our international joint ventures, our members, or under license by our content partners. We do not pre-screen content generally, but our content partners are expected to ensure that their content on the service reflects our community standards. We reserve the right to remove content that does not meet those standards. Neither AOL nor its partners assume any liability if the content is not removed. Bear in mind that we can do this only on the AOL service: we cannot do it on the Internet outside AOL. (see Content and Behavior on the Internet). Members like you also generate content in chat rooms, message boards, Web pages, etc. It is essential that this kind of content also reflects our community standards, and we may remove it if, in our best judgment, it does not meet those standards. When we do, you may receive a warning about the violation of AOL's standards if your account (any of the screen names) was responsible for putting the objectionable content online. If it's a serious offense or you've violated our rules before, we may terminate your account. AOL applies the same standards to its own and its partners' content that it applies to member content. Remember that community standards vary from community to community. Some chat rooms may use stronger language than others. Obviously, some online areas may deal with more adult-oriented topics, such as sexual dysfunction, rape, or infidelity, and we offer our members Parental Controls so that you may ensure that kids who use your account can't see that mature content (see Getting Help: Online Resources). In most places on AOL, vulgar language or sexually explicit conduct are no more appropriate online than they would be at Thanksgiving dinner. So while the guidelines may vary a bit depending on the online area you're in, in general, these guidelines apply: Language: Mild expletives and non-sexual anatomical references are allowed, but strong vulgar language, crude or explicit sexual references, hate speech, etc. are not. If you see it, report it at Keyword: Notify AOL. Nudity: Photos containing revealing attire or limited nudity in a scientific or artistic context is okay in some places (not all). Partial or full frontal nudity is not okay. If you see it, report it at Keyword: Notify AOL. Sex/Sensuality: There is a difference between affection and vulgarity. There is also a difference between a discussion of the health or emotional aspects of sex using appropriate language, and more crude conversations about sex. The former is acceptable, the latter is not. For example, in a discussion about forms of cancer, the words "breast" or "testicular" would be acceptable, but slang versions of those words would not be acceptable anywhere. Violence and drug abuse: Graphic images of humans being killed, such as in news accounts, may be acceptable in some areas, but blood and gore, gratuitous violence, etc., are not acceptable. Discussions about coping with drug abuse in health areas are okay, but discussions about or depictions of illegal drug abuse that imply it is acceptable are not. Please bear in mind that these are only guidelines; there is always a "gray area." Use your best judgment. Ask yourself if this is something that you would say in a room full of people you never met, or in the workplace. However, AOL makes the final determination about whether content is objectionable or not. With all the content posted on AOL every day by our members, we can't possibly monitor all of it, and we do not attempt to do so. Therefore, you might occasionally encounter something you don't want to see. You can ignore it, but we prefer you report it using the Keyword: Notify AOL. Good judgment is important, especially when you encounter the opinions of others. AOL doesn't endorse or oppose opinions expressed by our members, but we do sometimes take issue with the manner in which the opinion is expressed. Hate speech is never allowed. Proper online conduct. Online conduct should be guided by common sense and basic etiquette. You will be considered in violation of the Terms of Service if you (or others using your account) do any of the following: * Post, transmit, promote, or distribute content that is illegal. * Harass, threaten, embarrass, or do anything else to another member that is unwanted. This means: don't say bad things about them, don't keep sending them unwanted Instant Message(TM) notes, don't attack their race, heritage, etc. If you disagree with someone, respond to the subject, not the person. * Transmit or facilitate distribution of content that is harmful, abusive, racially or ethnically offensive, vulgar, sexually explicit, or in a reasonable person's view, objectionable. Community standards may vary, but there is no place on the service where hate speech is tolerated. * Disrupt the flow of chat in chat rooms with vulgar language, abusiveness, hitting the return key repeatedly or inputting large images so the screen goes by too fast to read, etc. This is online vandalism, and it ruins the experience for others. * Pretend to be anyone whom you are not. You may not impersonate another member (including celebrities), an AOL employee, or a Community Leader. * Attempt to get a password, other account information, or other private information from a member. Because a member's account is that person's online existence and persona, it is sacrosanct. Remember: AOL employees will NEVER ask for your password. Don't give your password or billing information out to anyone. Obey the rules wherever you are. This includes the rules of other interactive services, AOL area guidelines, state, local, federal laws, or foreign or international law where appropriate. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. "Netiquette" is used all over the Internet. Whether you are on AOL or using other Internet functions, it's important to be polite. Many newsgroups, Web communities, and the like have their own community guidelines or standards, and you should consult them before interacting. Remember that new AOL features or technologies are always subject to the Terms of Service. Illegal behavior. The laws that apply in the offline world must be obeyed online as well. We have zero tolerance for illegal behavior on the service. We terminate accounts and cooperate with law enforcement on such matters. In addition to providing you with an easy way to report illegal activity, we or our partners may in some instances monitor public areas. Our Community Leaders are there to help you and to help us maintain community standards. We do not monitor private areas, such as private chat rooms, Instant Message(TM) conversations, or e-mail. Regardless of the area, AOL may be used only for lawful purposes. Just because we may not be monitoring the area you're in at that point in time doesn't mean we won't uphold our standards. In addition, AOL reserves the right to treat as public any private chat room whose directory or room name is published or becomes generally known or available. Unsolicited e-mail. * Unsolicited bulk e-mail is strictly prohibited. * Chain letters and pyramid schemes are not allowed. Many such things are illegal. Even the ones that aren't illegal are annoying to most people and tie up online resources, so we don't allow them. * You may place advertisements only in areas designated for that purpose. Unsolicited advertising is not allowed. This includes the sending of bulk e-mail. You must have permission from AOL and/or the person to whom you are sending the ad. * You may not use the Member Directory or any other area of AOL to harvest or collect information, including screen names, about AOL members, and the use of such information for the purpose of sending unsolicited bulk e-mail is strictly prohibited. This includes collection of names on a member Web page. You must adhere to AOL's Privacy Policy. * You can regulate the mail you receive by going to Keyword: Mail Controls. Mail Controls allow you to: * Block or allow all e-mail * Block or allow e-mail from specific addresses or from the Internet * Block domains (the sources of the mail) * Block file attachments to e-mail Protection of copyrights and trademarks. Some content is owned by others and is protected by copyrights, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights. It's very easy to copy things in cyberspace, but just because it's easy doesn't mean it's acceptable or lawful. Unauthorized copying of software is illegal, and you can be subject to criminal penalties beyond the termination of your membership. We take this seriously. Similarly, other content owners may take criminal or civil action against you. All the content you transmit must either be your own or must be transmitted with express authorization for distribution on AOL. Bear in mind that some areas of AOL are "public," like message boards, forums, or the Member Directory, and other members will have access to your posted material and might copy, modify or distribute it. By submitting content in these public areas, you grant to AOL the complete right to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, etc. the content in any part, anywhere. Content and behavior on the Internet. AOL provides you with access to the Internet, which is different from AOL. E-mail to or from non-AOL members, newsgroups, FTP, the World Wide Web, etc. are outside of the boundaries of AOL. However, as an AOL member you are required to follow our TOS no matter where you are on the Internet. If another ISP or Internet organization reports you to us, we will take appropriate action against your account the same as we would if you had committed a violation on the AOL service. AOL offers Web site publishing capability to encourage you to participate in a variety of online communities on AOL. We regard such communities as part of the AOL service, and we will enforce our community guidelines for member-created Web pages. Use of the Internet is at your own risk, and AOL cannot be responsible for the content and conduct you may encounter. If the content or behavior originates outside the AOL community, we cannot remove it and are limited in the actions we can take. In addition, not every Web site you encounter will have a privacy policy and those that do may differ from AOL's. Be very careful about giving out personal information. Since the Internet contains goods and services that may not be appropriate for minors (or some adults!), you may want to use our Parental Controls (Keyword: Parental Controls) to block access to certain parts of the Internet for your account or sub-accounts, especially if kids are online in your home. International online areas. AOL also allows you to visit AOL International areas online. These areas may have slightly different rules for conducting yourself and different standards for acceptable content. You should refer to the local rules in those areas; in general, "when in Rome" do as the folks do there. For example, harmless words in the United States might take on a completely different meaning in the United Kingdom. Guides or hosts in those areas may issue you a warning, and termination is possible if you violate the rules of the international area. Bear in mind that cyberspace law is evolving, so it's a good idea to review the rules of your favorite areas frequently. Getting help: Online resources. Like the rest of the world, AOL may contain some material that is inappropriate for kids, young teens, or to some adults. Content in chat rooms is expressed immediately, so it can't be monitored in advance. Whether or not content is appropriate for children or for your tastes is up to you. We want to make sure that you have the ability to control what you or your children see. AOL provides many online means of modifying the online environment, all of which can be controlled by the master account. Parental Controls (Keyword: Parental Controls). Our Parental Controls allow the master account holder to adjust the online access of children on that account as they mature. You can designate each screen name as a child, young teen, mature teen, or 18+ account. Designating an account as a child or young teen account restricts your child's access to certain areas on AOL and the Internet (when accessed through AOL) and to Internet services available through America Online, such as online transactions. Each of these restrictions can be customized. But remember: No system of controls makes up for good old-fashioned parental supervision. We recommend that you monitor your child's use of AOL and that you make sure that your children understand AOL's Safety Tips. Web Controls (Keyword: Parental Controls). Web Controls let you restrict your child's access to the World Wide Web. You can set controls to allow your child to go only to pre-approved sites, or prevent your teen from going to identified pornographic sites on the Web. Mail Controls (Keyword: Mail Controls). Mail Controls allow you to: * Block or allow all e-mail * Block or allow e-mail from specific addresses or from the Internet * Block domains (the sources of the mail) * Block file attachments to e-mail Marketing Preferences (Keyword: Marketing Preferences). AOL occasionally makes our membership mailing list available to companies whose products or services may be of interest to you. Marketing Preferences allows you to tell us if you do not want your name to be released to other organizations. You can also tell us if you do not want to receive member offers from AOL. For more information about online safety and security, check out the following: Neighborhood Watch (Keyword: Neighborhood Watch). Neighborhood Watch is your online area for information about online safety and security, dealing with issues such as viruses, keeping your account secure, reporting violations, or online conduct. Member Services (Keyword: Help). This area has answers to a wide range of questions about AOL's service. How to Notify AOL of Problems Online There are two ways to inform AOL's Community Action Team (CAT) of violations you have either seen or been subject to online. AOL's CAT is a highly trained group responsible for educating and empowering members and for enforcing AOL's content and conduct standards. CAT can issue written warnings and, should the violation(s) be serious enough, terminate an account. You can notify AOL of a violation by going to Keyword: Notify AOL or Keyword: I Need Help. Using Keywords: TOS or Keyword: Terms of Service allows you to review these guidelines. When in a chat room, you can also click the Notify AOL button. This allows you to report a problem without having to leave your chat room. THE AOL PRIVACY POLICY We regard our members' privacy as one of our most important values. We want you to know how we protect member information and what choices you have about its use. We believe AOL's Privacy Policy should give you confidence whenever you use AOL or AOL.COM -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. We have organized our policy into three parts: (1) We outline our Eight Principles of Privacy, our core commitment to protect your privacy. (2) We explain how we implement each principle. You can click on any principle to read the policy. (3) We provide Helpful Tips on how you can better protect your privacy in cyberspace. AOL'S PRIVACY COMMITMENT: THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF PRIVACY We are committed to protecting your personal privacy. Our Eight Principles of Privacy summarize and clarify that commitment: how we safeguard your privacy, how we treat personal information, and what choices you have. We understand that for you to take full advantage of the benefits of this interactive medium, we must do everything we can to ensure that your privacy is secure. 1. We do not read your private online communications. 2. We do not use any information about where you personally go on AOL or the Web, and we do not give it out to others. 3. We do not give out your telephone number, credit card information or screen names, unless you authorize us to do so. And we give you the opportunity to correct your personal contact and billing information at any time. 4. We may use information about the kinds of products you buy from AOL to make other marketing offers to you, unless you tell us not to. We do not give out this purchase data to others. 5. We give you choices about how AOL uses your personal information. 6. We take extra steps to protect the safety and privacy of children. 7. We use secure technology, privacy protection controls and restrictions on employee access in order to safeguard your personal information. 8. We will keep you informed, clearly and prominently, about what we do with your personal information, and we will advise you if we change our policy. (1) We do not read your private online communications. AOL honors the confidentiality of its members' private communications in private chat rooms, e-mail (including downloads), and Instant Message(TM) conversations, as well as any profile data you may create, such as a stock portfolio. AOL does not read or disclose private communications except to comply with valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena or court order, to protect the company's rights and property, or during emergencies when we believe physical safety is at risk. Of course, what you write or post in public or member chat rooms and message boards is available not only to AOL, but to all members. (2) We do not use any information about where you personally go on AOL or the Web, and we do not give it out to others. Our system automatically gathers information about the areas you visit on our service. We do not use any of this navigational data about where you -- as an individual member -- go on the service. Nor do we share any of this data with outside companies. We do use navigational information in the aggregate to understand how our members as a group use the service so that we can make AOL better. We may also share this statistical information with our partners or other outside companies, but in doing so, we don't disclose individual names or personal navigational information. We do not keep track of where you go on the World Wide Web. The Web sites you visit may have their own privacy policies or no policy at all. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of Web sites before providing them with any of your personal information. (3) We do not give out your telephone number, credit card information or screen names, unless you authorize us to do so. And we give you the opportunity to correct your personal contact and billing information at any time. When you join AOL, we ask you for your name, address, telephone number, and billing information-including the credit card, checking account, or debit card used to pay for your account -- and the various screen names you want to use on your account. Here is how we protect that information: * AOL will not give out your telephone number or screen names (e-mail addresses), except where needed to deliver a product or service you ordered. * We will not give out your credit or debit card number or checking account information unless you authorize it, for example, during an online purchase. * We will not give out information that would link your screen names with your actual name. We make lists of members' names and addresses available to pre-screened companies who have specific direct mail product and service offers we think may be of interest to you. We also sometimes combine these lists with publicly available information or segment them based on other information, such as when a member joined AOL or a member's computer system type. These lists are never based on a member's online activities. You may choose to remove your name and address from the mailing lists we provide to other companies. For more information about your choices, please see Principle 5. We also collect and use other information for internal purposes. For example, we keep records in your account history of your complaints about other members' online behavior, your contact with AOL Member Services and any reported violations of our Terms of Service (TOS) that you or someone on your account may have committed. AOL automatically queries your computer for information about your computer system such as the speed of your modem, error messages you may have received, or whether you use Macintosh(TM) or Windows(TM) software -- to help us fit the service to your individual needs and to help us diagnose problems you may be having with your system. Finally, we sometimes use information about your geographical location to provide localized service. For example, we may use your zip code or the time zone you are in to make sure the weather information or TV listings you see are accurate for you. We have two exceptions to these policies: We will release specific information about your account only to comply with valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena or court order, or in special cases such as a physical threat to you or others. We provide you with the opportunity to update or correct your contact and billing information that we have on file. Just as you want to make sure that information AOL has about you is accurate, we want to keep only the most up-to-date information about your account. Therefore, whenever you believe that your contact or billing information needs updating, you can go to Keyword: Billing and make the necessary changes. (4) We may use information about the kinds of products you buy from AOL to make other marketing offers to you, unless you tell us not to. We do not give out this purchase data to others. Your Purchases From AOL AOL offers our members the opportunity to buy AOL store merchandise, such as computer hardware and software, and products that carry the AOL brand. Like other retailers and direct marketers, we record information about such purchases. When you buy from us online, our system automatically gathers purchase data, and we also record information about purchases made through our telemarketing, mail order and other marketing operations. We use this information in two ways: 1) We review what kinds of products and services appeal most to our members as a group. This statistical information helps us improve our offerings in the same way that other companies change their catalog based on what sells best. 2) We use information such as the number of purchases members make and the categories of goods and services they buy to make offers to you that we believe will interest you. In addition, we use other information such as when members joined AOL, how often they use the service or their type of computer system to make such offers. We also use publicly available consumer data to help us decide which marketing offers to make and which advertising they see. You may choose not to receive marketing offers from AOL. For more information about your choices, please see Principle 5. We do not give out any information about what you, as an individual, purchase from AOL, except to complete your transactions, or to comply with valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena or court order. We share with outside companies only statistical information about what AOL products or services our members -- as a group -- buy. Your Purchases From AOL Certified Merchants AOL Certified Merchants are required to provide a secure and safe environment for credit card purchases and will abide by AOL's privacy policy when handling any personal information given to them online by our members. These Certified Merchants will carry our AOL Guarantee Seal that tells you that you can conduct online business through AOL safely with them. Every time you make an online purchase from any AOL Certified Merchant, you are protected against liability in the unlikely event of credit card fraud. Simply follow your credit card company's reporting procedures, and AOL will reimburse you up to $50 for any remaining liability for unauthorized charges. Learn more at Keyword: Guarantee. Your Other Online Purchases Through Our Service For all other online purchases, be sure to review the merchants' privacy policies and contact them directly if you have any questions. They may have privacy terms that differ from AOL's privacy policy, and they may use personal information which you may provide them differently than our policy permits. AOL may be involved in facilitating your purchases from these other companies, but this individual data is not used for any other purpose. (5) We give you choices about how AOL uses your personal information. You have choices about how the information you have provided may be used by us to make special offers to you. And you can direct us to remove your name and address from mailing lists we provide to selected, pre-screened companies. To activate any of these marketing preferences, go to Keyword: Marketing Preferences or Keyword: Choice or click on the My AOL button on the toolbar at the top of your screen. * You may choose not to receive marketing offers from AOL by U.S. mail. * You may choose not to receive marketing offers from AOL by telephone. * You may choose not to receive marketing offers from AOL by e-mail. * You may choose not to receive marketing offers from AOL through online "pop-up screens." * You may choose to have your name and address removed from any mailing lists that we provide to other companies. (6) We take extra steps to protect the safety and privacy of children. Young people need special safeguards and privacy protection. We realize they may not understand all the provisions of our policy or be able to make thoughtful decisions about the choices available to adult members. So we have special privacy policies to protect kids and teens using areas on the service specifically designed for them, including our Kids Only Channel. And we urge all parents to teach their children about protecting their personal information while online. * In areas on the service designed for children 12 and under, AOL and its partners require prior parental consent (for example, by sending in a permission form by regular mail or by fax) before collecting or using names, addresses, telephone numbers or other information that identifies a child offline. In addition, prior to children using screen names on the AOL service, we require parental (master account) consent at the time the subaccount screen name is created. We do this so that parents are aware of and consent to how their children may use their screen names; for example, using the screen name to request an online newsletter, to post a message on a message board or to participate in a chat room. In areas designed for teens 13 through 15, AOL and its partners may not collect names, addresses, telephone numbers or other personally identifiable information without disclosing how that information will be used and notifying teens that they should obtain permission from their parents before providing any information. * Another way parents can control their child's experience online is AOL's Parental Controls (Keyword: Parental Controls). These simple, flexible tools allow parents to customize content and functionality to their child's maturity level. Since one master account may have up to five screen names, we encourage all parents to use their master account to create separate screen names for each child. This allows the parent to customize AOL to their child's maturity level and content needs: Kids Only (recommended for children 12 and under); Young Teen (recommended for ages 13-15); or Mature Teen (recommended for ages 16-17). * Unsolicited e-mail is a problem for everyone, but it is particularly a problem for children. This includes mail that could contain content you may not want your children to see, or mail that may ask for information you would not want your children to give out. If you want to minimize the unsolicited e-mail your children receive, you can use Mail Controls (Keyword: Mail Controls) to block all e-mail from the Internet or to select the e-mail addresses from which you wish to allow your children to receive e-mail. Remember that screen names and information voluntarily given by children and teens in public chat rooms, e-mail exchanges, message boards, the Member Directory, and other online communications are publicly available and may be used by other parties to generate unsolicited e-mail. You can learn more about how to ensure a safe and enjoyable online experience for you and your family at Keyword: Neighborhood Watch. (7) We use secure technology, privacy protection controls and restrictions on employee access in order to safeguard your personal information. We use state-of-the-art technology to keep your personal information-including your billing and account information -- as secure as possible. We also have put in place privacy protection control systems designed to ensure that your personal data remain safe and private. Each and every AOL employee must abide by AOL's privacy policy. Only authorized AOL employees are permitted to have access to your personal information and such access is limited by need. For example, if you call our Member Services department with a concern or complaint, the representative is allowed to access only the personal information that he or she needs to address your concern. In addition, any company with which AOL contracts to be our agent in conducting our business is required to adhere to confidentiality agreements to ensure that your information remains safe and secure. All AOL employees are required to acknowledge that they understand and will comply with this privacy policy. Employees who violate our privacy policies are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. We strongly encourage our content, commerce and advertising partners to post clearly their own privacy policies and to have privacy control systems in place to protect your personal information. Be sure to review their privacy policies and contact them directly if you have any questions. (8) We will keep you informed, clearly and prominently, about what we do with your personal information, and we will advise you if we change our policy. A key part of AOL's commitment to protecting your privacy is explaining to you how we may use your personal information. This privacy policy serves that purpose, and it is accessible through several means within our service. When you register for our service, you are presented with our privacy policy and should familiarize yourself with this and all other AOL policies at that time. In addition, this policy is easily located in our Terms of Service area (Keyword: TOS), and by using Keyword: Privacy, you can view AOL's privacy policy. Whenever we change our policy, we will give you 30 days' notice of those changes through prominent disclosures, including notification on our front screen. If policy changes are substantial, we will notify each of our members individually through pop-up screens or e-mails. Since pop-ups last only for a limited time, however, you should sign on to your account regularly for these and other important announcements. If you'd like to comment on or have questions about our privacy policy, or if you have a concern or policy violation you wish to report, please go to Keyword: Privacy Questions. |