Terms and Conditions

Legal Notices

Copyright

The entire www.gapyear.com website is Copyright © The Gapyear Company Ltd 2005. All rights reserved.

No part of this website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without prior permission from the The Gapyear Company Ltd. For copyright queries contact us on 0845 344 7666.

Note: This number is not for general enquiries, any advice and information that The Gap Year Company has is held within the website, if you have a specific question please post them on the messageboards.

Disclaimer

While every effort has been made to obtain accurate and reliable information, the The Gapyear Company Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for any error; readers relying on information found in this web site do so at their own risk. The views of contributors are not necessarily those of The Gapyear Company Ltd or employees.

Unsolicited materials

The gap year web site welcomes but cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited materials. Potential contributors should contact us with short idea outlines.

Contact

If you want to know what data we hold about you, or have access to that data, or to amend it, please contact Peter Pedrick by either sending an email to ppedrick@gapyear.com or sending a letter to Peter Pedrick, The Gapyear Company Ltd, 2 Chalfont Square, Old Foundry Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP4 2AJ.

Terms and conditions

Terms of Service

Your commitment to these Terms + Conditions in all chat areas, communities, personal web pages, electronic mail postings and/or other message or communication facilities designed to enable you to communicate with the public at large or with a group (collectively, "Services"), ensures a positive experience for all our users.

Gap year is not responsible for the content or activities in any user-created, non-Gap year managed Service. The Gap year Services sites are general purpose sites and are designed for use by individuals that are 16 years of age or older.

As part of Gap year's commitment to making the Internet a great place to meet and interact with others around the world, you agree to abide by our Terms + Conditions. Specific communities, chat, alternative services and discussion groups may also have additional guidelines which govern your use, so be sure to review them in addition to these Terms + Conditions.

Respect Others

We encourage everyone to treat each other with mutual respect. Do not use the Gap year Services to threaten, harass, stalk, or abuse others participating in any Gap year Service. Refrain from all expressions of bigotry, racism, homophobia, hatred, foul language or profanity.

Gap year encourages our users to create their own web pages and communities. The creators of these pages/areas act as Hosts. Hosts may eject or ban a user from their area if a participant violates one of their guidelines or these Terms + Conditions. By participating in a user-created area, you agree to be bound to the rules of that area.

Managers and/or Hosts who manage the Gap year Services may eject or ban users, as well as remove postings, that violate these Terms + Conditions.

You may not redistribute images, photos or any personal data that you have found, copied or downloaded from a Gap year member page or any other page hosted on the Gap year server. Please respect the privacy of others.

Keep it Legal

Gap year does not allow any illegal activities. You cannot use the Gap year Services to publish, post, distribute, or disseminate defamatory, infringing, obscene, or other unlawful material or information.

Do not upload files or post messages that contain photos, software or other material protected by intellectual property laws, rights of privacy or publicity or any other applicable law unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents. Gap year is not responsible for any use of anything you say or post.

Do not upload files or photos, software or other material that may be considered to be pornographic, vulgar, political, or offensive to any other users. Members are also governed by the laws of their country and must not enter into any act which would be considered illegal by such laws.

Do not post any materials (including software and other information, including links to other websites) that could harm (or is designed to harm) other users' computers or would allow others to inappropriately access software or Web sites.

Play Nice

Gap year does not tolerate disruptive activity online, such as persistent off-topic comments and postings or statements that incite others to violate these Terms + Conditions or participate in illegal activities. Our participants want to chat and use other Services in a positive environment.

Gap year does not allow posting or use of computer programs that contain destructive features such as: viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or bots for the use of scrolling, showing multiple screens, and other activities that can be disruptive to online communication.

Gap year does not allow posting of files or photos, software or other material that may be considered to be pornographic, vulgar, political, or offensive to any other users. Members are also governed by the laws of their country and must not enter into any act which would be considered illegal by such laws.

Falsely impersonating a Gap year employee, agent, manager, host, or any other person with the intent to mislead or cause harm to others is forbidden.

Gap year reserves the right to change the rating or re-categorize all user-created areas, information and personal details.

Don't Spam

Please don't 'spam' through the Communication Services available with Gap year; none of our users like it. To spam includes sending identical and irrelevant submissions to many different discussion groups, mailing lists or communities. Usually such postings have nothing to do with the particular topic of the group or are of no real interest to those on the mailing list. To spam also includes misrepresenting the source of anything you say or post. Spamming is a serious violation of online etiquette.

Gap year reserves the right to ban a user at any time, without notice, from any or all Services for spamming.

The Communication Services areas may be used to provide supplemental information regarding your own business (provided you do not use spam to provide this information); however, the Communication Services areas are not designed to be used as the primary mechanism for operating your business or providing core information about your business. Any use of the Communication Services for commercial purposes is solely at your own risk and Gap year has no liability for such use.

Any space provided to you by Gap year is for your own personal use. You may not sell, license, exchange or barter any space provided to you within any Communication Service for any purpose including, without limitation, selling, licensing, exchanging or bartering space for advertisements.

Take Responsibility

You are responsible and liable for all your activities while participating in Gap year and associated Internet Services. Remember, you are responsible for anything you say, publish or post.

The Gap year areas are not designed as the primary places to store any materials; you are responsible for creating backups of materials you post to Gap year such as photos, documents and software. Gap year is not responsible for loss of access to, or deletion or alteration of any materials included in any Communication Service.

Gap year reserves the right to remove at any time, without notice or explanation, any member account or user-created Service or any particular posting that violates these Terms + Conditions.

Some users may post Internet website links in their area. Please be advised that Gap year is not responsible for the content on the websites associated with the links you may view.

Some content and links on the Internet may contain adult content and may not be suitable for children. We encourage parents to join their children as they surf and explore the Internet.

All content that a member publishes to their profile (including text and pictures) is considered to be part of the public domain and the Internet. It is not possible to control or monitor against the theft any element that goes to make up your profile and as such you should be aware that any information or content that you post is freely available to the public. Gap year is not responsible for any theft or infringement resulting directly or indirectly from the use of the Gap year Services.

You are responsible for any actions you may take based on advice or information you receive online. Use your own good judgment when evaluating information provided through any Communication Service, remember that the information provided could be from people at any age and experience level. The decision to conduct transactions with anyone is your own and you should conduct your own research prior to making any decisions.

General Notes

Although we strive to provide the best facilities we can to ensure maximum speed and availability from our servers and software, Gap year does not offer any SLA (Service Level Agreement) or any guarantee in relation to Service up-time or availability for any Service, Product or Premium Subscription Service. All Services provided are on an 'as is' basis.

Uphold the Code

In helping to make the Internet a great place to meet and chat, you must do your part to uphold these Terms + Conditions.

Gap year reserves the right to immediately terminate or suspend access to any Service for violations of our Terms + Conditions.

Gap year also reserves our right to amend or change the Terms + Conditions at any time without notice. You agree to periodically review this document to ensure you are doing your part.

Remember

If you arrange to meet up with another Internet user, always tell a friend where you are going. Always meet in a public place. Do not be afraid to walk away if you feel uncomfortable.