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Terms and Conditions / Terms of Use Alumniconnections® Community

The Yale University Online Alumni Community is provided by the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA) and Yale University and is designed to facilitate communication among alumni for personal or University-related purposes.

The Yale University Online Alumni Community includes, but is not limited, to the following existing services: Online Alumni Directory, Virtual Yale Station e-mail forwarding service, Yale Career Network, AYA-hosted mailing lists, and any future services developed and made available to alumni by AYA or AYA and Yale University.

I. Privacy and Security

The AYA has taken reasonable precautions to secure the personal information available through the online community. The Yale University Online Alumni Community is password protected to allow access by registered users only. Although this precaution should help to protect any personal information available through the Yale University Online Alumni Community from abuse or outside interference, a certain degree of privacy risk is faced any time information is shared over the Internet. Therefore we have provided you with the option to suppress the information fields in your record that you wish to keep private, which will prevent these fields from being viewed by other community members. The University and AYA do not and will not sell or provide alumni information to any third party. All alumni information is strictly reserved for use by individual alumni for personal use and by the AYA for University-related purposes only.

II. Policy and Guidelines for Proper Use

To safeguard the operation of the Yale University Online Alumni Community, the University has adopted some basic guidelines and policies to govern proper use and conduct, particularly conduct that occurs in an online environment. In addition to the University's policies and guidelines (see Yale's Acceptable Use Policy at http://www.yale.edu/its/policy/), users of the Yale University Online Alumni Community must abide by the following specific rules and regulations:

A. Unauthorized copying, reproduction, republishing, uploading, downloading, posting, transmitting, or duplicating of any of the material is prohibited. You may download or copy any downloadable materials displayed on the Yale University Online Alumni Community for home, noncommercial, and personal use only; provided, however, that you maintain all copyright, trademark, and other notices contained in such material and you agree to abide by all additional copyright notices or restrictions contained in any material accessed through the Yale University Online Alumni Community.

B. Information available through the Yale University Online Alumni Community may be used for specific personal and University-approved purposes only. Use of information or communications available through the Yale University Online Alumni Community for any commercial, public, or political purposes is strictly prohibited. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to, (1) activities that are illegal or fraudulent; (2) use that inaccurately implies endorsement, approval, or sponsorship by Yale University or the AYA (or any individual officer of Yale or the AYA); (3) use that can be confused with official communications of Yale University or its officers; (4) use that can be confused with official communications of Yale Clubs, class officers, or other authorized alumni leaders; (5) print or electronic mass mailings (sometimes known as "spamming"), solicitations for commercial services, or cold-calling.

Yale University may deny further access to these services to those who engage in these or similar practices. These terms also apply to any mailing lists, message boards, and chat rooms, which are provided by the Yale University Online Alumni Community as another means of alumni communication.

C. Notes posted to the mailing list archives will remain for 30 days, after which they may be deleted. Yale University is not responsible for the content of mailing lists or message boards, and will not routinely monitor content. Yale, however, reserves the right to reorganize or delete any postings or add and remove mailing list archives and/or message board topics.

D. User accounts may not be shared, transferred, or sold to other parties, nor are they to be commissioned for use or access by any person or party except the registered alumni user. Additionally, users shall not restrict nor inhibit any other user from enjoying any service on the Yale University Online Alumni Community. Posting of obscene materials or use of obscene language, posting of vulgar materials, or use of vulgar language, or use of abusive, defamatory, profane, or threatening language of any kind, will constitute a violation of these policies governing the use of the Yale University Online Alumni Community. Determination of whether specific postings violate these policies shall be at the sole discretion of the AYA. Users shall also not upload, transmit, distribute or otherwise publish any materials containing a virus or any other harmful component.

E. All aliases adopted by Yale University Online Alumni Community users are subject to approval by the University and/or the AYA.

Neither the University nor the AYA is responsible for screening communications in advance, and neither the University nor the AYA will routinely monitor the use of the Yale University Online Alumni Community. For this reason, it is essential that the alumni users of the Yale University Online Alumni Community report any abuses or misuse of the Yale University Online Alumni Community to the AYA. If the AYA determines that a user's participation in the Yale University Online Alumni Community creates a liability for the AYA or the University or that the user has violated the policies set forth herein or any applicable laws or regulations, the AYA reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to expel a user and deny further access to the Yale University Online Alumni Community.

III. Liability and Indemnity

The reliability of the information available through the Yale University Online Alumni Community is largely dependent upon the actions of community registrants. The AYA can make no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of this information.

The AYA does not warrant that the Yale University Online Alumni Community web site will operate error-free or that the site and its server are free of computer viruses or other harmful material. To the fullest extent permitted by the law, the AYA disclaims all warranties, including the warranties of merchantability, non-infringement, and fitness for particular purpose. In no event shall the AYA or the University be liable for any damages whatsoever, including, without limitation, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, resulting from the use of or inability to use information or materials available on the Yale University Online Alumni Community web site.

By using the Yale University Online Alumni Community web site, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the AYA, the University, and their respective agents from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, costs, and expenses that may arise from your use of the Yale University Online Alumni Community web site or your breach of these policies. The AYA will provide notice to you of any such action or claim, and reserves the right to participate, at our expense, in the investigation, settlement, and defense of any such action or claim.

Please note that the AYA may revise these policies and your continued use of the site constitutes your agreement to comply with such modifications. You should review the policies periodically to ensure that you are familiar with them.

Participation in the Yale University Online Alumni Community is a privilege. By clicking on the "Accept" button, you agree to abide by the Yale University Online Alumni Community policies outlined herein. If you cannot accept these policies, please click on the "Do Not Accept" button to indicate that you cannot accept the policies and do not wish to register as a user of the Yale University Online Alumni Community.