Terms and Conditions
This agreement sets out the terms and conditions ('Terms and Conditions') applicable to members of the service operated by [an error occurred while processing this directive]. Applicants (referred to as 'members') must agree to the following Terms and Conditions. In the event a member breaches or otherwise fails to comply with any provision of these Terms and Conditions then in addition to any other remedy available to [an error occurred while processing this directive], [an error occurred while processing this directive] may terminate the participation of such member in the service and/or may withhold any payments relating to participation in the service due to such member from [an error occurred while processing this directive].
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
[an error occurred while processing this directive] shall have absolute discretion as to whether or not it accepts a particular applicant or site for participation in the service.
REMOVAL FROM NETWORK
[an error occurred while processing this directive] reserves the right to terminate the participation of any member or site without reason but expressly including any member site that [an error occurred while processing this directive] judges to be in violation of the Terms and Conditions.
Members in violation of [an error occurred while processing this directive]'s Terms and Conditions will be immediately deactivated. [an error occurred while processing this directive] may deactivate members with no prior notification. Members found in violation of the Terms and Conditions will not receive any credit or payment from [an error occurred while processing this directive]. Members that are terminated by [an error occurred while processing this directive] on any basis other than violation of these Terms and Conditions will be entitled to receive any payment due from [an error occurred while processing this directive].
REFERRAL COMMISSIONS
The referral commission paid out will be the one listed on the Referrals page ([an error occurred while processing this directive]/affiliates.shtml). If the commission rate is changed, it will only affect referrals made after the new commission was announced. You may not refer yourself, nor sign up for multiple accounts to collect referral fees. You may also not partner with any other [an error occurred while processing this directive] user to share/transfer the commission made from your own account, or else both parties will be kicked from the service without payment. [an error occurred while processing this directive] reserves the right to delay or cancel sending affiliate earnings if we believe the referred user will not pay the fees they were charged, since affiliate commissions are based on those fees.
PAYMENTS
All amounts are stated in and all payments will be made in US funds. We verify all deposits and might ask you to verify yours; If you refuse to send verification information via E-mail, Fax or Phone, we reserve the right to refund the deposit and terminate your account. [an error occurred while processing this directive] reserves the right to suspend a withdrawal if the source of the funds is suspected to be fraudulent. Any funds received from an account having made a fraudulent deposit (e.g. stolen credit card) will be reversed immediately. If in a fraudulent payment situation a withdrawal has already been processed, you will be expected to return the funds to your [an error occurred while processing this directive] account or face account termination.
As previously stated, any member site that [an error occurred while processing this directive] removes from the service due to violation of the Terms and Conditions will receive no credit or payment.
COPYRIGHTS
No copyright material can be posted on [an error occurred while processing this directive]. This includes scripts which are sold by the author. Only posting sections of these scripts, as examples, will be permitted. A "section" being no more than 10% of the script's contents. This is meant to protect the author's rights.
MODIFICATIONS
[an error occurred while processing this directive] reserves the right to change the member Terms and Conditions at any time. It is the member's responsibility to check these Terms and Conditions from time to time for such changes. In the event [an error occurred while processing this directive] offers any additional or replacement services then this agreement shall apply to such services in the absence of any new agreement specific to such services which is entered into between the parties.
OWNERSHIP
Members agree that all information contained on a website operated by [an error occurred while processing this directive], and all information compiled by [an error occurred while processing this directive] through operation of the affiliate program, is the proprietary information of [an error occurred while processing this directive]. Personal information provided by members to [an error occurred while processing this directive] will be kept confidential and will not be distributed to any third party.
E-MAIL ADDRESSES
Members agree not to post their e-mail address on the site, except in the "e-mail" field of the signup form, or when asked by [an error occurred while processing this directive] at any other time. There should be no need to give anyone your e-mail address. It is automatically provided if you choose a [an error occurred while processing this directive] (or you are the [an error occurred while processing this directive] chosen for) a project, and before that time you can use the message board to communicate. This does not only apply to e-mail addresses, but to all methods of communication, including phone, ICQ, AIM, MSN Messenger, etc... See "Avoiding Commissions" below for the reason.
PROVIDING CONTACT INFORMATION
You are prohibited from making direct contact with another member, unless it's for a project you (a [an error occurred while processing this directive]) have been picked for, or you (a [an error occurred while processing this directive]) have picked a [an error occurred while processing this directive] for. This includes giving out your e-mail address, ICQ number, phone number, or any other method of contact outside of this site. [an error occurred while processing this directive] provides you with message boards, which should be sufficient for pre-project planning. The only exception to this is on "Featured" projects. If a project has the "Featured" graphic on it, that means the [an error occurred while processing this directive] has paid a flat fee in advance, and you ARE allowed to provide contact information in the message board. Note that the [an error occurred while processing this directive] system does not distinguish between featured and non-featured message board posts, so you will still get a warning when submitting an e-mail address, even if the project is featured.
AVOIDING COMMISSIONS
You are strictly prohibited from attempting to negotiate the fee for a project with another member directly (outside of [an error occurred while processing this directive]) after that project has been created/opened and before that project has been closed (basically, during an ongoing project). But this also applies to any project that was closed without a [an error occurred while processing this directive] being chosen, and then contacting them about the project anyway. Both parties are responsible for notifying [an error occurred while processing this directive] if the payment amount increases (above the bid amount) after the project is closed. Receiving a larger amount than the original project bid, without notifying us, will be considered an attempt to avoid the commissions. When a [an error occurred while processing this directive] requests a withdrawal, we always review all payments received for each project to verify that they match the bid. If at the time of a withdrawal request the [an error occurred while processing this directive] has failed to notify [an error occurred while processing this directive] staff of a payment received above the amount of his bid (a total payment above US$100), [an error occurred while processing this directive] reserves the right to deduct double the fee for the amount that should have been reported. We believe our commissions are very fair and justified for the service we provide, therefore we will absolutely not tolerate any of this activity on [an error occurred while processing this directive].
BIDDING
[an error occurred while processing this directive]s can only place bids that equal the total amount of money they are requesting for the project. You cannot post an hourly bid or any other abnormal type of bid. This applies to [an error occurred while processing this directive]s too. [an error occurred while processing this directive]s cannot create projects that directly or indirectly require [an error occurred while processing this directive]s to place hourly or other abnormal bids. The only exception, for both [an error occurred while processing this directive]s and [an error occurred while processing this directive]s, is when the project is featured. See featured project information at [an error occurred while processing this directive]/featured.shtml.
FEATURED PROJECTS
The following conditions are here to prevent abuse of the "Featured project" feature on [an error occurred while processing this directive]. The maximum amount of money a [an error occurred while processing this directive] can receive for a Featured project, through the [an error occurred while processing this directive] system, without being charged a fee, is $2,500. Any amount received above $2,500 will be subject to the regular fee of 5%. Note that this condition only applies to money received with the [an error occurred while processing this directive] system; you can receive more than $2,500 for a single Featured project, without being charged a fee, if the payment is made outside of [an error occurred while processing this directive]. If this condition applies to a payment you received on [an error occurred while processing this directive], you must notify us of the amount so that we can apply a 5% fee to the amount above $2,500. Failure to notify us could result in temporary account suspension.
ADVERTISING
You are prohibited from advertising your website on [an error occurred while processing this directive]. Any URL posted in a bid, project description, or the message board, must relate to a project on [an error occurred while processing this directive]. An example of a permissible URL: your portfolio or resumé page.
THE ROLE OF [an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive] functions as a venue to connect [an error occurred while processing this directive]s and [an error occurred while processing this directive]s in a virtual marketplace. As a neutral facilitator, [an error occurred while processing this directive] is not directly involved in the actual transactions between users of the Site. As a result, [an error occurred while processing this directive] has no control over the truth, accuracy, quality, legality, or safety of postings made by users. Because verifying the identity of a user on the Internet is difficult, [an error occurred while processing this directive] cannot and does not confirm the identity of users. [an error occurred while processing this directive] also does not confirm nor verify the qualifications, background, or abilities of users. Therefore, We recommend that You be careful and exercise common sense and good judgment when dealing with any member on the Site. If you are unsatisifed with another member, the most [an error occurred while processing this directive] can do is refund the project commission you have been charged by us. We cannot refund the money you have sent to someone, we are not responsible for your transactions. [an error occurred while processing this directive] is not responsible for fraudulent payments made by users and cannot be held liable for financial loss incurred from fraudulent transactions. It is the receiver's responsibility to verify the identity and background of the sender.
AND FINALLY...
We thank you for choosing the [an error occurred while processing this directive] service and we look forward to a mutually successful business relationship.