To become a member, complete then print out the membership application form below and mail it and a check or money order to: TrailReports.info Post Office Box 343 Kirkland, WA 98083-0343 Click here to download and print a copy of our membership application to send with your payment. Once the membership fee is received, you will get an e-mail confirming your membership. That usually takes around 10 days. Membership is $10.00 USD/year. Trailreports.info Membership Terms & Conditions INTRODUCTION: TrailReports.info is about trails and their use. We have provided a website our Members can use to publish and read recent trail reports. Knowing more about a trail, members can plan to use the trail without surprises like trail closures, etc. Only people in Canada and the United States are invited to become TrailReports.info members. Members in either country may post trail reports that are under one year old. The categories under which reports may be posted are the United States, Canada, and Other Countries. Members may post trail reports covering any trail in the world except in those countries that are on the US and/or UN embargo list. Trails outside Canada and the United States must be posted in the Other Countries category. Trails used by hikers, backpackers, climbers, high country fishermen, horses riders, packers, llamas trekkers, snowshoe enthusiasts, donkeys riders, mules riders, volkssports people, trail runners, ice climbers, photographers, and any others that use trails designated for foot and hoof traffic only, may write trail reports. This site is not for reports about motorized and/or mechanical equipment trails, i.e., motor vehicles, bicycles, wheeled devices for the feet, ATV’s etc., nor do we accept hunters and “drive to” boat fishermen stories. Snowmobilers may check out TrailReports.com. Their web site is centered in the State of Michigan. By the use of TrailReports.info, a member of TrailReports.info in any organization may post a trail report. Such trail reports can introduce people to your business or organization (See sample trail reports). That can mean more members, more income for your treasury, a place to tell about your group’s trail use, meet new friends, and an opportunity to bring people to your area to enjoy and possibly work on your trails. To accomplish this, you may end your report with a phone number, an e-mail address, and your clubs, business, etcs., name. Do not use logos or other advertising gimmicks. If you want to be read, do not duplicate the same report repeatedly. If you do, those reports may be deleted. You may also list the people who were in your group. 1. PURPOSE: This agreement between TrailReports.info and our members is for the protection of both parties. We want accurate truthful reports that everyone can depend upon. If everyone is sincere and honest about information provided, trail users of all kinds will be able to go to this website and use it with confidence. 2. Definitions: Our web site is called TrailReports.info and will be known as “The Service.” in this agreement. “CONDITIONS” is the terminology people must follow to become and remain a member. “TERMS” are the limitations and scope of this document 3. Membership fees: The membership fee is $10.00 USD a year. We only accept check and money order. 4. PRIVACY AND MEMBER INFORMATION. All personal information entered into The Service’S membership application is private and considered confidential. The exception is The Service’s staff and to the extent that a member opts to share their personal information in their trail reports. Any private information you write into your trail report, is to be kept within the Membership. Therefore, THE SERVICE will not disclose Member's name or contact information to any third party, member or not. The Service will not monitor, edit, or disclose the contents of an applicant’s membership information; (1) unless required to do so by law; (2) to protect and defend the rights or property of The Service, including without limitation fix or debug problems with The Service; (3) act under circumstances that require immediate attention to protect the personal safety of The Service’s members; (4) The Service’s website company designer. The Membership Form recognizes only one name. The posting engine will reject dual names on the Trail Report’s “Author line.” Lodges, municipalities, government, clubs, groups, etc., may not write reports, but a Trail Reports member in good standing who is involved in any group, may. As part of the report, a member may include, at the end of the report, their hiking companion(s), (i.e. “Captain Boots and Shoe String”), a list of companions on the hike, and the author’s phone number and/or e-mail address. Please, NO web sites! 5. requirements: When you become a Member you must: (1) provide all equipment necessary to connect to the World Wide Web; (2) provide for your access to the web and pay any telephone or service fees associated with such access; (3) pay the yearly membership fee; (4) abide by the rules, terms, conditions, set forth; (5) acknowledge that by posting a report, you are confirming that it is your work and the act of posting confirms your signature to the report. When writing a trail report, all blanks on the Form must be filled. Failure to complete any part of the form that is required,, the posting will be rejected by the posting engine and the report will not be published. It is also recommended that a word processor be used to write the trail report. After completion, select the report, save it, copy it, and past it into the body of the trail report form. The boxes and buttons at the top of the report must be filled or checked by the author. The author then has a record of his or her report. When we accept photographs with a trail report, photographers must get a release from each person in the photograph to protect them. If the photographer fails to get the proper release, any action taken by a person or persons in the photograph is between the photographer and the person(s) in the photograph. TrailReports.info is not to be held liable for any action brought forth by people in the photograph(s). Authors must include who the photographer is in their report. Hand drawn maps may be shown instead of a picture as long as it is a JPEG file. Trail reports may cover any non-motorized trails - including gated roads. If motorized surfaces are used to access non-motorized trails, authors must give that information. Abandon roads and railroad grades are acceptable. If motorized roads are closed for pedestrian use on certain days, they may be considered a viable trail but the author must explain the conditions of use. Posting information about unauthorized trails on public and private lands may not be legal. The Service is not responsible for authors explaining information about such trails. If signs restrict the use of certain trails, it should be posted in your report. 6. OWNERSHIP OF TrialReports.info: The Service is owned and operated by the RO-DE Company. Members are granted the right to use this website but have no actual or implied ownership. There will be no financial remuneration for any hike report, photos, graphics, hand drawn maps, or anything that may appear in a trail report. The Service is provided to you under the TERMS, CONDITIONS, and any operating policies that may be published by The Service in the future. The TERMS includes the entire agreement between you as a Member and The Service. The TERMS herein supersedes any prior agreements between The Service and any member. UPON becoming a member, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ALL OF THE RULES, TERMS, AND CONDITIONS CONTAINED HEREIN. 7. MODIFICATIONS TO SERVICE TERMS: THE SERVICE may change the TERMS from time to time, and will notify members of any changes to the TERMS by posting them on the start-up screen prior to your use of The Service. All changes to the TERMS will be posted in TrailReports.info. Member's continued use of The Service constitutes an affirmative agreement by the Member to abide and be bound by the TERMS and all modifications. 8. SERVICE MODIFICATIONS: The Service reserves the right to modify or discontinue The Service with or without notice to the membership. The Service shall not be liable to any Member or any third party should The Service exercise its right to modify or discontinue The Service. 9. CONTENT: THE SERVICE does not claim ownership of content rightfully published by a Member. Unless stated otherwise for specific services, members will retain copyright ownership of their work and all related rights for information he or she rightfully publishes through The Service. The Service may use portions of trail report in order to promote Membership. When the report is posted on The Service, authors give The Service the right to publish the report to its membership. The Service will not edit a member’s posting. However, The Service reserves the right (but is not obligated) to remove any content, especially that which violates The Service’s policies or otherwise contains objectionable content. This includes without limitation any illegal, threatening, libelous, obscene, harassing, bogus, tortuous, plagiarizing, or offensive material contained therein, any infringement of third parties intellectual property rights arising there from, any crime facilitated thereby, any attempt to use The Service for political objectives, or any attempt to cause civil unrest. Members agree that The Service neither endorses the contents of any Member’s reports nor assumes responsibility for any objectionable, incomplete or incorrect content. Members agree to assume all risks related to posting and/or reading a trail report. 10. SECURITY: Once a member of The Service, you are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password. You are also entirely responsible for any and all activities which occur under your password and e-mail address. Members agrees to immediately notify The Service of any unauthorized use of Member password or any other breach of security of The Service of which Member may become aware. Any violations of the use of The Service discovered by any Member or The Service, the violator shall be contacted and the violating report will be removed from the directory. Continued violations shall be cause to expel the violating author from TrailReports.info membership. Websites may not download, copy, or use any part of membership’s postings or any part of TrailReports.info unless authorized by The Service in writing. 11. AUTHOR CONDUCT: Member agrees not to: (a) post or upload objectionable content or violate intellectual property of others; (b) impersonating another person; (c) post or upload any computer code, viruses, or anything with the intent to disrupt, destroy, hack, or alter computer or telecommunications equipment, hardware or software; (d) violate any local, state, national or international law - intentionally or unintentionally; (e) interfere with or disrupts The Service or the intended use thereof; (f) "stalk" a third party; (g) interfere with another Member's use and enjoyment of The Service; (h) collect or store personal information on users or contributors of The Service; (i) use The Service for phishing, e-mail spamming, or website/search engine spamming; (j) create accounts, post messages, or otherwise access The service using any automated means; (k) provide instructions for or promote any illegal activities; (l) promote or suggest physical harm or injury to any third party or group including humans and/or animals; (m) provide instructions on creating or assembling weapons of any kind; (n) place third party advertising codes or scripts; (o) use it for “blogging:” (p) promote trespassing on private land or restricted areas; (Q) use your report to answer other member’s questions; (r) post bogus reports, (s) write false reports that cause financial loss, physical harm or injury; (t) any attempt to keep hikers off an author’s favorite trail; (u) post reports that assist, encourage, or plan any activity for foreign terrorist groups nor will authors post any trail reports from countries that are on the United States or the United Nations embargo list; (v) promote hate crimes; The Service does not edit reports, therefore the service shall not be held responsible for any posted contents – legal or illegal. Failure to comply with these rules is cause for termination of membership from The Service without a refund of the Membership Fee. Member's use of The Service is subject to all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations. TrailReports.info reserves the right (but not obligated), to remove inactive, bogus, or unused memberships at any time. Individual’s opinions and criticisms of places authors stay and/or eat and how they are treated during an outing are not the responsibility of The Service. All reports are the responsibility and liability of the author. The Service is not liable for author’s opinions in their postings. The Service is not a place to post hunting trips or stories about boat fishing. The Service is about trails, their conditions, hazards, pests, danger, experiences, and places of interest along the way. Authors should disclose any other incident or option they feel Members might find interesting, dangerous, or requires special skills or equipment. 12. AUTHORSHIP: Anyone who is a member in good standing may author and post a trail report. Intentional duplication of trail reports is prohibited. We understand that many reports may be posted about the same trail on the same day. Some may be so similar readers may believe the report was copied. If an author’s work continuously appears to be copies of other’s work and reported by other members, that author’s right to post reports may be suspended. 13. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. Members expressly agree that use of The Service is at member's sole risk. The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. The Service expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to implied warranties, fitness for a particular purpose and title (non-infringement). The Service makes no warranty that it can meet member requirements, or that The Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error free. The Service makes no warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of The Service or as to the accuracy or reliability of any information obtained through The Service. As a Member you understand and agree that any material and/or data downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of The Service is done at member's own discretion and risk! Member will be solely responsible for any damage to other member's computer system or loss of data that results from knowingly or unknowingly introduction of any and all disruptive programs, alternations, or changes. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by a member from or through The Service shall create any warranty not expressly made herein. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties. If it is found that certain exclusions do not apply to you, those exclusions do not invalidate the balance of the RULES, TERMS and CONDITIONS. 14. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. TrailReports.info shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, resulting from the use or the inability to use The Service. 15. OTHER LIMITATIONS AND TERMINATION. TrailReports.info assumes no responsibility for the deletion or failure to store information entered into TrailReports.info. The Service retains the right and sole discretion to determine whether or not a Member's conduct is consistent with the letter and spirit of the TERMS. The Service may terminate offending members and shall not be liable to a Member or any third party for termination of a member. Should any Member be dissatisfied with The Service’s terms, conditions, any changes to the templates or any other aspect of the Service, the sole and exclusive remedy a Member has is not to use The Service or not to renew their membership. Upon termination from The Service, a Member's right to use The Service immediately ceases. The Service will have no obligation thereafter to forward any unread or unsent messages to that a Member or any third party or to save any Member information and content whatsoever. There will be no refunds if a Member is dropped from membership because disciplinary actions. Posted reports may remain in the directory upon membership lapsing or a member being removed from membership. There will be no refunds, partial or total, of membership dues. Applicants that try to become members and pay the membership fee with bogus credit cards, checks, or other illegal forms of payment, will be permanently excluded from TrailReports.info membership. 16. INDEMNIFICATION. Member agrees to indemnify and hold TrailReports.info parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers and employees, harmless from any lawsuit, claim or demand, including court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of Member's use of The Service, the violation of these TERMS by a Member, or the infringement on any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity by a Member, or other user of The Service using a Member's computer. Any dispute will be subjected to Arbitration by an arbitrator closest to TrailReports.info headquarters. 17. NOTICES. All private notices to a member shall be sent either via e-mail or conventional mail. TrailReports.info may send general notices or messages through The Service to inform Members of changes to the TERMS or other messages of importance. 18. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS TO CONTENT Members acknowledge that content, including but not limited to text, photographs, graphics, hand-drawn maps, are protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws; therefore, A Member is only permitted to use any Third-Party Content as expressly authorized by The Service. A Member may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from that content without expressly being authorized to do so by The Service or an advertiser. The Service has the right to post advertising on this website. 19. LAWS: These TERMS shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, excluding any conflict of law principles. Members and The Service agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the Laws and Courts of the State of Washington. The Service’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the TERMS shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by The Service in writing. Members and TrailReports.info agree that any cause of action arising out of conflict related to this service must commence within one (1) year after the cause of action arose; otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred. 20. LIABILITY RELEASE: Any trail/route published has hazards and risks. Any reader that follows the writer’s instructions does so at their own risk! (The term route has been used because some trail reports may require off trail hiking). TrailReports.Iinfo is not responsible for any injury, death, sickness, getting lost, loss or damage to personal property, financial loss, natural or man made disasters, conflicts with animals – wild or tame, people, trespassing, medical costs, weather, transportation costs, natural problems along a route, road conditions, inaccurate directions, or anything else that might occur from following instructions given in a Trail Report posted by a member, owner, employee, or whom-so-ever.