Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
This Terms of Use and Privacy Policy (“Agreement”) sets forth the terms and conditions governing use of SODA’s Website currently located at www.sodanational.org (the “Site”) and use of SODA’s systems and services (collectively, the “Service”). BY SUBMITTING A MEMBER APPLICATION TO SODA, YOU ACCEPT, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT. If You do not wish to accept all of the terms and conditions, do not use the Site or submit a member application to SODA.
SODA may update this Agreement from time to time, and notice of such modifications shall be posted on the Site. Your continued use of the Site and Service shall constitute Your acceptance of the modified version of this Agreement. If you do not agree with any such changes, don’t hesitate to contact SODA by mail or e-mail. In its sole discretion, SODA may also add, delete, or change some or all of the features of the Site or SODA’s services at any time. The terms “You” and “Your” as used herein refer to all individuals and entities accessing the Site and Services for any reason.
1. Acceptable Use: The Site and Service consist of a collection of resources for (i) people and organizations who have registered by mail or e-mail with SODA (“SODA Members”), (ii) individuals who have registered for SODA’s events via the Site (“Event Users”), (iii) Career Services Users (“CS Users”), and (iv) passive visitors to the Site ((i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) collectively “End Users”).
Such resources include networking events for SODA Members, Career Services (which consists of an area on the Site where job offers can be posted by SODA Members and searched/answered by CS Users); specific membership benefits programs and J-1 visa programs; content such as newsletters, event listings, advice and other information (“Content”), and a directory of SODA Members (“Directory”); and may in the future contain message boards and bulletin boards for posting information requests, hosting threaded online discussions, and publishing opportunities (“Message Boards”). Some of these Services are only available to SODA Members.
It is a condition of Your use of the Service that You do not: (i) use any other SODA Member’s personal information (including, without limitation, other SODA Members’ name, phone number, e-mail, or mailing address) for any purpose other than in furtherance of the networking and employment objectives of SODA; (ii) restrict or inhibit any other End User from using the Site and Service; (iii) post or transmit any unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, or indecent information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national, or international law; (iv) post or transmit any information or other material that (a) violates or infringes upon the rights of others, including material that is an invasion of privacy or publicity rights, or that is protected by copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights, or derivative works concerning it, without first obtaining permission from the owner or right holder, or (b) contains a virus or other harmful component; (v) post, transmit, or in any way exploit any information, software, or other material for commercial purposes other than in furtherance of SODA’s objectives. You understand that SODA has no obligation to monitor Your use of the Service. However, SODA reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation, or governmental request, or to edit, refuse to post, or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in SODA’s sole discretion are objectionable or in violation of this Agreement. SODA reserves the right: (i) to release current or past SODA Member or CS User information if it believes that a SODA Member or CS User account is being used to commit unlawful acts or if the information is subpoenaed; (ii) to deny access to the Service to violators of this Agreement, SODA policies, or otherwise harmful to other End Users or to SODA; and (iv) to deny access to the Service to End Users who interfere with the design and operation of the Service.
2. Your Content: “Your Content” includes any information or materials You provide to us, whether in any public message area of the Site or otherwise. You are solely responsible for Your Content. We act as a passive conduit for the online distribution and publication of Your Content. However, we may take any action we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion if we believe Your Content creates a risk of liability to SODA or SODA members. Subject to the SODA Privacy Policy in Section 4 below, by posting Your Content on or through the Site, You grant SODA and SODA Members a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, modify, transmit, translate, distribute, perform and display Your Content alone or as part of other works in any form, media, or technology, whether now known or hereafter developed, and to sublicense such rights to others for non-commercial purposes.
3. Copyright: If You believe that any information or content owned by You has been used on the Site in a manner that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide SODA’s Copyright Agent with a written notice (e-mail is sufficient) that includes the following information: (i) an electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; (ii) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed; (iii) a description of where the material You claim is infringing is located on the Site; (iv) Your address, telephone number, and e-mail address; a statement by You that You have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (v) a statement by You, under penalty of perjury, that the information in Your Notice is accurate and that You are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf. SODA’s Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on the Site may be reached using the contact information outlined in Section 4 below.
4. Privacy Policy: In the course of Your application to become a SODA Member or Your registration and use of the Site and Service, You may submit personal and other information to SODA. The following terms describe how SODA uses Your information:
Contact Information: The mail-in or online application form to become a SODA Chapter Member or Event Host and some areas of our Site, request or require contact and other information. During the application and registration process (for SODA Members and CS Users), we collect your name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address. Your contact information will be used to administer the SODA mailing and emailing lists and provide You with mailings that You have requested. It may be used to get in touch with You when necessary concerning the Service or the Site or other internal purposes. We may also use Your contact information to respond to inquiries. You submit to us or to otherwise fulfill the purposes for which You submitted such information to SODA in the first place. We may also share Your contact information with a court or governmental agency if required by law, as required by a court of competent jurisdiction, or to the limited extent described below under “Certain Third Party Transactions.” Your contact information will be included in the Directory.
Profile Information: During the application/registration process, and at any time after that, you may be asked to provide SODA with additional information about Yourself, such as information about Your business, Your interests, Your background, and products or services You wish to provide or obtain. We may use this information to better target You with newsletters and opportunities that are geared towards SODA Members with Your particular profile or to track the success of our Site and Service.
Corrections and Opt-Out: If any of Your information changes or is incorrect, or if You want to opt-out of receiving any communications SODA may send to You regarding the Service, the Site, or otherwise, please e-mail Your request to hello@sodanational.org, or mail it to the postal address located below.
Security: This Site has security measures to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. However, it is impossible to guarantee the security of the information You disclose online. See Section 5, below.
Certain Third-Party Transactions: We may disclose Your information to third parties we engage to provide services that involve data processing on our behalf. These third parties are not advertisers or marketers, and they adhere to the same restrictions regarding using your data as are outlined in this Agreement.
5. Limitation of Liability: Under no circumstances shall SODA be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the Site or Service. You expressly acknowledge and agree that SODA is not liable for any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any End User. If You are dissatisfied with any material on the Site or with the Service, or with any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the Service.
6. Disclaimers: The Site provides links and pointers to Internet sites maintained by third parties. SODA does not operate or control any information, products, or services on these third-party sites. The materials on this Site and the third-party sites, including without limitation all advice, research, and other information, are provided for informational purposes only and are provided “as is” and without warranties of any kind either express or implied, and SODA shall not be liable for Your reliance thereon. To the fullest extent permissible according to applicable law, SODA disclaims all warranties, express or implied, concerning the Site, Service, and otherwise, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. SODA does not warrant that the functions contained on the Site will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that this Site, including bulletin boards and the server that makes it available, are free of viruses or other harmful components. SODA does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the materials on this Site or on third-party sites in terms of their correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability, or otherwise.
7. General: Except as expressly provided elsewhere, this Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between You and SODA concerning the use of the Site. 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. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Missouri, without respect to its conflict of laws principles. Jurisdiction for any claims arising under this Agreement shall lie exclusively with Missouri’s state or federal courts.
8. Contact Us: If You have any questions about this Agreement, the Service, the practices of this Site, or Your dealings with SODA, please contact hello@sodanational.org.