Terms and Conditions

Last Modified: October 15, 2018

User Agreement Terms of Use

Please do not enter this website if you are not a resident of the United States or Canada.

The following terms and conditions (these “Terms of Use”) are entered into between You (“User”) and the American ACNES Foundation (“AAF”, “we”, “us”, “our”). These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of acnesfoundation.org, including any content, functionality, and services offered on or through acnesfoundation.org (the “Website”). By using the Website, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, you may not access or use the Website.

Description of Service

AAF currently provides users access to an extensive amount of resources, including, but not limited to, public forums, health and medical content, online tools, calendaring, email, to-do lists, bookmarks, other personalization features, book/publication offerings, and various communication tools (the “Service”). AAF assumes no responsibility or liability for the timeliness, deletion, mis-delivery or failure to store any user communications or personalization data or settings. All such risks shall be borne by you.

Change and Access to the Website

AAF reserves the right to review, improve, amend, or change the Website or the Service at our discretion and without notice. AAF will not be liable if, for any reason, all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period.

To access some of the resources the Website offers, User may be asked to provide certain registration details and information. Those who register are responsible for the security and confidentiality of their own user ID, password, and other related information. You acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree not to provide any other person with access to the Website using your information. You agree to notify us of any unauthorized access to the Website or related breach of security.

Usage of Content

The Website and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including, but not limited to, text, graphics, logos, button icons, images, and audio clips, as well as the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are owned by the American ACNES Foundation., and may not be copied, reproduced, transmitted, displayed, performed, distributed, sublicensed, altered, stored for subsequent use, or otherwise used in whole or in part in any manner without AAF’s prior written consent, except that the user may make such temporary copies in a single computer’s RAM and hard drive cache as are necessary to browse the website. The contents of the Website are further protected under United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

The Terms of Use permit User to use the Website for personal and non-commercial activity only. A user may also make a single copy of a reasonable amount of the content displayed on any page, so long as it is not used for further reproduction, publication, or distribution. Any provided desktop, mobile, or other application for download on the Website may be downloaded a single time solely for your own personal and non-commercial use. Any appropriate use of content available from the Website must not remove any trademarks, copyright, or any other notice contained in such content.

If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will end immediately and you must, at our discretion, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have reproduced. No right, title, or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by AAF. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of said Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark, or other such laws.

Linking Information

The AAF permits and encourages hyperlinks and text links to material on the Website provided User does so in a way that is fair, legal, and does not damage or take advantage of the reputation of the AAF. The Website may provide certain social media features that enable you to link from your own site to certain resources on the Website, send e-mails or other communications with certain content found on the Website, or allow limited portions of information to be displayed on your own or on certain third-party websites. Any linking must conform with certain practices, including, but not limited to:

  • Any text-only link must clearly be marked, “American ACNES Foundation.”
  • The appearance, position, and other aspects of either the link or the host website may not be such as to damage or dilute the goodwill associated with the AAF name and trademarks.
  • The appearance, position, and other aspects of either the link or the host website may not create the false appearance that an entity other than AAF is associated with or sponsored by AAF.
  • The link, when a user interacts with it, must display this Website full-screen and not within a “frame” of the linked website.

AAF reserves, in its sole discretion, the right to revoke its consent for linked material at any time and without notice.

AAF is not responsible for the information or materials contained on a host site to which the Website is linked. Linking to the Website is intended to be for convenience of reference only and is not intended to be used as an endorsement by AAF of either the organization or individual hosting the website, nor as a warranty of any type regarding the hosting website or its contents.

Content Standards

User understands that all information, data, text, photographs, graphics, messages, or other materials (“Content”) present on the Website and publicly viewable is the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated. AAF does not bear any risk or liabilities for such Content that you personally upload, post, email, transmit, or otherwise affiliate with the Service. Content must, in its entirety, comply with all applicable federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations. You agree that any Content submitted through the Service or on the Website does not:

  • Contain information that infringes on any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other proprietary right of any party.
  • Make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation that may cause annoyance, inconvenience, embarrassment, alarm, or needless anxiety to any other person.
  • Contain any material that is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable.
  • Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
  • Contain any material likely to deceive any person, including giving the false impression that they emanate from or are endorsed by a certain person or entity or an actual impersonation of any person or entity, including, but not limited to, an AAF official, forum leader, guide, or host, or otherwise falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.
  • Advocate, promote, or assist in any illegal activity or unlawful act.
  • Contain any information regarding candidates for public office, political parties, or elections of office-holders. Involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, promotions, or advertising.
  • Contain software viruses or other computer code, files, or programs designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment.
  • Disrupt or negatively affects a user’s ability to engage in real time exchanges and interactions with the Website or the Service.
  • Harvest, collect, and/or store personal data about other users.
  • Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain material that could give rise to civil or criminal liability under applicable laws and regulations, or that otherwise conflicts with these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.

Social Media Sites

As part of the Service, the Website may also provide links to officially monitored and curated social media channels that also display AAF Content. User’s use of these linked AAF social media channels is also subject to these Terms of Use, as well as the Terms of Use of the social platform from which you access this Content.

AAF reserves all rights relating to the company’s social media channels, including, but not limited to, adding, removing, or modifying any content; blocking harassing and disruptive users; discontinuing any of our social media channels at any time.

AAF does not warrant that the information on these social media channels is complete, reliable, useful, or otherwise accurate. Do not rely solely on the information presented on these social media platforms for medical advice or other AAF programs. Further, AAF does not create nor control any opinions or statements expressed by others within its social media channels, including those that Follow, Like, re-Tweet, re-post, or otherwise share AAF content therein, nor does any similar action undertaken by AAF concerning another user’s content constitute an endorsement of that user.

The Website may also have links to social media accounts concerning local-area AAF events and programs, but these are not created or operated by AAF staff members, and any Content on these social media accounts are not considered to be endorsed by AAF.

User Submissions and Content

By submitting Content to any part of the Website or via the Service where such Content is viewable to the public, User agrees that such submissions are non-confidential and non-proprietary for all purposes. By providing any such submission, any material will be deemed and remain the property of AAF. You represent and warrant that the owner of such Content has expressly granted AAF a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, display, modify, publish, edit, translate, distribute, perform, and create derivative works from Content in any media or medium, form, or forum known of hereafter developed.

You represent and warrant that you own and control all rights to such submissions and have the right to grant the license to us and our licensees, successors, and assigns, and that all contributions do, and will, comply with these Terms of Use. You understand and acknowledge you are responsible for any contributions you submit and you, not AAF, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness.

Monitoring, Enforcement, and Termination of Content

AAF has the right (but not the obligation) to refuse, move, edit, or delete any Content that is available on via the Service or on the Website at their sole discretion, for any or no reason. User acknowledges and agrees that AAF may take any action we deem necessary or appropriate if we believe Content violates the Terms of Use, including, but not limited to, infringing any intellectual property right, threatening the personal safety of users to the Website or the public, or if it potentially creates liability for the company. AAF may take appropriate legal action for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website or the Service. AAF has the right to fully cooperate with law enforcement authorities or court order directing or requesting us to disclose your identity or information or preserve Content posted by you in relation to relevant legal action. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS AAF FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY AAF DURING, OR AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, A LEGAL INVESTIGATION BY EITHER AAF OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

In its sole discretion, AAF has the right to terminate, restrict, or suspend your account and access to the Website and the Service for any or no reason, including, but not limited to, for lack of use or if AAF believes you have violated the Terms of Use. You agree that any termination of your ability to access the Website or use the Service may be done without prior notice and acknowledge that AAF may immediately deactivate or delete your account and all related information and files in your account, as well as bar further access to such files or the Service. AAF shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to the Service.

AAF, however, cannot guarantee it reviews all material before it is posted on the Website or through the Service, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding any transmissions, communications, or material provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.

Privacy Statement

For information on how we use and collect User information when visiting the Website or using the Service, please see our Privacy Policy. By using the Website, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Statement.

General Practices Regarding Use and Storage

User acknowledges that AAF may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the Website and the Service, including limiting the number of days e-mail messages and other uploaded content is retained by the website, the maximum number of e-mails received by an account, the maximum disk space allotted on servers for an account, and the maximum duration for which an account can be accessed. You acknowledge that AAF has no responsibility or liability concerning the deletion or failure to store any messages maintained or transmitted by the Website servers. You acknowledge AAF has the right to deactivate accounts that are inactive for an extended period of time.

Endorsements

User acknowledges that the opinions and recommendations contained in the Website are not necessarily those of the AAF or likewise endorsed by AAF. All statements and opinions expressed in these materials, as well as all articles and responses to questions and other content, save content expressly provided by AAF, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials.

The Website may provide links to other sites which are not under the control of AAF. These links are provided for convenience and reference only and are not intended as an endorsement by AAF. We are not responsible or liable to you or any other third party for the content, usefulness, or accuracy of any material provided by a third party. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk.

Disclaimers

Disclaimer of Warranties

THE WEBSITE, AND ALL DATA, INFORMATION, MATERIALS, CONTENT, USER CONTENT, REFERENCE SITES, SERVICES, OR APPLICATIONS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE, ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” OR “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. NEITHER AAF NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH AAF WARRANTS ANY MATERIAL ON THE WEBSITE WITH RESPECT TO COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR AVAILABILITY. FURTHERMORE, NEITHER AAF NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH AAF REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE AND ITS CONTENT WILL BE AVAILABLE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS.

AAF WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY AFFECT YOUR COMPUTER OR ASSOCIATED COMPUTER EQUIPMENT DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR OF ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED OR DOWNLOADED BY USING THE WEBSITE, OR ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING AND IMPLEMENTING SUFFICIENT SAFEGUARDS TO SATISFY YOUR OWN PARTICULAR REQUIREMENTS FOR ANTI-VIRUS PROTECTION AND DATA RECOVERY.

AAF HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY OF ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENCY, RELIABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR FITNESS FOR A PURPOSE, OR ANY WARRANTY THAT THE WEBSITE, OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE, IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL ELEMENTS, AND SUCH WARRANTIES ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL AAF, NOR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR VOLUNTEERS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES (INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES), OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR ACCESS OF, USE OF, OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE, THIS WEBSITE OR OTHER WEBSITES TO WHICH IT LINKS (INCLUDING THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS). THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, INFORMATION OR MATERIALS VIEWED OR DOWNLOADED FROM THIS WEBSITE OR ANOTHER LINKED WEBSITE THAT APPEAR TO YOU OR ARE CONSTRUED BY YOU TO BE OBSCENE, OFFENSIVE, DEFAMATORY, OR INFRINGING ON YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. IN NO EVENT WILL AAF OR THIRD PARTIES THAT CONTRIBUTE INFORMATION TO THE WEBSITE BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE FOR ANY DECISION OR ACTION TAKEN BY YOU IN RELIANCE OF SUCH INFORMATION, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF OR ARE AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THESE DAMAGES.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Indemnification

User agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless AAF and its affiliates, licensors, and service providers, as well as their respective officers, directors, employees, attorneys, accountants, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, judgments, damages, expenses, losses, or liabilities arising out of or relating to your violation of the Terms of Use or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to, user submissions and any use of the Website’s material and services outside what has been expressly authorized in the Terms of Use.

Trademarks

User must not use such marks without the prior written permission of the Company. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans on this Website are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Cookie Policy

Cookies are small text files that are stored by the browser (for example, Internet Explorer or Google Chrome) on your computer or mobile phone. They allow websites to store things like user preference. You can think of cookies as providing a “memory” for the website, so that it can recognize you when you come back and respond appropriately. Cookies allow a web server to transfer data to a computer for recordkeeping and other purposes.

What cookies do we use and why?

The cookies used on our site are categorized as follows:

  • Strictly necessary
  • Performance
  • Functionality
  • Targeting

Strictly Necessary

“Strictly Necessary” cookies let you move around the site and use essential features like secure areas and donation processing functions. Without these cookies, information or services you have asked for cannot be provided. Please note that these cookies do not gather any information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you’ve been on the internet.

We use these Strictly Necessary cookies to:

  • Remember information you have entered on donation forms when you navigate to different pages during a web browser session;
  • Remember the donation amounts you provided when you get to the checkout page;
  • Identify you as being logged in to our site;
  • Make sure you connect to the right service on our website when we make any changes to the way the site works;
  • To route users to specific applications of a service or specific server.

Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the website, so if you prevent these cookies, you may not be able to use the site or its functionality, nor can we be certain that our site security controls will function properly or fully during your visit.

Performance

“Performance” cookies collect information about how you use our site (e.g., which pages you visit, and if you experience any errors). These cookies do not collect any information that could identify you directly and are used only to help us improve how our site works, understand what interests our users, and measure the effectiveness of our advertising.

We use Performance cookies for:

  • Web Analytics: To provide statistics on how our sites are used;
  • Ad Response Rates: To see how effective our advertisements are, including those pointing to our sites;
  • Error Management: To help us improve the site by measuring any errors that occur;
  • Testing Designs: To test distinctive designs of our sites;
  • Content Management: To help optimize the delivery of certain media, such as video.

Some of our Performance cookies are managed for us by third parties. Where this is the case, we don’t permit the third party to use the cookies for any purpose other than those listed above.

By using our site, you accept the use of “Performance” cookies. Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the site, so if you prevent them we cannot guarantee how the site will perform for you.

Functionality

“Functionality” cookies are used to provide services or to remember settings to improve your visit.

We use Functionality cookies to:

  • Remember settings you’ve applied, such as layout, text size, preferences, and colors;
  • Remember if we’ve already asked you if you want to fill in a survey;
  • Remember volume settings when playing video.

Some of these cookies are managed for us by third parties. Where this is the case, we don’t permit the third party to use the cookies for any purpose other than those listed above.

Targeting

“Targeting” cookies are linked to services provided by third parties. These cookies are placed on our site by our third-party advertising service providers partners. They may be used to build a profile of your interests and provide you with relevant information related to the American ACNES Foundation mission, including fundraising efforts or events which might be of interest to you. They work by uniquely identifying your browser and device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will not experience our targeted advertising across different websites.

We use Targeting cookies to:

  • Link to social networks, like Facebook, that may subsequently use information about your visit to target advertising to you on third party websites;
  • Provide information to third party data aggregators for the purposes of combining data we collect from you through online cookies and other technologies with other de-identified data (such as a hashed, non-readable email or postal address) in order to target advertisements and outreach to you based on your preferences or other information, to perform audience research and/or to create of audience segments.

You can control whether these cookies are used but blocking them may prevent us from offering you some services or targeted advertising.

How a user can opt out of having cookies placed on their device(s)?

You can block cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if you use your browser settings to block all cookies (including strictly necessary cookies) you may not be able to access all or parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies as soon you visit our site. Blocking or deleting cookies will not prevent device identification and related data collection from occurring. Blocking the browser’s cookies will prevent cookies from measuring the relevance and effectiveness of our site/emails and advertising as well as the tailored advertising brought to you by our partners. You also may not be able to use all the interactive features of our site/emails if cookies are disabled.

Can I withdraw my consent?

Once you have given us your consent to the use of cookies, we shall store a cookie on your computer or device to remember this for next time. This will expire periodically. If you wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you will need to delete, then block, your cookies using your internet browser settings.

For further information about deleting or blocking cookies, please visit: https://cookiepedia.co.uk/how-to-manage-cookies or https://www.aboutcookies.org/how-to-delete-cookies/.

Choices.

To obtain information about opting-out of targeted advertising, you may contact one of the following industry groups:

Please note that when using the ad industry opt-out tools above, such opting-out only applies to members of that specific industry group and only those members will no longer deliver targeted content or ads to you. It does not mean you will no longer receive any targeted content or ads on our sites or other websites. You may continue to receive advertisements, for example, based on the website that you are viewing. Also, if your browsers are configured to block cookies when you visit this opt-out page, or you subsequently erase your cookies, use a different computer or change web browsers, your opt-out may no longer be effective.

Changes to the Terms of Use

AAF reserves the right, at our discretion, to revise and update the Terms of Use at any time. All changes are effective immediately upon posting and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter. Users are expected to check for updates to the Terms of Use from time to time, and AAF will extend reasonable effort to notify you if such material changes occur. Continued use of the Website following the posting of revised Terms of Use indicates you have accepted and agree to the changes.

Jurisdiction

The Website (excluding linked sites) is controlled by AAF, which is headquartered in the State of California, United States of America. It can be accessed from all 50 states, as well as from other countries around the world.  However, the Website is not open to non-residents of the United States and Canada. As each of these places may have laws that differ from those of California, by accessing this website both you and AAF agree that the statutes and laws of the State of California, without regard to conflicts of laws principles thereof, will apply to all matters arising from or relating to the use of this website. You and the American ACNES Foundation also agree and hereby submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the Superior Court of San Diego County located in downtown San Diego, California, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of California with respect to such matters. AAF makes no representation that materials on the website are appropriate or available for use in other locations, and accessing them from territories where their contents are illegal is prohibited. Those who choose to access this website from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

Consent to Electronic Communications

By using the Website or the Service, User agrees to receive electronic communications from us regarding your use of the Website or Service and that any notices, agreements, or other communications that we send to you will satisfy any legal requirements, including that communications must be in writing.

Waiver and Severability

If AAF does not exercise or enforce any particular right set forth in the Terms of Use, AAF does not waive that right. If a court finds any provision of the Terms of Use invalid, then you and AAF agree that the court should attempt to follow the intention of the provision and that all other terms of the Terms of Use will remain in effect.