Terms of Use
Updated and Effective as of January 31, 2022
Welcome to the Language, Please website, which is composed of an Inclusivity Reader directory, an interactive learning tool called Edit, Please, and a Style Guide (together, the “Database”), developed by Vox Media, LLC (“Vox Media”) as part of the Google News Initiative, and hosted by web server Dragon Army Apps LLC (“Dragon Army”). These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access and use of the Database developed by Vox Media, and any of its subsidiaries, affiliates, brands and entities that it controls (collectively “we,” “us,” or “our”). Please read these Terms carefully before accessing or using the Database.
By joining, or each time you access and use the Database, you signify that you have read and understand, and agree to be bound by, these Terms. You represent and warrant that you are an individual of legal age to form a binding contract. If you do not agree to these terms, you are not permitted to use the Database. These Terms have the same force and effect as an agreement in writing.
Important Notices:
- The key terms you should consider are the limitations on liability contained in the sections titled Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitations of Liability, and a class action waiver.
- Your access to and use of the Database is also governed by our Privacy Notice, which is included at the end of these Terms.
- We recommend that you print a copy of these Terms and the Privacy Notice for your future reference.
- CLASS ACTION WAIVER: BY AGREEING TO THESE TERMS, YOU HEREBY WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION.
- Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining at your own cost all equipment needed for access to and use of the Database. When you register and each time you access the Database, you may be providing certain information about yourself. You agree that we may use any information that we obtain about you in accordance with the provisions of our Privacy Notice and that you have no ownership or proprietary interest in your account other than as set out in these Terms. If you elect to sign up for the Database, you agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current, and complete information as prompted by the registration form; and (b) maintain and update such information to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete at all times. If any information you provide is or becomes untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete, we have the right to terminate your access to and use of your account and the Database. In addition, you agree not to use the Database to: (a) violate any local, state, national, or international law or regulation; (b) transmit any material that is abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, pornographic, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable; (c) transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of solicitation; (d) transmit any material that contains adware, malware, spyware, software viruses, or any other computer code, files, or programs designed to interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; (e) stalk, harass, or harm another individual, including revealing the real name of any fellow user that has chosen to use an alias on the Database; (f) impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; (g) use any “robot,” “spider,” “rover,” “scraper” or any other data-mining technology or automatic or manual process to monitor, cache, frame, mask, extract data from, copy or distribute any data from the Database, our network or databases; (h) use any features of the Database for anything other than their intended purpose; (i) interfere with or disrupt the Database or servers or our networks, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of networks connected to the Database; or (j) assist, permit or encourage any person to perform any of the activities described above. - Participation in the Database
You must be eighteen (18) years of age or older to participate in the Database. Registration with the Database is required in order to access the Database. Your registration information will be handled by us in accordance with our Privacy Notice, which you should review prior to registering. You may be required to select a password and member name for registration. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and any Database account information. You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or other membership account information and further agree to indemnify and hold the Database, their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, operational providers and partners harmless for any improper or illegal use of your password. You may change or update certain information in your membership file by using the controls on your profile page. You may disable your profile by contacting Language, Please. We reserve the right to cancel your membership, prohibit your participation in any or all of the Database’s activities, or delete all or part of your profile if your email address becomes inactive or if you violate any provision of this Agreement or our Privacy Notice, to the extent allowed by law. - Standards of Use
You are responsible for all content that you post, email, transmit, upload or otherwise make available through our Database. Any disruptive statements that incite others to violate the law or the standards listed herein (the “Standards of Use”) are strictly prohibited. We encourage your participation in upholding the Standards or Use. You agree not to use the Database to disseminate any content that:
- is unlawful, harmful to adults or minors, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
- infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of privacy or publicity or other proprietary rights of any person;
- contains unauthorized advertising or solicits other visitors; or
- is intended by the visitor to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality or integrity of any computer software, hardware or Materials on this website.
- User Submissions
Any User Submissions or postings by visitors to certain parts of the Database will be public and posted in public areas on our Database. The Database, their parents, partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, members, directors, officers, employees and any contract or operational providers that conduct, operate and/or manage the Database will not be responsible for the action of any visitors or third parties with respect to any information, materials or content posted, uploaded or transmitted on the Database. We do not claim ownership of any information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, tags or other materials you submit for display or distribution to others through the Database (“User Submissions”). As between you and us, you own all rights to your User Submissions. We do not pre-screen all User Submissions, and you agree that you are solely responsible for all of your User Submissions. By participating in the Database, you agree to follow the Standards of Use. Postings to public areas may or may not be reviewed by the Database prior to appearing on the Database. Nonetheless, the Database reserves the right to change, delete or remove, in part or in full, any postings and to terminate or suspend access to such areas for conduct that we believe, in our sole discretion, interferes with other peoples’ use and enjoyment of the Database. The Database will also cooperate with local, state and/or federal authorities to comply with applicable law.
We are not required to backup, host, display, or distribute any User Submissions, and may remove at any time or refuse any User Submissions. We are not responsible for any loss, theft or damage of any kind to any User Submissions. You represent and warrant that your User Submissions do not and will not infringe the rights of any third party (including, without limitation, intellectual property rights, rights of privacy or publicity, or any other legal or moral rights). Your User Submissions must not violate the law or our policies. You may not represent or imply to others that your User Submissions are in any way provided, sponsored or endorsed by us. Please consider the risks of revealing personal information (such as name, phone number or street address) about yourself or others on the Database, including when connecting to the Database through a third party service. You, and not we, are responsible for any consequences of sharing personal information about yourself on public areas of the Database, such as your home address or the home address of others. The rights granted under this section will survive the termination of these Terms.
All information and materials provided on the Database are intended for public dissemination. Do not construe that such information is either endorsed or verified by us. The information is provided “as is,” and your use or reliance on such materials is solely at your own risk.
The Database may contain facts, views, opinions and statements of third parties, visitors and other organizations. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information displayed or distributed through the Database. You acknowledge that your reliance upon any such advice, opinions, statement or other information shall be at your sole risk and you agree that we shall not be held responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused in any way whatsoever related to any advice, opinions, statements or other information displayed or distributed on the Database. - Termination
Your access to all or part of the Database may be terminated or suspended, without notice, if you violate these Terms or you engage in any conduct that is in violation of any applicable law or regulation or is otherwise harmful to the interests of us, any other user of the Database, or any third party. You agree that Vox Media, LLC shall not be liable to you or any third party for removing your User Submissions or suspending or terminating your access to the Database (or any portion thereof). You may discontinue your participation in and access to the Database at any time. We reserve the right to investigate your use of the Database in the event we, in our sole and absolute discretion, believe you have violated these Terms. Upon termination, we have no obligation to retain, store, or provide you with any data, information or other content that you uploaded, stored, or transferred on or through the Database, other than as provided by law and in accordance with our Privacy Notice.
You can request to disable your account at any time, for any reason, by contacting Language, Please. Please provide as much information as you can about your account, so we may identify the account and you correctly. If we do not receive sufficient information, we will be unable to disable or delete your account. - Modifications To Terms
We may, in our sole and absolute discretion, change these Terms from time to time with or without notice. We may notify you of any changes by any reasonable means, including by posting a revised version of these Terms through the Database or by emailing you at the address you provided upon registering for an account. If you object to any such changes, your sole recourse shall be to stop using the Database. Your continued use of the Database following notice of any such changes shall indicate your acknowledgement of such changes and agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of such changes. - Modifications To the Database
We reserve the right to modify, suspend or discontinue all or any aspect of the Database with or without notice to you. Without limitation to the preceding sentence, we may periodically schedule system downtime for maintenance and other purposes. You also acknowledge that unplanned system outages may occur. The Internet site is provided over the Internet and so the quality and availability of the site may be affected by factors outside our reasonable control. Accordingly, we cannot accept any responsibility for any connectivity issues that you may experience when using the Database or for any loss of material, data, transactions or other information caused by system outages, whether planned or unplanned. You agree that we shall not be liable to you or any third party should Vox Media, LLC or the host server Dragon Army exercise its right to modify, suspend or discontinue the Database. - Password, Security and Confidentiality
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password to access the Database, and you are solely responsible for all activities that occur under your password. You agree to immediately change your password if you suspect or become aware of any unauthorized use of your password or any other breach of security related to the Database and to notify us here. We reserve the right to require you to alter your password if we believe that your password is no longer secure. You agree that we will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to adequately safeguard your password or someone else’s use of your account.
Information obtained by you via your account and information disclosed directly to you by us (“Confidential Information”) shall be kept strictly confidential by you and used only for the purpose of interacting with and transacting on the platform and shall not be disclosed by you in whole or in part, directly or indirectly to any third party, provided that: (a) you may disclose such information to any of your employees, solicitors and other professional advisors (if appropriate) for the purpose of working with you in connection with your decision to use the Database, on the basis that you understand that you will be responsible for their use and handling of such information; and (b) Confidential Information shall not include information that: (i) was in your lawful possession before it was disclosed, without confidentiality restrictions; (ii) you obtain from a third party on an unrestricted basis other than through breach of these Terms or breach of any other obligation of confidentiality on you or the third party; (iii) is developed by you independently of us and any information received by you from us; or (iv) you are required to disclose in accordance with applicable law, provided that you give us as much advance written notice of such requirement as is reasonably practicable in the circumstances. - Email
Email is an important communication method for our online visitors. Email users shall not mask their identity by using a false name or another person’s name or account. Any non-personal information you submit to us by email, including, but not limited to, feedback, data, answers, questions, comments, suggestions, plans, ideas or the like, shall be deemed to be non-confidential, and we assume no obligation to protect such non-personal information contained in the email from disclosure. Any personal information transmitted with an email, such as the sender’s name, email or home addresses, will be protected in accordance with our Privacy Notice. - Links
The Database may provide links to other Websites or Internet resources for your convenience only, and such links do not signify or imply our endorsement of such other Website or resource or its contents over which we have no control and which we do not monitor. You use those links at your own risk and should apply a reasonable level of caution and discretion in doing so. You agree that we shall have no responsibility or liability for any information, software, or materials found at any other web site or internet resource. - Restrictions and Commercial Use
Other than as set provided for in these Terms: you may not copy, make derivative works, resell, distribute, or make any commercial use of (other than to keep and share information for your own non-commercial purposes) any content, materials, or databases from the Database or our network or systems. You undertake not to use the Database for any purpose that is fraudulent or unlawful, not to interfere with the operation of the Database. Your use of the Database must comply with our policies. - Disclaimer of Warranties
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THE Database IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. WE PROVIDE THE DATABASE ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE DATABASE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT). VOX MEDIA, LLC MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE DATABASE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE DATABASE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS OR ERROR FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ACCESS TO DATA (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DOCUMENTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND SOFTWARE FILES) STORED BY YOU OR OTHERS ON THE DATABASE IS NOT GUARANTEED AND THAT WE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA CAUSED BY THE DATABASE OR THEIR UNAVAILABILITY. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE DATABASE, OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, VALIDITY, RELIABILITY, OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY MATERIALS INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH THE DATABASE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE DATABASE WILL BE CORRECTED. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ANY MATERIAL AND/OR INFORMATION DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE DATABASE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE ARISING THEREFROM. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM VOX MEDIA, LLC OR THROUGH THE DATABASE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY MADE HEREIN. NEITHER VOX MEDIA, LLC NOR ANY OF ITS PARENTS, PARTNERS, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, MEMBERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OPERATIONAL OR PROMOTIONAL PROVIDERS, PROGRAM PRODUCERS OR SPONSORS ARE LIABLE OR SHALL HAVE RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY KIND TO ANY VISITOR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT YOU INCUR IN THE EVENT OF: (I) ANY FAILURE OR INTERRUPTION OF THE DATABASE; (II) ANY ACT OR OMISSION OF ANY THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN MAKING THE DATABASE OR THE DATA CONTAINED HEREIN AVAILABLE TO YOU; (III) ANY OTHER CAUSE RELATING TO YOUR ACCESS OR USE, OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE, ANY PORTION OF THE Database OR MATERIALS ON THE Database; (IV) YOUR INTERACTION OR SUBMISSIONS ON THE DATABASE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, RESUMÉ OR EMPLOYMENT SUBMISSIONS OR DIALOGUE BETWEEN HOSTS; OR (V) FROM YOUR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS AGREEMENT, WHETHER OR NOT THE CIRCUMSTANCES GIVING RISE TO SUCH CAUSE MAY HAVE BEEN WITHIN THE CONTROL OF THE DATABASE OR OF ANY VENDOR PROVIDING SOFTWARE, DATABASE OR SUPPORT. IN NO EVENT WILL VOX MEDIA, LLC, ITS PARENTS, PARTNERS, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, MEMBERS, OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES OR ANY OTHER LOSS OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ONCE YOU LEAVE THE DATABASE, YOUR USE OF THE INTERNET WILL BE GOVERNED BY THE TERMS OF USE AGREEMENTS AND PRIVACY POLICIES, IF ANY, OF THE PARTICULAR SITE THAT YOU ARE ACCESSING. VOX MEDIA, LLC, ITS PARENTS, PARTNERS, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, MEMBERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR THE CONTENT, ACTIVITIES OR PRIVACY PRACTICES OF ANY OTHER WEBSITE OR DATABASE, OR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE THAT COULD RESULT FROM LEAVING THE DATABASE. YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT TO US THAT EXECUTION, DELIVERY AND PERFORMANCE OF ANY ASPECT(S) OF THESE TERMS WILL NOT VIOLATE ANY LAW, ORDINANCE, CHARTER, BY-LAW OR RULE APPLICABLE TO YOU, OR ANY OTHER AGREEMENT BY WHICH YOU ARE BOUND OR BY WHICH ANY OF YOUR OR THEIR ASSETS ARE AFFECTED. - Limitations of Liability
Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude our liability for: (i) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (ii) any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under English law. In no event will we or our officers, employees, directors, shareholders, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, subcontractors or licensors be liable under any theory of liability (whether in contract, tort, statutory, or otherwise) for any unforeseeable, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, damages for loss of revenues, profits, business, business interruption, business opportunity goodwill, use, data or other intangible losses (even if such parties were advised of, knew of or should have known of the possibility of such damages), resulting from your (or anyone using your account’s) use of the Database. We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or any delay in the performance of, any of our obligations under these Terms that is caused by any event or circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including any failure of public or private telecommunications networks or any delays or latency due to your physical location or your wireless data service provider’s network. To the extent that we may not, as a matter of applicable law, disclaim any implied warranty or limit its liabilities, the scope and duration of such warranty and the extent of our liability shall be the minimum permitted under such applicable law. - Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless us, our parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, subcontractors and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, fees (including reasonable attorney fees) that such parties may incur as a result of or arising from your (or anyone using your accounts) violation of these Terms. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with our defense of such claim. You shall and hereby do waive California Civil Code Section 1542 or any similar law of any jurisdiction, which says in substance: “A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.” - Trademarks & Patents
“Vox Media, LLC”, the Vox Media, LLC design, our site names and logos, as well as certain other names, logos, and materials that may be displayed in the Database constitute trademarks, trade names, service marks or logos (“Marks”) of us or other entities. You are not authorized to use any such Marks. Ownership of all such Marks and the goodwill associated therewith remains with us or those other entities. - Restrictions on Use
The content on the Database (the “Content”), including without limitation, video, text, photos, and graphics, may be protected under United States and international copyright laws and/or subject to other intellectual property, privacy and proprietary rights and laws. Other than with respect to your own User Submissions: (a) the Content may not be copied, modified, reproduced, republished, posted, transmitted, sold, offered for sale, or redistributed in any way without our prior written permission and that of our applicable licensors; and (b) you must abide by all copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in or attached to any Content. We give you a personal, revocable, non-assignable, non-sublicensable and non-exclusive right to access and use the Database in the manner permitted by these Terms. You acknowledge that you have no right to have access to all or any part of the Database in source code form. - Electronic Notices
You agree to transact with us electronically. Your affirmative act of registering, using or logging into the Database constitutes your acceptance signature to these Terms. We may provide notices to you electronically (1) via email if you have provided us with a valid email address or (2) by posting the notice on a website designated by us for this purpose. The delivery of any Notice is effective when sent or posted by us, regardless of whether you read the Notice or actually receive delivery. You can withdraw your consent to receive Notices electronically by discontinuing your use of the Service. - Governing Law and Jurisdiction
For users outside of the European Union: these Terms and the relationship between you and us shall be governed by the laws of the District of Columbia as applied to agreements made, entered into, and performed entirely in the District of Columbia, notwithstanding your actual place of residence. All claims arising from or relating to these Terms or your use of the Database shall be brought in the courts located in Washington, DC, District of Columbia, and you hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of such courts for such purpose.
For users in the UK and within the European Union: these Terms are governed by English law and we both agree to submit to the nonexclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. If you are resident in another country in the EU, you may bring a claim to enforce your consumer protection rights in connection with these Terms in England or in the EU country in which you live.
Miscellaneous; Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with the terms of any end user license agreement to which you agree when downloading any software that we make available through the Database and any additional terms to which you agree when using particular elements of the Database, constitute the entire and exclusive and final statement of the agreement between you and us with respect to the subject matter hereof, and govern your use of the Database, superseding any prior agreements or negotiations between you and us with respect to the subject matter hereof.
Transfer of Rights
You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms to anyone else without our prior written consent.
Conflicts
In the event of any conflict between these Terms and terms of a specific site within the network of Database, these Terms shall govern.
Waiver and Severability
Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these Terms is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, you nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the intentions of us and you as reflected in the provision, and that the other provisions of these Terms remain in full force and effect. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these Terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking these Terms, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For users outside of the European Union Only. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Database or these Terms must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
Headings
The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.
Survival
The Terms, including any limitations on liability explicitly set forth herein, shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding any termination of your use of the Database.
Our Relationship
In no event shall you be deemed an employee, agent, partner, joint venture or legal representative of the other for any purpose, and neither shall have any right, power or authority to create any obligation or responsibility on behalf of the other, solely as a result of these Terms. In no event shall you be deemed under these Terms as being one of our employees or entitled to any of our employee benefits.