Terms of service

The Hampton Roads Gardening message boards are provided by Hampton Roads Gardening to give our users an interesting and stimulating forum in which they can express their opinions and share their ideas.

User Agreement: In order to protect the interests of all of our users, as well as those of our information providers, we ask that you abide by the following rules. By registering as a user or by using Message Board's Discussion forums (the "Service"), you hereby agree to be bound by all of the following terms and conditions ("Terms of Service" or "TOS").

Copyright Notice and Limitations on Use: All of the information, content and services (collectively, the "Content") within this Service is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. The Content is owned by the Daily Press Inc. ("DPI"), Hampton Roads Interactive Inc. ("HRII") and their affiliated companies, licensors and suppliers. The Content is intended for the personal use of users of the Service only. While you may interact with or download a single copy of any portion of the Content for your personal, non-commercial entertainment, information or use, you may not reproduce, sell, publish, distribute, modify, display, repost or otherwise use any portion of the Content in any other way or for any other purpose without the written consent of DPI or HRII. Requests regarding use of the Content for any purpose other than personal, noncommercial use should be directed to Melissa Simpson at msimpson@dailypress.com . Melissa may be reached by phone at (757) 247-4879.

You acknowledge that the Content includes certain trademarks and service marks owned by DPI and HRII, and certain logotypes, as well as trademarks owned by other information providers. You agree not to copy, use or otherwise infringe upon these trademarks or service marks. You further agree that you will not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from any copies of the Content.

If you operate a Web site and wish to link to the Service, you must link to the Service's home page. DPI and HRII reserve the right to reject or terminate any links to the Content or Service.

Interactive Areas: The Service's forums, bulletin board and chat rooms are provided to give users an interesting and stimulating forum in which they can express their opinions and share their ideas. DPI and HRII do not endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or information posted on these forums [message boards/bulletin boards/chat rooms]. Please use your best judgment and be respectful of other individuals using these forums. Do not use vulgar, abusive or hateful language. You may not use the Service's bulletin boards for advertising or promotional materials or other forms of solicitation. Uploading copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind on the Service without the express permission of the owner of that material is prohibited and may result in civil and/or criminal liability.

Given the nature of the Service and the volume of messages and postings, DPI and HRII cannot and do not monitor all of the material posted or transmitted by users and third party information providers. While you agree that the Service will not be liable for such third party content, DPI and HRII reserve the right to delete, move or edit any communications which they deem in their sole discretion to be: violative of this agreement; harmful to individuals or communities; obscene; defamatory; in violation of DPI's, HRII's or any third party's rights; or otherwise unacceptable.

User Content: By placing material on or communicating with Interact's discussion forums, you hereby grant to the DPI, HRII and their affiliates and related entities (collectively, "Daily Press") the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, copy, modify, display, distribute and reproduce all such materials in any form, media, software or technology of any kind now existing or developed in the future. You also agree to indemnify, defend and hold Daily Press harmless against any claims or costs, including attorneys fees, arising from the use or distribution of those materials. You further grant Daily Press the right to use your name in connection with the reproduction or distribution of such material.

Daily Press does not accept unsolicited materials or ideas for use or publication in their newspapers, broadcast programming, books or other digital and electronic media except in connection with the forums, chats rooms and bulletin boards on the Service. Daily Press shall not be responsible for the similarity of any of its content or programming in any media to materials or ideas transmitted to the Service.

General Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability: YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. NEITHER DAILY PRESS, NOR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTENT PROVIDERS OR LICENSORS MAKES ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND REGARDING THE SERVICE, THE CONTENT, ANY ADVERTISING MATERIAL OR THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICE. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DAILY PRESS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT.

DAILY PRESS, ITS AFFILIATES, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTENT PROVIDERS AND LICENSORS SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, RESULTING FROM OR CAUSED BY THE SERVICE OR ITS CONTENT, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSSES RELATED TO: YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR DEFECTS IN THE CONTENT; OR ANY INTERRUPTIONS, DELAYS IN TRANSMISSION OR COMPUTER VIRUSES. IN ANY EVENT, ANY LIABILITY OF DAILY PRESS, ITS EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTENT PROVIDERS AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO THE SERVICE IN THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE CLAIMED INJURY OR DAMAGE.

Miscellaneous: DPI and HRII reserve the right at their discretion to change these Terms of Service and will notify users of any such changes by online postings. Your continued use of the Service after the posting of any amended Terms of Service shall constitute your agreement to be bound by any such changes. The Service may modify, suspend, discontinue or restrict the use of any portion of the Service, including the availability of any portion of the Content at any time, without notice or liability.

These Terms of Service will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Virginia, without regard to its conflicts of law provisions. You hereby agree that any cause of action you may have with respect to the Daily Press must be filed in the City of Newport News in the State of Virginia within one year after the cause of action arises or the cause is barred.

If you have questions, contact dselder@tribune.com .