Terms of Use

By using the Big Questions Online (BQO) website, you agree to the following Terms and Conditions of Use Policy without limitation or qualification. If you do not agree with this policy, you are not granted permission to use the BQO website. All references in this policy to “we,” “us,” or “our” shall refer to the publisher of BQO; all references to “you” or “your” shall refer to the users of the BQO website.

Exclusion of Warranties and Limitation of Liability: We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of the BQO website or the information, content, materials, or services included thereon, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In particular, we do not warrant that the BQO website, its servers, or e-mail we send are free of viruses or other harmful components. We will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of, or inability to use, the BQO website, including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and consequential damages, whether in contract, tort, or otherwise. Certain state laws do not allow limitations on implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain damages; accordingly, the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you.

General Use of the Website: You agree to use the BQO website only for purposes that are permitted by (a) this Terms and Conditions of Use Policy, and (b) any applicable law, regulation, or generally accepted practices or guidelines in the relevant jurisdictions (including any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the United States or other relevant countries). You agree that you are solely responsible for (and that we have no responsibility to you or to any third party for) any breach of your obligations under the Terms and Conditions of Use Policy and for the consequences (including any loss or damage which we may suffer) of any such breach.

To use the BQO website, you must be an adult or supervised by an adult.

You agree that you will not engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts the BQO website (or the servers and networks that are connected to the BQO website). Should you access (or attempt to access) any part of the BQO website through any automated means (including use of scripts or web crawlers), you shall ensure that you comply with the instructions set out in any robots.txt file present on the site.

In order to access certain features of the BQO website, you may be required to provide information about yourself (such as identification or contact details) as part of a registration or login process involving third parties (e.g., Google, Facebook, WordPress, Twitter, etc.). The registration or login process must proceed per those third parties’ terms of use. You agree that you will be solely responsible for all activities that occur under any third-party account registered to you.

You agree that you will not reproduce, duplicate, copy, republish, upload, post, transmit, distribute, modify, sell, trade, or resell the BQO website, or any portion, feature, or content thereof, for any purpose; provided that you may download one copy of the materials on the BQO website on any single computer for your non-commercial use only and you may print one copy of the materials on the BQO website for your non-commercial use only; further provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices on any such downloaded or printed materials.

We reserve the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, your access to the BQO website with or without notice.

Privacy: You agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy.

Comments: You agree to the terms of our Comment Policy.

Links: The BQO website may be linked to other websites not maintained by us. We do not control and are not responsible for the content of and policies governing use of those websites not maintained by us. The inclusion of any link to such websites does not imply approval of or endorsement by us of the websites or the content thereof.

Ownership, Copyright, and Trademark: “Big Questions Online” and “BQO” are trademarks of the John Templeton Foundation, used with permission by the Center for the Study of Technology and Society (CSTS). All other content included on the BQO website, including text, graphics, images, data compilations, and software, is the property of CSTS or its content suppliers or used with permission. The compilation of all content on this site is the exclusive property of CSTS and may be protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. All software used on this site is the property of CSTS or their software suppliers and may be protected by United States and international copyright laws. Nothing on this site should be construed as granting any license or right to such content or software.

Copyright and Trademark Complaints: CSTS, the publisher of the BQO website, respects the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your work has been copied on the BQO website in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please notify us immediately. (Our contact information appears here.)

Site Technologies: CSTS, the publisher of the BQO website, does not provide the technologies used to build the website, and therefore, neither recommends nor endorses them. Any information regarding identified technologies, including their capabilities, limitations, and applications, should be sought directly from their manufacturers. CSTS hereby disclaims any rights to trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos, copyrights, patents, domain names, or other intellectual-property interests of third parties.

Applicable Law: By visiting the BQO website, you agree that the laws of Washington, D.C., without regard to principles of conflict of laws, will govern this Terms and Conditions of Use Policy and any dispute of any sort that might arise between you and and the publisher of the BQO website regarding such Policy.

Questions? If you have questions about this policy, please contact our staff. (Our contact information appears here.)

Changes to this policy: This Terms and Conditions of Use Policy was most recently updated on January 1, 2016. We reserve the right, at any time, to modify or update this policy without prior notice. Your continued use of the BQO website after modifications are posted constitutes an acceptance of the policy and its modifications.