Terms of Use

Website Terms of Use

Agreement to Terms of Use

These Terms of Use apply to the websites associated with the Masons of California, including:

• freemason.org – Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of California
• acaciacreek.org – Acacia Creek
• californiafreemason.org – California Freemason Magazine
• masonicfoundation.org – California Masonic Foundation
• masons4youth.org – Masons 4 Youth
• masonicheritage.org – Henry W. Coil Library & Museum
• mcyaf.org – Masonic Center for Youth and Families
• masonichome.org – Masonic Homes of California
• pavilion-unioncity.org – The Pavilion at the Masonic Homes of California

(collectively, the “Site”).  We or our affiliates own the Site. BY USING THE SITE, YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE; IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, DO NOT USE THE SITE.

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, add, or remove portions of these Terms of Use at any time. It is your responsibility to check these Terms of Use periodically for changes. As long as you comply with these Terms of Use, we grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited permission to enter and use the Site.

Content

 All text, graphics, interfaces, photographs, trademarks, logos, sounds, artwork, and computer code (collectively, “Content”), including but not limited to the design, “look and feel” and arrangement of such Content, is owned, controlled, or licensed by us, and is protected by intellectual property rights and other rights and laws.

Except as expressly provided in the bullet below, no part of the Site and no Content may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, publicly displayed, encoded, translated, transmitted, or distributed in any way (including “mirroring”) to any other computer, server, website or other medium for publication or distribution or for any commercial enterprise, without our express prior written consent.

Limited Permitted Use of Content.  You may use and download Content from the Site only in furtherance of the mission, membership, and charitable and fraternal activities of:

• The Masons of California (which includes the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of California, Masonic Homes of California, Acacia Creek, California Masonic Foundation, California Masonic Memorial Temple, California Masonic lodges chartered by the Masons of California and their hall associations, and other concordant Masonic bodies in California), and

• Masonic bodies recognized by the Masons of California outside of California and their charitable affiliates.

You may not use the Content for commercial purposes under any circumstances without our prior written consent. 

 If you are a member of the Masons of California: You may use the Content for personal use provided that use is related to legitimate membership activities or our charitable services and activities. 

 If you are not a member of the Masons of California: You may use the Content for personal use only to the extent your use is related to learning about Freemasonry and/or the Masons of California, your pursuit of membership, or inquiries related to our charitable services and activities.

Except as set out above, you may not use, copy, retransmit, publish, commercially exploit, or otherwise transfer any Content. 

 Use of Site

 You may use the Site only for legal purposes.

You agree that you will not e-mail or post any content anywhere on the Site without our consent.  

Use of Communication Services

 If the Site contains bulletin board services, chat areas, news groups, forums, communities, calendars or other message or communication facilities designed to enable you to communicate with the public at large or with a group (collectively, “Communication Services”), you may participate in the Communication Services by posting, sending, and receiving messages and material, provided that your participation is permitted by the particular Communication Service and is in compliance with these Terms of Use. 

• You agree to use the Communication Services, if any, at your own risk and that you are solely responsible for the content of your communications, whether uploaded, posted, emailed, or otherwise transmitted.

• We have no obligation to monitor the Communication Services. We reserve the right to review materials posted to a Communication Service, remove materials in our sole discretion, and terminate access to the Communication Services without notice for any reason.

• Always use caution when giving out any personally identifying information about yourself or others in any Communication Service.

• We do not control or endorse the content, messages, or information found in any Communication Service and views posted on Communication Services do not necessarily reflect our own. Accordingly, we specifically disclaim any liability with regard to the Communication Services.

• You are not authorized to speak on our behalf on any Communication Service.

Prohibited Site Activities

 You may not use the Site in any manner which could damage the Site, result in the unauthorized disclosure, or use of sensitive information, or interfere with any other party’s use of the Site.

You may not upload, e-mail, or post on or through this Site, including the on any Communication Services, any material that:

• defames, harasses, or threatens others
• infringes another’s intellectual property
• contains obscene language or images
• advertises a product or service or constitutes any form of commercial solicitation
• is otherwise unlawful

 
When visiting the Site or using any Communication Services, you will: (a) not abuse, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the legal rights of others; (b) not post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, sexual, pornographic, fraudulent, otherwise objectionable material; (c) not conduct or forward surveys, contest, pyramid schemes or chain letters; and (d) not harvest or otherwise collect information about others, including email addresses, without their consent. 

This Site is not a forum for political discourse and may not be used to engage in political discussion or debate.

You may not pretend that you are, or that you represent, someone else, or impersonate any individual or entity.

You may not use any “deep-link”, “page-scrape”, “robot”, or other automatic device, program, or methodology, to access, acquire, copy, or monitor the Site or any Content. You may not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Site, or any other systems or networks connected to the Site or to any server, by hacking, password “mining” or any other illegitimate means.

You may not probe or test the vulnerability of the Site, or any network connected to the Site, nor breach the security or authentication measures on the Site or any network connected to the Site. You may not reverse look-up or trace any information on any other user of the Site, or exploit the Site or information made available or offered through the Site.

You agree not to use any device, software, or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site, or with any other person’s use of the Site.

Privacy

 Our Website Privacy Notice applies to your use of this Site, and its terms are made a part of these Terms of Use by this reference.  Additionally, by using the Site, you acknowledge and agree that Internet transmissions are never completely private or secure. You understand that any message or information you send to the Site may be read or intercepted by others, even if there is a special notice that a particular transmission (for example, credit card information) is encrypted.

Links to Other Sites

 This Site may contain links to other third-party Web sites (“Linked Sites”). These Linked Sites are provided solely as a convenience to our visitors. Such Linked Sites are not under our control, and we are not responsible for and do not endorse the content of such Linked Sites.

Password and Username

Access to some content accessible from the Site may be password controlled. By registering for an account, you are certifying that you are authorized to access and use the Site and agree to be bound by Terms of Use (and any additional terms required for access to password-controlled content) and that the username and password are unique to you. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username and password.

Disclaimers

 WE DO NOT PROMISE THAT THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED, OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE WILL PROVIDE SPECIFIC RESULTS. THE SITE AND ITS CONTENT ARE DELIVERED ON AN “AS-IS” AND “AS-AVAILABLE” BASIS. WE CANNOT ENSURE THAT ANY FILES OR OTHER DATA YOU DOWNLOAD FROM THE SITE WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR CONTAMINATION OR DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WE DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FOR THE ACTS, OMISSIONS AND CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE. YOU ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND ANY LINKED SITES. YOUR SOLE REMEDY AGAINST US FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE OR ANY CONTENT IS TO STOP USING THE SITE. THIS LIMITATION OF RELIEF IS A PART OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN THE PARTIES.

The above disclaimer applies to any damages, liability or injuries caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation, computer virus, theft, or destruction, whether for breach of contract, tort, negligence, or any other cause of action.

We reserve the right, at any time, without notice to modify, suspend, or terminate operation of or access to the Site, or any portion of the Site.

Limitation of Liability

 Except where prohibited by law, in no event will we be liable to you for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental or punitive damages, including lost profits, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Indemnity

 You agree to indemnify and hold us, and our officers, directors, predecessors, successors in interest, employees, agents, subsidiaries, and affiliates, harmless from any demands, loss, liability, claims or expenses (including attorneys’ fees), made against us by any third party due to or arising out of or in connection with your use of the Site.

Violation of These Terms of Use

 We may disclose any information we have about you (including your identity) if we determine that such disclosure is necessary in connection with any investigation or complaint regarding your use of the Site, or to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) our rights. We reserve the right at all times to disclose any information deemed necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.

Governing Law; Dispute Resolution

 You agree that all matters relating to your access to or use of the Site, including all disputes, will be governed by the laws of the United States and by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflicts of laws provisions. You agree to the personal jurisdiction by and venue in the state and federal courts in San Francisco County, California, and waive any objection to such jurisdiction or venue.

 Updated: 2022 May