Illinois State Genealogical Society

Terms of Use

The Illinois State Genealogical Society (“ISGS”) offers this website, including all information and services available from this website or offered as part of or in conjunction with this website (the “Website”), to you, the user, conditioned upon your acceptance of all of the terms, conditions, policies, and notices stated here. If you do not agree with any of these Terms of Use, do not use the Website. ISGS reserves the right to make changes to these Terms of Use immediately by posting the changed Terms of Use in this location. Your continued use of the Website constitutes your agreement to all such terms, conditions, and notices, and any changes to the Terms of Use made by ISGS.
 
Personal and Noncommercial Use
 
The Website is for your personal and noncommercial use. As a condition to your continued use of the Website, you warrant to ISGS that you will not use the Website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms and conditions of use.
 
No Warranties
 
USE THE WEBSITE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS WEBSITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS”; WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE ILLINOIS STATE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT ANY CONTENT CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE SATISFIES ANY APPLICABLE GOVERNMENT LAW, REGULATION, OR REQUIREMENT.
 
Neither ISGS nor its officers, board members, employees, agents, third-party information providers, merchants, licensors, or the like warrant that the Website or its operation will be accurate, reliable, uninterrupted or error-free. No agent or representative has the authority to create any warranty regarding the Website on behalf of ISGS. ISGS reserves the right to change or discontinue at any time any aspect or feature of the Website.
 
Exclusion of Liability
 
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, SHALL ISGS OR ANYONE ELSE INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, STORING, OR DISTRIBUTING THE WEBSITE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES AND EXPENSES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS AND DAMAGES ARISING FROM LOST DATA OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH USE OF THE WEBSITE, DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE, WHETHER SUCH DAMAGES ARE BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOU SPECIFICALLY AGREE THAT NO LICENSOR, SUPPLIER, OR INFORMATION PROVIDER TO ISGS OR ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS, OR ANY OF THEIR SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS, SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY REASON OR UNDER ANY THEORY WHATSOEVER, BASED UPON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH THE WEBSITE. Because some states do not permit the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, some or all of the above limitation may not apply to you.
 
Indemnification
 
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold ISGS, its officers, directors, board members, affiliated companies, employees and agents, licensors, and suppliers harmless from and against any and all claims, actions or demands, or liabilities and settlements, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from, or alleged to result from, your use of the Website, or any content, product, or service offered through the Website, in a manner that violates or is alleged to violate these Terms of Use. ISGS shall provide notice to you of any such claim, suit, or proceeding and shall reasonably cooperate with you, at your expense, in your defense of any such claim, suit, or proceeding.
 
Featured Links and Advertisements
 
The Website may contain hyperlinks to websites offered by parties other than ISGS. Such hyperlinks are provided for your reference and convenience only. ISGS does not control such other websites and is not responsible for their content; nor does ISGS’ inclusion of hyperlinks to such websites imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or any association with their operators. Unless otherwise specifically stated on the Website, ISGS does not endorse any product or service or make any representation regarding the reliability, quality, or accuracy of any products or services featured in, or linked to, any advertisement appearing on the Website.
 
Linking
 
Unless you are subsequently advised otherwise by ISGS, you are hereby licensed to create hyperlinks to the content on the Website, provided that the hyperlink accurately describes the content as it appears on the Website and is not in that portion reserved for “Members Only”; ISGS reserves the right to revoke this license generally, or your right to use specific links, at any time. Under no circumstances may you “frame” the Website or any of its content or copy portions of the Website to a server, except as part of an Internet service provider’s incidental caching of pages. Each page within the Website must be displayed in full (including all trademarks, branding, advertising and promotional materials), without any accompanying frame, border, margin, design, branding, trademark, advertising, or promotional materials not originally displayed on the page within the Website.
 
Copyright
 
Except for material in the public domain under United States copyright law, all material contained on the Website (including all software, HTML code, Java applets, Active X controls and other code) is protected by United States and foreign copyright laws. Except as otherwise expressly provided in these Terms of Use, you may not copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, modify, rewrite, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any material contained on the Website without the prior consent of the copyright owner. None of the material contained on the Website may be reverse-engineered, disassembled, decompiled, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, translated into any language or computer language, retransmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photo-reproduction, recordation, or otherwise) resold or redistributed without the prior written consent of ISGS. Violation of this provision may result in severe civil and criminal penalties.
 
You may not use this Website or content therein (including names and contact information for those who submit information) for any purpose other than your personal or professional client family history research, including, but not limited to, contacting individuals for purposes other than genealogical research, selling or promoting products or services, soliciting clients or any other commercial purpose.
 
You may not distribute such copies to others, whether or not for a charge or other consideration, without prior written permission from ISGS or the copyright owner of the copied material. Requests to reproduce materials on the Website for distribution or other purposes should be mailed to:
 
Illinois State Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 10195
Springfield, IL 62791-0195
Telephone: (217) 789-1968
 
Trademarks
 
Trademarks appear on the Website with the permission from their respective owners. Your unauthorized use of trademarks appearing on the Website may constitute trademark infringement, which could subject you to substantial civil penalties.
 
Termination of Privileges
 
ISGS reserves the right to terminate your privilege of using all or any portion of the Website if you breach any of these Terms of Use. If ISGS receives notice or otherwise discovers that you have posted material that infringes another party’s copyright or trademark rights or violates another party’s rights of privacy or publicity, ISGS may terminate your access to the Website, including all of your privileges or accounts that you may have established in connection with the Website.
 
Copyright Infringement
 
ISGS will not tolerate copyright infringement of any kind. ISGS does not, however, monitor user-submitted materials for copyright infringement. If you believe that any material on the Website infringes your copyright, you may seek to have the material removed by sending ISGS notice that includes all of the following information:
  • your full name, address and telephone number
  • your e-mail address
  • identification of the copyrighted work(s) that you believe is being infringed
  • identification of the infringing material and information sufficient for ISGS to locate the material
  • your statement of good faith belief that (a) the material infringes your copyright(s), (b) the information provided in the notice is accurate, and (c) under penalty of perjury, you are authorized to act for the copyright owner
  • your physical or electronic signature
Direct such notice to the ISGS designated agent for receiving copyright infringement notices:
 
Illinois State Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 10195
Springfield, IL 62791-0195
Telephone: (217) 789-1968
 
Upon receipt of notice complying with the above requirements, ISGS will act to remove infringing materials and, if applicable, send notice to the user that posted such materials on the Website.
 
If ISGS removes materials posted by you as a user due to alleged copyright infringement, you may seek to have the materials reinstated by notifying the ISGS designated agent in writing and including the following information:
  • your full name, address, and telephone number
  • your e-mail address
  • identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, including its location before it was removed or disabled
  • your statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material
  • your statement consenting to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the district in which your address is located or, if you reside outside of the United States, for the Central District of Illinois (where ISGS may be found), and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notice of copyright infringement or from such person’s agent
  • your physical or electronic signature
Upon receipt of a notice meeting the above requirements, ISGS will send a copy of the notice to the copyright owner who initially claimed copyright infringement. Within 10 to 14 days following receipt of the notice, ISGS will replace or enable access to the removed material unless ISGS receives notice from the copyright owner who submitted the first notification that it has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the user that posted the materials from engaging in infringing activity. Please note that parties who misrepresent that materials are infringing or were removed by mistake or misidentification are subject to substantial civil liability to ISGS and/or the copyright owner or website user.
 
Forums
 
ISGS may provide chat rooms, message boards, and other public posting areas or interest group forums (“Forums”) on the Website. If ISGS provides any such Forum or if you use a Forum, you are solely responsible for your own communications and the consequences of posting those communications. ISGS does not assume any responsibility for the consequences of any Forum communications on or arising from use of the Website. In cases where you feel threatened or believe someone else is in danger, you should contact your local law enforcement agency immediately.
 
In consideration for being allowed to use the Forums, you agree that the following actions shall constitute a material breach of these Terms of Use:
  • Disrespect the privacy and views of others.
  • Use the Forums for commercial purposes, including the promotion of any specific goods or services.
  • Post obscene, profane, sexually explicit, libelous, slanderous, defamatory, harmful, threatening, illegal, or knowingly false information.
  • Post blatant expressions of bigotry, racism or hate, or material encouraging conduct that may constitute or contribute to a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or violate any national, state, or local law, regulation, or authority, or any other material which ISGS finds objectionable.
  • Use the Forums for unlawful purposes.
  • Impersonate another person.
  • Allow any other person or entity to use your identification to post or view comments.
  • Post material that infringes on the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others or the privacy and publicity rights of others.
ISGS reserves the right to record dialogue in the Forums. ISGS is not responsible for screening or monitoring material posted by users or any other person or entity. If notified by a user of communications that are alleged not to conform to the terms of this Section, ISGS may investigate the allegation and determine in its sole discretion to remove or request the removal of the communications. ISGS reserves the right to remove communications that are abusive, illegal, disruptive or that otherwise fail to conform with these Terms of Use. ISGS reserves the right (but is not obligated) to delete any communications posted on the Website, regardless of whether such communications violate these standards for content.
 
Furthermore, ISGS reserves the right (but is not obligated) to monitor or disclose any type of posting on the Forums for adherence to the Terms of Use, if required in the course of normal operations and maintenance of the Website, or if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (i) comply with the law or comply with legal process served, (ii) protect and defend the rights of ISGS or others, or (iii) act in an emergency to protect the personal safety of our users or the public. ISGS HAS NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY TO USERS OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR PERFORMANCE OR NONPERFORMANCE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED SCREENING ACTIVITIES.
 
ISGS does not represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any of the material posted by Forum users or endorse any opinions expressed by such users. ANY RELIANCE UPON CONTENT POSTED IN A FORUM IS AT YOUR OWN RISK.
 
Any public Forum areas are for discussion and debate only. You may not use any Forum area to post or transmit advertisements or commercial solicitations of any kind. You may not post or transmit any material of any nature, including text, audio, software, animation or photographs, belonging to any person or party other than yourself, without the prior written consent of such owner. Simply because material is available on the Internet does not mean it is in the public domain. The vast majority of materials on the Internet are protected by copyright and trademark laws. ISGS shall have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor any Forum areas of the Website to determine compliance with these Terms of Use and any other operating rules that may be established by ISGS from time to time.
 
By posting messages or other material in any Forum areas of the Website, you are granting to ISGS and its licensees a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive, and irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, and display any posting by you (in whole or in part) and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed.
 
Through your use of the Forums, you are agreeing to all of the aforementioned Terms of Use for such Forums contained herein.
 
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ISGS and its officers, directors, affiliated companies, employees, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against any and all claims, actions or demands, liabilities and settlements, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, resulting from or alleged to result from your use of any Forums or use by others of any Forums with respect to you, including without limitation, any claim of libel, defamation, harassment, violation of rights of privacy or publicity, loss of service, or infringement of intellectual property or other rights, or violation of these Terms of Use.
 
General
 
These Terms of Use (including the Privacy Policy attached hereto, which shall be deemed to be a part of these Terms of Use) constitute the entire agreement and understanding between you and ISGS with respect to use of the Website, superseding all prior or contemporaneous communications and/or proposals. These Terms of Use also are severable, and in the that event any provision is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not in any way affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions. ISGS reserves the right to make changes to these Terms of Use immediately by posting the changed Terms of Use in this location. By continuing to use the Website, you are agreeing to all changes made by ISGS. A printed version of these Terms of Use shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to use of the Website to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.
 
Jurisdiction
 
The website is controlled and operated by ISGS from its principal office in the State of Illinois, United States of America. ISGS makes no representation that materials on the Website are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who choose to access the Website from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws if and to the extent local laws are applicable. The Website is not intended to subject ISGS to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country, or territory other than the State of Illinois and the United States of America.
 
Contacting Us
 
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of the Website, or your dealings with ISGS, you may contact us at:
 
Illinois State Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 10195
Springfield, IL 62791-0195
Telephone: (217) 789-1968
 
©2018, copyright Illinois State Genealogical Society