Witness Justice

Welcome to the Witness Justice Virtual Community! The Virtual Community is a place where victims, family members, friends, service providers and victim advocates can connect with and support one another in a user-friendly, easily accessible and completely anonymous environment, free of charge. The Community is categorized by type of crime, criminal justice issues and trauma/healing topics. To enter the Virtual Community, please read and accept the disclaimer below. (If you have any questions about the disclaimer, please contact us at webmaster@witnessjustice.org.) You will then be guided through the quick and easy one-time registration process. Once you receive your temporary password, you can begin conversing with others in the Community on a wide range of victim concerns.

*DISCLAIMER* for the WITNESS JUSTICE WEB SITE 
(INCLUDING THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY)

The information and materials provided through the Witness Justice Web Site ("Site"), including any data, text, graphics, images, audio and video clips, logos, icons, software, the Virtual Community, any e-mail correspondence and links (collectively, the "Materials"), are intended to educate and inform you about violent crimes and insights into healing and the criminal justice process.

Witness Justice provides its Virtual Community as a unique and anonymous bulletin board forum for victims of violent crime to connect with one another and with experts in the legal, medical, mental health and other pertinent professions who may be able to offer insights into the healing and criminal justice processes. Our hope is that the Virtual Community will afford victims of violence a means by which they can quickly and comfortably access and/or provide support and information to facilitate the healing and justice processes.

Code of Conduct:
While using this Site, Materials and the Virtual Community, you agree to the following:

1. You will respect others.

2. You understand that use of the Virtual Community is strictly at your own risk. Witness Justice is in no way responsible for any harm or other consequences that may arise to users or their computers as a direct or indirect result of participation in the Virtual Community. Witness Justice shall not be held liable in any case or for any reason for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, punitive or other damages that may result from users access to or use of the Virtual Community.

3. You understand that the Witness Justice Virtual Community is designed to educate and inform you about violent crimes and insights into healing and the criminal justice process. Information on our Virtual Community is provided by our staff and other contributors, some of whom use anonymous screen names and are people not otherwise connected with Witness Justice. You acknowledge that a large volume of information is available in our Virtual Community and that users participating in the Virtual Community occasionally post messages or make statements, whether intentionally or unintentionally, that are inaccurate, misleading or deceptive. We neither endorse nor are responsible for such messages or statements, or for any opinion, advice, information or other utterance made or displayed on the Site, including the Virtual Community, by third parties, whether such third parties are visitors to the Site, members of the Witness Justice community or others. The opinions expressed in the Virtual Community reflect solely the opinion(s) of the participants and may not reflect the opinion(s) of Witness Justice. We are not responsible for any errors or omissions in articles or postings, for hyperlinks embedded in messages or for any results obtained from the use of such information. Under no circumstances will we or our suppliers or agents be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on such information obtained through the Site. [See Limitation of Liability below.]

We have no obligation to monitor the Site or the Virtual Community, or any Submissions or other materials that you or other third parties transmit or post on the Site or the Virtual Community. You acknowledge and agree that we have the right (but not the obligation) to monitor the Site and the Virtual Community and the materials you transmit or post; to alter or remove any such materials (including, without limitation, any posting to the Virtual Community); to disclose such materials and the circumstances surrounding their transmission to any third party in order to operate the Site properly; to protect ourselves, our sponsors and visitors; and to comply with legal obligations or governmental requests.

4. Access By Minors. Pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 230 (d), as amended, we hereby notify you that parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software or filtering services) are commercially available that may assist you in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. Information identifying current providers of such protections is available at the Web sites of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and of America Links Up.

5. Users fully understand and agree that Witness Justice is in no way responsible for any suggestions or recommendations offered by any users of the Virtual Community. Actions taken based on the suggestions or recommendations of other users of the Virtual Community are strictly at the risk of the user who takes such actions. [See Limitation of Liability below.]

6. Users fully understand and acknowledge that they are entirely responsible for anything that results from their postings on the Virtual Community. NEVER POST ANY INFORMATION THAT COULD REVEAL YOUR IDENTITY OR LOCATION. Users acknowledge that (a) there is no way to verify the actual identity and credibility of any system user, (b) all postings are visible to the entire Virtual Community, and (c) not everyone present in the room will always be conversing, so there may be "silent" participants that you are not aware of. Adapt your communications accordingly.

7. Users fully understand and acknowledge that no electronic system is completely secure from error. Witness Justice shall not be liable in any case or for any reason for any person or program that may misuse, hack into or render the Virtual Community inoperable, or for any other type of system failure. Witness Justice offers no warranties or guarantees of any form, either express or implied, about the ultimate security of or user anonymity provided by the Virtual Community. [See Disclaimer below.]

8. Users fully understand and agree that comments, observations, questions and opinions posted via the Virtual Community are not those of Witness Justice. Witness Justice assumes no responsibility for the views, accuracy, legality, veracity or nature of any of the information or communications exchanged via the Virtual Community, nor does Witness Justice take any responsibility for or assume any liability for the content of the Virtual Community or for any mistakes, defamation, libel, slander, omissions, falsehoods, obscenity, pornography or profanity that users may encounter while using the Virtual Community. [See Disclaimer below.]

9. Witness Justice reserves the right to remove without notice any posting to the Virtual Community with or without cause.

10. Witness Justice reserves the right to ban without notice any user from the Site, including the Virtual Community, with or without cause. Users may be banned for any reason, including but not limited to abusive or inappropriate language, causing disturbances and disrespecting or purposely antagonizing others. Any attempts of retaliation from being banned or for any other reason will be reported to your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

11. Provocative or otherwise inappropriate user names are strictly prohibited.

12. Posting or transmitting any provocative, unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic or otherwise inappropriate language, URLs or material of any kind is strictly prohibited.

13. Any form of marketing or advertising on the Virtual Community is strictly prohibited.

14. Distributing, modifying, transmitting, reusing, reposting or any other use of the communications exchanged on the Virtual Community are strictly prohibited without the express written and signed permission of Witness Justice.

15. Users fully understand and acknowledge that Witness Justice would be unwilling to offer this service without this disclaimer, and that use of the Virtual Community constitutes the user's full and complete acceptance of this disclaimer.

16. USERS FULLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THEY WILL NOT TAKE ANY LEGAL ACTION AGAINST WITNESS JUSTICE FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER PERTAINING TO USE OR MISUSE ON THEIR PART OR THE PART OF OTHERS RELATED TO THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY. USERS ALSO FULLY UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF THEY, FOR ANY REASON, ATTEMPT TO TAKE ANY LEGAL ACTION AGAINST WITNESS JUSTICE OR ANY WITNESS JUSTICE OFFICERS, STAFF, ADMINISTRATORS, VOLUNTEERS, AFFILIATES OR OTHER PARTIES, THOSE PERSON(S) ATTEMPTING TO TAKE SUCH LEGAL ACTIONS WILL PROMPTLY AND IN FULL PAY FOR ANY ATTORNEY FEES, COURT COSTS AND ANY AND ALL OTHER COSTS OF THE LITIGATION PROCESS TO WITNESS JUSTICE, REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME OF THE LITIGATION. [SEE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY BELOW.]

17. Users fully understand and acknowledge that any and all postings to the Virtual Community immediately become the sole property of Witness Justice. While maintaining the confidentiality of Virtual Community users to the extent possible and practical, Witness Justice reserves the right to reproduce, disclose, transmit, publish, broadcast or repost any communications or other information that are posted to or exchanged via the Virtual Community.

18. Users fully understand and acknowledge that Witness Justice may change this disclaimer and usage guidelines at any time and without notice and that users are fully bound by any such changes whenever they use the Virtual Community after such changes have been made.

19. DISCLAIMER. THE SITE, THE MATERIALS ON THE SITE, THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY, ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE AND THE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, WITNESS JUSTICE AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS AND AGENTS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY WARRANTIES THAT MAY ARISE FROM COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE OF TRADE. Applicable law may not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above exclusions may not apply to you. WITNESS JUSTICE AND ITS LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS AND AGENTS DO NOT WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO USE OF THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY, OR THE MATERIALS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR SECURE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE SITE, THE SERVER(S) ON WHICH THE SITE IS HOSTED OR SOFTWARE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING AND MAINTAINING ALL TELEPHONE, COMPUTER HARDWARE AND OTHER EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO ACCESS AND USE THE SITE, AND ASSUME ALL CHARGES RELATED THERETO. YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND THE SOFTWARE AND YOUR RELIANCE THEREON. NO OPINION, ADVICE OR STATEMENT OF COMPANY OR ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS, AGENTS, MEMBERS OR VISITORS, WHETHER MADE ON THE SITE, IN THE MATERIALS OR OTHERWISE, SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY. YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND ANY MATERIALS PROVIDED THROUGH THE SITE ARE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

A possibility exists that the Site, Materials or Virtual Community could include inaccuracies or errors, or information or materials that violate these Terms of Use (specifically, the Code of Conduct above). Additionally, a possibility exists that unauthorized alterations could be made by third parties to the Site, Materials or Virtual Community. Although we attempt to ensure the integrity of the Site, we make no guarantees as to the Site's completeness or correctness. In the event that a situation arises in which the Site's completeness or correctness is in question, please contact us at info@witnessjustice.org with, if possible, a description of the material to be checked and the location (URL) where such material can be found on the Site, as well as information sufficient to enable us to contact you. We will try to address your concerns as soon as reasonably practicable, but make no warranty, guaranty or assurances thereof.

20. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. NEITHER WITNESS JUSTICE NOR ANY OF ITS LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS OR SPONSORS, NOR ANY OF OUR OR THEIR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, AGENTS OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVES, ARE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF DATA OR LOST PROFITS), UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SITE AND/OR MATERIALS CONTAINED ON THE SITE, THE VIRTUAL COMMUNITY, ANY LINKED SITE OR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE PURCHASED THROUGH THE SITE. YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE, MATERIALS, VIRTUAL COMMUNITY OR ANY LINKED SITE IS TO STOP USING THE SITE, MATERIALS, VIRTUAL COMMUNITY OR LINKED SITE, AS APPLICABLE. THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE MAXIMUM LIABILITY TO WITNESS JUSTICE FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, SHALL BE THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, TO ACCESS THE SITE.

21. Indemnification. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Witness Justice, our licensors, suppliers, advertisers and sponsors, and our and their directors, officers, employees, consultants, agents and other representatives, harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees) and other expenses that arise directly or indirectly out of or from (a) your breach of this Agreement, including but not limited to any violation of the Code of Conduct, above; (b) any allegation that any Submissions or other materials you submit to us or transmit to the Site infringe or otherwise violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property or other rights of any third party; and/or (c) your activities in connection with the Site.

22. Ownership and Restriction on Use. The Site is owned and operated by Witness Justice in conjunction with others pursuant to contractual arrangements, and the Materials (and any intellectual property and other rights relating thereto) are and will remain the property of Witness Justice and its licensors and suppliers. The Site, Witness Justice and the Materials as well as the selection, compilation, collection, arrangement and assembly thereof are protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark and other laws, and you acknowledge that these rights are valid and enforceable. You may not copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit or distribute Materials or other content or information available on or through the Site in any way without our prior written permission, including use of the name Witness Justice. The Materials may be used solely to the extent necessary for your authorized use of the Site, as provided in this Agreement or as expressly authorized in writing by Witness Justice or, if so indicated in writing by Witness Justice, its licensors or suppliers. Modification of the Materials or use of the Materials for any other purpose is a violation of our copyright and other proprietary rights, and is strictly prohibited. You acknowledge that you do not acquire any ownership rights by using the Site or the Materials.

23. Miscellaneous. This Agreement is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland, United States of America, without regards to its principles of conflicts of law. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of any State or Federal court located in the State of Maryland, United States of America, and waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such courts. If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this Agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. This is the entire Agreement between us relating to the subject matter herein and supersedes any and all prior or contemporaneous written or oral Agreements between us with respect to such subject matter. This Agreement is not assignable, transferable or sublicenseable by you except with the prior written consent of Witness Justice. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. Any heading, caption or section title contained in this Agreement is inserted only as a matter of convenience and in no way defines or explains any section or provision hereof. Witness Justice strongly urges all users to immediately report any misuse of the Virtual Community, including but not limited to offensive or otherwise objectionable language or material, to webmaster@witnessjustice.org. Witness Justice strongly recommends that users refrain from responding in any way to objectionable communications or other instances of misuse; rather, Witness Justice suggests that you simply report the misuse to webmaster@witnessjustice.org.

Please respect all users of the Virtual Community and exercise proper etiquette at all times. If you have any questions or concerns regarding use of the Virtual Community, please contact Witness Justice prior to usage at info@witnessjustice.org.