Empty Closets Community Services
Terms of Service

The sections in bold below are simplified explanations of the "legalese" above. The legalese is the binding agreement, but the simple language does its best to explain what the legalese means.

This is an agreement made between you, the registrant and user of the EmptyClosets.com online community discussion board and related services ("You") and Empty Closets Community Services ("ECCS"), a California nonprofit organization, providers of the Empty Closets.com online discussion online community ("EC") and other content, resources, and services offered at the EmptyClosets.com website, related websites, or otherwise by ECCS.

The specific terms for Your participation in EC are governed by this agreement and by the EC Code of Conduct, ("CoC".) The terms of the CoC are incorporated into these Terms of Service.

You've decided you want to use (or continue to use) Empty Closets, and are agreeing to the following terms, and to our Code of Conduct.

The ECCS staff do not review every post on EC, although the board is moderated. Although the staff make a reasonable effort to monitor content and postings at EC, considering the real-time nature of EC, it would be impossible for ECCS to review every message or confirm the validity of information posted. Therefore, ECCS is not responsible for the content of any messages posted, nor does ECCS warrant the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of any message; the messages posted on EC express the views of the author of the message, not necessarily the views of ECCS or any individual or other entity associated with ECCS or EC. Any user who feels that a posted message is objectionable is encouraged to use the post reporting function to report it. The ECCS staff has the ability to remove objectionable messages and we will make a reasonable effort to do so, within a reasonable time frame, if we determine that removal is necessary.

We do our best, but we don't guarantee our moderation is perfect, nor do we guarantee that everything posted on EC is factually accurate. We're not responsible if we fail to catch something that's harmful or incorrect. If you notice something problematic, please report it so we can look at it and take action.

Additionally, while ECCS takes unusual steps to provide a safer environment than the average online community, and the ECCS staff endeavors to monitor the community and make reasonable efforts to maintain safety and security, You recognize the inherent risks and safety issues with online communities, including, without limitation, risks of online contact, stalking, harassment, real-world contact, stalking, harassment or physical harm, and in consideration of ECCS providing access to EC to You, You agree to waive all claims you might otherwise have against ECCS for any harm, injury, discomfort, or other damage or negative outcome You might experience. Further, You understand and agree that any advice, information, recommendations, suggestions, or other information provided to You by any member of EC, whether a staff member, intern, licensed professional, volunteer, or community member, is provided solely and completely at your own risk, is not considered professional, medical, psychological or other expert advice, and You should exercise your own due diligence and research before making any decisions based on any information received from any person associated with ECCS or EC.

We do our best to keep the community safe, but don't guarantee safety. People could possibly stalk, harrass, or harm you, and we aren't responsible if that happens. Additionally, you take full responsibility for any actions you take, or decisions you make, based on anything you read or learn from EC. EC isn't responsible for your actions or for the advice given here.

By posting messages to EC You agree, through Your use of this service, that You will not use ECCS to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, erotic, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violative of any law. You also agree with all other aspects of the CoC incorporated into this Agreement. You agree not to post any copyrighted material unless the copyright is owned by You or by ECCS. You further agree not to post advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, solicitations, or posts made for the primary purpose of promoting any particular program for commercial or individual gain.

You won't post false, offensive, or misleading info, or advertising or commercial/promotional content here. You won't invade people's privacy. You won't post copyrighted info, unless you own the copyright

You recognize that You remain solely responsible for the content of Your messages, and You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ECCS and its employees, contractors, administrators, moderators and their agents, whether paid or volunteer, with respect to any claim based upon transmission of Your message(s). You understand and agree that any post You make may be edited or deleted by an ECCS staff member, for any reason or for no reason whatsoever.

You're responsible for anything you post. If you post something harmful or problematic, and it causes us legal or other problems, you'll take responsibility for our legal and other costs that arise as a result of what you post.

You further agree that while the copyright to posts You make to EC remain under Your ownership, You acknowledge that in consideration for the services and access to EC provided to You by ECCS, the sufficiency of which You acknowledge, You grant a permanent, unconditional license to ECCS to use, publish, republish, share, relicense, or distribute the information and/or the posts that You make to ECCS, in any way that ECCS sees fit, in any media currently available or as may become available in the future, without further remuneration to You. If we do use any of Your content in any republication, licensing, distribution, or other use, we will make a reasonable effort to preserve your privacy by, if necessary, changing any identifying details. We may, but are not obligated to, notify you of any such intended use.

You own everything you post here, but you give us permission to display and use what you post. We might also, from time to time, republish or reuse part of something you write or post here, such as in a pamphlet, book, video, or other website, and you give us permission to do that. If we do so, we'll do our best to remove or change any identifying details.

If you are a member of EC at the time these Terms of Service are put into effect, then you agree that your continued use of, or accessing of, the EC website shall serve as acceptance of a license, as described above, to all content posted by you to EC prior to the implementation of these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, you must notify ECCS by making an Ask the Staff thread, or emailing tos (at--) emptyclosets.org within 15 days of the posting of these Terms of Service, with a detailed listing of the URLs of any posts for which you do not agree to provide ECCS with a license, and EC will delete those posts; however, this will also terminate your membership in EC. In any case, You will still be bound by the terms of service or CoC that were in force at the time You registered to use EC.

By continuing to use or maintain your membership at EC, you give us permission to use content you previously posted (before these Terms of Service were adopted). If you don't agree, you can notify us within 15 days of posts or content you want removed, and we will remove them, but doing so will also terminate your membership in EC. Even if your membership is terminated, you are still bound by whatever terms or Code of Conduct was in place immediately prior to the current Terms of Service.

Separate terms with regard to account deletion and ownership or licensure of content may apply to staff members or volunteers of ECCS; such terms will be described in any documents or agreements between staff members or volunteers and ECCS. In the absence of such separate terms, these Terms of Service shall apply.

Slightly different rules may apply to staff members

While we respect Your privacy, we also reserve the right to reveal Your identity (or whatever information we know about You) to the appropriate authorities in the event of legal action arising from any message posted by You, in the event that You materially violate our terms of service in a way that is harmful or disruptive of the forum and/or its members, or in the event that the ECCS staff believes that you may pose a serious, credible and imminent threat of harm or injury to yourself or to others.

If somebody legally threatens or sues us, or contacts law enforcement based on posts or content you've written, we may share whatever information we have about you with them. Likewise, if we believe you're a danger to yourself or others, we may take action (such as contacting authorities) as we deem necessary.

While copyright ownership of individual posts or content remains with the author or other rights holder, the collection of current and archived user posts, articles, and other information provided on EC is the sole property of EmptyClosets.com, and may not be used for any commercial purpose or extracted, mined, or otherwise harvested for any purpose or use whatsoever (other than for personal enrichment or study) without written permission from ECCS.

You can't "scrape" or otherwise capture or reuse any of our content, posts, or other material, nor use anything contained on EC for any purpose (other than your own personal perusal/review) without getting written permission from us.

From time to time, ECCS may modify or add to these Terms of Service; it is Your responsibility to periodically review them. By continuing to use ECCS on or after such modification, You agree to the new terms provided. If you do not agree to these terms, you must initiate a self-delete of your account prior to 15 days from the date of implementation of said changes to these Terms of Service agreement.

We may make occasional changes to these Terms of Service, and any change we make will become effective 15 days after we post it. It's your responsibility to check back as often as you feel is appropriate to see if we've changed our Terms of Service.

If any part of the Agreement are found to be invalid or unenforceable in a court of law, such finding shall not invalidate the remaining terms of this Agreement. Our failure to enforce or make use of any specific right provided in this agreement shall not constitute a waiver of that right. This Agreement is a binding agreement between You and ECCS. It shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California, and venue for any legal action initiatied by either party shall be in Sacramento County, California.

If any part of the agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, it won't affect the rest of the agreement. We may not make use of all the rights we are granted by this Agreement, but that doesn't prevent us from making use of them in the future. You and EC are both bound to the terms of this Agreement, and any legal action to enforce the terms will take place in Sacramento, CA.