Content Guidelines

Classified Listing Content Guidelines

1. This site is an Internet property of a community-based newspaper owned by McClatchy Company, Inc. Our mission is to share information and we take this mission seriously. While this is a privilege, it is also a responsibility. Part of that responsibility is ensuring that self-posted content meets guidelines consistent with the values of the community we serve. As a result, these content guidelines have been developed and govern the responsible self-service listing of classified ads on this site and ads submitted for print in the newspaper.

2. We recommend that as an advertiser, you provide the kind and type of information that you would want to know if you were searching for an item to purchase or wished to engage a particular type of service. Give potential buyers as many facts and descriptive details as you can. How old is the item? What condition is it in? Is there anything unique about it? Is there a specific service area? People will be much more likely to contact you if they have a good understanding of what you are offering. Remember do not include copyrighted content without permission.

3. Use common sense as to the kind and type of information to include in ads. But, in the event questions arise, we've provided specific guidelines to aid in constructing classified advertisements. The guidelines below provide you with relevant tips, including the types of violations that are cause for immediate ad removal and/or suspension of a member's classified ad and/or a member's account, or denial for publication in print. Other inappropriate listings not described specifically below may also warrant removal, denial of publication and/or suspension from the site. This site reserves the right to remove any listing without warning, notice or refund of classified ad fees.

4. This site does not control the Content listed via the ad order entry process and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by searching and browsing the classified listings on this site, that you may be exposed to Content, posted by other individuals, which may be offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will this site be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to: any errors or omissions in any Content, any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or other wise made available via the self-service ad order entry system for the listing of classified ads.

5. Use of this site indicates that you agree to:

• Describe your item or service faithfully without misrepresentation.
• List all terms related to the sale, rental, announcement or exchange of services on the ad description pages of this site.
• Only include text descriptions, graphics, pictures and other content relevant to the sale of that item, service or announcement.
• Not sell anything illegal.

Ad Order Posting Guidelines

1. When placing an ad on this site or for publication in the newspaper, you specifically agree to all of the following:

• MEMBER CONDUCT: all information, data, text, software, photographs, graphics, messages or other materials ("Content"), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person from which such Content originated. You and not this site are entirely responsible for the Content that you upload, list, transmit, email or otherwise make available through the ad order entry system for listing classified ads.
• All listed items, services and/or announcements must be listed in an appropriate category and subcategory.

2. You are not permitted to and you agree not to use the system to:

• Upload, list, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
• Harm minors in any way;
• Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights ("Rights") of any party;
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any Content that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights ("Rights") of any party;
• Include contact information about an individual other than yourself in a listing;
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of prohibited solicitation;
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
• Interfere with or disrupt the classified ad order listing and display system or servers or networks connected to the Classified listing system, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Classified listing system; intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;
• "Stalk" or otherwise harass another;
• Collect or store personal data about other users;
• Upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains graphics or text that is obscene, pornographic or adult in nature;
• Use JavaScript, active or other coding, making repetitive posts, or other actions that interfere with site operations; or
• List material that in any way violates this site's Terms of Use or Privacy Policy.

3. FRAUD. Without limiting any other remedies, this site may suspend or terminate your account if we suspect that you by conviction, settlement, insurance or escrow investigation, or otherwise have engaged in fraudulent activity in connection with the Site or advertisements placed via this site in the newspaper.

Your Information and any items listed, and your activities on the site shall not:

• Be false, inaccurate or misleading;
• Be fraudulent or involve the sale of counterfeit or stolen items;
• Infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
• Violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, antidiscrimination or false advertising);
• Be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing;
• Be obscene or contain any kind of pornography;
• Contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots, Easter eggs or other computer programming routines that may damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information;
• Create liability for us or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the service of our hosting service providers or other suppliers; and
• Link directly or indirectly to or include descriptions of goods or services that:

• A. are prohibited under the provisions of this Agreement;
• B. are concurrently listed for sale on a web site other than this site's (this does not prevent linking to or advertising an item from another web site); or
• C. you do not have a right to link to or include.

Furthermore, you may not list any item on this site or in the newspaper via the ad ordering system that, by paying to us the listing fee, could cause us to violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance or regulation.

4. BREACH: Without limiting other remedies, we may limit your activity, immediately remove your item listings, warn our community of your actions, issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our classified listing systems to you if:

• You breach this Agreement or the documents it incorporates by reference;
• We are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us; or
• We believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us.

Classified Ad Content Display Guidelines

You acknowledge that this site and the newspaper may or may not pre-screen Content, but that this site and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to pre-screen, refuse, or move any Content as appropriate. Without limiting the foregoing, this site and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the Terms of Service, Content Guidelines or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you cannot rely on any Content created by this site or posted to this site, including without limitation information in all other parts of the self-classified listing system ad order entry system for the listing of classifieds ads and the search and browsing display system for classified ads.

You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the classified ad orders, including your Content, may involve:

• Transmissions over various networks; and
• Changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.

You understand that the system for the listing and display of classified ads and software embodied within the Classified listing system may include security components that permit digital materials to be protected, and that use of these materials is subject to rules set by the site. You may not attempt to override or circumvent any of the usage rules embedded into the system for the display of classified ads. Any unauthorized reproduction, publication, further distribution or public exhibition of the materials provided on the ad order entry system for the listings of classified ads, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.

Content Rights Granted To This Site:

• This site does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion as a classified listing or printed ad in the newspaper. However, with respect to Content you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the classified listings system, you grant this site the following world-wide, royalty free and non-exclusive license(s), as applicable:
• With respect to photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible area of the classified listing system, the license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publicly perform and publicly display such Content on the classified listing system solely for the purpose for which such Content was submitted or made available. This license exists only for as long as you elect to continue to include such Content on the classified listing system and will terminate at the time you remove or the site removes such Content from the Classified listing system.
• With respect to Content other than photos, graphics, audio or video you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the classified listing system, the perpetual, irrevocable and fully sub-licensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such Content into other works in any format or medium now known or later developed.
• "Publicly accessible" areas of the classified listing system are those areas of the site that are intended by the site to be available to the general public. By way of example, publicly accessible areas of the classified listing and display system would include classified listings. However, publicly accessible areas of the classified listing and display system would not include portions that are limited to members, such as "My Account", "My Classifieds" or as portions of World Wide Web sites that are accessible via hypertext or other links but are not hosted or served by the site.

GENERAL PRACTICES REGARDING USE AND STORAGE

• 1. You acknowledge that the site may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the classified listing and display system, including without limitation the maximum number of days that listings or other uploaded Content will be retained by the classified listing system, the maximum number of email messages that may be sent from an account on the system, the maximum size of any email message that may be sent from an account. You agree that the site has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other communications or other Content maintained or transmitted by the classified listing system. You acknowledge that the site reserves the right to log off accounts that are inactive for an extended period of time. You further acknowledge that the site reserves the right to modify these general practices and limits from time to time.

Modifications to Classified Listing System:

This site reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the classified listing system (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that the site shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the classified listing and display system.

This Site Is a Venue

• This site acts as a venue allowing users to offer, sell, or buy just about anything, at anytime, from anywhere. We are not involved in the actual transaction between buyers and sellers. As a result, we have no control over the quality, safety or legality of the items advertised the truth or accuracy of the listings, the ability of sellers to sell items or the ability of buyers to pay for items. We cannot ensure that a buyer or seller will actually complete a transaction. Consequently, we do not transfer legal ownership of items from the seller to the buyer, and nothing in this agreement shall modify the governing provisions of Ca. Com. Code 2401(2) and Uniform Com. Code 2-401(2), under which the seller transfers legal ownership of an item upon physical delivery of the item to the buyer.
• Because this site is a venue, in the event that you have a dispute with one or more users, you release the site (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code 1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor."

Questions related to the content guidelines should be referred to us via email by clicking here. Help us maintain good content on this site. If you see a listing or ad that does not meet the content guidelines, please let us know by using the additional help link below.