The Alumbo.com website ("Site") is offered to you conditioned on your acceptance without modification of the following Terms of Service and your use of the Site constitutes your agreement to these Terms of Service. (Last updated April 9, 2003).

Proprietary Rights

Copyright © 1999-2008, Alumbo Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. All text, graphics and multimedia content, as well as HTML code and scripts on the Site are copyrighted and are the property of Alumbo Media Inc. ("Alumbo") and/or our contributors or affiliates. You may download material from the Site for private, non-commercial use only, as long as you make no alterations and as long as you include the copyright notice shown at the top of this section.

To report copyright infringements, or if you believe something on our site infringes someone else's copyright, please contact us. Alumbo has made every effort to secure appropriate licenses and clearances for all proprietary intellectual properties used on this site.

"Alumbo", the Alumbo logo, and the phrases "Live the best life you can!", "Exploring humankind's quest for meaning and growth" and "For your Mind, Body and Spirit" are trademarks and service marks of Alumbo. All other trademarks, service marks and logos used in the Site are the trademarks, service marks or logos of their respective owners.

Some portions of this website (some community descriptions, resource links, etc.) are provided by the Open Directory Project and are used by permission.

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Warranty Information

THE SITE, INCLUDING ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN IT OR ANY SITE-RELATED SERVICE, OR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE LICENSED OR PURCHASED THROUGH THE SITE, IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPLIED BY AND INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THIS AGREEMENT. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ANY WARRANTY THAT IS PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH ANY OF THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES DESCRIBED HEREIN IS PROVIDED SOLELY BY THE OWNER, ADVERTISER OR MANUFACTURER OF THAT PRODUCT AND/OR SERVICE, AND NOT BY ALUMBO. YOU ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR ACCESS TO THE SITE MAY NOT BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR SECURE. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE SITE.

NEITHER ALUMBO NOR ITS EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR SPONSORS ARE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SITE AND/OR CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE SITE. YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ALUMBO IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER MEMBERS OR THIRD-PARTIES, AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM THE FOREGOING RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU. YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE AND/OR CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE SITE IS TO STOP USING THE SITE.

A possibility exists that the Site could include inaccuracies or errors. Additionally, a possibility exists that unauthorized additions, deletions and alterations could be made by third parties to the Site. Although Alumbo attempts to ensure the integrity of the Site, it makes no guarantees whatsoever as to its completeness, correctness or accuracy. In the event that such an inaccuracy arises, please contact us so that we can try to correct it.

Alumbo neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Site by anyone other than authorized Company employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. Under no circumstances will Alumbo be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information obtained through the Site. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Site.

THE CONTENT ON THE SITE IS PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES. IT IS NOT IN ANY WAY INTENDED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MEDICAL, LEGAL OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL ADVISER. NEITHER THE CONTENT NOR ANY OTHER SERVICE OFFERED BY OR THROUGH ALUMBO.COM IS INTENDED TO BE RELIED ON FOR MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT, OR ON LEGAL, FINANCIAL, OR OTHER MATTERS. NEVER DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL ADVICE AND NEVER DISREGARD SUCH ADVICE BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON THIS OR ANY WEBSITE!

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Acknowledgments

You acknowledge that you are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all telephone, computer hardware and other equipment needed for access to and use of the Site, and all charges related thereto.

The Site may contain links to other Web sites operated by third parties ("Linked Sites"). You acknowledge that Alumbo and its sponsors neither endorse nor are affiliated with the Linked Sites and are not responsible for any content that appears on the Linked Sites. If you decide to access Linked Sites through links on the Alumbo site, you do so at your own risk. Your use of Linked Sites is subject to the Terms and Conditions of use for those sites.

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Void Where Prohibited

Although the Site is accessible worldwide, not all products or services discussed or referenced in or on the Site are available to all persons or in all geographic locations or jurisdictions. Alumbo reserves the right to limit the availability of the Site and/or the provision of any product or service to any person, geographic area or jurisdiction it so desires, in its sole discretion, and to limit the quantities of any such product or service that it provides. Any offer for any product or service made in the Site is void where prohibited.

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Code of Conduct

While using the Site, you agree not to:

• Restrict or inhibit any other member from using and enjoying the Site;
• Post or transmit any unlawful, fraudulent, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable or harmful information of any kind;
• Without Alumbo's prior written approval, post or transmit any advertising, promotion or solicitation of goods or services for commercial purposes;
• Post or transmit any information or software that contains a virus, worm, time bomb, Trojan horse, or other harmful or disruptive component;
• Post or transmit materials in violation of another party's copyright or intellectual property rights;
• Use the Site for any commercial or unlawful purposes;
• Modify, adapt, sub-license, translate, sell, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of the Site;
• Transmit chain letters, junk or bulk email or spam (commercial or otherwise); or
• Harvest or collect information about other Site members without their consent.

While using the Site, you agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in connection with the Site.

Alumbo has no obligation to monitor the Site. However, you acknowledge and agree that Alumbo has the right to monitor the Site and to disclose any information to any third party (please refer to our Privacy Pledge) in order to operate the Site properly, to protect itself and its sponsors and customers, and to comply with legal obligations or governmental requests. Alumbo reserves the right to refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that are unacceptable, offensive or in violation of this Agreement. Such prohibition may occur without notice to the member.

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Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Alumbo and its sponsors harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs or other expenses that arise directly or indirectly out of or from (a) your breach of this Agreement, (b) your violation of the Code of Conduct above, and/or (c) your activities in connection with the Site.

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Termination

Alumbo reserves the right to immediately terminate any individual's use of the Site and/or such member's member identification and password in its sole discretion with or without cause.

If you wish to terminate your account, your only recourse is to discontinue use of the account (although you may change your personal membership profile information at any time). Upon termination of your account, your right to use the Site immediately ceases, and Alumbo shall have no obligation to maintain any content in your account.

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Making Purchases

In addition to its own offerings, as a convenience Alumbo.com includes links and descriptions of products or services offered by independent merchants. If you choose to license or purchase products or services from these vendors, you must understand that Alumbo.com does not endorse or monitor these transactions. These third-party merchants may have different operating policies and practices. You are encouraged to check each site individually.

You agree that all information that you provide to any merchant or service provider, including Alumbo.com, will be accurate, complete and current. You agree to pay all charges incurred by members of your account and credit card or other payment mechanism at the prices in effect when such charges are incurred. You will also be responsible for paying any applicable taxes relating to your purchases. Moreover, you agree to review and to comply with the terms and conditions of any specific agreement that you enter into with the merchant and/or service provider in connection with the licensing or purchase of any product or service.

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Submissions

You acknowledge that any text, images, data, and other materials ("Content") you submit to the website (including, but not limited to articles, reviews, ratings, commentary, discussions, weblinks, etc.) may be viewed freely by other visitors to the Site. You also acknowledge and agree that, by submitting this Content to Alumbo, you grant to Alumbo a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide right and license to link to, use, reproduce, transmit, modify, adapt, publish, merchandise, display, distribute, translate, and sub-license such material (in whole or in part) and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyright that may exist in such material. You retain the full copyright to the Content.

Further, by submitting Content you represent to Alumbo that you have the authority to grant such rights to Alumbo, and that all Content you provide to Alumbo is solely owned by you or provided by you with the express authority of the company you represent, and adheres to Alumbo.com's Acceptance Criteria (see below).

None of the Content is endorsed by Alumbo, and Alumbo cannot and does not make any representations with respect to the truth or reliability of the Content. Alumbo reserves the right to remove any Content, in whole or in part, from the Site. The foregoing provisions regarding Content are for the benefit of Alumbo, its subsidiaries and affiliates, and its third party content providers and licensors, and each shall have the right to assert and enforce those provisions directly or on its own behalf.

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Acceptance Criteria

These criteria, which are subject to change without notice, apply to all submitted content, including articles and other editorial material, as well as links to external resources (websites, products, services, etc.).

• Submitted articles must provide information that is likely to be of interest to readers. Articles that are primarily marketing or promotional in nature will not be accepted.
• Submissions must be complete on the Alumbo.com site -- for example, articles cannot include just the first portion, and redirect visitors to a different website to complete the article. Authors are welcome to include a link to their website at the bottom of complete articles, and also on their member profile page.
• Submissions must be relevant to the communities to which they are assigned.
• Submissions must be formatted properly, to conform to the overall look of the pages on this website. Please don't use ALL CAPS (this is considered shouting on the Internet) or non-ASCII characters. If you use HTML codes (where allowed), you must close off all tags, avoid using large fonts, excessive underlining, italics, bolding, and so on.
• Websites must provide a greater proportion of original content versus just links and advertising
• Free Basic Listings must include a backlink -- a webpage on your site that links back to alumbo.com. If you are unable to provide this backlink, please explore our low-cost Premium Listing option. Backlinks must be in the form "http://www.alumbo.com" and the backlink page must be reachable from within your website.
• Advertisements may not mislead -- for example a graphic that suggests interactivity to "trick" a person into clicking the ad -- and may not use excessive animation or similar intrusive tactics
• Submissions cannot contain adult content or link to any adult materials, including but not limited to:
  • Explicit/vulgar/obscene language
  • Posting or referencing sexually explicit images or other offensive content
  • Promotion of adult services, such as phone sex or escort services
• The content can not infringe on any individual's or organization's rights (including, without limitation, intellectual property rights -- see previous section) and must not be defamatory, libelous, unlawful or otherwise objectionable. For example, you may not include:
  • Racial, ethnic, political, or hate mongering
  • MP3, Warez or ROM files
  • Investment advice or money-making opportunities that are not permitted under law
  • Gratuitous displays of violence or profanity
  • Material that defames, abuses, or threatens physical harm
  • Promotion of illegal substances or activities, such as online gambling, how to build a bomb, counterfeit money, cable descramblers, etc.
• Submissions and links must be in English (we plan to provide the capability to support other languages in future)
• Submissions must be editorial/opinion in nature (i.e., no fiction or poetry at this time, however we plan to provide this service in future)

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Use of Member-only Areas

You agree to provide accurate, complete and current information when you register at the Site. Use of any password-protected area of the Site is restricted to the individual who has been given permission, a member identification and password to enter such area (the "Authorized Party"). If more than one individual wishes to use a single member identification and password belonging to an Authorized Party, such Authorized Party must request permission from Alumbo in writing, it being understood that Alumbo shall be under no obligation to approve any such request. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and member identification. Furthermore, you are entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your account.

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Miscellaneous

This agreement and your use of the Site is bound by the laws of the province of British Columbia and Canada. All disputes or claims that cannot be settled by discussion shall be adjudicated by court of competent jurisdiction in British Columbia. You expressly agree that British Columbia has the exclusive jurisdiction with respect to this agreement.

If any provision of this agreement is held to be unenforceable or invalid, the provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.

This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto pertaining to the subject matter hereof, and any and all prior or contemporaneous written or oral agreements existing between the parties hereto are expressly canceled. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. Any heading, caption, or paragraph title contained in this Agreement is inserted only as a matter of convenience and in no way defines or explains any paragraph or provision hereof.

Alumbo shall have the right at any time to (a) change the terms of this Agreement, (b) change the Site, including eliminating or discontinuing any content or feature of the Site, restricting the hours of availability, or limiting the amount of use permitted, or (c) change any fees or charges for use of the Site, including instituting new or increased fees or charges for the use of the Site or any feature thereof. Such changes, modifications, additions or deletions shall be effective immediately upon notice thereof, which may be given by means including, but not limited to, posting on the Site, or by electronic mail, or by conventional mail. Your use of the Site after such notice shall be deemed to constitute your acceptance of such changes, modifications, additions or deletions. You are expected to review this Agreement periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version.

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Please also read our Privacy Pledge. If you have any questions about our Terms of Service, our business practices, or your dealings with the Alumbo! web site, please contact us.