Terms & Conditions
Welcome to Mother Nature Network
MNN.com offers a combination of unconventional and lively original content along with breaking environmental news from around the web. Our mission is to provide the most comprehensive and compelling online environmental news and information in a voice that is engaging and easily understood by a mainstream audience. MNN offers a fresh take on eco news with insightful commentary and smart, spirited discussion on the blogs and social networks. From tips on a greener lifestyle to broader issues that affect our global future, MNN is a one-stop source for you and your family.
These Terms of Use ("Terms") are a legal agreement between you and MNN.com (our "Website") and govern your use of our Website either as a visitor or as a registered user. Use of and access to our Website is subject to your compliance with these Terms, so please read them carefully before using our Website. MNN.com reserves the right to limit or terminate your access to our Website or terminate or suspend your registration for failure to comply with the terms and policies posted on our Website, or for any reason at any time.
BY ACCESSING AND USING OUR WEBSITE IN ANY WAY, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, DO NOT USE OUR WEBSITE IN ANY MANNER.
MODIFICATIONS TO THE TERMS OF USE
MNN.com may change, modify, update, add, or remove portions of these Terms at any time. Please check these Terms periodically for changes. Your continued use of our Website following the posting of any changes will signify your acceptance of those changes.
REGISTRATION
To use certain parts of our Website (e.g., posting comments, starting a blog or uploading a video), you will be asked to provide certain information about yourself, including your first name, e-mail address, password, city and state or Zip code.
PRIVACY POLICY
MNN.com respects your desire for privacy and takes care to protect personal information that you provide to us. MNN.com's privacy policy can be found at http://www.MNN.com/privacy. By using our Website, you are consenting to the terms of our privacy policy.
COMMUNITY GUIDELINES
MNN.com has created community areas and group discussions so you can share your experiences, ask and/or answer questions of other users, and share reviews of environmental products and more. Our community includes people from a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds. We appreciate that MNN.com's community reflects the diversity of its users and is an interesting place to share, learn and interact. In keeping with this spirit of community, we have a core set of principles and guidelines that must be followed by all members and users.
WORLDSHARES
WorldShares is a reader participation area of Mother Nature Network which makes donations to charities and nonprofits designated by its users. By taking actions on the site, readers accumulate Points which are then redeemed for Shares to specific nonprofit groups. Participation in the Program is subject to MNN’s prior approval.
Each listed organization receives a proportion of the sum we allocate to charity, equivalent to the proportion in which its supporters use the website relative to the supporters of other listed charities. We distribute these donations to nonprofit organizations on a monthly basis, which do not exceed $5000 per month.
Organizations agree to pay all applicable taxes or charges imposed by any government entity in connection with their participation in the Program. MNN may change its pricing and/or payment structure at any time.
B. Duration of Program
The current phase of the WorldShares begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on June 1, 2010 and is scheduled to end at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 31, 2010 (the Redemption Period), but MNN reserves the right to shorten, extend, suspend, modify, or cancel the Program, at its discretion, at any time.
C. Enrolling in WorldShares
B. Duration of Program
The current phase of the WorldShares begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on June 1, 2010 and is scheduled to end at 11:59 p.m. ET on December 31, 2010 (the Redemption Period), but MNN reserves the right to shorten, extend, suspend, modify, or cancel the Program, at its discretion, at any time.
C. Enrolling in WorldShares
1. Individuals age 13 and older may enroll in the Program at www.MNN.com/WorldShares (the "Website"). To enroll, a participant must click on the Join Now link on the top of the page and follow the onscreen instructions to create an account or an existing MNN ID. Once participants register their existing MNN ID in the promotional section of the Website or register for a new account, they will be enrolled in the program (Enrollees). The number of points collected by such Enrollee will be recorded and tracked in the Enrollees Account.
2. How to Create Your WorldShares Account: Once on the Website, individuals who do not already have an MNN account, can click on the Join Now link and follow the instructions to create an Account. An individual must have a unique valid e-mail address to create an account.
D. Collecting Points
1. You can collect points by taking actions on the site that are marked with a Worldshares emblem. These range from starting a profile (20 points) to recommending articles on Facebook and Twitter pages (5 points). See the complete list of action and point values.
MNN reserves the right to change the number of points awarded for actions at any time during the Program.
2. Enrollees will be invited to submit the names and email addresses of friends who are eligible to enroll in the Program. Each person that an Enrollee refers will receive an email solely notifying him or her about the Program. The email will be sent directly from the Enrollee to each friend and MNN will not collect any information about any friend unless the friend later enrolls in the Program. Enrollees may only refer persons with whom they have an existing relationship
3. MNN reserves the right to change, add, or remove the methods by which Enrollees can collect points.
4. Once an Enrollee takes an action, those points are then visible in his personal profile. If an Enrollee believes that points were not properly accrued to his/her Account, the Enrollee must notify MNN within within 15 days of when the actions were taken by mailing us at WorldShares@MNN.com
5. To spend/redeem your Shares, navigate through the items listed the WorldShares Nonprofit Page & click on the image corresponding to the item you wish to redeem and follow the links and instructions to complete the redemption process. As part of the redemption process, you will receive a confirmation email.
3. MNN reserves the right to change, add, or remove the methods by which Enrollees can collect points.
4. Once an Enrollee takes an action, those points are then visible in his personal profile. If an Enrollee believes that points were not properly accrued to his/her Account, the Enrollee must notify MNN within within 15 days of when the actions were taken by mailing us at WorldShares@MNN.com
5. To spend/redeem your Shares, navigate through the items listed the WorldShares Nonprofit Page & click on the image corresponding to the item you wish to redeem and follow the links and instructions to complete the redemption process. As part of the redemption process, you will receive a confirmation email.
E. Modifications and Termination of the Program
Sponsor reserves the right to modify any of the Terms and Conditions set forth herein - including, but not limited to, the duration of the Collection Period and Redemption Period, methods by which enrollees can collect points, the eligible nonprofits to be donated to, the number of points associated with the actions taken on site, the number of points that may be redeemed through the Program, and any of the options made available to Enrollees with respect to their Accounts - at any time, with notice, even though these changes may affect an Enrollee's ability to accrue or use his/her points.
USING OUR WEBSITE
MNN.com provides you with access to a great variety of resources. The materials, information, and links to third party sites, provided on our Website, including but not limited to information, documents, images, articles, advice, time-saving tips and checklists, easy-to-use tools, products, software, and services, if applicable ("Materials"), are provided either by MNN.com or by others and may be copyrighted and/or protected by other intellectual property rights. MNN.com hereby grants you limited permission to use the Materials provided by MNN.com subject to these Terms, as long as the use of such Materials is solely for your own informational use. Unless stated within the Materials, none of the Materials may be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other means, without the prior express written permission of MNN.com and/or the appropriate owner. Also, you may not "mirror" any Materials contained on our Website or any other server without MNN.com's prior written consent.
NO UNLAWFUL OR PROHIBITED USE
While using our Website, you may not
- restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying our Website;
- post or transmit any unlawful, fraudulent, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, profane, threatening, abusive, hateful, offensive, or otherwise objectionable information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, constitute unauthorized practice of a professional service, or otherwise violate any local, state, national, or foreign law, including without limitation U.S. export control laws and regulations;
- post or transmit any advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities or schemes, or other unsolicited commercial communication (except as otherwise expressly permitted by MNN.com), or engage in spamming, phishing, or flooding;
- use any robot, spider, scraper, or other automated means to access our Website or services for any purpose without our express written permission; however, this provision shall not apply to the indexing or updating of search engines;
- post or transmit any information or software that contains a virus, Trojan horse, worm, or other harmful component;
- post, publish, transmit, reproduce, distribute, or in any way exploit any information, software, or other material obtained through our Website for commercial purposes (other than as expressly permitted by the provider of such information, software, or other material);
- upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, or distribute in any way information, software, or other material obtained through our Website which is protected by copyright or other proprietary right, or derivative works with respect thereto, without obtaining permission of the copyright owner or right holder; or
- upload, post, publish, reproduce, transmit, or distribute in any way any component of our Website itself or derivative works with respect thereto without our prior written consent, as our Website is protected under U.S. copyright laws.
LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES; ADVERTISERS; THIRD PARTY SERVICES
In attempting to provide you with comprehensive and useful resources, our Website may contain links to third-party websites which are not under the control of MNN.com. MNN.com is not responsible for the content of or products provided by any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such sites. MNN.com is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply that MNN.com endorses, guarantees, or accepts any responsibility for the content or products on such a third-party site.
In addition, MNN.com will accept advertising on our Website. Any dealings that you have with advertisers found on MNN.com are between you and the advertiser and you acknowledge and agree that we are not liable for any loss or claim you may have against an advertiser.
In connection with your use of our Website, you may be made aware of services, products, offers, and promotions provided by third parties, and not by MNN.com. If you decide to use third-party services or products, you are responsible for reviewing and understanding the terms and conditions governing any third-party services or products. You agree that the third party, and not MNN.com, is responsible for the performance of the third-party services or products.
CHANGES TO OUR WEBSITE
In an effort to continually improve our Website and its usefulness to you, we may add additional services or make changes to existing services. In the event that MNN.com makes such changes, these Terms shall apply to the new services and to any changes to existing services.
POSTING OF USER CONTENT
Certain areas of our Website may allow you to post content including your experiences, information, messages, or other material ("Your Content"). For instance, you may use our commenting, blogs, or other community areas to post Your Content. Please be aware that these areas are public and not confidential. You may only post Your Content to public areas and where you have permission to post. You may not post any content that violates these Terms of Use or any third party rights.
MNN.com does not claim ownership of any of Your Content that you may post. However, by posting Your Content to public areas on MNN.com, you grant MNN.com, its affiliates, partners, and distributors the right to use, copy, display, perform, distribute, adapt, create derivative works, and promote Your Content in any medium and any manner whatsoever, and to use your display name to attribute your postings to you. In addition to Your Content, you may submit feedback to us. We encourage you to provide us feedback. You agree that we may use in any manner and without limitation all comments, suggestions, complaints, and other feedback you provide relating to Our Website, and that MNN.com will own all intellectual property that we create based upon or incorporating your feedback.
NO DUTY TO MONITOR
You agree that we are not liable for content that is provided by others. While some community areas are monitored for relevance, we have no obligation to prescreen content that may be posted in such areas and are not responsible for such postings. While we have no duty to prescreen content, we have the right to refuse to post or to edit submitted content. We reserve the right to remove content for any reason, but we are not responsible for any failure or delay in removing such material.
PROCEDURE FOR MAKING CLAIMS OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
At MNN.com, we respect the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied and is accessible on MNN.com in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please contact us to report possible copyright infringement by writing contact@mnn.com When contacting us, please provide MNN.com's copyright agent the following information:
- A full description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
- An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;
- A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site; Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
- 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, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or are authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner's behalf.
MNN.com's agent can be reached as follows:
By mail:
c/o MNN.com Copyright Agent
MNN.com
191 Peachtree Street
Suite 4075
Atlanta, GA 30303
By e-mail:
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and MNN.com regarding this subject matter, and they govern your use of our Website. The failure of MNN.com to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of these Terms remain in full force and effect. Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of MNN.com or these Terms must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.
© 2010 MNN.com. All rights reserved.
