Terms of Service By using the services offered by this web site (www.sswug.org, www.sswug.net, www.sswug.com), you agree to be bound by and abide by the following terms of service.

Script Manager

The script manager functionality is provided as-is without warranty. While we make every endeavor to protect, backup and provide recovery for data, scripts or tools you store on the system, it is ultimately your responsibility to provide for disaster recovery for those data, scripts or tools. We cannot be held liable for use, storage or any other issues arising from the use of, dependency on, the script manager, scripts stored within it, or other systems on the site.

Music Credits

Many Thanks to BeatZero for helping us out with some great music - for more information about BeatZero, see their site on AcidPlanet.com. They have some excellent tunes available on the site - be sure to take a look!

Free Trials

Free trials may be made available from time to time and are generally only available on a once-per-valid-email basis.

Web Logging, Diaries, "BLOGS"

Weblogging or diary services are provided AS-IS - information provided in them is provided without warranty, and is not supported by or condoned by SSWUG.ORG, Bits on the Wire, their employees, contractors or anyone else associated with the site or services provided. The information is provided as an informal, non-reviewed, non-edited forum for publication of ideas, thoughts or other information. Your use of the service, by reading or by posting or both, indicates your acceptance of these terms and your full and complete release of Bits on the Wire and all those so associated from any liability whatsoever relative to the Weblogging.

A Note About "Undocumented" or "Unsupported" Ideas Presented

From time to time, you may see articles mentioning or explaining undocumented or unsupported ideas or concepts. It's very important to note that you should not rely on the techniques provided as more than tips and tricks. The method of accessing the tip or idea may be changed at any time by the software manufacturer, rendering the technique useless. In addition, software manufacturers will not provide support for you in the use of these items - that includes support for "cleaning up" after their use.

In short, use at your own risk.

Sponsored Memberships

From time to time, we may offer sponsored memberships. These are offered on an as-available, first-come, first-served basis. We're sorry, but we're not able to convert an active paid membership account to a sponsored membership account. If you'd like, you can remove renewal information for your account and, upon renewal, you'll have the option then of selecting from available sponsors for your account (if available).

We cannot guarantee the availability of sponsors for accounts at any given time.

Note that you MUST READ the terms and conditions for sponsored memberships carefully before agreeing to the terms of a sponsored account. You are allowing the sponsor to contact you and are allowing them to add you to their mailing and contact lists. In addition, some modification and small co-branding of your SSWUG experience may be a component of the sponsored membership. By accepting the sponsored account, YOU ARE AGREEING TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OUTLINED IN THE SPONSORED ACCOUNT TERMS.

Once selected, it's not possible to OPT-OUT of your sponsored membership without cancelling your SSWUG account.

"EDITORIAL" Available On The Site (/editorials/default.aspx?id=xxxx)

A special note about editorials - they may indicate special offers or other time-sensitive items. These editorials are presented as a service and should not imply that past specials, offers or time-sensitive events will still be available. If you need details on an event, offer or other item shown here, contact us for details.

We apologize for any formatting inconsistencies - these editorials are developed and formatted for the newsletter and may show some odd formatting when presented on the site.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

By submitting your product for review, you agree to hold SSWUG.ORG, Bits on the Wire.com, Inc., any and all associated employees, contractors, officers, columnists, writers and/or reviewers harmless relative to ANY and ALL claims regarding content, accuracy, presentation or any other aspect of the review. Our reviews represent our opinions only, and you are free to voice differing opinions on your own venues. By submitting your product, you agree to these terms in perpetuity. For more information on reviews, please see http://www.sswug.org/review.aspx.

CONTENT AGGREGATOR AND ORIGINAL CONTENT

SSWUG is both an aggregator, promoting articles on other sites, and an author of original author content. A good part of the service we offer is to pull together links to articles, internal and external to SSWUG.ORG and present them to members and guests as appropriate. In this area, we are basically a "private," focused search engine. If you are seeing referrals from SSWUG and our readers, that's because we're promoting your articles. We do not re-publish your articles, we only take a one- or two- sentence summary and then link directly to the article on your site. Articles that are not based at SSWUG.ORG will be denoted with a symbol on the "headline details" page or similar.

REFUND POLICY

If you're not satisfied with your SSWUG.ORG membership, please contact us. We'll do everything we can to help. If you're still not satisfied, we'll refund your most recent dues payment less $6.50 if it's within 30 days of your first dues payment. If more than 30 days has passed, we'll refund a pro-rated portion of your dues based on the time that has passed since your payment, at the then-current monthly rate.

DRAWINGS AND PRIZE GIVEAWAYS
From time to time SSWUG.ORG and Bits on the Wire, Inc. may offer drawings or prize giveaways in conjunction with webcasts or other promotional events. These rules apply to those giveaways.

1. To be eligible to win, entrants must participate in the event holding the drawing. For webcasts, the entrant must be "present" on the live webcast at the time of the drawing to win. All other drawing will require specific "opt-in" action by the participant in order to take part in the drawing, whether that action be registration on the site or specific registration for the promotion offered. SSWUG, Bits on the Wire and any applicable Sponsor may use the e-mail address for purposes of prize notification and to request a mailing address to be used for the sole purpose of delivering the prize. Any entries received by us after the deadline will be ineligible to win. SSWUG, Bits on the Wire, Inc. and/or the Sponsor is/are not responsible for entries that are late, misdirected, lost, garbled, or unintelligible, including those due to computer or network malfunction or congestion, and any such entries are ineligible.

2. Quantity of prizes to be awarded will vary based on the promotion. Estimated value of each Prize will vary based on the promotion. No transfer or substitution of the prize will be permitted, except by SSWUG, Bits on the Wire or the Sponsor in its sole discretion. Winners outside the US may be given a membership credit on SSWUG, at the sole discretion of SSWUG, Bits on the Wire, or the Sponsor of the drawing.

3. Winners will be notified by e-mail and their mailing address will be used solely for the purpose of delivering the Prize. Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries.

4. This Drawing is only open to those that are 18 years of age or older. Employees of Bits on the Wire, Inc., the Sponsor, its affiliates and subsidiaries, and their immediate family members and persons living in their households are not eligible to enter. This Drawing is subject to all federal, state, and local regulations. Offer void in Puerto Rico and where otherwise restricted or prohibited. All federal and local taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the prize winners.

5. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify entries from anyone tampering with the entry process. If, for any reason, the Drawing or any drawing is not capable of running as planned by reason of damage by computer virus, worms, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, technical limitations or failures, or any other causes which, in the sole opinion of SSWUG, Bits on the Wire, or the Sponsor, could compromise, undermine or otherwise affect the Official Rules, administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the Drawing, SSWUG, Bits on the Wire and/or the Sponsor reserves the right and absolute discretion to modify these Official Rules and/or to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Drawing. SSWUG, Bits on the Wire, and/or the Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to the site. SSWUG, Bits on the Wire and/or the Sponsor are not responsible for injury or damage to entrants or to any other person's computer, other equipment, or person relating to or resulting from participation in the Drawing, or from downloading materials or accessing the site.

6. For the names of the prize winners, available once per calendar quarter after the drawing, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope, separate from your entry, to SSWUG Drawing Winners, SQL Server Worldwide Users Group, 6420 E. Broadway Blvd. Suite A300, Tucson, AZ, 85710. Requests must be recived prior to the end of the calendar quarter following the drawing.

7. Sponsor: Drawings may be sponsored by Bits on the Wire, SSWUG.ORG or third party sponsors as indicated in the webcast listing or drawing registration page.

MEMBER CONDUCT

You understand that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages or other materials ("Content"), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. This means that you, and not SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc., are entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the Service. Neither SSWUG.ORG nor Bits on the Wire, Inc. controls the Content posted via the Service and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Service, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, for any errors or omissions in any Content, or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Service.

You agree to not use the Service to:

a. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;

b. harm minors in any way;

c. impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. official, forum leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;

d. forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Service;

e. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);

f. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights ("Rights") of any party;

g. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation, except in those areas (such as shopping rooms) that are designated for such purpose;

h. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;

i. disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to "scroll" faster than other users of the Service are able to type, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to engage in real time exchanges;

j. interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Service;

k. intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;

l. "stalk" or otherwise harass another; or

m. collect or store personal data about other users.

You acknowledge that neither SSWUG.ORG nor Bits on the Wire, Inc. pre-screens Content, but that SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse or move any Content that is available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content created by SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. or submitted to SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc.

You acknowledge and agree that SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. may preserve Content and may also disclose Content if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the TOS; (c) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. , its users and the public.

You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Service, including your Content, may involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.

SPECIAL ADMONITIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL USE

Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside.

REFUSAL OF SERVICE

We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone at any time. If you have an active membership, we reserve the right to terminate your account and return your most recent dues payment for any reason without incurring any responsibility to explain our actions.

INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and hold SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc., and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Content you submit, post, transmit or make available through the Service, your use of the Service, your connection to the Service, your violation of the TOS, or your violation of any rights of another.

NO RESALE OF SERVICE

You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Service, use of the Service, information you find on the Service without the consent of the original author of such information, or access to the Service.

MODIFICATIONS TO SERVICE

SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.

SSWUG.ORG and Bits on the Wire, Inc. reserve the right to archive, re-post and/or publish all content posted to the Service. To have a specific article or posting removed from the service, please use the Contact Us link on any page and provide specific details regarding the item you would like removed. Every reasonable effort will be made to remove the item from the archives.

LINKS

The Service may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such Content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

a. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. SSWUG.ORG AND/OR BITS ON THE WIRE, INC. EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

b. SSWUG.ORG AND/OR BITS ON THE WIRE, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND (V) ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED.

c. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.

d. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THE TOS.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT SSWUG.ORG AND/OR BITS ON THE WIRE, INC. SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE; (ii) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS AND SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED OR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE; (iii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iv) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICE; OR (v) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICE.

EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS

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 STATED ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

NOTICE

Notices to you may be made via email. The Service may also provide notices of changes to the TOS or other matters by displaying notices or links to notices to you generally on the Service. Accordingly, it is your responsibility to review the TOS from time to time.

TRADEMARK INFORMATION

SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc., the "B" logo and Bits on the Wire software titles are registered, copyrighted, trademarked and or proprietary and owned by SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. Without Bits on the Wire's prior permission, you agree not to display or use in any manner, the Bits on the Wire Marks.

Other marks, software titles and information is the property of its respective owner.

VIOLATIONS

Please report any violations of the TOS to our group, email address postmaster@bitsonthewire.com

RULES AND REGULATIONS REGARDING SPAM

Both the Customer and the User must refrain from sending e-mail messages that are not explicitly requested by the recipient or that might adversely impact SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. in any way. E-mail messages, such as bulk commercial advertising, informational announcements, charity requests, petitions for signatures, and political or religious tracts are prohibited, whether or not the practice causes complaints from recipients. This prohibition includes the use of an e-mail account to send spam on or through the SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. network, or the use of another provider's service to send spam or to promote a site hosted on or connected to the SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. network either directly or indirectly.

Customers and Users are prohibited from using the SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. network to engage in any of the following activities:

• Sending e-mail messages that are excessive or intended to harass or annoy others, especially if the recipient has asked the sender to cease and desist
• Using the account to collect responses from unsolicited bulk or commercial e-mail sent from accounts with other providers
• Forwarding or otherwise propagating chain letters, whether or not such messages solicit money or other items of value, and whether or not the recipient wishes to receive such mailings
• Continuing to send e-mail messages to a recipient after that recipient has indicated a preference not to receive such messages
• Sending e-mail with forged TCP/IP packet header information
• Sending large quantities of unwanted or unsolicited e-mail to individual e-mail accounts, or sending copies of a single message to many e-mail accounts
• Sending or receiving e-mail messages in a manner that violates the use policies of any internet service provider or other network

Failure to abide by these terms may result in financial penalties and the closure of the Customer's account. Customer retains ALL LIABILITY relative to the use of Bits on the Wire, Inc.'s services, and as such, retains responsibility for any and all penalties or other responses generated from their actions.

Vendors Providing Products In The E-Store

You agree to the provision of these terms of service as they apply to your products in the e-Store (or "online store"). In addition, you agree to provide, within two (2) business days of notification by SSWUG.ORG/Bits on the Wire, Inc., written proof of the completion of any transaction completed through the store on behalf of users of the SSWUG.ORG site. You agree that, should credit card disputes arise, you will work with SSWUG.ORG in an expedient, efficient manner to provide written documentation of sales and fulfillment of your products through the store. FURTHER, YOU AGREE THAT, SHOULD A DISPUTE BE RULED AGAINST SSWUG.ORG AND FUNDS BE WITHDRAWN RELATIVE TO THE SALE OF YOUR SERVICES OR MERCHANDISE YOU WILL RETURN SAID FUNDS TO SSWUG.ORG UPON OUR PROVISION OF PROOF THAT THE DISPUTE WAS LOST WITH THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY. YOU AGREE TO PROVIDE THESE FUNDS WITHIN 7 BUSINESS DAYS OF THE TIME OF PROVISION OF SAID PROOF OF THE LOST DISPUTE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, DO NOT OFFER YOUR PRODUCTS FOR SALE OR DISCOUNT in the online store. To cancel your participation in the store, please write to members@sswug.org and indicate your desire to cancel your participation. We reserve the right to remove items and/or vendors from the store at our discretion.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING POSTINGS

By your use of this service, you expressly agree that any and all information you receive by way of the Service, associated email list servers, bulletin boards or other means is and remains the property of SSWUG.ORG or the original poster/author of the content. Should the content in the posting include confidential and/or proprietary content, ownership of said content is retained by the author and/or the authors employer. At no time should posting of information on the Service be construed as releasing said information to the Public Domain.

In short, if you plan to commercially use, in any fashion, information you receive from the Service, you must check with the original author as to ownership and availability for re-use, re-license, etc. It is your sole responsibility to determine ownership prior to using said information in any commercial or resale manner.

Postings to discussion boards, list servers, email discussion lists or other forums become the property of SSWUG.ORG and/or Bits on the Wire, Inc. and may be re-used for inclusion in frequently asked questions or in other ways deemed appropriate by SSWUG.ORG or Bits on the Wire, Inc. By posting to these services, you implicitly and explicitly grant all appropriate rights and waive further compensation (except as noted in various columnist or specific contribution offers).


Last Updated: 3/18/08

10/31/2007: Updated/added sponsored account information
3/18/2008: added clarification about free trials.