General Terms of Service

By using the transhouston.com AKA Trans Houston Service, you agree to be legally bound and to abide by the Terms of Service, just as if you had signed this Agreement. If you do not comply with these Terms of Service at any time, Trans Houston reserves the right to terminate your access to the Trans Houston Service. Trans Houston may discontinue or alter any aspect of the Trans Houston Service, including, but not limited to, (i) restricting the time the Trans Houston Service is available, (ii) restricting the amount of use permitted, and (iii) restricting or terminating any user's right to use the Trans Houston Service, at Trans Houston's sole discretion and without prior notice or liability. Furthermore, by accessing transhouston.com you represent and declare that you are legally permitted to read, use, acquire, download and access all areas of transhouston.com and it's content .

In order to permit Trans Houston to protect the quality of its products and services, you hereby consent to Trans Houston administrators being able to access your account and information (if any) on a case by case basis to investigate complaints or other allegations or abuse. Trans Houston shall not disclose the existence or occurrence of such an investigation unless required by law.

Content and Materials

Advice: All content published by the administrators of TransHouston.com is presented for educational purposes only. This website's administrator(s) strongly urge users to procure professional assistance when making any decision and/or taking any action which may, in any way, impact your life or the lives of others. This website does not take the place of professional advice or services. If you are in need of immediate emergency medical or psychological assistance, call 911. Opinions expressed are those of the original author(s) and does not necessarily reflect the views held by this website's administrator(s). 

Affiliations: This site is in not way affiliated with any other entity, group, organization, corporation, meeting, support system, church, temple, synagogue, mosque, city, county or state. We do not endorse any service provider or course of action promoted by any entity, group, organization, corporation, meeting, support system, church, temple, synagogue, mosque, city, county or state.

Copyright: This site uses digital information which may be copyrighted. Data use is protected under  "FAIR USE" clause (sections 107 through 118 of the copyright act: title 17, U.S. Code). Data is used for the purposes of education, HIV/AIDS reduction and social service promotion. In the instance of photographic data, some copyrighted images are used in collages which constitute a wholly new image and is thus used lawfully. This site is a not-for-profit, private informational compilation whose intent is the dissemination of relevant gender-related information presented in many mediums with the goal of education. 

In the instance of transgender-related audio or video, please note that such material is not made available to anyone for download. Materials are made available to a specific private membership for the explicit purposes of study, analysis, critique, discussion and social/cultural education.  

The administrator(s) wish individuals to know that in order to bring a claim of copyright infringement you must: (1) provide proof that you have registered the data you claim as being copyrighted with the  US Copyright Office or other comparable substantive proof of copyright ownership; (2) if claiming copyright infringement as an organization, provide proof that you are a registered entity within your state by providing your tax ID; and (3) provide proof that such copyrighted material is being used outside the bounds of Title 17, Section 107 of the US Copyright Law.  

Generally, the above requirements are fulfilled by providing the following information:

• An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
• A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
• A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site;
• Your address, telephone number, and email 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;
• A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf;
• Proof of authorship in the form of a copyright granted via the US copyright office and if claiming copyright as an organization or business, you must supply proof of the existence of such business or organization by supplying the tax ID number the secretary of state supplies registered businesses and organizations.
• A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, describing how the media in question is being used in a way that is outside the bounds of "fair use" of copyrighted materials provisions.

Trans Houston respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. Trans Houston may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, terminate the accounts of users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others.

electronic communication, posting & content Guidelines: The Trans Houston Service provides access to several varieties of electronic communications. If you use Trans Houston electronic communications, your use of the account is also governed by our Communication Terms of Service.

Trans Houston reserves the right to prohibit the distribution or publication of any material containing any solicitation of funds, promotion, advertising, or solicitation for goods or services that has not been approved by Trans Houston in writing in advance of distribution.

You agree to not use the Trans Houston Service (including all of Trans Houston's communication and posting services) to:

• Harm minors in any way;
• Upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, pornographic, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
• Impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, Trans Houston personnel, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
• forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any Content transmitted through the Service;
• Upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any Content that you do not have a right to transmit 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);
• Upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party;
• Upload, post, email or otherwise transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation, except in those areas that are designated for such purpose;
• Upload, post, email or otherwise transmit 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;
• Interfere with or disrupt the Trans Houston Service or servers or networks connected to the Trans Houston Service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Trans Houston Service;
• 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 Houston Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;
• "Stalk" or otherwise harass another member or user of the Trans Houston Service; or collect or store personal data about other users or members.

You acknowledge that all Content, whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, is the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. This means that you are entirely responsible for all Content that you post, email or otherwise transmit via the Trans Houston Service. Trans Houston does not control all of the Content posted via the Trans Houston Service and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Trans Houston Service, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Trans Houston 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 or otherwise transmitted via the Trans Houston Service.

It is our policy to respect the privacy of all users. Therefore, in addition to our Privacy Policy, we will not monitor, edit, or disclose the contents of a user or member e-mail unless required in the course of normal maintenance of the Trans Houston Service and its systems or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (1) comply with the law or comply with legal process served on Trans Houston; (2) protect and defend the rights or property of Trans Houston; or (3) act in an emergency to protect the personal safety of our users or the public.

All communications on Trans Houston, including bulletin board communications, are public and not private communications. Although Trans Houston reserves the right to remove without notice any posting for any reason, we have no obligation to delete content that you may find objectionable or offensive. By uploading materials to any bulletin board or submitting any materials to us, you automatically grant (or warrant that the owner of such materials has expressly granted) us a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and distribute such materials or incorporate such materials into any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed throughout the universe. In addition, you warrant that all so-called "moral rights" in those materials have been waived.

Use of the Trans Houston bulletin boards by persons under the age of 13 is prohibited.

Trans Houston reserves the right to monitor some, all, or no areas of the Trans Houston Service for adherence to these or other rules that may be published from time to time. Trans Houston may revoke your registration privileges and/or take any other appropriate measures to enforce these guidelines if violations are brought to our attention. Further, Trans Houston, in its sole discretion, may terminate your membership or participation in any Forum for any reason.

Submissions: If at our request you send content (e.g., postings to chat, boards, or contests) or you send us creative suggestions, ideas, notes, drawings, or other information (collectively, the "Submissions"), such Submissions shall be deemed, and shall remain, the property of Trans Houston. None of the Submissions shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Trans Houston, and Trans Houston shall not be liable for any use or disclosure of any Submissions. Any submission can be changed, altered, edited or deleted with or without notice and is subject to such actions as deemed necessary by TransHouston.  Without limitation of the foregoing, Trans Houston shall exclusively own all now known or hereafter existing rights to the Submissions of every kind and nature shall be entitled to unrestricted use of the Submissions for any purpose whatsoever, commercial or otherwise, without compensation to the provider of the Submissions.

Links and Search Results: The Trans Houston Service may provide, or third parties may provide, search results or other links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because Trans Houston has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that Trans Houston 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 Trans Houston 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.

Entertainment: Site content is not presented for entertainment purposes. All content is presented for educational purposes only. Users of TransHouston.com are allowed to access content for the purposes of educating themselves about the nature of the transgender community as well as the issues affecting the transgender community. While it it probable that some may find the content enjoyable on a personal level, all site content is educational in it's purpose. Content which is irrelevant to transgender issues is in violation of the TransHouston.com TOS and is subject to removal. 

Dating:  TransHouston.com IS NOT a dating site. While purpose of transhouston.com is education, the administrators of this site understand that even in educational settings, human beings will occasionally discover or seek to have affectional feelings towards one-another. Therefore, in an effort to responsibly manage this human tendency, TransHouston requests that members state their views towards affectional advances. In doing do so, it is hoped that those who are not interested in receiving affectional inquiries will be spared dealing with this type of unwanted interaction. Furthermore, this website's administrator(s) strongly urge users to use good judgment when agreeing to meet or exchange ANY information with others they have met while accessing any online media, including transhouston.com.

UPLOADS: By uploading photos, images, programs, documents, videos, sounds, or any other type of electronic file, you are agreeing have your digital files used and/or displayed on transhouston.com. By uploading, you are agreeing release and hold harmless any and all persons, organizations and/or entities associated with any repercussions of any kind arising from or as a direct or indirect result of having your electronic file and/or material hosted on transhouston.com. Furthermore, by uploading, you are declaring that the electronic data you are sending is free of copyright, excepting that which you are legally entitled to. If you are the copyright owner, by uploading, you extend to transhouston.com the right to display, use, alter, and/or electronically reproduce your copyrighted data on transhouston.com. Additionally, uploading, you declare that you have taken all proper measures, in adherence with the law, to put on public display any digital media you send to transhouston.com. These measures include, but are not limited to: 1.) Written consent of all who appear in photographs taken in private events, functions, or gatherings; 2.) Written consent of copyright holder for the use of the digital material being sent to transhouston.com for the purposes of use on transhouston.com. By uploading, you sender assume any and all legal obligations concerning fair usage rights and restrictions directly or indirectly related to the digital attachments that will appear on transhouston.com.

Disclaimers

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTIES:

THE Trans Houston SERVICE IS PRIVATELY OWNED AND PRODUCED BY CRISTAN WILLIAMS. AS SUCH, CRISTAN WILLIAMS HOLDS COPYRIGHT OVER ALL Trans Houston CONTENT, EXCEPT WHERE EXPRESSLY STATED.

THE Trans Houston SERVICE IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' AND YOU USE IT AT YOUR SOLE RISK. Trans Houston 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 OF PROPRIETARY RIGHTS.

WITHOUT LIMITATION, Trans Houston MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE Trans Houston SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, THAT IT WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE Trans Houston SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, OR THAT THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL OBTAINED THROUGH THE Trans Houston SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE Trans Houston SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR SOLE RISK AND 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.

FURTHER, PLEASE NOTE THAT NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM Trans Houston PERSONNEL OR THROUGH THE Trans Houston SERVICE SHALL NOT CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY PROVIDED FOR IN THESE TERMS OF SERVICE.

Disclaimer Regarding 3rd Party Sites
Trans Houston makes no guarantees as to the sites and information located worldwide throughout the Internet which you may access as a result of the use of the Trans Houston Service, including as to: (i) the accuracy, currency, content, or quality of any such sites and information, or (ii) whether any search using the Trans Houston Service may locate unintended and objectionable content.

Disclaimer Regarding Financial Information
If while using a  Trans Houston Service, you are allowed to obtain information on companies, stock prices, bonds, and other investments or financial matters be aware that the Trans Houston Service, including all such financial information, is provided for informational purposes only, and no information you may obtain is intended by Trans Houston to be used for trading or investing purposes. Trans Houston shall not be responsible for the accuracy, usefulness or availability of any information transmitted via the Trans Houston Service, and shall not be liable for any trading or investment decisions made based on such information.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMERS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU INSOFAR AS THEY RELATE TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES.

Limitation of Liability
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT Trans Houston 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 Trans Houston HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE Trans Houston 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 Trans Houston SERVICE; (iii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iv) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE Trans Houston SERVICE; OR (v) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE Trans Houston SERVICE. IN NO EVENT SHALL Trans Houston¹S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION (WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, FOR ACCESSING THIS SITE.

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 MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnification
YOU ARE ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF YOUR PASSWORD AND ACCOUNT. FURTHERMORE, YOU ARE ENTIRELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL ACTIVITIES WHICH OCCUR UNDER YOUR ACCOUNT. YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD HARMLESS Trans Houston, ITS PARENTS, AFFILIATES AND SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS AND AGENTS FROM ANY AND ALL THIRD PARTY CLAIMS, LIABILITY, DAMAGES AND/OR COSTS (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ATTORNEYS FEES) ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES, YOUR VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE OR YOUR INFRINGEMENT, OR INFRINGEMENT BY ANY OTHER USER OF YOUR ACCOUNT, OF ANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR OTHER RIGHT OF ANY PERSON OR ENTITY. YOU AGREE TO IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY Trans Houston OF ANY UNAUTHORIZED USE OF YOUR ACCOUNT OR ANY OTHER BREACH OF SECURITY KNOWN TO YOU.

Termination and Modification
You agree that Trans Houston, in its sole discretion, may terminate your password, account (or any part thereof) or use of the Trans Houston Service, and remove and discard any Content within the Trans Houston Service, for any reason, including, without limitation, for lack of use or if Trans Houston believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of the Terms of Service. Further, you agree that Trans Houston shall not be liable to you or any third-party for any termination of your access to the Trans Houston Service. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, add, or remove portions of these Terms of Service at any time. Please check back at this webpage periodically for changes. Your continued use of Trans Houston following the posting of changes to these terms (including our Community Guidelines) will mean you accept those changes.

Governing Law and Other Miscellaneous Terms
Unless expressly stated to the contrary elsewhere, all legal issues arising from or related to the use of the Trans Houston Service shall construed in accordance with, and all questions with respect thereto shall be determined by, the laws of the state of Houston applicable to contracts entered into and wholly to be performed within said state. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms of Service or your use of the Trans Houston Service shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in Houston, Texas and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into in any state or federal court in Houston having jurisdiction thereof. Any party seeking temporary or preliminary injunctive relief may do so in any state or federal court in Texas having jurisdiction thereof. The state and federal courts of Houston shall be the exclusive forum and venue to resolve disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms of Service. If any provision of these terms shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. This is the entire agreement between you and Trans Houston relating to the subject matter herein and shall not be modified by you except in writing, signed by both parties. The Terms of Service will inure to the benefit of Trans Houston's successors, assigns and licensees.

All inquiries concerning any aspect of the TransHouston Terms of Service should be sent to cristan@transhouston.com.