Terms, Conditions & Copyright

WELCOME to Tampa Bay Times. Please read this agreement. We encourage free and open exchange of information and ideas, but ask you to abide by certain terms as a condition of using this site. Your use of this site constitutes your agreement to these terms.

As a user of this site, you agree that:

YOUR USE OF THIS SERVICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. There may be delays, omissions, inaccuracies or other errors in posted information, or other problems inherent in electronic communication.

Modification of this Agreement. This agreement may be changed or modified at any time. A notice of changes or modifications will be posted. You agree to review the agreement periodically to keep current on its terms. Your continued use of the site after any change or modification to this agreement constitutes your agreement to any changes or modifications in the terms.

Use of Information by TampaBay.com. When we collect personal information about users, that information could be shared with advertisers, but only in the aggregate. We will never provide personal information on an individual basis to any third party.

Intellectual Property. All of this site's content, including but not limited to text, articles, photographs, images, graphics, trademarks, logos and service marks, is owned by the Tampa Bay Times and is protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws meaning, among other things:

• The site's content is for your personal, non-commercial use.
• If you copy any material from this site, that copy must be exclusively for your personal non-commercial use and that copy must retain copyright, trademark and other ownership notices contained in the material.
• Storing or archiving any significant portion of the content or creating a database using the content is prohibited.
• Any other activity or use of this site that is a violation of United States intellectual property laws or international treaties, including but not limited to copying other than on an isolated basis for personal use; modifying the content; and publishing, transmitting, creating derivative works from, transferring, selling or displaying the content of the site, is prohibited.
• You may hyperlink to TampaBay.com so long as the link does not state or imply any sponsorship or endorsement of your site by TampaBay.com, Tampa Bay Times, the Times Publishing Company or any of their affiliates. Any linking which results in display of this site's content surrounded by or included with content of another site, organization or person is prohibited.
• You may not use the content in any way not specifically provided for in this agreement without the specific written consent of the Tampa Bay Times.

User Content. You acknowledge that communication using TampaBay.com often occurs in real time or is posted in or on one of many forums or message boards. As such, TampaBay.com cannot and does not intend to attempt the impossible task of screening communications in advance. You therefore acknowledge that neither TampaBay.com, the Tampa Bay Times, the Times Publishing Company or their affiliates shall assume or have any responsibility by action or inaction with respect to content posted or provided by users. You are solely responsible for anything you post in this site's chat rooms, forums, guest books and other public posting areas.

User Posting Rules. If you engage in any posting or communication using TampaBay.com, you agree that:

• You will respect the rights of others in using this service.
• You will use TampaBay.com only for lawful purposes and will not post or transmit any obscene, threatening, abusive, or false and defamatory material.
• TampaBay.com reserves the right to deny access to anyone who violates posting rules or any part of this agreement.
• TampaBay.com retains the right to delete, move or edit any posting in its sole discretion and reserves the right to deny access to you and to anyone accessing this service.

Registration. Access to some or all of the content, services and features on TampaBay.com may require users to register and become members of TampaBay.com. If you register with TampaBay.com, you accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account whether or not you expressly authorize such activities. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for restricting access to your computer so others may not access TampaBay.com using your username or account in whole or in part. TampaBay.com may terminate membership and deny access to this site to any person who, in TampaBay.com's sole discretion, violates these Terms and Conditions. Such termination or denial of access shall be in addition to any remedies available to TampaBay.com and the Tampa Bay Times in law and equity.

Transactions and E-Commerce. During your visit to our site you may elect to engage in a transaction involving the purchase of a product such as a newspaper subscription, a print or online advertisement or other tangible goods and services. Credit card transactions and order fulfillment are often handled by a third party processing agent, bank or distribution institution. While in most cases transactions are completed without difficulty, there is no such thing as perfect security on the Internet or offline. If you are concerned about online credit card safety, in most cases a telephone number will be made available so you can call us and place your order by phone. TampaBay.com cannot and does not take responsibility for the success or security of transactions undertaken or processed by third parties.

Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless TampaBay.com, Tampa Bay Times, the Times Publishing Company and their affiliates, employees, contractors, officers, directors, and telecommunications providers from all liability, claims, and expenses, including attorneys' fees, that arise from the breach of any of the terms of use of the site or in connection with your use of this site. TampaBay.com reserves the right to assume exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification under this agreement.

Change in Service. TampaBay.com may modify, suspend, discontinue or restrict the use of any portion of TampaBay.com, including the availability of any portion of the Content at any time, without notice or liability.

Severability. If for any reason any provision of this Agreement is found unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to effect the intent of the parties as reflected in that provision, and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.

Choice of Law. TampaBay.com is controlled, operated and administered from its offices within St. Petersburg, Pinellas County, Florida. This agreement between TampaBay.com and its users shall be governed and interpreted under the laws of the State of Florida. You hereby agree that any cause of action you may have with respect to TampaBay.com must be filed in a federal or state court located in the State of Florida. The sole venue for any legal action that concerns this agreement, content on this site, or use of this site shall be Pinellas County, Florida.

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