Terms of Service

The following describes the Federal Trade Commission Compliance for our website.

This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Note that material connections may not be made known at every single advertisement or affiliate link. Thus, to be safe, you should simply assume there is a material connection and that we may receive compensation in money or otherwise for anything you purchase as a result of visiting this website, and also that we may be paid merely by you clicking any link.

We make every effort at candor regarding any products or services we use, recommend, or otherwise make mention of. We strive to clearly differentiate between our own products or services versus those of third parties, to facilitate inquiries, support, and customer care. Likewise, just as we (and any other legitimate business) may profit from the sale of our own products or services, we may also profit from the sale of others’ products or services (like any retailer).

Additionally, wherever products or services may give rise to income generation, we endeavor to provide realistic and factual data, but highlight the fact that the variables impacting results are so numerous and uncontrollable that no guarantees are in any way made. It is our goal to embrace the guidelines and requirements of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the benefit of all, and with that in mind provide the following disclosures regarding compensation and disclaimer regarding earnings & income.

You agree that you will not use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the site or any transaction being conducted on our Site.

Compensation

You should assume that we may be compensated for purchases of products or services mentioned on this website that are not created, owned, licensed, or otherwise materially controlled by us. Stated differently, while most people obviously understand that individuals make a living by way of the profit that remains after the costs associated with providing their product or service are covered, at least theoretically there may be someone out there who does not understand that a third party can “affiliate” someone else’s products or services and be compensated by the product or service creator/owner for helping spread the word about their offering. Just compare it to retailers. They seldom produce anything, but rather make their money connecting product and service creators with end users.

Admonition

Having said that, you cannot count on anyone looking after your interests but you. So, always do your own research into various offers and opportunities, to the extent that leaves you comfortable, doing your own due diligence prior to making any purchase of any product or service from this website or any other. Here is a great set of guidelines for you to keep in mind:

First, just always operate from the position that any website proprietor, including us, will have a material connection to the product or service provider, and may be compensated as a result of your purchase, unless expressly stated otherwise. Aside from your purchases, note that even you actions could result in earnings for this website. For instance, there could be ads displayed on this website that we are compensated for displaying whenever a website visitor clicks on them.

Second, to the extent that we have every interest in positively furthering our business relationship with you, we certainly desire to share only those offerings that we believe will benefit you. Just because we are not the founder or originator of the product or service, we are not going to withhold knowledge of this offering from you. If you can get some benefit from it, regardless of whether or not you’ve taken advantage of our own products and/or services, we want you to do well. Thus, we make a good faith effort to only present to you items that we either personally use, have actually tried, or else have faith in the reputation of the provider or concept. You can count on us making this determination based on all relevant and applicable information at the time of the recommendation.

Third, despite the fact that it would be counterproductive to mention products or services that you’ll find disappointing or inferior, not only are people different, but it’s also possible for us to have a lapse in judgment. Thus, to be extra cautious, even if you believe in our good faith motives, you may as well go ahead and keep in mind that we could be at least partially influenced by the monetization factor of listing various products or services on our website. Furthermore, in that vein, the reality is that there are sometimes other connections between parties that are not monetary, such as personal capital, goodwill, or otherwise, that could be an underlying undercurrent swaying the decision to promote a particular offering. Due to this hypothetical possibility, you should again simply nor rely solely on what we have to say, but rather just form your own independent opinion just to be safe. Finally, bear in mind that we might also receive free products or services, gifts, or review copies of items too.

Testimonials

Testimonials regarding the outcome or performance of using any product or service are provided to embellish your understanding of the offering. While great effort is made to ensure that they are factually honest, we are not liable for errors and omissions. Aside from human error, some information may be provided by third parties, such as customers or product/service providers. The best results are not uncommonly correlated with the best efforts, discipline, diligence, and so on, and thus the results depicted cannot, in any way, be construed as common, typical, expected, normal, or associated with the average user’s experience with any given product or service. Exceptional results may be depicted by our website as highlights, but you are responsible for understanding that atypical outcomes may not reflect your experience. Aside from market conditions, products and services change over time. Older products may lose effectiveness. Newer products may not have a reliable track record.

Where products or services might pertain to earning money, the same safeguards about use of testimonials apply. Additionally, note that any related income figures are highly specific to the individual or entity that produced those results, and there can be no assurance that you will be able to leverage the same, or similar, products or services to achieve comparable results. The results, though real, may be the result of the conflation of a number of favorable circumstances that would be difficult to replicate, and so you must proceed with the knowledge that your outcome can differ from any shared on our website.

Professional Consultation

Many products and services are designed to solve problems. Common problem areas include legal, financial, and medical. We are in no way purporting to counsel you on issues related law, finances, or health. If you require guidance in these arenas, you should consider securing your own counsel from lawyers, accountants, tax professionals, investment advisors, or medical professionals before taking any action. Nothing we may ever communicate, in print or spoken word, will ever be intended to constitute any such counsel, as we do not claim to be professionals in any of those disciplines. You assume all risk for actions taken, losses incurred, damages sustained, or other issues stemming from your use of any product or service in any way connected with or mentioned on this website. Indeed, such decision is solely your own, or else determined in conjunction with the professional guidance of the advisor of your choosing.

Affiliates & Other Third Parties

It should also be noted that we only have control over, and thus only accept responsibility for, the content of this website authored by us. Any representations made by others should be considered prima facie unauthorized. You may also read, hear, or otherwise come into contact with commentary about any of our products & services or offerings, and should assume those have likewise not been authorized.

While information, in any form, can arise, at any time, regarding our products & services, there may be times when this results from an affiliate relationship. In other words, we may permit our products & services to be marketed through other individuals, businesses, websites, and otherwise, just as providers of goods and services use retailers and other vendors to make available what they offer.

You should not construe a third-party offer as an endorsement by that third party of any product or service. You should, more conservatively, view it as an offer to buy something. Likewise, as alluded to previously, note that we cannot fully control all marketing practices by all parties. With the use of “mirror” sites, indirect or unauthorized affiliates, “tiered” affiliate structures, and so on, policing the world wide web with any modicum of thoroughness is unlikely.

We make reasonable efforts to ensure our affiliates comply with our policies and represent our products & services consistent with our guidelines. However, we cannot always guarantee they will do so. You are always free to report concerns or abuses via our Contact information.

Customer Care

Last, but not least, please note that our role in briefing you on products and services other than our own is simply as a “matchmaker.” We do not provide any support or customer service for those items and you should always contact the owner or provider of those products or services to have any and all questions answered to your satisfaction before purchasing.

Comments Policy

As you know, Web 2.0 is all about the conversation. But without a few simple ground rules, that conversation can turn into a shouting match that discourages others from entering into the fray.

So here is my comments policy. By posting on my blog, you agree to the following:

You may comment without registering. You can log-in via Disqus, OpenID, Twitter, Facebook—or not at all. It’s up to you.You may post anonymously. I don’t recommend this, but you may do so if you wish. I may change this rule if it is abused.

You may post follow-up questions. If you have a question, chances are you are not alone. Others are likely thinking similarly. Therefore, I would rather receive your comments on my blog than via email. It is a better use of my time to address everyone at once rather than answer several similar emails.

You may disagree with me. I welcome debate. However, I ask that if you disagree with me—or anyone else, for that matter—do so in a way that is respectful. In my opinion, there is way too much shouting in the public square to tolerate it here.

I reserve the right to delete your comments. This is my blog. I don’t have an obligation to publish your comments. The First Amendment gives you the right to express your opinions on your blog not mine.Specifically, I will delete your comments if you post something that is, in my sole opinion, (a)snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum and civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e., an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog post.

You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those postings.

You grant me a license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. You grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, a video, or presentation.

In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this simple comments policy will facilitate this.

CHANGE NOTICE: As with any of our administrative and legal notice pages, the contents of this page can and will change over time. Accordingly, this page could read differently as of your very next visit. These changes are necessitated, and carried out, in order to protect you and our website. If this page is important to you, you should check back frequently as no other notice of changed content will be provided either before or after the change takes effect.

COPYRIGHT WARNING: The legal notices and administrative pages on this website, including this one, have been diligently drafted by an attorney. We have paid to license the use of these legal notices and administrative pages for your protection and ours. This material may not be used in any way for any reason and unauthorized use is policed via Copyscape to detect violators.