User Agreement

User Agreement

Effective as of: July 6, 2011

Welcome to the general website ("VOC Site") for the Valley of Chicago, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America; its coordinate bodies, namely Van Rensselaer Lodge of Perfection, Chicago Council of Princes of Jerusalem A.A.S. Rite of Free Masonry, Gourgas Chapter of Rose Croix DE H.R.D.M.A.A.S. Rite of Freemasonry, and Oriental Consistory S.P.R.S.; the Scottish Rite Cathedral Association of Chicago; and the Scottish Rite Almoner’s Fund, Inc. (collectively, "SRCA"). The SRCA Site is the website whose home page is located at www.ScottishRiteChicago.org and www.ValleyofChicago.org and includes all web pages whose domain name contains the following: ScottishRiteChicago.org or ValleyofChicago.org. Additionally, this is not the user agreement for any blogs, forums or social networking sites where SRCA has a presence that are on websites other than the SRCA Site. Please read this User Agreement carefully, including the SRCA Online Privacy Statement. By using the SRCA Site, you agree to follow the rules set forth on these web pages. From time to time we may revise this User Agreement including its Online Privacy Statement, so be sure to check these web pages occasionally. If we do make material changes, we will post a notice on our home page that the User Agreement has been modified and provide a link to the revised User Agreement. When you continue to use the SRCA Site after we post a change, it means you agree to the new rules.

The Scottish Rite Cathedral Association of Chicago and the Scottish Rite Almoner’s Fund, Inc.

The Scottish Rite Cathedral Association and the Scottish Rite Almoner’s Fund, Inc. are separate organizations organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, whose purposes are independent of one another.

Online Privacy Statement & Information You Voluntarily Submit to the SRCA Site

Please review our Privacy Statement, which is part of this User Agreement and describes how we handle any personally identifying information about SRCA Site users, including information you voluntarily submit to the SRCA Site. By providing such information, you hereby acknowledge and agree to SRCA’s treatment of such information as described in the Online Privacy Statement.

Copyright

The SRCA owns or licenses the copyright in all the materials on the SRCA Site, including text, graphics, logos, button icons, audio clips, photographs, and software, and those rights are protected by United States and international copyright laws and other intellectual property laws (“SRCA Site Content”). To the extent your use of material on the SRCA Site does not constitute “fair use” for which you do not need our permission, the following rules apply to use of the material:

Permitted Distribution. Unless the specific web page from which SRCA text materials is available indicates you may not do so, you may copy or distribute any text materials that appear on the SRCA Site in print or digital format only and only for the following non-commercial purposes: research, teaching, private study, and activism regarding issues relating to Freemasonry and Scottish Rite Freemasonry. You may also distribute SRCA Content that is not SRCA text materials if and only to the extent that the specific launching page from which that SRCA Content is accessible, and/or the SRCA Content itself, explicitly indicates that the SRCA Content may be distributed in a specified manner. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all distributed copies must display the following copyright notice:

Distribution Requiring Advance Written Permission. You must obtain written permission in advance if you wish to reproduce SRCA Content that is not text material (e.g., videos, drawings, photographs, podcasts, etc.) or if you wish to reproduce any SRCA Content for any reason not listed in the previous paragraph. You can request this permission by sending us an email at webmaster@valleyofchicago.org that contains the information listed below:

a complete description of the SRCA Content requested, such as the URL of the web page that contains the SRCA Content, a description of the sections or paragraphs that will be distributed, and, where applicable, the title and date of the SRCA Content;
a description of the intended audience;
a description of the manner of distribution;
the length, retail price, and approximate size of first printing or circulation that will include the SRCA Content;
a description of the geographic scope of the distribution and the length of time for which rights are being requested. (Please note that the SRCA grants only nonexclusive rights);
a reply fax number or email address and a phone number.

Information You Post to the SRCA Site

To the extent you voluntarily post material to the SRCA Site for display on the SRCA Site itself (e.g., postings and comments to SRCA blogs and forums), you automatically grant to SRCA an irrevocable, perpetual worldwide license for the SRCA to display such material on the SRCA Site, except to the extent we have indicated otherwise on the portion of the SRCA Site that permits you to post such information (e.g., if a particular blog or forum on the SRCA Site posts any specific terms of use that applies to that particular blog or forum). Additionally, unless otherwise explicitly agreed upon in writing by you and SRCA, by posting any material to the SRCA Site for display on the SRCA Site, you are representing, warranting and covenanting to the SRCA that those materials are original to you or you have obtained permissions, releases, rights or licenses, if any are required (including where use of that material does not constitute “fair use”), that you assume full responsibility for the posting of such material vis-à-vis third parties, including but not limited to make any payments to third parties with respect to displaying such third party material. By posting material for display on a portion of the SRCA Site that contains specific terms of use applicable to that portion of the SRCA Site, you agree you have read, understand, agree to and accept such specific terms of use.

Trademark

Any trademarks on the SRCA Site (collectively "SRCA Trademarks") are trademarks of the SRCA in the United States and other countries unless it is explicitly stated on the SRCA Site where a trademark appears that the trademark is the trademark of a third party (or it is obvious from the context that it is the trademark of a third party; e.g., where we include on the SRCA Site the name or logo of an affiliated Masonic organization) (“Third-Party Trademarks”). To the extent your use of SRCA Trademarks does not constitute “fair use” for which you do not need our permission, the following rules apply to use of the material:

You may not use the SRCA Trademarks for any product or service that does not belong to the SRCA, nor in any manner that is likely to cause confusion about whether we are the source, affiliated with, sponsor of or endorser of any product or service. In addition, you may not use the SRCA Trademarks in any manner that illegally disparages or discredits us.

Your ability to use a Third-Party Trademark that appears on the SRCA Site is limited to the manner, if any, in which the SRCA Site explicitly states on the page on which such Third-Party Trademark appears that such use in such manner is authorized by the third-party owner of that Third-Party Trademark (unless your use is permissible under the law (e.g., it is “fair use”) or the owner of such Third-Party Trademark has specifically granted you the right to such use in such manner).

Frames and Metatags

You may not frame the content of the SRCA Site. You may not use metatags or any other “hidden text” that incorporates SRCA Trademarks or our name without our express written consent.

Links to Other Websites

The SRCA Site contains links to other websites that we think may be of interest to you. We are not responsible for and have no control over these other sites or their content. Remember that when you link to another site, that other site is governed by its own user agreement and privacy statement, which you should be sure to read.

Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

ALTHOUGH WE TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, “TROJAN HORSES” OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO THE SRCA SITE, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE SRCA SITE OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE SRCA SITE ARE FREE FROM SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR HARM ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH FEATURES.

WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS OR INJURY BASED ON ERRORS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN THE SRCA SITE, NOR FOR ANY CLAIM, LOSS OR INJURY THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THE SRCA SITE OR YOUR BREACH OF ANY PROVISION OF THIS USER AGREEMENT.

Termination

We reserve the right to terminate the SRCA Site and this User Agreement at any time without notice for any reason, including, in the case of the User Agreement, for your violation of any of its provisions. The Limitation of Liability and Governing Law Sections of this User Agreement survive any such termination.

Governing Law

This User Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Illinois applicable to contracts made and performed there without regard to its conflicts of law principles. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State of Illinois and County of Cook and waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such courts.