GoodThings: The fine print. Because we have to.

				"Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain." - Helen Keller			Get Involved
	August 29, 2008

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Terms and Conditions of Use
Last Revised March 27, 2002

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY. BY USING THIS WEB SITE, YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Welcome to GoodThings, Inc. (“GoodThings”). Your access to and use of our Web site (the “Site”) is subject to the following terms and conditions of use (“Terms of Use”) and all applicable laws. These Terms of Use apply exclusively to your access to, and use of, the Site and will not alter in any way the terms or conditions of any other agreement you may enter into with GoodThings for products, services or otherwise. These Terms of Use may be changed or revised in the future at any time without further notice. If we decide to change or revise these Terms of Use, we will alert you that changes or revisions have been made by indicating on the Terms of Use the date it was last updated. Your use of the Site following the posting of such changes or revisions will constitute your acceptance of the Terms of Use as revised. If you have any questions regarding the use of the Site, please email us at information@goodthings.com.

Privacy Policy
Copyright
Trademarks and Service Marks
Copyright Complaints
Hyperlinks
Your Contributions to the Site
Discussion Boards: Good Rules to Live By
Third Party Content & Services
Disclaimer
Limitation of Liability
Applicable Law
Termination
Severability
Contact Information

Privacy Policy. GoodThings believes strongly in protecting the privacy of our readers. Users of the Site should refer to our Privacy Policy to become fully informed about how GoodThings uses and collects information.

Copyright. Unless otherwise stated, all Site materials, including, without limitation, all logos, designs, text, graphics, other files, and the selection and arrangement thereof, are ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright 2000-2002 GoodThings, Inc. You may electronically copy and print to hard copy portions of the Site for the sole purpose of using materials it contains for informational and non-commercial, personal use only. Any other use of the materials in the Site including any commercial use, reproduction for purposes other than described above, modification, distribution, republication, display or performance without the prior written permission of GoodThings is strictly prohibited. To request permission, send an e-mail to editor@goodthings.com describing the content you wish to use and how you wish to use it.

Copyright Complaints. GoodThings respects the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your work has been copied and posted to the Site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide GoodThings’ copyright agent with the following written information:

A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed upon;
A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site;
Your address, telephone number and e-mail address;
An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
A statement by you that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

GoodThings' Copyright Infringement Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement on the Site can be reached at:

GoodThings, Inc.
911 Pine Street, Suite 806
Seattle, Washington 98101

Trademarks and Service Marks. GoodThings, the GoodThings logo, "Vitamin G," and the products and services described in the Site are either trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of GoodThings or its suppliers and licensors, and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of GoodThings or its suppliers or licensors. In addition, all page headers, custom graphics, button icons, and scripts are service marks, trademarks, and/or trade dress of GoodThings, and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of GoodThings.

Hyperlinks. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right to create a hypertext link to the Site provided such link does not portray GoodThings or any of its products and services in a false, misleading, derogatory or otherwise defamatory manner. This limited right may be revoked at any time, and you agree to promptly remove any such links at GoodThings’ request. You may not use, frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any GoodThings trademark, logo or other proprietary information, including the images found at the Site, the content of any text or the layout/design of any page or form contained on a page without GoodThings’ express written consent. Except as noted above, you are not conveyed any right or license by implication, estoppel, or otherwise in or under any patent, trademark, copyright or proprietary right of GoodThings or any third party.

GoodThings provides hyperlinks to third-party sites as a convenience. GoodThings makes no claim or representation regarding, and accepts no responsibility for, the quality, content, privacy policies, nature or reliability of Web sites accessible by hyperlink from the Site or Web sites linking to the Site. The linked sites are not under the control of GoodThings, and GoodThings is not responsible for the contents of any linked Web site or any link contained in a linked Web site, or any review, changes or updates to such Web sites. When leaving the Site, you should be aware that GoodThings’ terms and policies no longer govern, and, therefore, you should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of that Web site.

Your Contributions to the Site. We enthusiastically encourage you to share your good things with our community. When you do, you agree that any materials, including but not limited to questions, comments, recommendations, ideas, anecdotes, suggestions, plans, notes, drawings, original or creative materials or other information (other than personal identifying information subject to GoodThings’s Privacy Policy), provided by you in the form of e-mail or submissions to our Share goodthings page, or postings on the Site, are non-confidential, and you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, publish, create derivative works of, distribute and display such materials throughout the world in any media.

However, if GoodThings engages you as a freelance writer to develop a submission into a feature story, we will negotiate a freelance agreement directly with you. (Writers should submit proposals and samples to editor@goodthings.com.) You also grant GoodThings the right to (a) identify and credit the author of the materials, and (b) use the author’s name in connection with any publication of the materials.

When submitting material to us, we ask you to be careful and respectful of others’ copyrights. If you are sending us anything written by someone else, please be sure to provide full attribution (author name, publication name, publication date, publisher and how the author may be contacted). In any event, you shall remain solely liable for your conduct or any information that you upload or transmit to the Site. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless GoodThings, and its officers, directors, employees and owners, from any claim, action, demand, loss or damages (including attorneys' fees) made or incurred by any third party arising out of or relating to your conduct, your violation of these Terms of Use or your violation of any rights of a third party.

On our Discussion Boards:
Good Rules to Live By
Respect and good manners are goodthings to us and, if we can be so presumptuous, to you, too. Please take a moment to review these ground rules, then dive into one of our conversations.

Please note: You must be at least 13 years of age to participate in GoodThings's online conversations.

1. Words create the world we live in, so please use yours to create a constructive world, where all feel welcome. No obscene, racist, hateful, abusive, defamatory, or sexually explicit language will be tolerated. Remember: You may disagree with something you read here. So, take issue with the comments, not with the person. And also remember that we all have feelings. Think twice about posting something that you (and everyone else) will be able to read long after your intense feelings have faded. We reserve the right to remove postings that violate this rule.

2. We also reserve the right to remove notes that are off topic or not in English.

3. You may not post solicitations for or testimonies about religion. While GoodThings believes that faith and religion are goodthings, we are a secular business. We welcome you to share stories of good projects your church or synagogue or mosque or house of worship has undertaken, but if you are moved to give witness or to proselytize, we recommend that you do so on a site geared to that, such as BeliefNet.com. GoodThings reserves the right to remove any overtly religious postings.

4. You may post personal stories about or recommendations for products or services that you believe are goodthings. However, you should note that GoodThings cannot verify the validity of each and every organization posted in its message boards. Participants are advised to do their own research and to visit GoodThings' recommended non-profit organizations and use the tools of our partner, 4charity.com, to make donations to causes you feel passionate about.

5. You may not suggest or encourage illegal activity.

6. You must have copyright ownership of all material that you post on our bulletin boards and in our chats. No articles, song lyrics, art or graphics may be posted without the express written consent of the copyright holder. Please use links instead of quotes or excerpts. For more information, see this excellent explanation of Copyright Myths or visit the U.S. Copyright Office.

7. Respect the privacy of individuals. This means no soliciting or posting of phone numbers, addresses, social security numbers or any other private information. This includes requests for personal information submitted via e-mail, mail, telephone, surveys, and research studies. We also encourage you to keep your personal information personal.

8. Good manners means that you don't post the same note more than once. No spamming, please.

9. You participate at your own risk on the bulletin boards. You take responsibility for postings under your identification and use the information provided here at your own risk. GoodThings takes no responsibility for the content or opinions posted here.

10. GoodThings reserves the right to remove any postings (although it has no duty to do so).

11. By posting to any portion of GoodThings, you agree to abide by our Terms & Conditions of Use.

We hope that you enjoy participating in GoodThings' conversations and come back often. Thank you for your adherence to these rules. We know that everyone's adherence to these rules will make the time you spend here more enjoyable.

Third Party Content & Services. GoodThings may provide links to Web pages and content of third parties (the "Third Party Content") as a service to those interested in this information. GoodThings does not monitor nor does it have any control over any Third Party Content or third party Web sites or the privacy policies of such Web sites. GoodThings does not represent or warrant the accuracy of any information contained therein, and undertakes no responsibility to update or review any Third Party Content. Users use these links and Third Party Content contained therein at their own risk.

Disclaimer. THE SITE AND THE MATERIALS IN THE SITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. GOODTHINGS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. GOODTHINGS DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT MATERIALS IN THE SITE ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE, CURRENT OR ERROR-FREE. GOODTHINGS DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR ITS SERVER(S) ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

GoodThings reserves the right to change any and all content contained on the Site at any time without notice. Reference to any products, services, processes or other information, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, supplier or otherwise does not constitute or imply sponsorship by or any relationship with GoodThings.

Limitation of Liability. IN NO EVENT SHALL GOODTHINGS, OR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS OR EMPLOYEES, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF PROFITS OR LOSS OF DATA, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF THE SITE OR THE MATERIALS CONTAINED IN, OR ACCESSED THROUGH, THE SITE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF GOODTHINGS (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE WHETHER ACTIVE, PASSIVE OR IMPUTED), PRODUCT LIABILITY, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OF THE SITE EXCEED THE COMPENSATION YOU PAID GOODTHINGS.

Applicable Law. These terms and conditions and any legal actions or proceedings relating to your use of the Site shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, applicable to agreements made and entirely to be performed within the state of Washington, without resort to its conflict of law provisions. You agree that any suit, action, or proceeding at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or your use of the Site shall be filed only in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington located in Seattle, Washington, and you hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts over any such suit, action or proceeding.

Termination. Notwithstanding any of these terms and conditions, GoodThings reserves the right, without notice and in its sole discretion, to terminate your license to use the Site and to block or prevent future access to and use of the Site.

Severability. If any provision of these terms and conditions shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these terms and conditions and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

Contact Information. Technical questions, comments about the Site, and general questions may be directed to information@goodthings.com.

How Do We Define "Good"?

"Good" is, of course, subjective.

To us, "good" has authenticity, depth, nuance and character.

"goodthings" means specific things (people, organizations, stories, products, ideas) that are

�	creative (inventive, imaginative, original, ingenious, resourceful),
�	constructive (helpful, positive, beneficial, useful, productive) and
�	connective (linking, bridging, joining people and ideas together).

"Good" to us is not about perfection, nor is it a Pollyanna-ish emphasis on the positive. Instead it is a celebration of the many, diverse aspects of good already present in our world.