User Agreement For Starving Student Scholarships Student Ads

This agreement was last updated on August 13, 2003.

Please read the following user agreement. When you use any service or browse within Starving Student Scholarships Student Ads, hereinafter referred to as the "Service", you agree to all of the terms and conditions of this agreement. Please read the following terms and conditions carefully, as they form the agreement between us. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, you may not use the service, and should not proceed to enter the ads section or register. By using the service after August 13, 2003, you are agreeing to be bound by this service agreement.

Terms And Conditions Of The Service

User Agreement. This Agreement constitutes your agreement with Starving Student Scholarships with respect to your use of the Service. You must agree to abide by all of the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement in order to become or remain an authorized user of the Service. As used in this Agreement, "we" and "us" means Founder Karen Kelly and Starving Student Scholarships, or any successor or assign of Founder Karen Kelly and Starving Student Scholarships.

Right to Use. Your right to use the Service is subject to any limitations, conditions and restrictions established by us from time to time, in our sole discretion. We may alter, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time, including the availability of any Service feature, database or content. We may also impose limits on certain features and aspects of the Service or restrict your access to parts or all of the Service without notice or liability.

Adult. You represent, warrant and covenant that you are at least 18 years old.

You must open a PayPal account to place an ad, donate or otherwise engage in any transaction on the Service.  PayPal uses a sophisticated system to ascertain identity, including being of at least eighteen (18) years of age, and ability to pay.  This requirement is intended to help alleviate fraudulent activity by any users, and to help control spamming.

Students agree to only provide donation buttons from PayPal on their ads at this time.  Other services, such as Amazon, use cookies which display a user's name on their own computers.  Users may fear their privacy is at risk and may not return to the site.  If you would like to use a different donation system, you must put it on a separate web site, and you are welcome to put a URL to that site in your ad, providing it meets all other aspects of this Agreement.  

Students must actually be a college Student or someone who intends to begin college or return to college, or be a student who has graduated from college and needs help paying off education-related debt.

Students are encouraged to obtain an email address from their college and should be aware that Sponsors will be advised to donate to ads of Students with verifiable college email addresses.  Not having a verifiable college email address could reduce potential donations from Sponsors.

Users are solely responsible for protecting themselves and resolving any disputes that may arise between them resulting from Service transactions. The Service cannot mediate disputes or assume responsibility for any outcome.

All transactions conducted on the Service must be consistent with any applicable laws, with these Guidelines and this Agreement, which is incorporated herein. You are responsible for researching and complying with any applicable laws, regulations or restrictions that may pertain to transactions in which you participate.

Code of Conduct. You agree to use the Service in accordance with the following Code of Conduct:

You will keep all information provided to you through the Service as private and confidential and will not give such information to anyone without the permission of the person who provided it to you;

You will not use the Service to engage in any form of harassment or offensive behavior, including but not limited to the posting of communications, pictures or recordings which contain libelous, slanderous, abusive or defamatory statements, or racist, pornographic, obscene, or offensive language;

You will not forward chain letters through the Service;

You will not use the Service to infringe the privacy rights, property rights, or other civil rights of any person;

You will not post messages, pictures or recordings or use the Service in any way which violates, plagiarizes or infringes upon the rights of any third party, including but not limited to any copyright or trademark law, privacy or other personal or proprietary rights, or is fraudulent or otherwise unlawful or violates any law; and

Privacy and Use of Information. You acknowledge that (a) we cannot ensure the security or privacy of information you provide through the Internet and your email messages, and you release us from any and all liability in connection with the use of such information by other parties; (b) we are not responsible for, and cannot control, the use by others of any information which you provide to them and you should use caution in selecting the personal information you provide to others through the Service; and (c) we cannot assume any responsibility for the content of messages sent by other users of the Service, and you release us from any and all liability in connection with the contents of any communications you may receive from other users.

We cannot guarantee, and assume no responsibility for verifying, the accuracy of the information provided by other users of the Service.

You may not use the Service for any unlawful purpose. We may refuse to grant you a user name that impersonates someone else, is protected by trademark or proprietary law, or is vulgar or otherwise offensive, as determined by us in our sole discretion.

Monitoring of Information. We reserve the right to monitor all advertisements, public postings and messages to ensure that they conform to the content guidelines which may be applicable from time to time.

Removal of Information. While we do not and cannot review every message or other material posted or sent by users of the Service, and are not responsible for any content of these messages or materials, we reserve the right, but are not obligated, to delete, move, or edit messages or materials, including without limitation advertisements, public postings and messages, that we, in our sole discretion, deem to violate the Code of Conduct set out above or any applicable content guidelines, or to be otherwise unacceptable. You shall remain solely responsible for the content of advertisements, public postings, messages and other materials you may upload to the Service or users of the Service.

Termination of Access to Service. We may, in our sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Service at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including, without limitation, breach of this Agreement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any fraudulent, abusive, or otherwise illegal activity may be grounds for termination of your access to all or part of the Service at our sole discretion, and you may be referred to appropriate law enforcement agencies.

Proprietary Information. The Service contains information which is proprietary to us and to our users. We assert full copyright protection in the service. Information posted by us or other users of the Service may be protected whether or not it is identified as proprietary to us or to them. You agree not to modify, copy or distribute any such information in any manner whatsoever without having first received the express permission of the owner of such information.

No responsibility. We are not responsible for any incidental, consequential, special, punitive, exemplary, direct or indirect damages of any kind whatsoever, which may arise out of or relate to your use of the Service, including but not limited to lost revenues, profits, business or data, or damages resulting from any viruses, worms, "Trojan horses" or other destructive software or materials, or communications by you or other users of the Service, or any interruption or suspension of the Service, regardless of the cause of the interruption or suspension. Any claim against us shall be limited to the amount you paid, if any, for use of the Service during the previous 12 months. We may discontinue or change the Service or its availability to you at any time, and you may stop using the Service at any time.

Security. Your account is private and should not be used by anyone else. You are responsible for all usage or activity on the Service by users using your password, including but not limited to use of your password by any third party.

Other Links. The Service may from time to time contain links to other World Wide Web Internet sites and resources ("External Links"). We are not responsible for, and have no liability as a result of, the availability of External Links or their contents.

Indemnity. You agree to indemnify us, our officers, directors, employees and agents, from any loss or damages, including without limitation reasonable legal fees, which we may suffer from your activities on or use of the Service, including without limitation any breach by you of this Agreement or any charges or complaints made by other parties against you. You shall cooperate as fully as reasonably required in the defense of any claim. We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you; provided, however, that you shall remain liable for any such claim.

No Warranties. The Service is distributed on an "as is" basis. We do not warrant that this Service will be uninterrupted or error-free. There may be delays, omissions, and interruptions in the availability of the Service. Where permitted by law, you acknowledge that the Service is provided without any warranties of any kind whatsoever, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. You acknowledge that use of the Service is at your own risk. We do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information displayed, uploaded or distributed through the Service or any user of the Service or any other person or entity. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement or information shall be at your sole risk.

Advice Content. The service may from time to time include content relating to "financial aid" issues. This content is provided for editorial opinion and thought-provoking purposes only, and are not intended, and should not be taken, as specific advice in any particular circumstance. Such statements do not constitute counseling of any kind. Users with personal, financial problems or who may be seeking career counseling advice applicable to their personal situation, are urged to consult with a qualified counselor with respect to such issues.

Modifications. We may modify this Agreement from time to time. Notification of changes in this Agreement will be posted on the Service or sent via electronic mail, as we may determine in our sole discretion. If you do not agree to any modifications, you should terminate your use of the Service. Your continued use of the Service now, or following the posting of notice of any changes in this Agreement, will constitute a binding acceptance by you of this Agreement, or any subsequent modifications.

Disclosure and Other Communication. We reserve the right to send electronic mail to you, for the purpose of informing you of changes or additions to the Service, or of any Starving Student Scholarships related news, contests, events and services. We reserve the right to disclose information about your usage of the Service and demographics in forms that do not reveal your personal identity.

Safety.  The Service wants users to have a safe experience using our Service. Any time you engage in person-to-person dealing, you must protect yourself against those who seek to take advantage of others. Here are a few safety guidelines you should follow, and are not intended to be an all-inclusive list:

Students: Use the contact form instead of placing your email address on your ad.  A Sponsor will be able to see your email address when they click on your PayPal donate button to verify your college email address.  However, you can eliminate a good deal of unwanted email by removing your email address from plain view.  Do not give out your address or phone number.

Sponsors: Never send money up front that is unsecured (i.e. cash, personal check). PayPal has an e-check option and a bank transfer option, if you prefer not to use a credit card, but you will still have PayPal's security features.  Please visit PayPal  to learn how PayPal can help protect your payments.

Keep all records, including emails, listings, and personal information of the other party.

Use common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Ad Duration.  The ad duration begins the day your ad is placed live on the Service and continues in effect until the Student graduates, voluntarily terminates the ad, is terminated by the Service for any violation of this agreement, or the Service is abandoned.

Editing and/or deleting your ad from the Service.  You may edit or delete your ad at any time for any reason. You will not receive any refund if you choose to delete your ad. There are no partial reimbursements. 

After your ad is posted, if your ad is removed due to any violation of this Agreement, you will not receive a refund of any donation.

Payment.  The Service is offered as close to free as possible, and still offer as safe an experience as possible, by requiring Students and Sponsors to obtain a PayPal account.  The minimum $1 donation to Starving Student Scholarships is charged a fee of 2.9% + .30 by PayPal (as of this writing on 8/13/03), which leaves an actual donation of .67 USD, less taxes.  As a service is being given in exchange for this donation, the .67 is taxable, thereby reducing this "profit" another significant amount.  This donation is a one-time donation per ad, and will be used to offset the cost of building and maintaining the Starving Student Scholarships site.  Of course, larger donations are always welcome!

Payment for placing an ad can only be made via PayPal.  By placing an ad on our Service, you hereby agree to all the payment terms and conditions herein, and on PayPal.com.  

International transactions (outside U.S.).  All sending and receiving of funds to and from countries outside of the U.S. must also comply with PayPal regulations.  Please refer to the PayPal site for any restrictions you may encounter at PayPal's frequently asked questions for non-US accounts.

Governing Law:

This Agreement is entered into in the State of California, USA. You agree that it will be governed by the laws of the State of California, USA and any disputes arising out of this Agreement will be subject to the courts of the State of California and the federal courts applicable within California. If any provision in this Agreement is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect. This Agreement will not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.