Terms of Service

Last updated: August 15th, 2026

Please read these Terms of Service ("Terms," "Terms of Service") carefully before using the SmartChatham.org website, any associated subdomains, and any official social media pages, channels, profiles, or groups (including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, or Nextdoor) operated or hosted by SmartChatham, a Not For Profit formed in North Carolina, United States ("us," "we," "our") (collectively, the "Website and Social Channels"), as these Terms contain important information regarding limitations of our liability and your legal rights.

Your access to, interaction with, and use of our Website and Social Channels is conditional upon your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms and our Privacy Policy. These Terms apply to everyone, including but not limited to visitors, followers, commenters, supporters, contributors, users, and others, who wish to access, interact with, or use the Website and Social Channels.

By accessing or using the Website and Social Channels, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of the Terms, then you do not have our permission to access or use the Website and Social Channels.

1. Educational & Advocacy Purpose Only (No Legal or Professional Advice)

The content, social media posts, videos, graphics, research, maps, statutory summaries, public record analyses, and commentary provided on our Website and Social Channels are for general informational, educational, and public advocacy purposes only. SmartChatham is not a law firm, engineering firm, or environmental consultancy, and nothing on our Website and Social Channels constitutes legal, financial, real estate, environmental, or other professional advice. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included on our Website and Social Channels without seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice from an attorney or qualified professional licensed in North Carolina.

2. Prohibited Uses

You agree that you will use our Website and Social Channels in accordance with all applicable laws, rules, regulations, third-party platform terms, and these Terms at all times. The following is a non-exhaustive list of prohibited uses. You agree that you will not perform any of the following prohibited uses:

  1. Impersonating or attempting to impersonate SmartChatham, or its board members, officers, employees, volunteers, or representatives;

  2. Misrepresenting your identity or affiliation with any person or entity;

  3. Sending, posting, or attempting to send any unauthorized advertising, commercial solicitation, or promotional material, including but not limited to spam, junk mail, chain mail, or any similar material;

  4. Engaging in any conduct that restricts or inhibits any person’s use or enjoyment of the Website and Social Channels, or which, as determined in our sole discretion, may harm us or the users of our Website and Social Channels or expose us or other users to liability;

  5. Posting, commenting, uploading, or transmitting any material that is defamatory, libelous, obscene, harassing, threatening, doxxing, invasive of privacy, or that infringes upon the intellectual property, confidentiality, or proprietary rights of any third party;

  6. Using the Website and Social Channels in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the Website and Social Channels or interfere with another party’s use;

  7. Using any robot, spider, scraper, or other similar automatic technology, process, or means to access or use the Website and Social Channels for any unauthorized purpose, including monitoring, harvesting, or copying any of the material without our express written permission;

  8. Using any manual process or means to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website and Social Channels for any unauthorized commercial or adversarial purpose;

  9. Using any device, software, means, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website and Social Channels, including but not limited to viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other such malicious materials;

  10. Attempting to gain unauthorized access to, interfering with, damaging, or disrupting any parts of the Website and Social Channels, the server(s) on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Website;

  11. Attempting to attack or attacking the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack;

  12. Otherwise attempting to interfere with the proper working of the Website and Social Channels;

  13. Using the Website and Social Channels in any way that violates any applicable federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regulations.

3. Social Media Channels and Community Moderation

SmartChatham maintains official presences on third-party social media platforms to share news, educational resources, and advocacy updates, and to foster constructive community discussion regarding Chatham County. When you interact with SmartChatham on any Social Channel:

  1. Third-Party Platform Terms Apply: Your use of any third-party social media platform is also governed by the terms of service, privacy policies, and community guidelines of that specific platform (e.g., Meta, X Corp., Google/YouTube). SmartChatham does not control and is not responsible for how those third-party platforms collect, use, or share your data.

  2. No Endorsement of User Comments: Comments, replies, links, photos, or other materials posted by followers or third parties on our Social Channels reflect the views and opinions of the individual poster only and do not represent the official views, positions, or endorsements of SmartChatham. We are not responsible or liable for the accuracy, legality, or content of any third-party posts or comments on our Social Channels.

  3. Right to Moderate and Remove: SmartChatham reserves the right, in our sole and absolute discretion and without prior notice, to monitor, hide, filter, or delete any comment, post, or submission on our Website and Social Channels, and to mute, restrict, or block any user who violates these Terms, posts off-topic or disruptive content, or engages in personal attacks, harassment, or unlawful behavior. We are under no obligation to monitor all comments or to leave any third-party comment visible on our pages.

4. User Contributions and Submissions

If you submit, post, tag, comment, or share comments, petitions, letters, photographs, videos, or other materials ("User Contributions") on or through the Website and Social Channels, you grant SmartChatham a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, repost, distribute, and display such User Contributions in connection with our nonprofit mission and advocacy efforts. You represent and warrant that you own or control all rights in and to the User Contributions and that your User Contributions do not violate these Terms or the legal rights of any third party.

5. Donations and Third-Party Services

If you choose to make a financial contribution to SmartChatham or sign up for alerts through our Website, your transaction and data are processed through Squarespace and its integrated third-party payment processors (such as Squarespace Payments, Stripe, or PayPal). By submitting your payment or contact information, you grant us, Squarespace, and our third-party payment processors the right to process your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Squarespace's respective terms and security policies. Unless otherwise required by law, all donations to SmartChatham are final and non-refundable.

6. NO WARRANTY ON WEBSITE AND SOCIAL CHANNELS

OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL CHANNELS AND ALL CONTENT POSTED THEREON ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED (INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE) SHALL APPLY TO OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL CHANNELS OR THEIR CONTENT, WHETHER ARISING BY LAW, COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, USAGE OF TRADE, OR OTHERWISE.

7. Availability, Errors, and Inaccuracies

We assume no liability for the availability, errors, or inaccuracies of the information, data, maps, social media posts, public records, products, or services provided on our Website and Social Channels. While we strive to provide accurate information regarding local planning, environmental issues, and public policy in Chatham County and North Carolina, we may experience delays in updating information across our Website and Social Channels. The information found on the Website and Social Channels (especially older or archived social media posts) may contain errors or inaccuracies or may not be complete or current. The inclusion, sharing, reposting, or liking of any third-party resource, study, article, product, or service on our Website and Social Channels does not constitute a formal warranty, endorsement, or recommendation of such item by us.

8. DAMAGES AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL SMARTCHATHAM, NOR ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, AGENTS, OR AFFILIATES, BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF, RELATING TO, OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR ACCESS TO, DISPLAY OF, INTERACTION WITH, OR USE OF OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL CHANNELS OR WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO ACCESS, DISPLAY, OR USE OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL CHANNELS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO YOUR RELIANCE UPON OPINIONS, RESEARCH, POSTS, USER COMMENTS, OR INFORMATION APPEARING ON OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL CHANNELS; ANY COMPUTER VIRUSES, INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, LINKED WEBSITES OPERATED BY THIRD PARTIES, PRODUCTS, OR SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL CHANNELS, WHETHER BASED ON A THEORY OF NEGLIGENCE, CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, CONSUMER PROTECTION STATUTES, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF SMARTCHATHAM HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF SMARTCHATHAM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO OUR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL CHANNELS, WHETHER ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00 USD) OR THE AMOUNT OF FEES DIRECTLY PAID TO SMARTCHATHAM BY YOU FOR USE OF THE WEBSITE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY REFLECTS THE ALLOCATION OF RISK BETWEEN YOU AND US. THE LIMITATIONS SPECIFIED IN THIS SECTION WILL SURVIVE AND APPLY EVEN IF ANY LIMITED REMEDY SPECIFIED IN THESE TERMS IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. THE LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY PROVIDED IN THESE TERMS INURE TO THE BENEFIT OF SMARTCHATHAM AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, VOLUNTEERS, AND AGENTS.

9. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless SmartChatham, its directors, officers, employees, volunteers, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: (a) your use of, interaction with, and access to the Website and Social Channels; (b) your violation of any term of these Terms of Service; or (c) your violation of any third-party right, including without limitation any copyright, defamation, property, confidentiality, or privacy right, or any claim that your User Contributions or social media comments caused damage to a third party.

10. Links to Third-Party Websites

Our Website and Social Channels may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by third parties (including government agencies, news outlets, and other organizations) and not by us. We provide such hyperlinks for your reference and convenience only. We do not control such websites and are not responsible for their contents or the privacy or other practices of such websites. Further, it is your responsibility to take precautions to ensure that whatever links you click on or software/documents that you download, whether from our Website and Social Channels or other websites or applications, is free of such items as viruses, worms, trojan horses, defects, and other items of a destructive nature. Our inclusion or sharing of hyperlinks to such websites does not imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or any association with their operators.

11. Intellectual Property and DMCA Notice and Procedure for Infringement Claims

All original contents of our Website and Social Channels are © 2025 – 2026 SmartChatham or third-party licensors/public domain sources. All rights reserved. Unless specified otherwise (or where materials constitute public records under North Carolina law or fair use under 17 U.S.C. § 107), this Website, our Social Channels, and all original content and other materials posted thereon, including but not limited to all logos, designs, text, social media graphics, pictures, information, data, software, audio/video files, and arrangement thereof (collectively, “Content”), are the proprietary property of SmartChatham and are protected intellectual property of SmartChatham or third parties in the United States and/or other countries. You may share links to our Website or use standard native "share/repost" functions on our Social Channels for non-commercial, educational, or personal purposes, provided you do not alter our Content or misrepresent SmartChatham's views.

If you are aware of a potential infringement of our intellectual property, please contact SmartChatham at team@smartchatham.org.

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. It is our policy to respond to any valid claim that Content posted on the Website and Social Channels infringes on the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights of any person or entity, in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), 17 U.S.C. § 512.

If you believe in good faith that Content on the Website and Social Channels infringes on your copyright or intellectual property rights, you or your agent may send us a written notice of such infringement titled “Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights - DMCA.” Your notice to us must include the following statutory information:

  1. An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive copyright or intellectual property interest;

  2. A description of the copyrighted work or intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;

  3. A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Website or Social Channels, including the specific URL (i.e., web page or social post address) so that we may locate it;

  4. Your name, email address, physical mailing address, and telephone number;

  5. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright/intellectual property owner, its agent, or the law (including fair use); and

  6. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.

Please note that we may not process your complaint if it is not properly filled out or is incomplete. Under Section 512(f) of the DMCA, you may be held accountable for damages, including but not limited to costs and attorneys’ fees, for any knowing material misrepresentation or bad-faith claims regarding the infringement of your intellectual property rights by the Content on our Website and Social Channels.

You may submit your claim to us by contacting us via email at:

SmartChatham

Email: team@smartchatham.org

12. Governing Law, Severability, Dispute Resolution, Venue, and Class Action Waiver

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina, United States, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. THESE TERMS SHALL NOT BE GOVERNED BY THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE SALE OF INTERNATIONAL GOODS, THE UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE, NOR INCOTERMS.

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of that right or provision. If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding our Website and Social Channels, and supersede and replace any prior agreements we might have had with you regarding the Website and Social Channels.

Any controversy, action, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Website and Social Channels, including but not limited to the interpretation or breach thereof, shall be resolved exclusively in the state courts of competent jurisdiction located in Chatham County, North Carolina, or the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, and you hereby consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

YOU AND SMARTCHATHAM AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

13. Changes to Terms of Service

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms of Service at any time. We will indicate at the top of this page the date these Terms were last revised. Your continued access to or use of our Website and Social Channels after any revisions become effective constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

14. Questions

If you have any questions about our Terms of Service, please contact us at team@smartchatham.org.