Terms of Service

1. Definitions

“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our” refers to Community-Websites.com, its parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, partners, licensors, and service providers (collectively, the “Company Parties”).

“Site” or “Service” refers to this community website, all other community websites operated on the Community-Websites.com platform (each a “Tenant Site”), the Community-Websites.com website itself, and all associated applications, APIs, and services.

“User,” “you,” or “your” refers to any individual or entity that accesses, browses, or uses the Site in any manner.

“Content” refers to all text, articles, images, photographs, graphics, video, audio, data, software, logos, trademarks, and any other materials displayed on, transmitted through, or available via the Site.

“User Content” refers to any content submitted, posted, uploaded, or otherwise made available by Users, including but not limited to comments, directory submissions, and contact form submissions.

2. Acceptance of Terms & Eligibility

2.1 Binding Agreement. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between you and the Company. By accessing or using the Site in any way — including browsing, subscribing, commenting, or submitting information — you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to all of these Terms, you must immediately cease all use of the Site.

2.2 Age Requirement. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to access or use the Site. If you are between 13 and 18 years of age, you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and consented to these Terms. If you are under 13, you are prohibited from using the Site. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 13.

2.3 Capacity. By accepting these Terms, you represent and warrant that you have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement and are not barred from using the Site under any applicable law.

2.4 Additional Terms. Certain features of the Site (such as advertising services, newsletter subscriptions, or business directory listings) may be subject to additional terms and conditions. Those additional terms are hereby incorporated into these Terms by reference. In the event of a conflict, the additional terms shall control with respect to that specific feature.

3. Description of Service

3.1 Platform Overview. The Company operates a network of local community websites (“Tenant Sites”) providing community news, information, event listings, business directory listings, advertising placements, subscriber accounts, comment sections, newsletters, and related features.

3.2 No Guarantee of Availability. The Service is provided on an “as available” basis. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to modify, suspend, restrict, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time, temporarily or permanently, with or without notice and without liability to you or any third party.

3.3 No Professional Advice. Content on the Site, including but not limited to community news, business listings, school information, event details, and editorial content, is provided for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, medical, real estate, tax, or any other form of professional advice. You should consult qualified professionals before acting on any information obtained from the Site.

3.4 Accuracy of Information. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, we make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, reliability, suitability, or availability of any Content on the Site. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk.

4. User Accounts and Registration

4.1 Account Creation. Certain features of the Site require you to register for an account. You agree to: (a) provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration; (b) maintain and promptly update such information; and (c) maintain the security and confidentiality of your login credentials.

4.2 Account Responsibility. You are solely and fully responsible for all activities that occur under your account, whether or not authorized by you. You agree to immediately notify us at email@community-websites.com of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. The Company shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to safeguard your account credentials.

4.3 Account Termination by Company. We reserve the right to suspend, disable, or permanently terminate your account at any time, for any reason or no reason, including but not limited to violation of these Terms, inactivity, suspected fraud, or conduct harmful to other Users or the Company. Termination may occur without prior notice and without liability.

4.4 Account Termination by User. You may delete your account at any time by contacting us at email@community-websites.com. Upon termination, your right to access account-restricted features ceases immediately. We may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes, as described in our Privacy Policy.

4.5 Effect of Termination. Upon termination of your account, all licenses and rights granted to you under these Terms shall immediately cease. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including but not limited to Sections 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 19) shall survive.

5. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree that you will not, directly or indirectly, use the Site to:

• Post, transmit, or distribute content that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, fraudulent, invasive of another’s privacy, tortious, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, offensive, profane, or otherwise objectionable as determined by the Company in its sole discretion
• Post content that constitutes, encourages, or provides instructions for a criminal offense, violates the rights of any party, or would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national, or international law or regulation
• Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, right of publicity, or other proprietary right of any party
• Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity
• Send or cause to be sent unsolicited commercial communications, promotions, advertisements, or spam of any kind
• Stalk, harass, bully, intimidate, or threaten any User or third party
• Engage in any activity that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the Site or its servers, or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Site
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, other user accounts, computer systems, or networks connected to the Site through hacking, password mining, social engineering, or any other means
• Use any automated system, including but not limited to bots, spiders, scrapers, crawlers, or offline readers, to access, monitor, copy, or extract any Content from the Site without prior written consent of the Company
• Introduce any virus, trojan horse, worm, logic bomb, ransomware, spyware, adware, or other material that is technologically harmful or malicious
• Collect, harvest, or store any personally identifiable information of other Users without their express consent
• Use the Site to generate or disseminate artificial or AI-generated content that is misleading, deceptive, or presented as authentic human-authored content without clear disclosure
• Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with any security, rate-limiting, or access-control features of the Site
• Use the Site for any purpose that is illegal under applicable law or that violates these Terms
• Encourage, enable, assist, or instruct any other individual to do any of the foregoing

We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to investigate any suspected violation of these Terms and to take any action we deem appropriate, including but not limited to issuing warnings, removing or disabling content, suspending or terminating accounts, reporting to law enforcement, and pursuing legal action. Such actions may be taken without prior notice.

6. User-Generated Content

6.1 License Grant. By posting, submitting, or otherwise making available any User Content on or through the Site, you hereby grant the Company and all Company Parties a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid-up, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform, and publicly display such User Content, in whole or in part, in any media or format now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose, including but not limited to the operation, promotion, and improvement of the Service. This license continues even after your account is terminated or deleted.

6.2 Representations. You represent and warrant that: (a) you own or have obtained all necessary rights, licenses, consents, and permissions to grant the foregoing license; (b) your User Content does not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any third party’s intellectual property rights, rights of privacy, or rights of publicity; and (c) your User Content complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.

6.3 No Endorsement. The Company does not endorse, verify, or assume any responsibility for any User Content. Views, opinions, and statements expressed in User Content are solely those of the originating User and do not reflect the views of the Company.

6.4 Moderation Rights. We reserve the right, but undertake no duty, to monitor, review, edit, move, refuse, or remove any User Content at any time, for any reason or no reason, in our sole discretion and without notice to you. The Company shall have no liability for any action or inaction regarding User Content.

6.5 Content Backup. The Company is not a backup service. You are solely responsible for maintaining copies of any User Content you submit. We are not liable for any loss, corruption, or destruction of User Content.

7. Intellectual Property Rights

7.1 Company Ownership. All Content on the Site (excluding User Content), including but not limited to text, articles, news content, photographs, graphics, illustrations, logos, icons, images, audio, video, data compilations, software code, page layout, underlying structure, and the overall “look and feel” of each Tenant Site and the Platform (collectively, “Company Content”), is the exclusive property of the Company or its content suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

7.2 Trademarks. “Community-Websites.com,” all Tenant Site names, associated logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans are trademarks of the Company or its affiliates. You may not use such marks without the prior written permission of the Company. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, and service marks displayed on the Site are the property of their respective owners.

7.3 Restrictions. Except as expressly authorized in these Terms, you may not: (a) copy, reproduce, distribute, republish, download, display, post, transmit, modify, or create derivative works of any Company Content; (b) use any Company Content for commercial purposes without prior written consent; (c) systematically retrieve data or content to create a collection, compilation, database, or directory; (d) use data mining, robots, or similar data-gathering or extraction methods; or (e) remove, alter, or obscure any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices. Any unauthorized use immediately terminates the permission or license granted herein.

7.4 Limited License. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use the Site for your personal, non-commercial use. This license does not include any right to: (a) resell or make commercial use of the Site or its Content; (b) modify or create derivative works; or (c) download or copy Content except for page caching incidental to normal web browsing.

8. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) & Copyright Policy

8.2 How to Submit a DMCA Takedown Notice. If you are a copyright owner (or authorized to act on behalf of one) and believe that content on any Tenant Site or the Platform infringes your copyright, you must submit a formal DMCA takedown notice through our designated online form:

8.3 Required Information. Your DMCA notice must contain all of the following elements as required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3):

1. A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works;
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the Company to locate the material (including the specific URL(s) where the material appears);
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the Company to contact you, including your full legal name, postal address, telephone number, and email address;
5. A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

8.4 Company Response. Upon receipt of a valid DMCA takedown notice, we will: (a) promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material; (b) notify the content provider or User that we have done so; and (c) provide the content provider or User with a copy of the takedown notice (with the claimant’s personal information redacted as appropriate).

8.5 Counter-Notification. If you believe your content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notification to our designated agent at community-websites.com/dmca or email@community-websites.com. The counter-notification must comply with 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3) and include: (a) your physical or electronic signature; (b) identification of the material removed and its former location; (c) a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief the material was removed by mistake or misidentification; (d) your name, address, and telephone number; and (e) a statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the federal court in your district (or Pasco County, Florida if you are outside the U.S.).

8.6 Repeat Infringers. It is the Company’s policy, in appropriate circumstances and in its sole discretion, to terminate the accounts of Users who are repeat infringers of copyrights or other intellectual property rights.

8.7 Misrepresentation. Under Section 512(f) of the DMCA, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing, or that material was removed by mistake or misidentification, may be subject to liability for damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees.

9. Third-Party Content, Links, and Services

9.1 No Responsibility. The Site may contain links to third-party websites, applications, or services (“Third-Party Services”), and may display content provided by third parties (“Third-Party Content”). Such Third-Party Services and Third-Party Content are not under our control, and we do not endorse, sponsor, recommend, or assume any responsibility or liability for them.

9.2 User Responsibility. Your use of Third-Party Services is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of those services. We strongly encourage you to review the terms of service and privacy policies of any Third-Party Service before providing personal information or engaging in transactions.

9.3 No Liability. Under no circumstances shall the Company or any Company Party be liable, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused in connection with the use of or reliance on any Third-Party Content or Third-Party Service.

10. Advertising and Business Directory

10.1 Advertisements. The Site displays advertisements from local and third-party businesses. The placement of advertisements on the Site does not constitute and shall not be construed as an endorsement, recommendation, or approval of the advertiser, its products, services, or claims by the Company or any Company Party.

10.2 Business Directory. Business directory listings are provided for general informational purposes only. The Company does not verify, endorse, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, qualifications, credentials, reliability, or quality of any business, individual, product, or service listed in the directory. You are solely responsible for conducting your own due diligence before engaging with any listed business.

10.3 Advertiser Terms. If you are an advertiser, your advertising relationship is governed by a separate advertising agreement. Those terms are supplemental to (and do not replace) these Terms of Service.

10.4 No Agency. Nothing in the advertising or directory relationship creates an agency, partnership, joint venture, employee-employer, or franchisor-franchisee relationship between the Company and any advertiser or listed business.

11. Unsolicited Submissions and News Tips

11.1 No Obligation. The Site may provide functionality for users and members of the public to submit news tips, story leads, event information, corrections, ideas, suggestions, or other materials (“Submissions”). By making any Submission, you acknowledge and agree that:

• The Company is under no obligation to review, acknowledge, respond to, publish, use, or return any Submission
• Submissions are made voluntarily and without any expectation of compensation, credit, or confidentiality
• The Company may already be working on, or may independently develop, content similar or identical to your Submission
• The Company may use, edit, modify, adapt, publish, or discard any Submission in its sole discretion, without obligation to you

11.2 License Grant. By making a Submission, you grant the Company and all Company Parties a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid-up, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, publicly perform, and publicly display the Submission (in whole or in part) in any media or format, for any purpose, without compensation, attribution, or further approval from you.

11.3 No Compensation. You expressly agree that no Submission shall entitle you to any compensation, credit, royalty, or payment of any kind, regardless of whether the Company publishes content based on, derived from, or inspired by your Submission. This applies even if the Company publishes an article that is substantially similar to your Submission.

11.4 Representations. By making a Submission, you represent and warrant that: (a) you have the legal right to provide the Submission and grant the license above; (b) the Submission does not infringe any third party’s intellectual property, privacy, or other rights; (c) the Submission does not contain false, misleading, defamatory, or unlawful information; and (d) the Submission complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.

11.5 No Confidentiality. Submissions are not confidential. The Company assumes no obligation to treat any Submission as proprietary or confidential. Do not submit any information you wish to keep confidential.

11.6 Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and all Company Parties from any claims arising from or related to your Submissions, including but not limited to claims of intellectual property infringement, defamation, or invasion of privacy.

12. Email and Communications

11.1 Consent to Communications. By creating an account or subscribing to a newsletter, you expressly consent to receive electronic communications from us, including newsletters, community updates, editorial content, service announcements, and promotional messages.

11.2 Opt-Out. You may opt out of non-essential marketing communications at any time by: (a) clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any email; or (b) contacting us at email@community-websites.com. Transactional and service-related messages (including security alerts and account notifications) may not be opted out of while your account remains active.

11.3 CAN-SPAM Compliance. Our email practices comply with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. All commercial emails include a clear unsubscribe mechanism and accurate sender identification.

12. Privacy

Your use of the Site is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information. The Privacy Policy is incorporated into and forms part of these Terms. By using the Site, you consent to the collection and use of information as set forth in the Privacy Policy.

15. Indemnification

16.1 Your Obligation. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company and all Company Parties from and against any and all claims, demands, suits, actions, proceedings, losses, damages, liabilities, judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees, expert fees, and court costs) arising out of, resulting from, or relating to: (a) your access to or use of the Site; (b) any User Content you post, submit, or make available; (c) your breach or alleged breach of these Terms; (d) your violation or alleged violation of any law, regulation, or third-party right (including intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights); (e) any dispute between you and a third party arising from your use of the Site; or (f) any claim that your User Content caused injury or damage to any person or entity.

16.2 Company Control. The Company reserves the right, at your expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, and you agree to cooperate fully with our defense. You shall not settle any claim without the Company’s prior written consent.

16.3 Survival. This indemnification obligation shall survive the termination of these Terms, the termination of your account, and the cessation of your use of the Site.

17. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

18.1 Governing Law. These Terms, and any Dispute arising hereunder or related thereto, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida, United States of America, without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision, principle, or rule.

18.2 Exclusive Jurisdiction. To the extent that arbitration does not apply (including pursuant to the exceptions in Section 17.5 or if you have opted out pursuant to Section 17.6), you irrevocably consent to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in or serving Pasco County, Florida for the purpose of litigating any Dispute. You waive any objection to jurisdiction, venue, or inconvenient forum.

18. Termination

19.1 Company Right to Terminate. We may terminate or suspend your access to the Site, your account, or any portion thereof, immediately and without prior notice or liability, for any reason or no reason, including but not limited to a breach of these Terms.

19.2 Effect of Termination. Upon termination: (a) all rights and licenses granted to you shall immediately cease; (b) you must immediately stop using the Site; and (c) the Company may delete your account and User Content. We shall have no obligation to maintain or provide your User Content after termination.

19.3 Survival. All provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including without limitation: Sections 1, 6, 11 (User Content License), 7 (Intellectual Property), 8 (DMCA), 13 (Disclaimers), 14 (Limitation of Liability), 15 (Indemnification), 16 (Dispute Resolution), 17 (Governing Law), and this Section 18.

19. General Provisions

20.1 Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms applicable to specific features, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company with respect to the Site and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral.

20.2 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, such provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable, or if modification is not possible, severed. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

20.3 Waiver. The failure of the Company to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Any waiver must be express and in writing, signed by an authorized representative of the Company.

20.4 Assignment. You may not assign, delegate, or transfer these Terms or any of your rights or obligations hereunder without the Company’s prior written consent. The Company may freely assign these Terms and its rights and obligations hereunder without restriction, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, divestiture, or sale of all or substantially all assets.

20.5 Force Majeure. The Company shall not be liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, natural disasters, epidemic, pandemic, fire, flood, earthquake, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labor disputes or strikes, government actions or orders, embargoes, sanctions, power failures, internet or telecommunications outages, cyberattacks, DDoS attacks, or third-party service provider failures.

20.6 No Third-Party Beneficiaries. These Terms are for the sole benefit of you and the Company Parties. Nothing herein shall confer any rights or remedies on any third party, except that the Company Parties (including parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates) are express intended third-party beneficiaries of these Terms.

20.7 Headings. Section headings are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of these Terms.

20.8 Electronic Agreement. You acknowledge and agree that by accessing the Site, you are entering into an agreement electronically, and that your electronic acceptance constitutes your agreement to be bound by these Terms as if you had signed a physical document.

20.9 Notices. We may provide notices to you by posting on the Site, by email to the address associated with your account, or by other means. Notices to us must be sent to email@community-websites.com. Notice shall be deemed given: (a) when posted on the Site; (b) when sent, if by email; or (c) when received, if by other means.

20.10 Modifications to These Terms. We reserve the right to revise, amend, or update these Terms at any time in our sole discretion. Material changes will be reflected by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. We may, but are not obligated to, notify registered Users of material changes via email. Your continued use of the Site after any changes constitutes your binding acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree with the changes, your sole remedy is to discontinue use of the Site.

21. Contact Information