Terms of Use (Terms & Conditions)

IMPORTANT NOTICE: THESE TERMS ARE SUBJECT TO BINDING ARBITRATION AND A WAIVER OF CLASS ACTION RIGHTS, AS DETAILED IN SECTION 15.

The following Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the web and mobile services operated by Raw Story Media, Inc. ("Raw Story"), including RawStory.com (collectively, the "Services").

BY CONTINUING TO USE THE SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO ABIDE BY THESE TERMS OF USE, AND IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU REVIEW THESE TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SERVICES.

All references to "you" or "your," as applicable, mean the person who accesses or uses the Services, and each of your heirs, assigns, and successors. If you use the Services on behalf of an entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that entity, your acceptance of the Terms will be deemed an acceptance by that entity, and "you" and "your" herein shall refer to that entity.

1. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to change these Terms or to modify any features of the Services at any time. The current version of the Terms will always be posted on RawStory.com. Except as explicitly provided in the "Arbitration of Claims" section, by registering for the Services or continuing to use the Services after the posting of such changes, you agree to be bound by the changes. If you object to any changes, your sole recourse shall be to cease using the Services.

2. Privacy Policy

Please review our Privacy Policy which also governs your use of the Services, to understand our practices regarding the information we collect about you through the Services. By using the Services, you indicate that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy, including its disclosures regarding collection, use, and disclosure of your information.

3. Affiliate Advertising

We participate in affiliate advertising and allow affiliate links and/or images to be encoded on some of our pages. This means that we may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via affiliate links and/or images and affiliate partners may use cookies to understand your use of the Services.

4. Registration and Security

You may be asked to register or otherwise provide information about yourself in connection with the Services. When you do so, you agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information about yourself as requested or directed on the Services and to promptly update this information to maintain its accuracy. Raw Story has the right to suspend or terminate any account or other registration and to refuse any and all current or future use of the Services in its sole discretion if it suspects that such information is inaccurate or incomplete. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any password and username (the "Login Credentials") you are given or select in connection with the Services, and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree to immediately notify Raw Story if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your password or username or any other breach of security.

Each registration is for one user only. You may not share your Login Credentials with another person, and you may not use the Login Credentials of anyone else. We may cancel your or suspend your access to the Services if you do so.

You must be 18 years or older to register for any parts of the Services.

5. Use of the Services and Compliance with Applicable Laws

When you access or use the Services, you are required to comply with all applicable laws (including intellectual property laws) and any other conditions or restrictions in any written or online notice from Raw Story (including these Terms). As a condition of your access and use of the Services, you agree that you will not use the Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms or any other applicable notice.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you agree not to:

• Impersonate any person or entity or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
• Interfere with any other users' rights to privacy and publicity, including by harvesting or collecting information from or about users;
• Access or tamper with non-public areas of the Services, our computer systems, or the systems of our technical providers;
• Access or search the Services by any means other than the currently available, published interfaces that we provide, such as through "robots" and "spiders.";
• Forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or posting, or in any way use the Services to send altered, deceptive, or false source-identifying information;
• Interfere with, or disrupt, the access of any user, host, or network, including sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming, mail-bombing the Services; or
• Upload or otherwise transmit any communication, software, or materials that contain a virus or is otherwise harmful to Raw Story or its users' computers or systems;

6. Third-Party Content, Advertisements and Links to Third-Party Websites

The Services may contain third-party-owned content and advertisements ("Third-Party Content") and links to other websites ("Linked Sites"). Raw Story not endorse, sponsor, recommend, or otherwise accept responsibility for any Third-Party Content or Linked Sites. You acknowledge that Third-Party Content and Linked Sites are not under the control of Raw Story, and Raw Story is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of the Third-Party Content or Linked Sites.

7. User Submissions

The Services may offer features that allow users to post content and communicate with others. This content may include text, images, photographs, audio, video, or material in any other form (collectively, "User Submissions"). By submitting any User Submission on, to, or through the Services, you understand and agree that:

A. You will not post content that:

1.infringes on the rights (including copyright, trademark, patent, and other intellectual property rights and rights of privacy and publicity) of any third party;

2.is false, misleading, libelous, defamatory, obscene, abusive, hateful, or sexually-explicit;

3.degrades others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual preference, orientation, or identity, disability, or other classification;

4.contains epithets or other language or material intended to intimidate or to incite violence; or

5.violates any applicable local, state, national, or international law.

B. You may only submit User Submissions that are original to you and that you have the right to post. You must obtain all necessary permission from any individuals identified in or implicated by your submission (including those shown in photographic content), and, in the case of minors, also from their parents or legal guardians, as appropriate.

C. Raw Story is not responsible for any content posted by third parties and has no obligation to monitor the content posted. Nevertheless, Raw Story may monitor or review any User Submission as it chooses and reserves the right to remove, terminate access to, reject, restrict, or revise content that it deems inappropriate or otherwise objectionable for any reason whatsoever at any time, without prior notice and in Raw Story's sole discretion, for any or no reason, without seeking consent. Raw Story is not obligated to publish or use your User Submissions.

D. Except with our prior written consent, you may make User Submissions only for non-commercial purposes. You may not solicit funds, promote commercial entities, or otherwise engage in commercial activity in the content you post.

E. You use and/or rely on any information provided by other users at your own risk. Raw Story is not in any manner endorsing the content that users post and cannot and will not vouch for its reliability.

F. You are giving Raw Story the worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, transferable, and fully sublicensable right and license to display, distribute, reproduce, transmit, publish, perform, translate, edit, adapt, remove, modify, create derivative works from, make, sell, offer for sale, export, and otherwise use and exploit such User Submissions in whole or in part, including in combination with your name, likeness, or other material, in its sole discretion, including but not limited to on the Services, in any affiliated publications, and in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, including for promotional and marketing purposes. You hereby waive any moral rights you may have in such User Submissions.

G. You are over the age of 18.

8. Intellectual Property

A. Copyright. The Services (including, but not limited to, text, images, photographs, graphics, user interface, screen shots, video and audio content, designs, and computer code, and the selection, coordination, and arrangement of such content) are protected under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. All copyrights in the Services are owned by Raw Story or its third-party suppliers and licensors to the full extent permitted under the United States Copyright Act and all international copyright laws.

Except for content you have posted on the Services, or unless expressly permitted, you may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, enter into a database, display, perform, modify, create derivative works, transmit, or in any way exploit any part of the Services, except that you may download, for your own personal use, one machine readable copy and/or one print copy that is limited to occasional articles of personal interest only. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you may not distribute any part of the Services over any network, including a local area network, nor sell or offer it for sale. In addition, you may not use the Services or any content on the Services to construct any kind of database. If you are interested in obtaining a license to use the Services or Raw Story's content, please email publisher@rawstory.com.

B. Trademark and Service Mark Rights. All rights in the product names, company names, trade names, logos, service marks, trade dress, slogans, product packaging, and designs of Raw Story, Raw Story affiliates, or third-party products or services, whether or not appearing in large print or with a trademark symbol, belong exclusively to Raw Story or their respective owners, and are protected from reproduction, imitation, dilution, or confusing or misleading uses under national and international trademark and copyright laws. The use or misuse of these trademarks or any materials containing the trademarks, except as permitted herein, is expressly prohibited, and nothing stated or implied on the Services confers on you any license or right under any patent or trademark of Raw Story, its affiliates, or any third party. To obtain written permission to use the trade and service mark rights of Raw Story, please email publisher@rawstory.com.

C. Use of Authorized Interface. The Services have been specially designed for presentation of content in a unique format and appearance to our users. We are concerned about the integrity of our Services when they are viewed in a setting created by a third party that includes advertising or other materials that we have not authorized to be displayed with our Services. Without limiting the provisions of this section, neither you nor any third party shall make use of the contents of the Services in any manner that constitutes an infringement of our rights, including copyright, or that has not been authorized by us.

D. Copyright Infringement Claims. Just as Raw Story requires users to respect our copyrights, and those of our affiliates and partners, we respect the copyrights of others. When we become aware of allegations of copyright infringement in material distributed on the Services, we will investigate the allegations and take appropriate action. This can include, in the case of individuals who repeatedly infringe the copyrights of others, termination of access privileges.

If you believe in good faith that your copyrighted work has been reproduced or is accessible on the Services without authorization in a way that constitutes copyright infringement or that your intellectual property rights have otherwise been violated, please provide Raw Story's Designated Agent with the following information in writing:

Identification of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property claimed to have been infringed;

Identification of the allegedly infringing material, reference, or link that is to be removed and information reasonably sufficient to permit Raw Story to locate the material, reference, or link;

Your name, address and daytime telephone number, and an e-mail address if available, so that Raw Story may contact you if necessary;

A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;

A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright or other intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law; and

A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Please note that due to security concerns, e-mail attachments will not be accepted. Any notice of infringement submitted electronically with an attachment will not be received or processed.

You may notify our designated copyright agent either by mail to Raw Story, P.O. Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 or by email to editor@rawstory.com. This contact information is only for suspected copyright infringement. Contact information for other matters is provided elsewhere on the Services.

9. Paid Products

We reserve the right at any time to charge fees for access to portions of the Services or the Services as a whole. We will not charge you for access to the Services unless we obtain your prior agreement to pay any charges. Thus, if at any time we require a fee for portions of the Services that are now free, we will give you advance notice of such fees. You may cancel your account at any time. Any new fees will be posted prominently on the applicable Raw Story Service(s). You are responsible for paying all fees and charges, including all applicable taxes, incurred through your account at the rates in effect for the billing period in which such fees and charges are incurred.

We reserve the right to make changes to our paid products at any time and without notice, including the addition and/or removal of products and benefits, as well as changing or eliminating the prices charged. If we make such changes, including reducing or eliminating the charge for content or benefits that you have paid for, we will not offer you a refund.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access and/or subscription to a paid product for any reason, with or without notice and without further obligation. Furthermore, no refund will be offered if a paid product, or any part or benefit of a paid product, is temporarily unavailable.

When you cancel your access and/or subscription to a paid product, you cancel only future charges, and we will not offer you a refund of any payments that have already been made for said paid product.

Any amounts paid to Raw Story in excess of the advertised price of any paid product is paid with no expectation of additional value in return.

10. Additional Terms for Mobile Users

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, Raw Story grants you a limited non-exclusive, non-transferable license to download and install a copy of our application(s) on a device that you exclusively control and to run such copy of the app solely for your own personal use. Raw Story reserves all rights in and to the app not expressly granted to you under these Terms.

If you have downloaded our app, you agree to promptly download and install any new version that we make available through the iTunes App Store or Google Play store, as applicable. Some new versions may contain updated Terms. Some new versions may contain security fixes and service improvements, whether or not we disclose that they do; accordingly, failure to promptly update your version of the application may in some cases expose you to increased security risks or service malfunctions.

Some of the Services may be accessible only with certain devices. Before you pay for access to any Services, you should confirm that they will work with your device because we may not offer a refund if they do not. Also, certain Services may be unavailable for use in certain jurisdictions, and we will not offer to refund any fees you paid if the Services to which you subscribe are not available. For information on compatibility and availability, please contact us at support@rawstory.com before you subscribe.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Raw Story, its parents and affiliates, and each of their directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents, licensors, and contractors, from and against all claims, demands, disputes, losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or in relation to these Terms or your use of the Services.

Notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, if you are a resident of New Jersey, you only agree to indemnify and hold harmless Raw Story, its parents and affiliates, and each of their directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents, licensors, and contractors, from and against all claims, demands, disputes, losses, expenses, damages, and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or in relation to your violation of these Terms.

Raw Story reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense of any claim for which we are entitled to indemnification under this Section. In such event, you shall provide us with such cooperation as is reasonably requested by us.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICES – AND ANY PRODUCTS THAT ARE OFFERED THROUGH THE SERVICES ("PRODUCTS") – ARE AVAILABLE "AS IS." RAW STORY MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER RELATING TO THE SERVICES, PRODUCTS, LINKED SITES, OR OTHER CONTENT THAT MAY BE ACCESSIBLE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY THROUGH THE SITE. RAW STORY DISCLAIMS TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW ANY AND ALL SUCH REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, RAW STORY DISCLAIMS TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW ANY AND ALL (A) WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, (B) WARRANTIES AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF ANY THIRD-PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS, (C) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE TRANSMISSION OR DELIVERY OF THE SERVICES, (D) WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CORRECTNESS, OR COMPLETENESS OF DATA MADE AVAILABLE ON THE SERVICES OR OTHERWISE BY RAW STORY, AND (E) WARRANTIES OTHERWISE RELATING TO PERFORMANCE, NONPERFORMANCE, OR OTHER ACTS OR OMISSIONS BY RAW STORY OR ANY THIRD PARTY. FURTHER, THERE IS NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES – OR PRODUCTS OFFERED THROUGH THE SERVICES – WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OR THE NEEDS OR REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OTHER PERSON.

RAW STORY MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, (A) THAT THE INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICES WILL BE FREE FROM ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, OR DELAY IN OPERATION, OR FROM TECHNICAL INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS; (B) THAT THE SERVICES OR PRODUCTS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR LOCATION; (C) THAT DEFECTS OR ERRORS IN THE SERVICES OR PRODUCTS WILL BE CORRECTED; OR (D) THAT THE CONTENT ON THE SERVICES IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. ANY INFORMATION ON THIS SERVICE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE, AND RAW STORY DISCLAIMS ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE CHANGES.

WE DO NOT PROVIDE OR AUTHORIZE THE PROVISION OF MEDICAL, LEGAL, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE THROUGH THE SERVICES, AND SO WE DISCLAIM ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF MEDICAL, LEGAL, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION THAT IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE SERVICES; RATHER THAN RELYING ON THIS INFORMATION, YOU SHOULD SEEK ADVICE FROM A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING, NOR DO WE ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY ADVICE, OPINION, STATEMENT, OR OTHER MATERIAL OR DATABASE DISPLAYED, UPLOADED, OR DISTRIBUTED IN THE SERVICES OR AVAILABLE THROUGH LINKS IN THE SERVICES. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CORRECT ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE SERVICES. ALTHOUGH WE INTEND TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, "TROJAN HORSES," OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO THE SERVICES, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE SERVICES DO NOT CONTAIN SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR HARM ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH FEATURES. IF YOU RELY ON THE SERVICES OR ANY MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICES, YOU DO SO SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

14. Limitation of Liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL RAW STORY, ITS AFFILIATES, AND THEIR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MANAGERS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, LICENSORS, CONTRACTORS, OR ANY PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SERVICES, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING LOST REVENUES OR PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, OR LOSS OF DATA, ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE PRODUCTS OR YOUR ACCESS, USE, MISUSE, OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES OR ANY LINKED SITES, OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER VIRUS, LINE OR SYSTEM FAILURE, OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN THE SERVICES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION AS A RESULT OF BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY OR OTHER TERM PROVIDED IN THESE TERMS).

IN THE EVENT THAT YOU HAVE A DISPUTE WITH ANOTHER PERSON OR ENTITY RELATED TO, ARISING FROM, OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH USE OF THE SERVICES, YOU RELEASE RAW STORY FROM ANY CLAIMS, DEMANDS, AND DAMAGES OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH SUCH A DISPUTE.

THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY WHETHER THE ALLEGED LIABILITY IS BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF RAW STORY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. ANY CLAIM AGAINST US SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID, IF ANY, FOR USE OF THE SERVICES. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, RAW STORY'S LIABILITY IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, RAW STORY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION.

THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY DESCRIBED ABOVE SHALL APPLY FULLY TO RESIDENTS OF NEW JERSEY.

15. Arbitration of Claims

YOU SHOULD READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY, AS IT MAY SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT.

You and Raw Story agree that these Terms affect interstate commerce and that the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these arbitration provisions.

You may contact us at support@rawstory.com or via the web to address any concerns you may have regarding the Services. Raw Story is able to resolve most concerns quickly to our users' satisfaction. You and Raw Story agree to use best efforts through Raw Story's internal dispute resolution processes to settle any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement and engage in good faith negotiations, which shall be a condition to either party initiating a lawsuit or arbitration.

If the parties do not reach an agreed upon solution within a period of 30 days from the time informal dispute resolution under the initial dispute resolution provision, then either party may initiate binding arbitration as the sole means to resolve claims, subject to the terms set forth below.

The arbitrator, and not any federal, state or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of these Terms, including, but not limited to any claim that all or any part of these Terms are void or voidable, or whether a claim is subject to arbitration. The arbitrator shall be empowered to grant whatever relief would be available in a court under law or in equity. The arbitrator's award shall be written, and binding on the parties and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU WILL ARBITRATE WITH RAW STORY IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, NOT AS A REPRESENTATIVE OR MEMBER OF A CLASS. Your claim may not be joined with any claim of any other person, and there shall not be authority for any dispute to be arbitrated on a class-action basis. If any court or arbitrator determines that the class action waiver set forth in this Section 15 is void or unenforceable for any reason or that an arbitration can proceed on a class basis, then the arbitration provisions in this Section 15 shall be deemed null and void in its entirety and the parties shall be deemed to have not agreed to arbitrate disputes.

If you are a resident of the United States, arbitration may take place in the county where you reside at the time of filing. For individuals residing outside the United States, arbitration shall be initiated in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the United States of America. You and Raw Story further agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of any federal or state court in Miami-Dade County, Florida in order to compel arbitration, stay proceedings pending arbitration, or to confirm, modify, vacate, or enter judgment on the award entered by the arbitrator.

You will be required to pay $200 to initiate an arbitration against us. If the arbitrator finds the arbitration to be non-frivolous, Raw Story will pay all other fees invoiced by the American Arbitration Association, including filing fees and hearing expenses. You are responsible for your own attorneys' fees unless the arbitration rules and/or applicable law provide otherwise.

You understand and agree that by entering into these Terms, you and Raw Story are each waiving the right to a jury trial or a trial before a judge in a public court. In the absence this arbitration provision, you and Raw Story might otherwise have had a right or opportunity to bring disputes in a court, before a judge or jury, and/or to participate or be represented in a case filed in court by others (including class actions). Other rights that you would have if you went to court, such as the right to appeal and to certain types of discovery, may be more limited or may also be waived.

Notwithstanding the parties' decision to resolve all disputes through arbitration, either party may bring an action in state or federal court to protect its intellectual property rights (meaning patents, copyrights, moral rights, trademarks, and trade secrets, but not privacy or publicity rights). Each party may also seek relief in a small claims court for disputes or claims within the scope of that court's jurisdiction.

You have the right to opt out and not be bound by the arbitration and class action waiver provisions set forth in this Section 15 by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to the following address: Raw Story, PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009. The notice must be sent within 30 days of your first use of the Services, whichever is later, otherwise you shall be bound to arbitrate disputes in accordance with the terms of those paragraphs. If you opt-out of these arbitration provisions, Raw Story also will not be bound by them.

Raw Story will provide thirty (30) days' notice of any changes to this section by posting on the Services, sending you a message, or otherwise notifying you. Amendments will become effective thirty (30) days after they are posted on the Services or sent to you. Changes to this section will otherwise apply prospectively only to claims arising after the thirtieth (30th) day. If a court or arbitrator decides that this paragraph is not enforceable or valid, then this paragraph shall be severed from the section entitled "Arbitration of Claims," and the court or arbitrator shall apply the first Arbitration of Claims (or similarly named) section in existence after you began using the Services.

This Arbitration of Claims section shall survive any termination of your account or the Services.

16. Miscellaneous

These Terms, including any materials linked from the Terms are the entire agreement between you and Raw Story concerning your use of the Services. These Terms supersede any prior agreements (whether oral, written, or electronic) concerning your use of the Services, including agreements with Raw Story's affiliates or predecessors-in-interest.

The failure of Raw Story to enforce any provision(s) of these Terms or respond to a breach by any party shall in no way waive Raw Story's right to subsequently enforce any of these Terms or respond to any breaches.

These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the United States and the State of Florida, without reference to its choice of law rules, as if entered into by parties located in Florida and performed fully therein. You agree that any claim or dispute against Raw Story arising out of or relating to these Terms or the use of the Services must be brought within one year after such claim or dispute first accrues. (This one-year time limit shall not apply to residents of New Jersey.) You further agree that any such claim or dispute must be brought in a court located in Miami-Dade County, Florida unless agreed upon by all parties, and you agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of such courts.

Except as explicitly set forth in the "Arbitration of Claims" section, if any portion of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intention of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.

Nothing contained in these Terms is in derogation of Raw Story's right to comply with governmental, court, and law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of the Services or information provided to or gathered by Raw Story with respect to such use.

Raw Story shall have the right to assign, transfer, and sublicense these Terms, and its rights and obligations hereunder, to one or more other persons or entities. You may not assign or transfer these Terms and any associates rights or obligations, by operation of law, without Raw Story's prior written consent. Any attempt by you to assign or transfer these Terms, without such consent, will be null.

You may terminate your account at any time by contacting us at support@rawstory.com. Raw Story may terminate this agreement for any reason at any time. Raw Story reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to and use of the Services, with or without prior notice. Sections Four (4) (Registration and Security), Five (5) (Use of the Services and Compliance with Applicable Laws), Six (6) (Third-Party Content and Links to Third-Party Websites), Seven (7) (User Submissions), Eight (8) (Intellectual Property), Nine (9) (Paid Programs), Ten (10) (Additional Terms for Mobile Users), Twelve (12) (Indemnification), Thirteen (13) (Disclaimer of Warranties), Fourteen (14) (Limitation of Liability), and Fifteen (15) (Arbitration of Claims) of these Terms shall survive such termination.

17. Questions

If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, please contact us at support@rawstory.com.