Blackboard Connect User Agreement

1. Consent to Messaging. By using the Service, you expressly consent to receive messages in connection with the Service, including text, phone and email messages as described in the Service. Depending on the service plan you have selected with your wireless carrier, standard text messaging rates may apply in connection with sending or receiving text messages. Please consult your wireless carrier for details.
2. Cookies. You also expressly consent to the use of cookies to store personal information in connection with providing the Service. More information on the use of cookies is available at the Blackboard Privacy center http://www.blackboard.com/footer/privacy-policy.aspx.
3. Message Content. We do not pre-screen communications or monitor messages, although we reserve the right to do so. We act as a passive conduit for the transmission of information of the sender’s own choosing in accordance with the terms herein. Blackboard Connect is not responsible for the content of any user-created posting, listing or message. The decision to view content or engage with others is yours. We advise you to use your judgment.
4. Impermissible Uses. You must not use the Service to harm others or the Service. For example, you must not use the Service to harm, threaten, or harass another person, organization, or Blackboard Connect. You must not: damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Service (or any network connected to the Service); resell or redistribute the Service or any part of it; use any unauthorized means to modify, reroute, or gain access to the Service or attempt to carry out these activities; or use any automated process or Service (such as a bot, a spider, periodic caching of information stored by Blackboard Connect, or metasearching) to access or use the Service. You may be able to access third-party websites or services via the Service; you acknowledge that we are not responsible for such websites or services or content that may be available there. You will not provide data or send communications to an individual who has indicated that he/she does not wish to receive a communication from you. You will not upload, post, transmit, transfer, distribute or facilitate distribution of any content (including text, images, sound, video, data, information or software) or otherwise use the Service in a way that:
   • depicts nudity of any sort including full or partial human nudity or nudity in non-human forms such as cartoons, fantasy art or manga.
   • incites, advocates, or expresses pornography, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity, hatred, bigotry, racism, or gratuitous violence.
   • misrepresents the source of anything you post or upload, including impersonation of another individual or entity.
   • provides or creates links to external sites that violate this BCUA.
   • includes content that is protected by intellectual property laws, rights of privacy or publicity, or any other applicable law unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents.
   • is intended to harm or exploit minors in any way.
   • is designed to solicit, or collect personally identifiable information of any minor (anyone under 18 years old).
   • invades anyone's privacy by attempting to harvest, collect, store, or publish private or personally identifiable information, such as passwords, account information, credit card numbers, addresses, or other contact information without their knowledge and willing consent.
   • is illegal or violates any applicable local and national laws; including but not limited to the CAN-SPAM Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, state “no-call” laws or laws related to child pornography, bestiality, incest, illegal drugs, software piracy, and harassment.
   • threatens, stalks, defames, defrauds, degrades, victimizes or intimidates an individual or group of individuals for any reason; including on the basis of age, gender, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race or religion; or incites or encourages anyone else to do so.
   • harms or disrupts, or intends to harm or disrupt, another user's computer or would allow you or others to illegally access software or bypass security on Web sites, or servers, including but not limited to spamming.
   • attempts to impersonate a Blackboard Connect employee, agent, manager, host, administrator, moderator, another user or any other person through any means.
   • promotes or otherwise facilitates the purchase and sale of ammunition or firearms.
   • contains or could be considered 'junk mail', 'spam', 'chain letters', 'pyramid schemes', 'affiliate marketing' or unsolicited commercial advertisement.
   • mischaracterizes content you post or upload or contains the same or similar content to other content you have already posted.
   • attempts to manipulate the Service by violating any of the provisions of this BCUA, colluding with others on voting or using multiple profiles.
   • offers to make international money transfers for amounts exceeding the asking price of an item, with intent to request a refund of any portion of the payment.
   • contains advertising for money making schemes, discount cards, credit counseling, online surveys or online contests.
   You will not use any form of automated device or computer program that enables the submission of postings without the express written consent of Blackboard Connect. You will not do anything that will compromise security or tamper with system resources, Account Information, or the Recipient Data (each as defined below). If you become involved in any violation of our system security, we reserve the right to release your details to law enforcement authorities and system administrators at other sites in order to assist them in resolving security incidents.
5. Security. You accept that no data transmission over the Internet or any wireless network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect data, you accept that: (a) there are security and privacy limitations of the Internet which are beyond our control; (b) the security, integrity and privacy of any and all information and data exchanged between you and us through the Service cannot be guaranteed; and (c) any such information and data may be viewed or tampered with in transit by a third party.
6. Interruptions. You accept that we are not responsible for delays, errors, failures to perform, interruptions or disruptions in the Service caused by or resulting from any act, omission or condition beyond our reasonable control, whether or not foreseeable or identified, including without limitation, the loss of, or improper access to data unauthorized access or interception of such data, transmission errors or corruption or security of information carried over telecommunication lines, failure of digital transmission links, hostile network attacks or network congestion, or acts of God, strikes, lockouts, riots, acts of war, governmental regulations, shortage of equipment, materials or supplies, fire, power failure, earthquakes, severe weather, floods or other natural disaster or the failure of your applications, hardware, software or communications equipment or facilities.
7. Computer Equipment. You are responsible for providing and maintaining all computer equipment and software and telecommunications services necessary to access the Service. Nothing in this BCUA grants or transfers to you any ownership rights in the Service, including the technology and other intellectual property rights therein.
8. Account Information. The passwords and user names (collectively, "Account Information"), provided by us to you or set up by you, are deemed Confidential Information. You are responsible for knowing who has access to your applications and servers, your-side security with respect to Account Information, and for activities that occur under your account. You must contact us right away if you suspect misuse of your accounts or any security breach in the Service. For some parts of the Service, you may be able to set up additional accounts that are dependent on your account ("Associated Accounts"). You're responsible for all activity that takes place with your account and any associated accounts. If you use an associated account, you acknowledge that the holder of the primary account has full control over your associated account. If a third party such as an Internet service provider, employer, or school gave you your account, that party has rights to your account and may: manage your account, reset your password, or suspend or cancel your account; view your account's usage and profile data, including how and when your account is used; and read or store content in your account, including electronic communications, contact lists, and other information.
9. Message Recipients. If you provide us with contact information for recipients of messages (“Recipients”), such contact information ("Recipient Data") will be accurate and complete, and changes to Recipient Data will be communicated in writing to us on the same day that you obtain knowledge of such change. You represent and warrant that you have obtained all requisite permissions from Recipients to provide their data to us. You will provide each Recipient with a facility to withdraw his or her permission, and will not send messages to such Recipient upon receipt of the withdrawal request and you will inform us in writing of such withdrawal request within 24 hours of the request. You will only provide Recipient Data for another person if you have that person’s express permission.
10. Warranty. The SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL BE UNITERRUPTED OR IS ERROR FREE, OR THAT ANY TECHNOLOGY THAT YOU USE TO ACCESS THE SERVICE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, and we expressly disclaim, to the maximum extent permitted by law, all representations and warranties relating to the Service, either expressly or impliedly, including but not limited to, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. The Service is not intended, nor designed, for use in any HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES, OR IN ANY situation where failure of the Service could lead to death, personal injury, or damage to property, or where other substantial damage could result if an error occurred. Your primary recourse in the event of an actual or potential threat to person or property should be the public emergency services (e.g., 911). No verbal or written representations, information or advice given by us or our authorized representative shall create a warranty or in any way increase the scope of this warranty.
11. Exclusive Remedy; Limitation of Liability. If you are dissatisfied for any reason with the Service, your sole remedy is to terminate this BCUA. If you suffer damages arising from or relating to the Service and a court of competent jurisdiction determines that our conduct was a proximate cause of such damages, then our aggregate liability to you will be limited to the lesser of (a) actual direct damages or (b) one hundred dollars. The existence of multiple claims will not enlarge the limits. Nothing contained in the foregoing, limits or excludes our liability for liability which cannot be excluded by law. In no event will we, our affiliates, parent, officers, or employees, be liable for any indirect, punitive, reliance, special, consequential, or other damages of any kind or nature whatsoever, suffered by you or any third party arising out of this BCUA or the transactions contemplated hereby, even if we have been advised of the possibilities of such damages or should have foreseen such damages.
12. Admissibility. A printed version of this BCUA, and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this BCUA, as applicable, to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.
13. Suspension. We may change the Service or delete features at any time for any reason. A particular Service may be a prerelease version—a beta, for example—and may not work correctly or in the way a final version might work. We may significantly change the final version or decide not to release a final version. We may cancel or suspend your access to the Service at any time without notice and for any reason. If your Service is canceled, your right to use the Service stops immediately. If we cancel your Account Information, your right to use the Service stops immediately.
14. Miscellaneous. This BCUA will be treated as though it were executed and performed in the State of New York, United States of America, and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York (without regard to conflict of law principles and the United Nations Convention on the International Sales of Goods). Any cause of action by you with respect to the Service must be instituted within one (1) year after the cause of action arose or be forever waived and barred. All actions shall be subject to the limitations set forth in Sections 11. In the case of a dispute, the prevailing party will be entitled to actual attorney fees and costs. Nothing in this BCUA is intended to confer any legally enforceable rights upon any third party. All notices under this BCUA shall be in writing. Notices to us must be sent to the contact at the address set forth at the end of this BCUA or such other address we provide. Notices to you may be sent to the email address supplied for your account or we may broadcast notices or messages through our Service. Any notices or communication will be deemed delivered to the party receiving such communication (a) on the delivery date if delivered personally to the party; (b) two business days after deposit with a commercial overnight carrier, with written verification of receipt; (c) five business days after the mailing date, if sent by US mail, return receipt requested; (d) on the delivery date if transmitted by confirmed facsimile; (e) on the delivery date if transmitted by confirmed email; or (f) the day the message is available on our Service. You cannot assign your obligations under this BCUA without our prior written consent. In the event that any provision of the BCUA is unenforceable or invalid under any applicable law or is so held by any applicable court decision, such unenforceability or invalidity shall not render the BCUA unenforceable or invalid as a whole. We will amend or replace such provision with one that is valid and enforceable, and which achieves, to the extent possible, our original objectives and intent as reflected in the original provision. This BCUA completely and exclusively states our agreement regarding its subject matter. It supersedes, and its terms govern, all prior or contemporaneous proposals, agreements or other communications between you and us, oral or written, regarding such subject matter.
15. Notices; Designated Agent. In compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Blackboard has registered a Designated Agent with the United States Copyright Office to receive notice of alleged copyright infringements contained on the Service. All inquiries into alleged copyright infringement on the Service, should be sent to Blackboard Connect Inc., c/o Teresa Frazier, 1899 L Street, N.W., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036. All other notices should be sent to Blackboard Connect Inc., 1899 L Street, N.W., 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036, Attn: Legal Department.