Bethany Discussion Forums

Terms of Services for Forums of Bethany Christian Services

1. Purpose.
Bethany Christian Services' forums are designed for expectant parents, birthfamilies, adoptive families, adoptees, foster families, and couples facing infertility challenges or pregnancy loss to discuss issues and find encouragement through others that are in similar circumstances. We strive to make this a safe environment for families and individuals to share their experiences in an honest manner. Please remember that everyone can read these forums, with the exception of private forums that require permission before access is granted.

2. Acceptance of Terms of Use and Amendments.
This is a contract between you ("you" or "Member") and Bethany Christian Services, including any of its affiliates (collectively "Bethany"). By agreeing to the terms of this contract, you are legally bound by these Terms of Use. This membership agreement contains the rules governing the relationship between the Member and Bethany with respect to the Bethany Forums. Read this agreement, as it may affect your rights. Membership will not be granted unless you agree to these Terms of Use. Membership in this service may be modified by Bethany at any time without prior notice. This agreement remains in effect while you are a Member and while you use the Bethany Forums. You may review this Agreement at any time by returning to this page. Questions regarding the Terms of use should be directed to forum administrator. Membership confers only a limited right to access and use the forums consistent with these Terms of Use for personal, non-commercial purposes and no other rights.

3. Eligibility
You must be eighteen (18) years of age or over to register as a Member or use the Bethany Forums. By agreeing to these terms, you warrant that you are eighteen (18) years of age or older and have the authority and the right to enter into this agreement.

4. Editorial Control
Bethany reserves the right to delete or edit any Member content, as it deems necessary, but you agree that Bethany has no obligation to do so. While the administrators and moderators of the forums will attempt to remove or edit any generally objectionable material as quickly as possible, it is impossible to review every message. Therefore you acknowledge that all posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author and do not represent Bethany Christian Services. Bethany will not be held liable for any forum content or claims arising from forum content whether or not arising under the laws of copyright, defamation, privacy, obscenity, or otherwise. Any opinions expressed by the moderators of these forums are also not necessarily the views of Bethany Christian Services. Any official Bethany statements will be made through the administrator of the forum.

5. Membership & Obligations
The Bethany Forums are intended for the individual, personal, non-commercial use of Members. We reserve the right to cancel your membership at any time for any reason. Members may only create and use one (1) member account on Bethany Forums. Businesses and other organizations may not obtain membership.

Unauthorized use of the website or the Bethany Forums is forbidden. Each Member is solely responsible for his or her own use of the website and the Bethany Forums. You may not authorize others to use your membership, and you may not assign or otherwise transfer your account to any other person or entity. You are solely responsible for all use made under your password.

Each Member is solely responsible for the content he or she posts on Bethany Forums or sends to other Members.

You may not collect e-mail addresses and other personal information of Members for the purpose of sending unsolicited e-mail. You may not create unauthorized links to other websites.

You may not tamper with the Bethany Forums or the website in any way that interferes with operations or compromises security or integrity. Any violation to the operation, security or integrity of Bethany Forums or the website may result in prosecution under all applicable laws.

You agree not to post any false, fraudulent, defamatory, abusive, obscene, vulgar, libelous, hateful, threatening, sexually-explicit content, or any other material that may violate any applicable laws. Doing so may lead to you being immediately and permanently banned (and your Internet service provider being informed). Bethany reserves the right at all times to disclose any information we believe necessary to satisfy any law, regulation, or governmental request. This would include public posts, photos, and private messages (PM). Bethany reserves the right to log or otherwise store private messages as well as public content.

Additional Guidelines
Opinions, whether positive or negative, about your own adoption experience that mention the name (or initials) or providing other identifying information about specific adoption professionals, adoption agencies, adoption facilitators, social workers, attorneys, and other adoption professionals/organizations, may not appear on the forums. However, we recognize that Bethany clients are providing support by keeping others informed about their adoptions. You are allowed to mention Bethany Christian Services in a neutral statement. If you have a compliment or complaint about any office, social worker, or other adoption professionals, please make contact outside the forum. The forum may not be used as a platform to attack the views and practices of any adoption agency or other organizations. Issues should be discussed independently of a specific organization's views and practices. Bethany reserves the right to promote its own events and other organizations that have an affiliation with Bethany on the forum. Posts that intend to sell a product or promote ticket sales of an event are strictly prohibited. Nonprofit organizations and churches may promote adoption-related programs if the events are free to the public and are not sponsored by another adoption agency or adoption services provider. Adoption conferences and other events that charge a fee may be granted an exception if the forum user has obtained permission from Bethany prior to posting the information. The selling of products or promoting a for-profit business or service is strictly prohibited. Businesses and products with an affiliation with Bethany may be an exception to these guidelines.

Signatures should not include addresses of websites and blogs for personal or commercial use.

Prayer requests can be made with a person's first name, but should not provide medical details, details about their adoption, or other identifying information that may be considered an invasion of privacy.

Use of Photos
Family photos may be posted on the forums. However, you agree not to post photos of children who are available for adoption. Photos of children who are in the process of being adopted should only be posted in accordance to the guidelines of the country or applicable state. In most cases, photos should only be posted after the adoption is finalized. Please consult your caseworker with any questions regarding posting photos. No photos may be posted without prior permission from the person(s) in the photo and, if minor(s) appear in the photo, prior permission of the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of such minor(s). By posting such photo(s), you warrant and represent that you have any necessary permissions required by this agreement or by law. Photos of any Bethany staff and other adoption professionals may not be posted. Photos posted by members of the forums may not be used by anyone else for any reason. Bethany does not take any responsibility for photos taken from the forums without permission of the member. If a member displays a photo that is inappropriate, violates one of the terms of use, or is deemed unsuitable by the forums administrator or moderators, your post and photo may be deleted and you risk being banned from the forums.

6. Privacy Policy
Bethany collects Members' personal information in order to improve the website services and to facilitate the community experience. We will not sell or rent any personally identifying information obtained through the website or the Bethany Forums to any other company or organization.

Bethany reserves the right to use such individual information to create aggregated, anonymous data about users in order to develop statistics about activity on and visitors to the website and the Bethany Forums. In addition, Bethany may disclose personal information if we in good faith believe that such action is necessary to (1) comply with the law or with legal process; (2) protect and defend our rights and property; (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the website or the Bethany Forums; or (4) protect the personal safety, property, or rights of our users or the public.

Bethany complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires Bethany to obtain parental or guardian consent prior to collecting, using, and disclosing any personal information regarding children under the age of thirteen. In order to provide such consent, please send written permission to Bethany at info@bethany.org.

You may not use the Bethany Forums in any manner that may violate the privacy, publicity, or other personal rights of others, including but not limited to the posting of files (e.g., words, pictures, computer programs, or other works of authorship), for which you do not have permission of the author to post and/or disseminate.

This forum system uses cookies to store information on your local computer. "Cookies" are pieces of information that are placed by a website in a storage place on your computer. Cookies do not contain information that is, in itself, personally identifying. These cookies do not contain any of the information you have provided; they serve only to improve your viewing experience. The e-mail address is used for confirming your registration details and password (and for sending new passwords should you forget your current one).

The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have provided being stored in a database. While this information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent except in instances in which we in good faith believe that disclosure is necessary to (1) comply with the law or with legal process; (2) protect and defend our rights and property; (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the website or the Bethany Forums; or (4) protect the personal safety, property, or rights of our users or the public.

In the event that Bethany or substantially all of its assets are acquired, member information will be one of the transferred assets.

Bethany Christian Services cannot be held responsible for any hacking attempt that may lead to any data being compromised.

7. Proprietary Rights
Bethany owns and retains other proprietary rights in its service. The service contains the copyrighted material, trademarks, and other proprietary information of Bethany. Members may also post copyrighted information on the site, provided, however, that they have obtained the required legal rights to do so. Unless the information you are privy to is in the public domain or is that to which you have been given permission, you will not copy, modify, publish, transmit, distribute, or sell such proprietary information.

By posting information, content or photographs on the site, you automatically grant, and you represent that you have the right to grant, to Bethany an irrevocable, non-exclusive, fully-paid, worldwide license to use, copy, display, and distribute such information and content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such information and content and to grant and authorize sublicenses to that material that is posted.

You may not use Bethany site in any manner that may infringe upon any copyright, trademark, service mark, patent, trade secret, or other intellectual property right of any individual or entity. You may not post or transmit any information without all applicable copyright, trademark, service mark, patent, or other proprietary indicia and notices.

8. Copyright Policy
Posting any copyrighted or trademarked content implies that you have obtained the legal rights to do so. Unless the content is in the public domain or you have permission, you will not post, distribute, sell, modify, copy, or in any way transmit copyrighted material. You may not use this website or the Bethany Forums in any way that violates copyright, trademark, or intellectual property laws. You may not delete or change material posted by any another person.

In the event you believe that any content posted on the website or the Bethany Forums infringes your copyright or other intellectual-property rights, you may notify Bethany at info@bethany.org by providing the information required by the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Action of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 512.

9. E-Mail
Bethany requires you provide a valid email address. You may update your email address within your profile as needed. Acceptance of this Agreement authorizes Bethany to send you e-mail. Please note Bethany reserves the right to e-mail you at any time regarding issues concerning your membership or use of the Bethany Forums. Please note that unless you choose as part of your registration process (or subsequent changes to your profile) to make your e-mail address public, your e-mail address is not visible to any other member. You can change your e-mail settings at any time by making selections within your Member profile. You may send and receive private messages to and from any registered Bethany Forums member through the internal private messaging system of the site. Private messages are sent by way of your Bethany username and not your supplied e-mail address

10. Disclaimer
Bethany provides its services on an as-is basis, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to any warranty for information, services, or products provided through or in connection to Bethany's site. Bethany specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

Bethany is not responsible for any content posted by users, Members, or by any hardware or software associated with or used in the service. Bethany is not responsible for the conduct of its Members. Bethany is not the speaker, publisher, or author of any content posted by Members and disclaims copyright in Member postings.

Even though Bethany intends to provide its services without interruption, Bethany does not claim or promise that its system will be functional at all times. If Bethany's services become unavailable, Bethany is not liable for any damages, foreseeable or not, that result from service interruption.

The Bethany Forums may include (as part of Member postings and otherwise) links to other websites but is not in any way responsible for the quality, legality, functionality, or suitability of those websites. Bethany assumes no responsibility for damage caused by downloading material from websites linked to Bethany's website or to the Bethany Forums.

Bethany makes no warranties or representations of any kind as to the accuracy of the content or suitability of the subject matter of any content of any Member posting. Bethany specifically disclaims liability for direct, consequential, or incidental damages arising from such postings. By responding to a posting of another Member, you waive any claims against Bethany for damages arising from such response or reliance upon statements in such other Member's posting(s). Bethany assumes no responsibility or legal liability for any loss, injury, or problems you may suffer as a result of any contact with anyone you meet through Bethany. Any and all exchange of personal information, including, but not limited to, addresses and telephone numbers with other members, by e-mail, at a Bethany sponsored event, or otherwise is completely voluntary on the part of the members. Any exchange of personal information by members is based on the sole discretion and risk of the members.

11. Limitation of Liability.
In no event will Bethany be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, those resulting from lost profits, lost data or business interruption) arising out of the use, inability to use, or the results of use of this site, the forums, any websites linked to this site, or the materials or information contained at any or all such sites, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, or any other legal theory and whether or not advised of the possibility of such damages. Applicable law may not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you

12. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold Bethany and its officers, directors, employees, affiliates, and partners harmless from any claims (including costs and attorneys fees) arising from your use of Bethany's website or the Bethany Forums in violation of this agreement, including but not limited to copyright infringement, libel, defamation, harassment, or fraud. In no event will Bethany be liable to you for any consequential, incidental, exemplary, indirect, or punitive damages arising from your use of this website or the Bethany Forums.

13. Jurisdiction
This agreement is to be construed by the laws of the state of Michigan, and Michigan courts (and federal courts sitting in Michigan) shall have jurisdiction over any claim or controversy arising under this agreement. Please be aware that the law as to jurisdiction over online activities is unsettled, and you may be found liable for violation of laws beyond Michigan, or outside your particular state of residence, or other states, counties, or federal districts with which you have direct contact. You agree to the personal jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in Kent County, Michigan, to hear any claims relating to the forums and you agree to not bring any suits or actions against Bethany relating to the forums in any other venue.

14. Archives
Bethany will archive postings for the purpose of providing useful or important information to its members on an ongoing basis. Such archives will also be used to minimize system downtime in the event of a malfunction. By posting on Bethany Forums, you are giving us permission to copy and/or store your postings for these purposes.

Bethany will also archive member-to-member PMs for the purposes of protecting our members from defamatory, libelous, slanderous, threatening, harassing, abusive, vulgar, racist, hateful, or otherwise objectionable behavior. If deemed necessary by Bethany, we may access necessary archived PMs without notification or permission from the member or members involved.

PMs may be forwarded to the proper authorities for the purpose of assisting in prosecution of the party or parties involved in any prohibited behavior including, but not limited to, the above stated behavior.

15. Termination
Bethany may terminate your membership at any time, for any reason without prior notice. Upon termination of membership, all personal information will be eliminated within a reasonable period of time, except for records of necessary business transactions. At any time, you may terminate your membership in Bethany by e-mailing us at info@bethany.org.

We reserve the right at all times to refuse to post and to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in our sole discretion are objectionable or in violation of these Terms of Service. We also reserve the right to ban and deny access to the forum to anyone who violates these Terms of Service.