CCS Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Cross-Cultural Solutions welcomes you to the CCS Community, the online community for people who have or are interested in volunteering abroad to connect, learn, inspire, network and share expertise and resources. The CCS Community was created to provide a variety of services and resources to its visitors and members. You are authorized to use these services and resources only if you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy of Cross-Cultural Solutions provided below, as well as the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service put forth by Ning, Inc., the platform on which the CCS Community was built. The website is owned and shaped by Cross-Cultural Solutions and open to people interested in discussing and sharing experiences related to volunteering abroad.

We ask all participants to understand and observe the following guidelines, and help us foster a mutually respectful dialogue within the community.

CCS Community Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
In addition to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service provided by Ning, Inc., you agree to:

1. Not re-distribute any copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information of Cross-Cultural Solutions which may include, but shall not be limited to, text, data, photos, audio, video, graphics, images, music, sound and software (“Proprietary Material”). You are hereby granted a non-exclusive license to access this Proprietary Material. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, adapt, create derivative works of, display or in any way exploit the Proprietary Material available on the CCS Community website, in whole or in part, without the advance written consent of Cross-Cultural Solutions. Commercial use of any Proprietary Material is strictly prohibited. Use of the Cross-Cultural Solutions or CCS Community trademarks on other websites or online content (such as meta tags) is also strictly prohibited.

2. Communicating on CCS: By uploading files of any kind, posting messages, inputting data, or engaging in any other form of communication individually or collectively on the CCS Community, you represent and warrant that you are the owner of such “Communications” or have all rights necessary to upload, post, transmit and otherwise use them for your intended purpose. You grant Cross-Cultural Solutions an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, unrestricted, worldwide license to reproduce, distribute, sub-license, modify, edit, adapt, translate, create derivative works of, include in a collective work, publicly perform or display, transmit, broadcast or otherwise exploit all or any portion of your Communications, in any and all media now known or later developed. You waive all rights to any claim against Cross-Cultural Solutions for any actual or alleged infringement of any proprietary rights, rights of privacy or publicity, moral rights and rights of attribution in connection with the Communications. If you submit an entry or comment in the My Page, Events, Discuss, Groups, Blogs, Photos or Videos sections of the CCS Community website, you understand that we may (or may not) re-publish your comments or posts (or a portion of them) on Cross-Cultural Solutions websites or print materials or select them to re-publish in press materials.

3. Conduct and Communications:

(a) You agree not to post, email, or otherwise make available Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, or is harmful to minors in any way.

(b) You agree to show respect for religious and cultural differences and sensitivity to familial and/or governmental pressures that may affect the communications of another.

(c) You agree not to post on the CCS Community website any Communications that: (i) violate or infringe upon the intellectual property rights (including copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and patents), rights of privacy or publicity, moral rights or any other proprietary right of any third party; (ii) are unlawful, obscene, pornographic, defamatory, sexually explicit, profane, threatening, promote racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual, or are otherwise offensive or objectionable; (iii) contain a virus or any other harmful component; (iv) falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity or contain false or misleading statements of fact; (v) contain any advertising or material of a commercial nature; or (vi) violate any applicable local, state, national or international law or regulation (individually and collectively, “Prohibited Communications”).

(d) You also agree not to engage in Prohibited Communications in the course of recorded interviews, live conference calls or other oral, electronic, or written communications made possible through or using information obtained via the CCS Community site.

(e) Cross-Cultural Solutions reserves the right at all times to decline to post and to edit, remove, or restrict access to Communications from you that we regard in our sole discretion as objectionable or in violation of these Terms of Use.

4. Third-Party Communications: Cross-Cultural Solutions does not represent, endorse or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy or reliability of any opinion, statement or material displayed or distributed through the CCS Community website by a third party. You understand that by using this CCS Community web site you may be exposed to material you find offensive or objectionable, and in this respect your use of the CCS Community web site and your reliance upon any third party opinion, statement, or material displayed or distributed through the CCS Community website is at your own risk. Cross-Cultural Solutions shall have no responsibility for the conduct, on-line or off-line, of any visitor to or Member of the CCS Community website. Cross-Cultural Solutions reserves the right but has no obligation to monitor Communications from visitors to or Members of the CCS Community website, or take any action to restrict access to material displayed or distributed through this CCS Community website by a third party that violates these Terms of Use.

Privacy Policy

1. Termination of Service: Cross-Cultural Solutions reserves the right to limit, suspend or terminate service to any user found to have used the CCS Community in a manner inconsistent with the Terms of Use, local, state or Federal law, or in a manner that creates liability for Cross-Cultural Solutions. The sole discretion of Cross-Cultural Solutions shall apply in all cases.

2. Indemnification: By using the site, users agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Cross-Cultural Solutions and its respective employees, agents, and assigns from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, costs, and expenses that may arise from use of the website, and/or from user breach of these policies. Cross-Cultural Solutions reserves the right to participate in the investigation, settlement, and defense of any such action or claim. Cross-Cultural Solutions reserves the right to approve choice of counsel, and any potential settlement of such a claim.

3. Prohibited Uses of the CCS Community Web Site: Use of the CCS Community website for commercial or business purposes of any kind, for personal gain or for political purposes, is prohibited. Prohibited activities also include, but are not limited to solicitations for commercial services, harvesting of information, cold-calling and mass-mailings and/or e-mailings.

4. Cross-Cultural Solutions may collect, store and use any personal and non-personal information you volunteer. Personal information is information that identifies or describes you, including but not limited to your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. You may also provide demographic information, such your age, religion, nationality or language spoken, and information about your interests. We never share any of the information you provide us with outside parties.

If you wish to donate to Cross-Cultural Solutions, you are routed to the main Cross-Cultural Solutions website. Your financial information protected by the Internet security protocol “SSL” and never saved; this includes your credit card type, number and expiration date.

If you become a Member and supply us with your e-mail address, we may send you our Cross-Cultural Solutions email communications. Cross-Cultural Solutions may use the e-mail address you provide to send you messages about Cross-Cultural Solutions, its activities and services. At any time, you can opt out of receiving e-mail messages from Cross-Cultural Solutions promoting our services. It may take us ten (10) days to process you request. We may send you messages regarding your CCS Community membership, and offer you the opportunity to opt out of receiving these messages.

 

5. Cross-Cultural Solutions may use the information you provide as part of one of our CCS Community website features. For example, if you provide your name, a photograph or other information in the course of contributing a story, in text, audio or visual form, we may post that information on our CCS Community website. Cross-Cultural Solutions may also use the information you provide to operate and maintain the CCS Community website, and to improve our content, services and communications with you.

If you are visiting the CCS Community web site from a country outside the United States, you acknowledge and agree that in using the CCS Community web site, you may transfer information about yourself to the United States, that the data protection laws of the United States may not be as comprehensive as those in your own country, and that the transfer of this information occurs with your consent.

 

6. Children Prohibited: The CCS Community web site is intended for adults. Accordingly, we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of thirteen.

 

 

This Terms of Use and Privacy Policy document is effective beginning April 16, 2008. We may change at any time and have no obligation to share. You must periodically check for updates.

If you have questions about it, please contact Cross-Cultural Solutions by e-mail or postal mail as follows:

CCS Community Administrator
Cross-Cultural Solutions
2 Clinton Place

New Rochelle, NY 10801
USA

E-mail: community@crossculturalsolutions.org