Terms of Use

Below are Shareable's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy & Community Guidelines:

Terms of Service

What are Terms of Service? They lay out the rules we use to govern the intellectual property on this site. Essentially, this is a contractual agreement between Shareable.net and you, the user of this site and its services. Read the information to the left to figure out specifically what can and cannot be done with the work seen on this site without our permission, and to understand the restrictions on what each of us is and will be responsible for in relation to the service.We provide Terms of Service because it is important for you to understand the rights you have and the rights we have in providing this platform for collaboration, communication, discussion and dialogue. Some things in these Terms of Service might surprise you because they are different than others. For example, we let you keep your ownership rights in content you provide to our service. So please read through this carefully, and if you have a moment to share, let us know what you think.

1. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS OF SERVICE By accessing, browsing, or otherwise using the Shareable.net website (the "Service") you agree that you fully understand and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions stated in these Terms of Service.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICE

General Description. The Service is a collaborative website that allows SHAREABLE.NET members to share their ideas and interests with the SHAREABLE.NET community. Through the Service you are able to comment on content found in SHAREABLE.NET Magazine and on this website. You can also make connections with friends and learn about others in the SHAREABLE.NET community.

Adults Only. The Service is intended for adults only. You affirm that you are either more than 18 years of age, or an emancipated minor, or possess legal parental or guardian consent, and are fully able and competent to enter into the terms, conditions, obligations, affirmations, representations, and warranties set forth in these Terms of Service, and to abide by and comply with these Terms of Service. In any case, you affirm that you are over the age of 13, as the SHAREABLE.NET website is not intended for children under 13. If you are under 13 years of age, then please do not use the SHAREABLE.NET website as there are lots of other great web sites for you. Talk to your parents about what sites are appropriate for you. In accordance with Federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), SHAREABLE.NET will never knowingly solicit nor will it accept personally identifiable information from individuals known to be under thirteen (13) years of age. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information including how to notify us of any concerns in this regard.

Right to Modify Service. SHAREABLE.NET reserves the right to immediately change, suspend, remove, or discontinue any part of the Service or any content (whether submitted by SHAREABLE.NET or by a member) for any reason, without prior notice or liability.

Changes to these Terms of Service. SHAREABLE.NET reserves the right to modify these Terms of Service at any time, and without prior notice, by posting amended terms at this website. Non-material changes and clarifications will take effect immediately, and material changes will take effect within 14 days of their posting on SHAREABLE.NET. If we make changes, we will post them and will indicate the Terms of Service effective date. Your continued use of the Service indicates your acceptance of the current Terms of Service.

3. MEMBER CONDUCT

Conditions of Use. As a condition of use, you agree to all of the following:

You acknowledge that the service is for personal use only. You agree that you will not use the Service for any commercial purposes.

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your Username.

You are solely responsible for your conduct and any Content (defined below) that you submit, post, and display on the Service, or that you allow others to submit, post and/or display on the Service under your Username.

You must not harass, threaten, impersonate, or intimidate other SHAREABLE.NET members.

You must not upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable.

You must not upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," "affiliate links," or any other form of solicitation.

You must not transmit any worms or viruses or any code of a destructive nature.

You must not violate any local laws in your jurisdiction (including but not limited to intellectual property laws).

You must not use the Service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose. If you are an international member, you agree to comply with all local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable Content.

You must not create multiple member accounts with the intention of artificially inflating ratings or exploiting other features in the Service.

You agree that you will not submit material that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to post the material and grant SHAREABLE.NET all of the license grants granted herein.

You agree that you shall be solely responsible for your own Content and the consequences of posting or publishing it.

SHAREABLE.NET reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to reject, refuse to post or remove any posting by you, or to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or any part of SHAREABLE.NET at any time, for any or no reason, without prior notice or warning, and without liability.

4. CONTENT SUBMITTED FOR INCLUSION OR MADE AVAILABLE ON THE SERVICE The Service permits you to share your own pictures, text, or other content ("Content") with members of the Service by uploading your Content to the Service. Because you own that Content, we need to license certain rights from you so that we can provide the Service. Content is not necessarily reviewed by SHAREABLE.NET prior to posting and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of SHAREABLE.NET. SHAREABLE.NET makes no warranties, and hereby expressly disclaims all such warranties, express or implied, as to the Content or accuracy and reliability of the Content or any material or information that you transmit to other members.

License Grants. When you post your own copyrightable Content on or through the Service, you retain ownership of any copyright you claim to your submitted Content. However, by posting your Content through the Service you grant SHAREABLE.NET a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide license to (i) use, reproduce, publish, edit, translate, modify, adapt, distribute, prepare derivative works of, publicly perform, and publicly display the Content alone or as part of other works in any form, media, or technology whether now known or later developed, and to (ii) freely and fully sublicense such rights through single or multiple tiers of sublicensees.

Links to Other Sites and Resources. The Service contains links to other websites or resources. SHAREABLE.NET has no control over such external sites and resources. You agree that (i) SHAREABLE.NET is not responsible for the availability or accuracy of such external sites and resources, and (ii) SHAREABLE.NET does not endorse nor is it responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products, or materials on or available from such external sites and resources.

Inappropriate Member-Submitted Content. SHAREABLE.NET prohibits certain conduct and Content described above and, without obligation, will use reasonable efforts to eliminate such conduct and Content. Nevertheless, you acknowledge and agree that (i) SHAREABLE.NET is not and cannot be responsible for Content posted by users, visitors, or members of the Service, (ii) you may be exposed to any such materials or Content, and (iii) you must bear all risks associated with the exposure to and/or use of any Content, including without limitation any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content.

5. COPYRIGHT POLICY We respect the intellectual property rights of others, and we ask that our website visitors do the same. It is our policy to disable access to or remove material that we believe in good faith to be infringing on a copyrighted work. We also disable and/or terminate the memberships of those who we believe in good faith are repeatedly infringing copyrighted works. Our Copyright Policy has been developed in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable laws. By accepting the Terms of Service, you agree to be bound by our Copyright Policy.

6. PRIVACY POLICY SHAREABLE.NET takes the privacy of its members very seriously. Our Privacy Policy is available below. By accepting the Terms of Service, you agree to be bound by our Privacy Policy.

7. INDEMNITY By accepting the Terms of Service, you agree to indemnify and hold SHAREABLE.NET and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, employees, partners and licensors harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you submit, post, transmit or otherwise make available through the Service, your use of the Service, your connection to the Service, your violation of the Terms of Service (including our Copyright Policy and Privacy Policy), and/or your violation of any rights of another.

8. WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE PROVIDED BY SHAREABLE.NET SHALL BE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SHAREABLE.NET, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN CONNECTION WITH THE WEBSITE AND YOUR USE THEREOF. SHAREABLE.NET MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE SERVICE'S CONTENT OR THE CONTENT OF ANY SITES LINKED TO THIS SERVICE, AND ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY (I) ERRORS, MISTAKES, OR INACCURACIES OF CONTENT, (II) PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SERVICE, (III) ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF OUR SECURE SERVERS AND/OR ANY AND ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION AND/OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION STORED THEREIN, (IV) ANY INTERRUPTION OR CESSATION OF TRANSMISSION TO OR FROM THE SERVICE, (IV) ANY BUGS, VIRUSES, TROJAN HORSES, OR THE LIKE WHICH MAY BE TRANSMITTED TO OR THROUGH THE SERVICE BY ANY THIRD PARTY, AND/OR (V) ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT, OR FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT POSTED, EMAILED, TRANSMITTED OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE SERVICE. SHAREABLE.NET DOES NOT WARRANT, ENDORSE, GUARANTEE, OR ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE ADVERTISED OR OFFERED BY A THIRD PARTY THROUGH THE SERVICE OR ANY HYPERLINKED WEBSITE, OR FEATURED IN ANY BANNER OR OTHER ADVERTISING, AND SHAREABLE.NET WILL NOT BE A PARTY TO OR IN ANY WAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MONITORING ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES. AS WITH THE PURCHASE OF A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THROUGH ANY MEDIUM OR IN ANY ENVIRONMENT, YOU SHOULD USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT AND EXERCISE CAUTION WHERE APPROPRIATE.SOME STATES OR OTHER JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER RIGHTS THAT VARY FROM STATE TO STATE AND JURISDICTION TO JURISDICTION.

9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY YOU AGREE THAT SHAREABLE.NET AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PARTNERS AND LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, SHAREABLE.NET WILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM: (I) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (II) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE SHAREABLE.NETS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY SHAREABLE.NETS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE; (III) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (IV) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE; OR (V) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE.SOME STATES OR OTHER JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

10. TERMINATION SHAREABLE.NET reserves the right to terminate your SHAREABLE.NET membership immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason. If SHAREABLE.NET terminates your membership, your right to use the Service will immediately cease. You can terminate your SHAREABLE.NET membership at any time and for any reason, and we will make available through the Service reasonable means for you to do so. All relevant terms of the Terms of Service will survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, licenses, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability.

11. MISCELLANEOUS These Terms of Service, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred or assigned by you, but may be assigned by SHAREABLE.NET without restriction.

Entire Agreement. The Terms of Service, including SHAREABLE.NET's Copyright Policy and Privacy Policy, which are hereby incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and SHAREABLE.NET and governs your use of the Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and SHAREABLE.NET.

Governing Laws. The Terms of Service will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Dispute Resolution. Except as provided herein, no civil action with respect to any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to this Terms of Service may be commenced until the matter has been submitted to JAMS for mediation. The parties agree that any such mediation shall take place in Los Angeles County, California, USA. Either party may commence mediation by providing to JAMS and the other party a written request for mediation, setting forth the subject of the dispute and the relief requested. The parties will cooperate with JAMS and with one another in selecting a mediator from JAMS' panel of neutrals, and in scheduling the mediation proceedings. The parties covenant that they will participate in the mediation in Shareable.net faith, and that they will share equally in its costs. All offers, promises, conduct and statements, whether oral or written, made in the course of the mediation by any of the parties, their agents, employees, experts and attorneys, and by the mediator and any JAMS employees, are confidential, privileged and inadmissible for any purpose, including impeachment, in any litigation or other proceeding involving the parties, provided that evidence that is otherwise admissible or discoverable shall not be rendered inadmissible or non-discoverable as a result of its use in the mediation. Either party may seek equitable relief prior to the mediation to preserve the status quo pending the completion of that process. Except for such an action to obtain equitable relief, neither party may commence a civil action with respect to the matters submitted to mediation until after the completion of the initial mediation session, or 45 days after the date of filing the written request for mediation, whichever occurs first. Mediation may continue after the commencement of a civil action, if the parties so desire. The provisions of this section may be enforced by any Court of competent jurisdiction, and the party seeking enforcement shall be entitled to an award of all costs, fees and expenses, including attorneys' fees, to be paid by the party against whom enforcement is ordered.

Waiver and Severability.The failure of SHAREABLE.NET to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of this Agreement is invalid, illegal, or unenforceable under applicable law, it shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of the terms of this Agreement, and without further action by the parties to this Agreement, such provision shall be reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make such provision valid and enforceable.

Notices. SHAREABLE.NET may provide you with notices, including, without limitation, those regarding changes to the Terms of Service and other service-related announcements, by email and/or by postings on the Service (for example, by posting to the blog, or on the relevant page(s) of the Service affected by such changes).

Trademarks. SHAREABLE.NET, the SHAREABLE.NET logo, and other SHAREABLE.NET logos and names are trademarks of SHAREABLE.NET. Under the guidelines of Creative Commons, you are free to share or remix the Shareable.net logo or other brand material under one condition:

Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

With the understanding that:

Waiver — Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder.

Other Rights — In no way are any of the following rights affected by the license: Your fair dealing or fair use rights; the author's moral rights;

Rights other persons may have either in the work itself or in how the work is used, such as publicity or privacy rights.

Notice — For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to this web page.

Contact Information. Please send any questions or comments, or report any Terms of Service violations, to neal [at] Shareable.net.

This policy was borrowed (with some modifications) from Good magazine, which we at Shareable.net heartily recommend.

Privacy Policy

What is a privacy policy? It’s a notice, legally binding, about how we use personal information collected on Shareable.net. The information below outlines what information is collected, how we may use that information, the persons to whom the personal information may be disclosed, and the security measures taken to protect the personal information.

SUMMARY
At Shareable.net we take the privacy of our members very seriously. Please read this Privacy Policy to learn more about how we treat personally identifiable information. We provide this Privacy Policy because you have a right to know what information we collect, how it is protected and used, and the circumstances under which it may be disclosed. If you have comments, suggestions, questions, or concerns about our Privacy Policy, please contact us via email at neal[at]shareable.net.

Online Privacy Standards. While there are no official standards governing privacy practices on the Internet, we follow the principles supported by the Federal Trade Commission's Fair Information Practices Principles, currently available here.

What This Policy Covers. This policy covers Shareable.net’s treatment of personally identifiable information that we obtain when you visit our website or register as a member. We regard personally identifiable information as information that someone can use to identify or contact you in person, such as real name, telephone number, birth date, email address, or physical mailing address. Information that we use internally to identify you as a member in our system, such as your selected username, is not considered personally identifiable information.

What This Policy Does Not Cover. This policy does not cover the privacy practices of third parties that we do not own or control, such as our partners and advertisers. In addition, we may provide links to other services and on occasion to other sites that may interest you. All of these sites operate independently of Shareable.net and they have their own privacy or security practices. For your best on-line experience, we encourage you to review their policies before submitting any personal information to them.

1. Information You Provide.

Information Submitted During A Transaction. During a payment transaction (for example, when you make a donation to Shareable.net through this website), we collect information including your name, email address, telephone number, and credit card information. This information is collected and used to process your payment transaction, and also for shipping any gifts to you.

2. Information We Do Not Collect.
Children. As explained further in our Terms of Service, currently available here, you must be 18 years of age or older to use our website. Therefore, we do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information about children. If you believe that we have information from or about anyone under 13 years of age, please notify us by email at neal [at] shareable.net.

Social Security Number. We do not ask for or require your social security number to use any of our services or to access any part of our site.

3. Information We Track.
Log Files. Similar to many websites, we gather certain anonymous, non-personal information automatically and store it in web server log files. This information includes Internet protocol addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), site entry/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data. We use this information to improve our site, analyze trends, administer the site, track users' movements around the site, and gather aggregate information about our user base as a whole. Aggregate information is data we collect about a group or category of services or members from which individual member identities have been removed, and therefore does not include your personally identifiable information.

Cookies. A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a user's computer for record-keeping purposes. It can also help us understand how our site visitors click to our site, and what pages they view during their visit. Similar to many websites, we store an encrypted cookie on your computer so we can remember you when you come back to our website without requiring you to log-in every time. Cookies also allow us to track and understand the interests of our users to enhance the overall experience on our site.

You can set your web browser software to disable cookies. To do so, please refer to the help section of your specific browser for more information on how to manage or disable cookies. If you disable cookies, you may still view our site, but some areas of our site will not work properly.

Some of our business partners and other third parties, such as advertisers, may also set and access their own cookies on our site. We have no access to or control over these cookies, and, as noted above, this privacy policy does not govern the use of cookies by our business partners or advertisers. Such third parties' use of cookies is subject to their own privacy policies, which may differ from this one. Such third parties do not have access to our cookies.

HOW INFORMATION IS USED
1. In Company Communications.
We use emails and/or prominent notifications on our website as our primary means to inform our members of important service and promotional announcements.

System-related Announcements. We may use your email address to deliver important system-related announcements. Example system-related announcements include: email verification, important security or server maintenance updates, or policy changes. These service-related announcements are considered a fundamental part of our service, and members cannot opt-out of these email announcements.
Promotional Announcements. In order to improve the experience for our members, we will offer you the ability to sign up for optional email communications, such as updates from periodic (typically monthly) newsletters, or invitations to subscriber events. These communications are enhancements to our service and are entirely optional. We will ask for your consent before sending you promotional communications, and will make it easy for you to unsubscribe from these communications, either through the emails or though your member profile.

2. On Our Website.

Identification Of Authors By Username. Shareable.net offers opportunities for members to comment on content found in Shareable.net, engage in dialogue, share information, and submit original content on a blog. This means that to some extent we depend on the contributions and actions of our members to improve the quality of the site experience. When you make a contribution to the site (such as sharing a Do It Yourself idea), you will be identified by your username as the author of that contribution. In these circumstances, we will only identify you by your username. Other than the username which can be entirely made up, in using our service, you are not required to provide or publicize any personally identifiable information in connection with your contributions and actions on our website.
Site Statistics. As noted above, we may use information collected from our web log files to calculate and publish anonymous, non-personal, aggregate statistics that we believe our community is interested in viewing. For example, we may track and publish the total number of users who have viewed a particular web page. We publish this data in aggregate form only, and do not tie it to any personally identifiable information.

3. For Internal Reporting And Analysis.
As noted above, we use information gathered from log files and cookies to improve our site, analyze trends, administer the site, track users' movements around the site, and to gather aggregate information about our user base as a whole. We do not tie this data to personally identifiable information.

HOW INFORMATION IS SHARED AND DISCLOSED
1. On Our Website.

Public Messages. Some of our features allow you to communicate with other members by posting public messages (such as when you make comments on a blog post, create our own blog post, or respond to comments about an article). Please be aware that what you write in these public messages can be viewed, collected or used by anyone who visits our website. We are not responsible for any personally identifiable information that you submit or permit others to submit through public messages.

2. With Third Parties

Sharing, Renting, And Selling Information We Collect. Occasionally we may share anonymous, non-personal, aggregate information about our user base with partners or advertisers, and we may publish these aggregate usage statistics on our website for the interest of our members. We will not tie this shared or published data to personally identifiable information.
Linked Services. In some cases, we allow you to access or link to other web services through our website. We make it easy for you to determine when you are accessing or linking to these other web services through or website. In all of these cases, our partners may choose to collect your personal information as they deem appropriate. As noted above, we are not responsible for or in control of how our partners collect, use, or disclose your information obtained through these linked services. We encourage you to be aware when you are using these partner services and, for your best on-line experience, we encourage you to review their policies before submitting any personal information to them.

3. As Necessary In Certain Legal Circumstances.

Legal Requirements. We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our website.
Acquisition or Other Transfer. If Shareable.net is acquired by another organization, all of our assets, including member information, may be transferred to the acquiring organization. At that time, your member information, including personally identifiable information, may become subject to the acquiring company's privacy policy. In addition, in the event that we must liquidate our assets due to bankruptcy or other event, we will consider our subscriber and membership information, including personally identifiable information, as a unique asset subject to sale or other transfer. Before we transfer your information under any of these scenarios, we will notify you either by email or by posting a notice on our site, and we will remind you of your ability to add, edit or delete your personally identifiable information from your member profile in advance of any such transfer.

HOW INFORMATION IS KEPT SECURE

Network Security. We have implemented a variety of commercially standard encryption and security technologies and procedures to protect information, including your personal information, stored in our computer systems from unauthorized access. Please be aware that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, thus we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, but we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Management Procedures. We also maintain standard physical and electronic procedural safeguards that limit access to your personally identifiable information to our employees (or people working on our behalf and under confidentiality agreements) who, through the course of standard business activities, need to access your personally identifiable information.

YOUR PERSONAL CHOICES

Receiving Communications. If you subscribe to any optional promotional communications, you will be able to unsubscribe from them through your member profile or through the emails we send you.

FOR OUR CANADIAN MEMBERS AND VISITORS
Canadian citizens, except under circumstances defined by law, are entitled to access their own personally identifiable information collected by Shareable by writing to neal [at] shareable.net. We may ask you to pay an administrative fee for accessing or copying your information, but will inform you of the anticipated charges and confirm that you want us to proceed before processing your request. If you believe that the personally identifiable information about you that we have collected is incomplete or inaccurate, we will correct the information upon verification of the omission or error and of the identity of the person requesting the change.

SPECIAL NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL USERS
Shareable.net is intended for and directed to users in the United States. If you are accessing Shareable.net from the European Union, Asia, or any other region with laws or regulations governing personal data collection, use and disclosure that differ from United States laws, please be advised that through your continued use of Shareable.net, which is governed by U.S. law, this Privacy Notice and our Terms of Service, you are transferring your personal information to the United States and you consent to that transfer.

UPDATES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
Shareable.net is evolving and developing. From time to time, we will review and make changes to our privacy policy. When we do so, we will notify you either by email or place a prominent notice on our website. The most recent version of our privacy policy is always available from a link on our homepage. We encourage you to visit this site frequently to stay up to date on our current policy.

This privacy policy was borrowed (with some modifications) from Good magazine, which we at Shareable.net heartily recommend!

Community Guidelines

In general, we ask you to please be excellent to each other. Here's more detail on what that means:

Comments We Like:

We want comments and that are brave, hopeful, intelligent, thoughtful, informative, funny, and/or passionate. In other words, we want words that will carry the conversation forward and help make Shareable.net a community in which people are constantly trying to bring out the best in each other. Here are specific kinds of writing that we especially like:

More information or new developments about the subject of the post!

Opinions that take the debate to the next level. We actually love disagreement—that’s how ideas get refined—but please don't write anything you wouldn’t say to the face of a human being. We want to be impressed by your grace and insight.

Comments that connect the entry to other entries or threads on Shareable.net. Because we look at sharing in many spheres of life, from home to school to work to cities to ecosystems, we are always interested in emerging patterns or narratives.

Factual corrections! We love hearing about mistakes, because then we get to correct them. (Note that we do not correct quoted text unless there is a special reason to do so. Certain kinds of correction may require documentation.)

Funny observations and entertaining personal stories are great, because life is short and we like to laugh.

Comments We Don't Like:

Shareable.net is a moderated community. That means, in part, that we may delete or seek (with the commenter’s permission) to edit certain kinds of comments. What kinds of comments will draw this kind of attention?

Offensive or inappropriate comments. What is “offensive” or “inappropriate,” you ask? It’s any comment that makes someone uncomfortable because of who they are—their eye color, complexion, religious heritage, IQ, accent, sexuality, age, body shape, inability to rub their stomachs and pat their heads at the same time, and so on. Just don’t go there, please.

Insults, threats, or harassment. What’s an insult? Calling someone an “idiot” is one depressingly common example. Please refer to a dictionary for further clarification. Threats and harassment fall into the category of knowing it when we see it.

Violations of another person's privacy, as well as sharing inappropriate personal information about that person. Let's say Joe Doe blogs on Shareable that he shares his car with anyone who asks to borrow it, but you know Joe Doe personally and he once told you no. Furthermore, you know that Joe Doe keeps his valuable comic book collection in the trunk of the car. This information may be relevant to the discussion, but this is not the place to share it.

Spam. What is spam? It’s promotional boilerplate that does not add anything to the discussion. (If you are working on a project that is directly relevant to the topic, then please, do share. We want to hear about good work!)

Comments that encourage or advocate illegal activity or propose illegal activity. This is actually a tough one, because laws do not always make sense. For example, copyright law probably ought to evolve so that fewer people are deemed criminals. The solution here is to be clever and conscious. The community managers will be the judges of how well you succeeded in this task.

Link Policy:

Links are allowed in comments as long as they're relevant to the topic at hand.

Links to the front page of your personal blog or website are discouraged–instead, we encourage you to add this information in your user profile.

Mislabeled links will be treated as spam. In other words, setting up a link on the word "carsharing" but leading the innocent reader to a porn site is something that we frown upon.

We will delete urls pasted in without description or context.

Links to offensive material such as racist or anti-Semitic websites, images, or videos will be deleted, unless the link seems essential to the argument you are trying to make in your comment. The moderators will judge intent from the content of the comment and the nature of the link.

The web is a big, open place. If you feel that your comment has been unjustly deleted from Shareable.net, we suggest you post in an environment with looser standards or start your own blog or website.

Thanks to Boing Boing, Opensource.com, and Bill & Ted, to which we referred in developing these guidelines!