We have recently modified the HomeschoolBlogger.com Terms of Use.  Every time you log into your HSB account, or post an entry on your blog, you are agreeing to abide by the Terms of Use, as in force at the time you created your account and as subsequently modified.  We are posting the modification here so that everyone can see and be aware of this recent change.  The new paragraph reads as follows:

5.1        No Mirroring.  Use of Website to “mirror” another website, including without limitation another blog, or to point, direct, refer or channel readers from Website to another website or blog, whether or not owned or operated by the User, is expressly forbidden by these Terms of Use and grounds for immediate cancellation of both the violating Blog and the User’s personal account.  Users may not create or use Website, User Accounts or Blogs for purposes of advertising, promoting, or directing readers, other users or third parties to websites or blogs hosted, posted or operated by the User at URLs which are not part of HomeschoolBlogger.  This paragraph shall not apply to standard sidebar links or internal links and references contained in articles and blog entries posted by Users for purposes of referencing individual websites or blogs owned and operated by third parties other than the linking User, and is intended specifically to prevent Users from creating Blogs on Website for purposes of promoting or directing traffic to those Users’ other, independent blogs and websites.

Although the Terms of Use have always prohibited use of HSB blogs to advertise or direct traffic to other websites, we wanted to add more specific language to make it very clear that you cannot use a HSB blog to mirror or direct traffic to a website that you write, host or maintain on an independent website separate from HSB.

This does not mean we want you to stop linking to other blogs, or talking about their content.  On the contrary, that's one of the best features of blogging! This language is only applicable to people who "post" a blog on HSB but use it to redirect traffic to their other blog or website hosted somewhere else.  HSB was designed to provide a community for people who want to blog here, not a way for outside bloggers to try and pull you away from the community.  You can - and should - still feel free to link to and discuss any outside blog you wish, as long as you're not just using HSB for purposes of promoting your own outside website.

A Clarification on the Modified Terms of Use

We have received some questions about the recent modification of the terms of use, and have asked our company lawyer to clarify the legalese to help clear up any confusion.  Here is her response:

The modification definitely permits people to put up sidebar-style links to outside websites and blogs, even websites and blogs they own.  They can also have clickable buttons or graphic links in the sidebars, headers and elsewhere as part of their design elements.  They can link to articles they wrote that are published elsewhere on the Internet, and to other websites they own and operate.  What they cannot do is link, repost and point to other websites in any of the following manners:

1.  Copying all of the content to or from an outside website, so that the HSB blog is merely a mirror-image or close copy of the other website.

2.  Using any program which redirects visitors from the HSB site to an offsite website or blog, either automatically or by using a "click here to go to my [real] blog."

3.  Using a HSB blog primarily or mostly for the purpose of promoting an outside website or blog.  For example, posting the first paragraph of an entry at HSB, with a link that says "see the rest at my other blog..." or otherwise using the HSB blog as a "teaser" to direct people off the HSB site.

HSB does not care whether people have other blogs or websites - in fact, HSB and its parent company, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC ("TOS") promote freedom of speech and the wide variety of speech available on the Internet.  TOS and HSB also recognize that bloggers may want to have multiple blogs, in part because some content and speech are not appropriate for the family-friendly environment at HSB, and TOS and HSB respect and appreciate the maturity and consideration involved in such decisions.  It is perfectly acceptable to link to outside websites (even websites owned and operated by the blogger writing the blog), either as a permanent sidebar link or as a permalink in a blog post, so long as the linking and reference to the other website does not become a primary reason for the existence of the HSB blog.

The modifications were created to clarify HSB's position that using the free blog and server space offered at HSB for purposes of promoting an outside blog or website is a violation of the terms of use.  They were directed at a very small percentage of the blogging accounts, and are not intended to punish or restrict the activities of people operating legitimate HSB blogs for purposes of participating in the HSB community and the larger blogging community as a whole.

I hope this clarifies the situation, and puts the minds of legitimate HSB bloggers to rest.

Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB

Posted in HSB News, 2 comments, Link
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