Your continued use of LubbockOnline.com constitutes acceptance of these terms of service, which may be modified by us from time to time. The current version of this document will always be available on LubbockOnline.com, and it is your responsibility to review it on a regular basis. By continuing to use this site, you agree to be bound by any future changes published on LubbockOnline.com.

While much of this website is open to the public, certain services, including participation in the online interactive community, require registration. Participation in this online community is a privilege and not a right. If you violate these terms of service or otherwise disrupt LubbockOnline.com or make a nuisance of yourself, we may cancel your account, prohibit you from opening alternate accounts and deny you access to affected portions of the website.

The contents of LubbockOnline.com are automatically copyrighted by Morris Publishing Group, LLC, as of the date of publication and in many cases by original content creators. For so long as your account remains active and in good standing, you are granted a nontransferable license to use for personal, noncommercial use on LubbockOnline.com. You are not entitled to redistribute or republish content from LubbockOnline.com, or from any content provider herein, without the express, written permission of Morris Publishing Group, LLC, or the original copyright holder.

Associated Press (AP) news, photos, graphics, video, audio and other multimedia material accessed through this service shall not be directly or indirectly reproduced, published, broadcast, sold, transferred, licensed, distributed in any manner or medium, used to prepare derivative works, or displayed publicly in any manner or medium now known or later developed. AP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the AP service or in any AP material including without limitation any third-party content and any of the advertisements in the AP service or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever.

You may not (or assist any other party to) copy, display, distribute or create derivative works from any Morris webpages or Morris intellectual property in violation of these Terms of Service. All such activities are express prohibited and Morris reserves the right to block any user who engages in such conduct. Any attempt to circumvent any technological restrictions or security measures on Morris websites shall be a violation of these Terms of Service. Any access of the Morris websites, Morris servers or the servers of any third-party lawfully hosting the Morris content for these or any other prohibited activities shall be a trespass. Such trespass shall be a violation of civil and/or criminal laws prohibiting trespassing and shall authorize Morris to take any actions authorized by law.

You expressly agree that Morris Publishing Group, LLC, shall bear no liability for delays, inaccuracies, errors and omissions or defamation for any content provided by any third party, including news services and LubbockOnline.com members, or for material on third-party sites to which LubbockOnline.com may be linked.

Becoming a member

To access some services and to contribute to the community conversation on LubbockOnline.com, you must first create an account and become a member. While membership grants certain privileges, it also carries with it many responsibilities.

You must provide and maintain accurate personal information (first and last name, home address and email) in your account record. You may not impersonate anyone in either the private or public portions of your user profile. You may post information using only your own account, and you are responsible for anything posted under your identity, including defamatory material, illegal activity and infringement of other people’s intellectual property rights. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and the secrecy of your password. You may not share your password with any third party.

Our use of your personally identifying information is covered by the privacy policy (below). While LubbockOnline.com allows you to post content under a pseudonym or "screen name," you are in no way anonymous.

While some parts of LubbockOnline.com are open to all, membership is available only to persons aged 13 years and older. Under no circumstances may persons under the age of 13 register for an account, and LubbockOnline.com explicitly does not solicit or accept personally identifying information from persons under the age of 13.

Posting content

When you contribute content to LubbockOnline.com, you may post only content that you created, that you own or for which you otherwise possess express permission or licensing rights. By uploading or otherwise posting any content, you represent and warrant: (i) you own or otherwise have all necessary rights, including but not limited to copyrights, to the content you provide and the rights to use it in this medium as provided in these terms of service; (ii) all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete, and does not violate these terms of service; and (iii) the content will not defame, cause injury to or harass any person or entity.

You retain your ownership rights to material you post; however, by posting or uploading content such as text, images, audio and video works, you grant LubbockOnline.com, Morris Publishing Group, LLC, its related companies and licensees a world-wide, royalty-free, perpetual license to reproduce your content on LubbockOnline.com and in any other media now known or later developed, and to use your publicly disclosed identity and related information for online and offline purposes, including commercial uses.

LubbockOnline.com may remove content at any time for any reason or no reason and is in no way responsible for storage or continued availability of content. LubbockOnline.com is not required, and will not endeavor, to pre-screen or review content that is posted by users. LubbockOnline.com, however, reserves the right to do so in the future at its sole discretion. In cases where you post content as private or semi-private, including private messaging, LubbockOnline.com will not be responsible for ensuring the security of that private content and may divulge that content to government or private investigators at its sole discretion.

Notice of copyright infringement

If you are an owner of intellectual property who believes your intellectual property has been improperly posted or distributed via LubbockOnline.com, please let us know by sending a notice via U.S. mail to Karen Brehm, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 710 Ave. J, Lubbock, TX 79401. You should only send a written notice if you believe your work has been used or copied in a manner that infringes your intellectual property rights and such infringement has occurred on LubbockOnline.com.

Trademarks

Content on LubbockOnline.com includes logotypes, trademarks and service marks (collectively "Marks") owned by LubbockOnline.com, its parent company or affiliated, and Marks owned by other information providers and third parties. No Marks may be used in any manner unless approved in advance and in writing by LubbockOnline.com.

Conduct and use

You agree not to post, email, or otherwise make available content:

• that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, pornographic, libelous or invasive of another's privacy, or harms minors in any way;

• that harasses, degrades, intimidates or is hateful toward an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age or disability;

• that purports to be from any person or entity, or falsely states or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity;

• that includes personal or identifying information about another person without that person's explicit consent;

• that is false, deceptive, misleading, deceitful, mis-informative or constitutes "bait and switch";

• that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party, or content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships;

• that constitutes or contains "affiliate marketing," "link referral code," "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters" or "pyramid schemes";

• that constitutes or contains any form of advertising or solicitation if (i) posted in areas not designated for such purposes; or (ii) emailed to LubbockOnline.com users who have requested not to be contacted about other services, products or commercial interests;

• that advertises any illegal services or the sale of any items the sale of which is prohibited or restricted by applicable law;

• 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;

• that disrupts the normal flow of dialogue with an excessive number of messages (flooding attack) to the service, or that otherwise negatively affects other users' ability to use the service; or

• that employs misleading email addresses, or forged headers or otherwise manipulated identifiers in order to disguise the origin of content transmitted through the service.

Additionally, you agree not to:

• contact anyone who has asked not to be contacted;

• "stalk" or otherwise harass anyone;

• collect personal data about other users for commercial or unlawful purposes;

• use automated means, including scripts, spiders, robots, crawlers, data mining tools or the like to download data from or upload data to LubbockOnline.com;

• post irrelevant content, repeatedly post the same or similar content, or otherwise impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure;

• attempt to gain unauthorized access to LubbockOnline.com computer systems or any other user's computer systems, or engage in any activity that disrupts, diminishes the quality of, interferes with the performance of or impairs the functionality of LubbockOnline.com.

Termination of account

Your account on LubbockOnline.com may be terminated at any time, with or without notice, for any violation of the foregoing terms, or any other legitimate, good-faith reason not enumerated above, at the sole discretion of A-J Media. In the event your account is terminated, you agree that your sole recourse is to request reinstatement of your account and membership privileges by contacting LubbockOnline.com via webmaster@lubbockonline.com. You may not open alternate accounts.

Privacy policy

A-J Media is committed to protecting consumer privacy online. We believe greater protection of personal privacy on the web will not only protect consumers, but will also increase consumer confidence and ultimately participation in online activities. We intend to give you as much control as possible over your personal information. The purpose of our policy is to inform you about the types of information we gather about you when you visit our site(s), how we may use that information, whether we disclose it to anyone, and the choices you have regarding our use of, and your ability to correct, the information. Our site(s) may contain links to other websites, including sites directed to children. We have no control over the privacy practices or the content of any of our business partners, advertisers, sponsors or other sites to which we provide links from our sites. You should check the applicable privacy policy of the website sponsor when linking to other websites. A-J Media strives to offer its visitors the many advantages of Internet technology and to provide an interactive and personalized experience. We may use personally identifiable information (your name, email address, street address, telephone number and other information) subject to the terms of this privacy policy. Please note this policy applies only to information collected by A-J Media online and does not impact information collected or used by A-J Media or its affiliates through other means.

How we gather information from users

How we collect and store information depends on the page you are visiting, the activities in which you elect to participate and the services provided. You can visit many pages on our site without providing any information. Other pages may prompt you to provide information, such as when you register for access to portions of our site, sign up for membership, request certain features (e.g., newsletters, news updates and other products), sign up for a newspaper subscription or make a purchase. You may also provide information when you participate in sweepstakes and contests, voting and polling activities, blogs, message boards and chat rooms, and other interactive areas of our site. Like most websites, A-J Media also collects information automatically and through the use of electronic tools that may be transparent to our visitors. For example, we may log the name of your Internet service provider or use "cookie" technology. Among other things, the cookie may store your user name and password, sparing you from having to re-enter that information each time you visit, or may control the number of times you encounter a particular advertisement while visiting our site. As we adopt additional technology, we may also gather information through other means. In certain cases, you can choose not to provide us with information, for example by setting your browser to refuse to accept cookies, but doing so may limit your ability to access certain portions of the site. Additionally we may not be able to customize the site’s features according to your preferences.

What we do with the information we collect

We will use your information only as permitted by law. Aggregated information (information that does not personally identify you) may be used in many ways. As one example, we may combine information about your usage patterns with similar information obtained from other users to learn which pages are visited most or what features are most attractive. Aggregated information may occasionally be shared with our advertisers and business partners, but cannot be used to contact you individually.

We also collect information to enhance your visit and deliver more individualized content and advertising. For example, we may use personally identifiable information collected by the Avalanche-Journal to communicate with you regarding our terms of service and privacy policy, products and services offered by the Avalanche-Journal and other affiliates and partners, administration of sweepstakes and contests, processing e-commerce transactions and other topics we think you might find of interest. We reserve the right to share this information with other Morris Communications, LLC, business units and affiliates, including, for example, our affiliated newspapers and entities in which Morris has an ownership interest (collectively, affiliates). This policy does not apply to any affiliate’s use of such information.

Personally identifiable information collected by A-J Media may also be used for other purposes including but not limited to site administration and troubleshooting. Certain third parties that provide technical support for the operation of our site (our web-hosting service and our newsletter provider, for example) may access such information.

As we continue to develop our business, we may sell, buy, merge or partner with other companies or businesses. In such transactions, user information may be among the transferred assets. We may also disclose your information in response to a court order, at other times when we believe we are reasonably required to do so by law, in connection with the collection of amounts you may owe to us, and/or whenever we deem it appropriate or necessary to give such information to law enforcement authorities. Please note we may not provide you with notice prior to disclosure in such cases.

Affiliated sites, linked sites and advertisements

A-J Media expects its partners, advertisers and third-party affiliates to respect the privacy of our users. However, third parties, including our partners, advertisers, affiliates and other content providers accessible through our site, may have their own privacy and data collection policies and practices. For example, during your visit to our site you may link to, or view as part of a frame on an A-J Media page, certain content that is actually created or hosted by a third party. Also, through A-J Media you may be introduced to, or be able to access, information, websites, advertisements, features, contests or sweepstakes offered by other parties. A-J Media is not responsible for the actions or policies of such third parties. You should check the applicable privacy policies of those third parties when providing information on a feature or page operated by a third party.

While on our site, our advertisers, promotional partners or other third parties may use cookies or other technology to attempt to identify some of your preferences or retrieve information about you. For example, some of our advertising is served by third parties and may include cookies that enable the advertiser to determine whether you have seen a particular advertisement before. Through features available on our site, third parties may use cookies or other technology to gather information. A-J Media does not control the use of this technology or the resulting information and is not responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use non-personal information (i.e., information that does not include your name, home address, email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in an effort to provide advertisements about goods and services that may be of interest to you. For example, LubbockOnline.com participates in the APT from Yahoo! platform, and Yahoo! is an ad network partner to display ads on our websites. To improve your ad experience on A-J Media sites and elsewhere on the Internet, our web pages may send non-personal information to Yahoo! based on your browser’s activities, such as type of pages viewed and categories of interests, so that the advertising you see is relevant to you. Yahoo! also may use non-personal information regarding its own users to select which ads to display.

Learn more about Yahoo!’s ad practices, including how to opt out of using anonymous information to select which ads to show you. Yahoo! is a member of the Network Advertising Initiative. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.

This website uses services provided by NewsRight, LLC. NewsRight collects content usage information and may use cookies in conjunction with this activity. Your continued readership of the site means you accept the privacy policy of NewsRight. Please refer to the NewsRight privacy policy at http://www.newsregistry.com/privacycenter/servicepolicy.aspx for further information.

End users understand, acknowledge and agree that the website contains certain licensed content and technology from News Distribution Network (the “NDN Technology”), which may include certain metadata, tags, cookies and other analytic devices for use as licensed content.  End users also understand and agree that they are expressly prohibited from (i) modifying, editing, shortening or otherwise altering the NDN Technology or the licensed content in any way; (ii) removing, editing, altering or obscuring any metadata or Intellectual Property markings associated with the NDN Technology or licensed content; (iii) downloading, copying, or otherwise replicating or making available the licensed content other than as set forth herein; or (iv) otherwise changing the appearance of the NDN Technology or licensed content.

Please be careful and responsible whenever you are online. Should you choose to voluntarily disclose personally identifiable information on our site, such as in message boards, chat areas or in advertising or notices you post, that information can be viewed publicly and can be collected and used by third parties without our knowledge and may result in unsolicited messages from other individuals or third parties. Such activities are beyond the control of A-J Media and this policy.

Children

A-J Media does not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifiable information from or about children under the age of 13 except as permitted by law. If we discover we have received any information from a child under the age of 13 in violation of this policy, we will delete that information immediately. If you believe A-J Media has any information from or about anyone under the age of 13, please contact us at webmaster@lubbockonline.com.

Compliance with legal process

We may disclose personal information if we are required to do so by law or we in good faith believe such action is necessary to (i) comply with the law or with legal process; (ii) protect and defend our rights and property; (iii) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our websites; or (iv) protect the personal safety or property of our users or the public (among other things, this means that if you provide false information or attempt to pose as someone else, information about you may be disclosed as part of any investigation into your actions).

How to contact us

For any questions or comments, you may contact us:

By email: webmaster@lubbockonline.com

By phone: (806) 762-8738

By fax: (806) 744-9603, Attention Online Privacy Manager

By mail: LubbockOnline.com, 710 Ave. J, Lubbock, TX 79401, Attention Privacy Manager

No warranties

LubbockOnline.com AND ALL MATERIALS, INFORMATION AND SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH IT, ARE PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS," "WITH ALL FAULTS," AND "AS AVAILABLE." WE, OUR AFFILIATES, AGENTS AND LICENSORS CANNOT AND DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENTNESS, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE MATERIALS, INFORMATION AND SERVICES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE, NOR DO WE GUARANTEE THAT THE MATERIALS, INFORMATION OR SERVICES WILL BE ERROR-FREE, OR CONTINUOUSLY AVAILABLE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

Limitations on our liability

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL LubbockOnline.com, OR OUR AFFILIATES, AGENTS OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF USE OF LubbockOnline.com OR ANY SERVICE AVAILABLE THROUGH THIS WEBSITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, EVEN IF WE ARE ADVISED BEFOREHAND OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. (BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH STATES, OUR LIABILITY AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR AFFILIATES, AGENTS AND LICENSORS IS LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY SUCH STATE LAW.) YOU AGREE THAT OUR LIABILITY AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR AFFILIATES, AGENTS AND LICENSORS, IF ANY, ARISING OUT OF ANY KIND OF LEGAL CLAIM IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR THE USE OF THE SERVICE.

International users

LubbockOnline.com is controlled, operated and administered by its parent company from its offices within the United States. LubbockOnline.com makes no representation that materials or content available through LubbockOnline.com are appropriate or available for use outside the United States, and access to them from territories where their contents are illegal is prohibited. You may not use LubbockOnline.com or export the content in violation of U.S. export laws and regulations. If you access LubbockOnline.com from a location outside the United States, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws of your jurisdiction that may apply.

Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.