Chat Policy
Whyville is a virtual city where you can chat anywhere in town. While we do use a language filter and city workers review the chat log, all Whyvillians and their parents need to remember that the chat here is NOT monitored on a 24-hour basis. Whyville is not responsible for chat content on the site.
More information on our language filter is in the Info & Preferences section. When city workers review the chat log, they penalize users of inappropriate language with clam fines or duct tape sentences. Severe offenders are banished from the site. Please read this article for more information.
City workers visit the site regularly, but we cannot promise to be present at all times. So it is VERY important that Whyvillians be familiar with our Whyville Watch community tools.
Whyville reserves the right to remove any Whyvillian or Whyvillian-created content we judge to be unlawful, harmful, racist, obscene, sexually harassing, or offensive at our sole discretion. We will not be held under any obligation to remove such users or content, however, and cannot be held liable. More details below, in User Agreement.
Please also review our privacy statement.
User Agreement
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE (the "Site"). This Site at www.whyville.net is fully controlled and operated by Numedeon, Inc., a California Corporation ("Numedeon"). By accessing and using this Site, you are hereby agreeing to be legally bound by these terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by this reference. If you do not agree with all of the following terms and conditions, please do not use this Site.
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify or otherwise alter these terms and conditions at any time. Such changes and/or modifications shall become effective immediately upon the posting thereof. Please review the terms and conditions periodically. Your continued use of this Site following the posting of changes and/or modifications will constitute your acceptance of the revised terms and conditions. For your information, this page was last updated on July 7, 2009.
RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF MATERIALS
The Site and all software, design, text, images, photographs, illustrations, audio clips, video clips, artwork, graphic material, or other copyrightable elements, and the selection and arrangements thereof, and trademarks, service marks and trade names (the "Material") are the property of Numedeon and/or its subsidiaries, affiliates, assigns, licensors or other respective owners and are protected, without limitation, pursuant to U.S. and foreign patent, copyright and trademark laws. Numedeon hereby grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-assignable and non-transferable license to use and display, for noncommercial and personal use only, one copy of any Material that you may download, use or print from this Site, including, without limitation, any files, codes, audio or images incorporated in or generated by the software; provided that (i) you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices, (ii) you make no modifications to the materials, (iii) you do not use the materials in a manner that suggests an association with any of our products, services, or brands, and (iv) you do not download quantities of materials to a database that can be used to avoid future downloads from this Site. In the event you download any Material from this Site, we do not transfer title to the Material to you. You own the medium on which the material is recorded, but we (or third party licensors) retain full and complete title to the Material and all intellectual property rights therein. You agree not to reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, display, perform, publish, distribute, disseminate, broadcast or circulate any Material to any third party (including, without limitation, the display and distribution of the Material via a third party website) without the express prior written consent of Numedeon. Use of Numedeon and/or its licensors' Material is only permitted with our express written permission. You further agree that you will not disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer or otherwise modify the Material. Any unauthorized or prohibited use may subject the offender to civil liability and criminal prosecution under applicable federal and state laws.
USER RULES
By using this Site, you agree:
- not to disrupt or interfere with the security of, or otherwise abuse, the Site, or any services, system resources, accounts, servers, or networks connected to or accessible through the Site or affiliated or linked websites;
- not to disrupt or interfere with any other user's enjoyment of the Site or affiliated or linked websites;
- not to use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy any page on the Site or content on the Site,
- not to upload, post, or otherwise transmit through or on this Site any viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files;
- not to use or attempt to use another's account, service or system, or create or use a false identity on this Site;
- not to transmit through or on this Site, chain letters, junk mail, spam or any other type of unsolicited mass email to people or entities who have not agreed to be part of such mailings; and,
- not to attempt to obtain unauthorized access to the Site or portions of the Site which are restricted from the general access.
You agree that you are solely responsible for actions and communications undertaken or transmitted under your account, and that you will comply with all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations, including but not limited to United States export restrictions, that related to your use of or activities on this Site.
You agree to be solely responsible for: (a) providing true, accurate, current, and complete information about you as prompted by the Site's registration form, and (b) maintaining and properly updating such registration data to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. You are solely responsible for the security of your password. If you provide any information that is false, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, or Numedeon has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is false, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, Numedeon, may terminate your use of the Site.
CONTESTS, SWEEPSTAKES, ELECTRONIC POSTCARDS, SUBMISSIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES
Numedeon provides rules for certain activities on the Site including, without limitation, contests, sweepstakes and electronic postcards by Numedeon and in conjunction with third parties. This Agreement is incorporated by reference to the specific rules which appear in connection with information about a particular activity. To the extent that any conflict exists between this Agreement and specific rules, the rules for the activity in which you choose to participate shall govern.
Any communications that you transmit to us, or any third party through this Site or copyrighted works you post on this Site, including without limitation, postings in chatrooms, message boards, internal city mail, or contests, ideas, notes, drawings, concepts, or other information (collectively, the "Submissions"), are non-confidential and upon transmission shall be deemed, and shall remain, our property. You automatically grant (or warrant that the owner of such materials expressly granted) us a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and display, create derivative works from and distribute such materials or incorporate such materials into any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed throughout the universe. In addition, you warrant that all so-called "moral rights" in those materials have been waived. You hereby represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights in and to all Submissions you provide and all information they contain and that such Submissions shall not infringe any proprietary or other rights of third parties or contain any libelous, tortious, or otherwise unlawful information.
In addition to the privacy of registration data (see our Privacy Policy), we will not monitor, edit, or disclose the contents of a customer's e-mail unless (a) you authorize us to do so, (b) we must do so in order to resolve technical problems on this Site; or (c) unless required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (1) comply with the law or comply with legal process served on us; (2) protect and defend our rights or property; or (3) act in an emergency to protect the safety of our customers or the public. Customers shall remain solely responsible for the content of their messages.
CHATROOMS, MESSAGE BOARDS, AND WHYVILLE MAIL
To the extent that portions of this Site provide users an opportunity to post and exchange Submissions, please be advised that Submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of Numedeon. In no event shall Numedeon assume or have any responsibility or liability for any Submissions or for any claims, damages or losses resulting from their use or appearance on this Site.
Numedeon may sweep its chatrooms, message boards, and Whyville mail periodically in its sole discretion. Numedeon does not allow Submissions which contain:
- private or personal information which might identify a user, e.g., full name, telephone number, home address, email address, or instant messaging handles;
- profanity or obscenities;
- personal attacks on other individuals;
- slanderous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, threatening and harassing comments;
- bigoted, hateful or racially offensive statements;
- vulgar, obscene, discourteous or indecent language or images;
- advertisements or solicitations;
- material or statements that do not generally pertain to the designated topic or theme of any chatroom or message board;
- language that advocates illegal activity or physical harm or discusses illegal activities with the intent to commit them; and
- information that Numedeon deems in its sole discretion to be inappropriate for this Site.
The chatrooms and message boards may be used for noncommercial purposes only. Users may not post any information intended to promote and/or generate revenue for any third party business activity. Although Numedeon periodically monitors the content posted on this Site, we cannot be responsible for the views or opinions expressed by third parties. Numedeon reserves the right, but not the obligation, to refuse to post, edit, or delete messages that violate any of the foregoing rules, as well as revoke, suspend or limit the privileges of users who do not comply with such rules.
When participating in a chatroom or message board, never assume that people are who the say they are, know what they say they know, or are affiliated with whom they say they are affiliated with in any chatroom, message board, or other user generated content area. Information obtained in a chatroom or message board may not be reliable, and it is not a good idea to trade or make any investment decisions based solely or largely on information you cannot confirm. We cannot be responsible for the content or accuracy of any information, and shall not be responsible for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information.
LINKS TO OTHER SITES
When you are on this Site, you could be directed to other websites that are beyond our control. There are links to other websites from pages on this Site that take you outside of our service. For example, if you "click" on a banner advertisement, the "click" may take you off this Site. This includes links from advertisers, sponsors, and content partners that may use our logo(s) as part of a co-branding agreement. These other websites may send their own cookies to users, collect data, solicit personal information, or contain information that you may find inappropriate or offensive. In addition, advertisers on other websites may send cookies to users that we do not control.
Please keep in mind that whenever you give out personal information online, for example, via message boards or chat, that information can be collected and used by people you don't know. While Numedeon strives to protect your personal information and privacy, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you disclose online; you make such disclosures at your own risk.
SUBSCRIPTIONS/BILLING
Some services offered on this Site are subscription based services, for example, Pearls Allowances. If you open a subscription based account, you hereby agree to pay all charges to your account, including applicable taxes, in accordance with billing terms in effect at the time the fee or charge becomes payable. We reserve the right to change the amount of, or basis for determining, any fees or charges for services we provide, and to institute new fees, charges or terms effective upon prior notice to customers. We reserve the right to terminate any account at any time for any reason.
INDEMNIFICATION
You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account and for all activities that occur under your account. You hereby indemnify, defend and hold us and our affiliates and our officers, directors, owners, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties") harmless from and against any and all liabilities and costs (including reasonable attorneys fees) incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of any breach by you of this Agreement or claims arising from your account. You shall use your best efforts to cooperate with us in the defense of any claim. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you.
DISCLAIMER
THE MATERIALS IN THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE MATERIALS ON THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THIS SITE OR THE SERVERS THAT MAKE SUCH MATERIALS AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE MATERIALS ON THIS SITE IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
We explicitly disclaim any responsibility for the accuracy, content, or availability of information found on websites that link to or from this Site. We cannot ensure that you will be satisfied with any products or services that you purchase from a third-party website that links to or from this Site or third party content on this Site. We do not endorse any of the merchandise, nor have we taken any steps to confirm the accuracy or reliability of, any of the information contained in such third-party websites or content. We do not make any representations or warranties as to the security of any information (including, without limitation, credit card and other personal information) you might be requested to give any third party, and you hereby irrevocably waive any claim against us with respect to such websites and third party content. We strongly encourage you to make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any online or offline transaction with any of these third parties.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE, SHALL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THIS SITE OR MATERIALS OR FUNCTIONS ON THIS SITE, OR RELATING TO ANY OF OUR OBLIGATIONS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, AND EVEN IF ANY PROVISION HEREIN FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
FORCE MAJEURE
You agree that you shall not have any rights against Numedeon for any failure of performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, natural catastrophes; adverse weather conditions; governmental acts or omissions, laws or regulations; labor strikes or difficulties; suppliers' transportation stoppages or slowdowns; third party mechanical failures; fire; explosions; interruption or failure of telecommunications or digital transmission links; internet failures or delays; or the inability to procure parts or materials.
TERMINATION
These terms are effective until terminated by either party. You may terminate these terms at any time by discontinuing use of this Site and destroying all materials obtained from this Site and all related documentation and all copies and installations thereof, whether made under the terms of these terms or otherwise. Your access to this Site may be terminated immediately without notice from us if in our sole discretion you fail to comply with any provision of this Agreement. Upon termination, you must cease use of this Site and destroy all materials obtained from this Site and all copies thereof, whether made under the terms of these terms or otherwise.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
These terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, excluding any conflict of law principles. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these terms shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California and you hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. The prevailing party will be awarded reasonable costs and expenses, including without limitation, all attorney's fees, costs, expense and expert witness fees. If any provision of these terms shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. Numedeon's failure to enforce the strict performance under this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of Numedeons right to subsequently enforce such provision or any other provisions. You agree that any claim arising out of or related to the terms or your use of this Site must be filed within one year after it arose or be permanently barred.