First and foremost, SharingSolace.com, and accompanying mobile applications(s) (the “Site”), is intended to be an inclusive, safe, open, and low-pressure digital space for grievers to connect, share, and work through their thoughts and feelings. The intent is to provide support and be able to ‘crowdsource’ your grief journey. Negativity, bullying, threats, harassment, and abuse are STRICTLY PROHIBITED and will result in an IMMEDIATE BAN from all of Sharing Solace’s online resources.
Our goal is for authentic, sometimes raw, content. The nature of these online resources may be funny, serious, sad, possibly offensive to some – and everywhere in-between. Not everyone holds the same values and opinions. As long as posts and comments are intended to be helpful, not hurtful, in nature they are welcome. Please show respect for others (while writing and reading posts) so all may continue to enjoy SharingSolace.com for what it is intended to be.
This is an agreement: between you (the “Member”) and us Sharing Solace LLC and/or SharingSolace.com or our affiliates (“Sharing Solace”). By checking the box during registration and actively using our website or any of our services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. If you don’t agree to these terms stop using SharingSolace.com right now. You will also want to view our Privacy Policy, it explains how we collect and use your information.
You represent that you are legally able to accept this Member Agreement and affirm that you are of legal age to form a binding contract or have obtained parental or guardian consent to do so. If you do not agree to this Member Agreement, you may not use the site. You affirm that you are at least 13 years of age.
Your Access: Without advance notice and at any time, we may, for violation of this agreement or for any other reason we choose: A) suspend your access to SharingSolace.com, B) suspend or terminate your account, and/or C) remove any, or all, of your added content. We reserve the right to monitor SharingSolace.com and your use of the resources means you agree to such monitoring. At the same time, we do not guarantee monitoring.
Our resources are designed for your personal and lawful use only. You may not use SharingSolace.com to break the law, violate an individual’s privacy, or infringe upon any person or entity’s intellectual property or any other proprietary rights.
Sharing Solace’s community resources are intended to a place for community and camaraderie.
- We are not responsible for any decision you choose to make based on something you read on our site.
- We are not a marketplace for goods and services. Do not advertise your products, beliefs, or services. Any transactions you choose to undertake are your responsibility alone.
- Sharing Solace, at its sole discretion, may determine what is inappropriate content published by any of its Members.
Your Account: To participate in Sharing Solace’s online resources you must create an account that includes your name and password and an email address. There are some areas of Sharing Solace’s website you may browse without logging in; other areas and features are only available to registered users. To access those areas, you are required to log in using your username and password. You are solely responsible for the information associated with your account and anything that happens related to your account. You may not license, transfer, sell or assign your account to another person for any reason.
You agree to provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself as prompted by the applicable registration or log-in form, and you are responsible for keeping such information up-to-date (this includes your contact information so that we can reliably contact you). Failure to accurately and completely provide, and timely update, information about yourself is reasonable grounds for us to suspend or terminate your account and refuse you service in the future. The information you submit must describe you (you may not impersonate another person or entity), and you may not sell, share or otherwise transfer your account information.
If your access includes access to areas containing premium content or services, your access to or use of such areas may be subject to additional fees, terms and conditions, which will be separately disclosed in such areas.
Our Content: All Sharing Solace content is protected by intellectual property laws including copywrite, patent and other proprietary rights of the United States and foreign countries. We grant you the right to access the content in a manner described in this agreement. You may not otherwise make unauthorized commercial use of, reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform or publicly display Sharing Solace content except as permitted by the doctrine of fair use or as authorized in writing by Sharing Solace. You may, however, from time to time, download and/or print one copy of individual pages of the site for your personal, non-commercial use, provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices.
Your Content: You are responsible for all activity occurring when the site is accessed through your account, whether authorized by you or not. Your content is yours and you retain the rights to your copyrighted content or information you submit to Sharing Solace except as described below. By submitting your content, you grant us and our business partners a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, assignable, sub-licensable, unrestricted, worldwide license to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform, or publicly display your content in any medium and for any purpose, including commercial purposes and to authorize others to do so. You agree that you have the right to submit anything you post and that your content does not violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or any other personal or proprietary right of any other party.
You may choose, or we may invite you, to submit comments or ideas about the site and our other products and services, including without limitation about how to improve the site or our products (“Ideas”). By submitting any Idea, you agree that your disclosure is gratuitous, unsolicited and without restriction and will not place Sharing Solace under any fiduciary or other obligation, and that we are free to use the Idea without any additional compensation to you and/or to disclose the Idea on a non-confidential basis or otherwise to anyone. You further acknowledge that, by acceptance of your Idea, Sharing Solace does not waive any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to Sharing Solace, developed by its employees, or obtained from sources other than you.
We do not endorse content that isn’t Sharing Solace’s: We take no responsibility for, we do not expressly or implicitly endorse and we do not assume any liability for any content submitted by members on SharingSolace.com or any affiliated websites or forum. We do allow third-party hyperlinks posted by members like you. We are not responsible for the content or actions of any third-party websites or services associated with posted links. You agree to take sole legal responsibility for any links you post, and neither this agreement nor our privacy policy applies to any content on other websites related to those links. You should consult the terms and privacy policies of those other websites to understand your rights.
Rules: You agree to follow all policies outlined. These guidelines and policies are intended to keep people safe, protect children, keep our community running and to encourage personal responsibility for your words and actions. You agree that Sharing Solace is not responsible for actions taken (or not taken) by other Members.
Spam: Don’t do it. You may not post any graphics, text, photographs, images, video, audio or other material that we deem to be junk or spam. Cluttering Sharing Solace with this kind of content reduces the quality and helpfulness of our online resources and is strictly prohibited.
Although you are not strictly forbidden from submitting a link to your site (or a site you benefit some in some way) you should consider yourself in a very gray area.
- If your contribution consists mostly of links to site(s) you benefit from and you do not participate in the true discussions, you will be treated as a spammer
- If your content is repeatedly reported as unhelpful, abusive or as spam you will be treated as a spammer
- Sharing Solace reserves the right to treat any content you publish on our website or forums as spam and may react accordingly
Self-Promotion: Sharing Solace is a community and should be treated as such. You wouldn’t shamelessly and constantly self-promote to your friends and our community is no different. If you’re concerned about over self-promotion, you are probably over self-promoting. Please see ‘Spam’ above for further guidelines.
Unwelcome Content and Behavior: Sharing Solace offers leeway for acceptable content. However, here are some guidelines for content and behavior that is strictly prohibited. Keep in mind the spirit in which these are written; looking for loopholes is futile. Because we provide a wide array of content that is produced or gathered by fellow users, you may encounter material that you find offensive, erroneous, misleading, mislabeled, or otherwise objectionable. We therefore ask that you use common sense and proper judgment when using our services. Prohibited content and behavior includes:
- Mentions of illegal activity or criminal conduct
- Nudity and pornography of any kind
- Encouraging or inciting violence or taking any action that may create a risk of harm, loss, physical or mental injury, emotional distress, death, disability, disfigurement or physical or mental illness to you, any other person or any animal
- Threats, harassment or bullying of any kind
- Overly personal and/or confidential information
- Posting information, you know is not truthful, correct or current
- Posting any content or taking any action that contains any information (such as inside, proprietary or confidential information) that you do not have a right to make available due to contract, fiduciary duty or operation of law
- Excessive profanity
- Impersonating another person for any reason
- Providing inaccurate, misleading or false information to us
- Using SharingSolace.com to solicit or facilitate any transactions or gifts of any good of services
- Creating multiple accounts for any reason
- Intentionally or unintentionally damaging Sharing Solace by use of malicious code or other means
- Making it difficult for others to use Sharing Solace because of your actions
- Attempting to manipulate Sharing Solace in a way it was not intended to be used
- Assisting anyone else in using, abusing or misusing Sharing Solace in any way
- ‘Harvesting’, ‘Scraping’ or collecting information from Sharing Solace using an automated software tool or manually on a mass basis. This includes, but not limited to, information about other members and information about offerings, products, services and promotions available on/through the site
- Unauthorized access to the site, any account, or computer system connected to the site through use of automated or any other means
- ‘Stream catching’ (download, store, or transmit copies of streamed content)
- Obtaining, or attempting to obtain, access to areas of the site, or our systems, that are not intended to be accessed by you
- Spam
- We reserve the right to exercise our enforcement discretion with respect to the above terms
You also must comply with all applicable laws and contractual obligations when you use Sharing Solace. You agree that you are not (i) located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any country (a) subject to a United States (“U.S.”) government embargo, (b) that the U.S. government has identified as a “Specially Designated National” or “terrorist supporting” country or (c) on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Table of Deny Orders or (ii) listed on any U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties. Membership in, and use of, Sharing Solace is void where prohibited.
Triggers and Not Safe for Work (NSFW) Content: As everyone in the Sharing Solace community is at a different place along their grief journey and accessing the information from different physical locations please use appropriate tags, as needed, to alert others of content in public forums.
Enforcement: We take our open and honest community seriously. Sharing Solace reserves the right to enforce our rules with or without advance notice to members. There are a variety of ways to enforce the above rules, including, but not limited to:
- Asking you nicely to quit it
- Asking you not so nicely to quit it
- Temporarily or permanently suspending your account
- Removing your privileges or adding restrictions to, your account
- Removing your contact as a whole or in part
- Banning you completely from Sharing Solace
You may file a petition in response to enforcement actions taken on behalf of Sharing Solace within 15 days of said enforcement. All requests will be fairly and justly taken into consideration. Upon final review of the petition Sharing Solace’s enforcement will be final and irreversible.
It is Sharing Solace’s policy to close accounts without warning of any member we identify of repeat offenders. We apply this policy at our discretion and in appropriate circumstances.
Indemnity: All things you do and all information you post anywhere on Sharing Solace remains your responsibility. You cannot hold us legally liable for any of your Member content or actions that infringe the law or the rights of a third-party or person in any way. Specifically, you agree to hold Sharing Solace, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents and third-party service providers harmless from and defend them against any claims, costs, damages, losses, expenses and any other liabilities, including attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or related to your access to or use of Sharing Solace, your violation of this Member Agreement, and/or your violation of the rights of any third-party or person. You also acknowledge that you understand that posts made by other Members are not a reflection of Sharing Solace.
Electronic Communications: The communications between you and us via the Site use electronic means, whether you visit the Site or send us an email or whether we post notices on the Site or communicate with you via email. For contractual purposes, you consent to receive communications from us in an electronic form and you agree that all terms and conditions, agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications would satisfy if it were in writing. The foregoing does not affect your non-waivable rights.
Changes to the Site: We reserve the right to make changes to, or to suspend or discontinue (temporarily or permanently), the Site or any portion of the Site. You agree that we will not be liable to you or to any third-party for any such modification, suspension or discontinuance.
Disclaimer of Warranties: Sharing Solace is provided to all users and Members ‘as is’ and without warranty of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we and our affiliates and third-party service providers disclaim any and all warranties, express or implied, including (but not limited to) implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement of proprietary rights, or any other warranty, condition, guarantee or representation, whether oral or written. You are solely responsible for any damage to your computer or mobile device, loss of use or loss of your member content. We do not guarantee that Sharing Solace will always work properly.
Limitation of Liability: We will not be liable for any special, consequential, indirect, incidental, punitive, reliance or exemplary damages, whether in tort, contract or any other legal theory, arising out of or in any way connected with this agreement or your use of or attempt to use Sharing Solace or the Site, including (but not limited to) damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use or data. This limitation on liability shall not be affected even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
You agree to release us, our affiliates, and third-party service providers, and each associated director, employee, agents and officers, from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential), of every kind and nature, known and unknown, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected to your use of Sharing Solace.
Governing Law: We want you to enjoy and benefit from SharingSolace.com. If you have an issue or dispute, you agree to raise it and try to resolve it with us informally. You can contact us with feedback and concerns by Contacting Us or by emailing us at Crystal@SharingSolace.com
The headings in this agreement are for convenience and do not control any of the provisions.
Any claim or dispute between you and Sharing Solace arising out of or relating to this Member Agreement, in whole or in part, shall be governed by the laws in the State of Kansas without respect to its conflict of laws provisions. We agree and you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Johnson County, Kansas.
Binding Arbitration: Other than those matters described under ‘Exclusions from Arbitration’ below, you and we agree that all disputes, claims, or controversies arising out of or relating in any way to this Member Agreement (including the validity, enforceability or scope of this Section), the Site or any content or services thereon (each, a “Dispute”), that cannot be resolved through negotiation in accordance with the ‘Notice of Dispute; Negotiation’ clause below, shall be settled by final binding arbitration, in accordance with the terms of this Section and to the extent permitted by law. Arbitration means that the Dispute will be resolved by a neutral arbitrator instead of in a court by a judge or jury. An arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that a court can award to an individual. You agree that the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act applies to this agreement.
You and we agree that any claim filed by either party in small claims court is not subject to the arbitration terms contained in this section. We also both agree that you or we may bring suit in court to enjoy infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights.
If you do not wish to be bound by the binding arbitration and class action waiver in this section, you must notify us in writing within 15 days of the date that you accept this agreement. Your written notification must be mailed to: Legal Department, Sharing Solace, 15954 Murlen, Suite 151, Olathe, KS 66062, by certified mail return receipt requested and must include (1) your name, (2) your address, (3) your account information, if you have one, and (4) a clear statement that you do not wish to resolve disputes with us through arbitration.
If you have a dispute with us, you must send written notice to the Legal Department at the address above to give us the opportunity to resolve the dispute informally through negotiation. You agree to negotiate resolution of the Dispute in good faith for no less than sixty (60) days after you provide notice of the Dispute. If we do not resolve your Dispute within sixty (60) days from receipt of notice of the Dispute, either party may pursue a claim in arbitration pursuant to the terms of this Section.
If you or we have a Dispute with such party elects to resolve through arbitration, the party initiating the arbitration proceeding shall initiate it with the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its rules and procedures, as modified by this Section. The AAA’s rules are available at www.adr.org. A form for initiating arbitration proceedings is available on the AAA’s site at www.adr.org. In addition to filing this form with the AAA in accordance with its rules and procedures, you must send a copy of the completed form to us at the following address to initiate arbitration proceedings: Legal Department, Sharing Solace, 15954 Murlen, Suite 151, Olathe, KS 66062.
You and we agree to treat the arbitration proceedings and any related discovery confidential. The terms of this Section govern in the event they conflict with the rules of the AAA.
The arbitration proceedings shall be held in Johnson County, Kansas.
Class Action Waiver: You and we agree that each of us may bring claims against the other only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative action or proceeding. Unless both you and we specifically agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate or join more than one person’s or party’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of a consolidated, representative or class proceeding. Also, the arbitrator may award relief (including monetary, injunctive and declaratory relief) only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief necessitated by that party’s individual claim(s). Any relief awarded cannot affect other site users.
Severability and Enforcement: If any provision in this member agreement is held invalid or unenforceable (other than the class action waiver clause above), that provision will be modified to the extent necessary to render it enforceable without losing its intent. If no such modification is possible, that provision will be severed from the rest of this agreement. If we do not enforce any right or provision in this user agreement, that is not to be deemed as a waiver of our right to do so in the future.
Changes: This member agreement is the entire agreement between you and Sharing Solace. It supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements between the parties. We may modify this agreement at any time. By continuing to use Sharing Solace after the change to this agreement, you agree to those changes.