Bridging the Gap

Bridging The Gap Principles 

We built Bridging The Gap to make it easy to share information with your friends and people around you. We understand you may not want everyone in the world to have the information you share on Bridging The Gap; that is why we give you control of your information. Our default privacy settings limit the information displayed in your profile to your networks and other reasonable community limitations that we tell you about.

Bridging The Gap follows two core principles:

1. You should have control over your personal information.
Bridging The Gap helps you share information with your friends and people around you. You choose what information you put in your profile, including contact and personal information, pictures, interests and groups you join. And you control the users with whom you share that information through the privacy settings on the Privacy page.

2. You should have access to the information others want to share.
There is an increasing amount of information available out there, and you may want to know what relates to you, your friends, and people around you. We want to help you easily get that information.

Sharing information should be easy. And we want to provide you with the privacy tools necessary to control how and with whom you share that information.

 

Bridging The Gap’s Privacy Policy

Bridging The Gap’s Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we collect and use the personal information you decide to share, and help you make informed decisions when using Bridging The Gap, located at www.mnbtg.org and its directly associated domains (collectively, "Bridging The Gap" or "Website")

By using or accessing Bridging The Gap, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

The Information We Collect

When you visit Bridging The Gap you provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected by us and Web Site use information collected by us as you interact with our Web Site.

When you register with Bridging The Gap, you provide us with certain personal information, such as your name, your email address, your telephone number, your address, your gender, etc. that you provide to us.

When you enter Bridging The Gap, we collect your browser type and IP address. This information is gathered for all Bridging The Gap visitors. In addition, we store certain information from your browser using "cookies." A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer tied to information about the user. We use session ID cookies to confirm that users are logged in. These cookies terminate once the user closes the browser. By default, we use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID (but not your password) to make it easier for you to login when you come back to Bridging The Gap. You can remove or block this cookie using the settings in your browser if you want to disable this convenience feature.

When you use Bridging The Gap, you may set up your personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalized features. In most cases, we retain it so that, for instance, you can return to view prior messages you have sent or easily see your friend list. When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information.

You post User Content on the Site at your own risk. Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your pages, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content.

If you choose to use our invitation service to tell a friend about our site, we will ask you for information needed to send the invitation, such as your friend's email address. We will send your friend an email or instant message in your name inviting him or her to visit the site, and may send up to two reminders to them. Bridging The Gap stores this information to send invitations and reminders, to register a friend connection if your invitation is accepted, to allow you to see invitations you have sent, and to track the success of our referral program. Your friend may contact us to request that we remove this information from our database.

Bridging The Gap may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Bridging The Gap service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.

By using Bridging The Gap, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.

Children Under Age 13

Bridging The Gap does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register. If you are under 13, please do not attempt to register for Bridging The Gap or send any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, or email address. No one under age 13 may provide any personal information to or on Bridging The Gap. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

Children Between the Ages of 13 and 18

We recommend that minors 13 years of age or older ask their parents for permission before sending any information about themselves to anyone over the Internet.

Use of Information Obtained by Bridging The Gap

 When you register with Bridging The Gap, you create your own profile and privacy settings. Your profile information, as well as your name, email and photo, are displayed to people in the networks specified in your privacy settings to enable you to connect with people on Bridging The Gap. We may occasionally use your name and email address to send you notifications regarding new services offered by Bridging The Gap that we think you may find valuable.

Profile information is used by Bridging The Gap primarily to be presented back to and edited by you when you access the service and to be presented to others permitted to view that information by your privacy settings. In some cases where your privacy settings permit it (e.g., posting to your wall), other Bridging The Gap users may be able to supplement your profile.

Profile information you submit to Bridging The Gap will be available to users of Bridging The Gap who belong to at least one of the networks you allow to access the information through your privacy settings (e.g., school, geography, friends of friends). Your name, network names, and profile picture thumbnail will be available in search results across the Bridging The Gap network and those limited pieces of information may be made available to third party search engines. This is primarily so your friends can find you and send a friend request. People who see your name in searches, however, will not be able to access your profile information unless they have a relationship to you (friend, friend of friend, member of your networks, etc.) that allows such access based on your privacy settings.

Bridging The Gap may send you service-related announcements from time to time through the general operation of the service. For instance, if a friend sends you a new message or someone posts on your wall, you may receive an email alerting you to that fact.

Generally, you may opt out of such emails, though Bridging The Gap reserves the right to send you notices about your account even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications.

Sharing Your Information with Third Parties

Bridging The Gap is about sharing information with others — friends and people in your networks — while providing you with privacy settings that restrict other users from accessing your information. We allow you to choose the information you provide to friends and networks through Bridging The Gap. Our network architecture and your privacy settings allow you to make informed choices about who has access to your information. We do not provide contact information to third party marketers without your permission. We share your information with third parties only in limited circumstances where we believe such sharing is 1) reasonably necessary to offer the service, 2) legally required or, 3) permitted by you. For example:

1. Your News Feed and Wall may aggregate the information you provide and make it available to your friends and network members according to your privacy settings. You may set your preferences for your News Feed and Wall on your Privacy Settings page.
2. We may provide information to service providers to help us bring you the services we offer. Specifically, we may use third parties to facilitate our business, such as to host the service at a co-location facility for servers, to send out email updates about Bridging The Gap, to remove repetitive information from our user lists, to process payments for products or services, to offer an online job application process, or to provide search results or links (including sponsored links). In connection with these offerings and business operations, our service providers may have access to your personal information for use for a limited time in connection with these business activities. Where we utilize third parties for the processing of any personal information, we implement reasonable contractual and technical protections limiting the use of that information to the Bridging The Gap-specified purposes.
3. We occasionally provide demonstration accounts that allow non-users a glimpse into the Bridging The Gap world. Such accounts have only limited capabilities (e.g., messaging is disabled) and passwords are changed regularly to limit possible misuse.
4. We may be required to disclose user information pursuant to lawful requests, such as subpoenas or court orders, or in compliance with applicable laws. We do not reveal information until we have a good faith belief that an information request by law enforcement or private litigants meets applicable legal standards. Additionally, we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law, to protect our interests or property, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity perpetrated through the Bridging The Gap service or using the Bridging The Gap name, or to prevent imminent bodily harm. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies.
5. We let you choose to share information with marketers or electronic commerce providers through on-site offers.
6. We may offer stores or provide services jointly with other companies on Bridging The Gap. You can tell when another company is involved in any store or service provided on Bridging The Gap, and we may share customer information with that company in connection with your use of that store or service.
7. If the ownership of all or substantially all of the Bridging The Gap business, or individual business units owned by Bridging The Gap, Inc., were to change, your user information may be transferred to the new owner so the service can continue operations. In any such transfer of information, your user information would remain subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Policy.

When you use Bridging The Gap, certain information you post or share with third parties (e.g., a friend or someone in your network), such as personal information, comments, messages, photos, videos, Marketplace listings or other information, may be shared with other users in accordance with the privacy settings you select. All such sharing of information is done at your own risk. Please keep in mind that if you disclose personal information in your profile or when posting comments, messages, photos, videos, Marketplace listings or other items , this information may become publicly available.

Links

Bridging The Gap may contain links to other websites. We are of course not responsible for the privacy practices of other web sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Bridging The Gap.

Third Party Advertising

Advertisements that appear on Bridging The Gap are sometimes delivered (or "served") directly to users by third party advertisers. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. These third party advertisers may also download cookies to your computer, or use other technologies such as JavaScript and "web beacons" (also known as "1x1 gifs") to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. Doing this allows the advertising network to recognize your computer each time they send you an advertisement in order to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. In this way, they may compile information about where individuals using your computer or browser saw their advertisements and determine which advertisements are clicked. Bridging The Gap does not have access to or control of the cookies that may be placed by the third party advertisers. Third party advertisers have no access to your contact information stored on Bridging The Gap unless you choose to share it with them.

This privacy policy covers the use of cookies by Bridging The Gap and does not cover the use of cookies or other tracking technologies by any of its advertisers.

Changing or Removing Information

Access and control over most personal information on Bridging The Gap is readily available through the profile editing tools. Bridging The Gap users may modify or delete any of their profile information at any time by logging into their account. Information will be updated immediately. Individuals who wish to deactivate their Bridging The Gap account may do. Removed information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available to members of Bridging The Gap.

Where you make use of the communication features of the service to share information with other individuals on Bridging The Gap, however, (e.g., sending a personal message to another Bridging The Gap user) you generally cannot remove such communications.

Security

Bridging The Gap takes appropriate precautions to protect our users' information. Your account information is located on a secured server behind a firewall. When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card number or your password), we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). (To learn more about SSL, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Sockets_Layer). Because email and instant messaging are not recognized as secure communications, we request that you not send private information to us by email or instant messaging services. If you have any questions about the security of Bridging The Gap Web Site, please contact us.

Terms of Use, Notices and Revisions

Your use of Bridging The Gap, and any disputes arising from it, is subject to this Privacy Policy as well as our Terms of Use and all of its dispute resolution provisions including arbitration, limitation on damages and choice of law. We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use at any time. If we make changes, we will post them and will indicate at the top of this page the policy's new effective date. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, by email, or through notice on our home page. We encourage you to refer to this policy on an ongoing basis so that you understand our current privacy policy. Unless stated otherwise, our current privacy policy applies to all information that we have about you and your account.

 

Statement of Rights and Responsibilities

 

This Statement of Rights and Responsibilities ("Statement") derives from the Bridging The Gap Principles, and governs our relationship with users and others who interact with Bridging The Gap. By using or accessing Bridging The Gap, you agree to this Statement.

Privacy

Your privacy is very important to us. We designed our Privacy Policy to make important disclosures about how you can use Bridging The Gap to share with others and how we collect and can use your content and information. We encourage you to read the Privacy Policy, and to use it to help make informed decisions.

Sharing Your Content and Information

You own all of the content and information you post on Bridging The Gap, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition:

1. For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos ("IP content"), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Bridging The Gap ("IP License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.
2. When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).
3. When you add an application and use Platform, your content and information is shared with the application. We require applications to respect your privacy settings, but your agreement with that application will control how the application can use the content and information you share. (To learn more about Platform, read our About Platform page.)
4. When you publish content or information using the "everyone" setting, it means that everyone, including people off of Bridging The Gap, will have access to that information and we may not have control over what they do with it.
5. We always appreciate your feedback or other suggestions about Bridging The Gap, but you understand that we may use them without any obligation to compensate you for them (just as you have no obligation to offer them)

Safety

We do our best to keep Bridging The Gap safe, but we cannot guarantee it. We need your help to do that, which includes the following commitments:

1. You will not send or otherwise post unauthorized commercial communications (such as spam) on Bridging The Gap.
2. You will not collect users' content or information, or otherwise access Bridging The Gap, using automated means (such as harvesting bots, robots, spiders, or scrapers) without our permission.
3. You will not engage in unlawful multi-level marketing, such as a pyramid scheme, on Bridging The Gap.
4. You will not upload viruses or other malicious code.
5. You will not solicit login information or access an account belonging to someone else.
6. You will not bully, intimidate, or harass any user.
7. You will not post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic, or that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.
8. You will not develop or operate a third party application containing, or advertise or otherwise market alcohol-related or other mature content without appropriate age-based restrictions.
9. You will not offer any contest, giveaway, or sweepstakes ("promotion") on Bridging The Gap without our prior written consent. If we consent, you take full responsibility for the promotion, and will follow  all applicable laws.
10. You will not use Bridging The Gap to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory.
11. You will not do anything that could disable, overburden, or impair the proper working of Bridging The Gap, such as a denial of service attack.
12. You will not facilitate or encourage any violations of this Statement.

Registration and Account Security

1. Bridging The Gap users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here are some commitments you make to us relating to registering and maintaining the security of your account:
2. You will not provide any false personal information on Bridging The Gap, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.
3. You will not use your personal profile for your own commercial gain (such as selling your status update to an advertiser).
4. You will not use Bridging The Gap if you are under 13.
5. You will not use Bridging The Gap if you are a convicted sex offender.
6. You will keep your contact information accurate and up-to-date.
7. You will not share your password, let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.
8. You will not transfer your account to anyone without first getting our written permission.
9. If you select a username for your account we reserve the right to remove or reclaim it if we believe appropriate (such as when a trademark owner complains about a username that does not closely relate to a user's actual name).

Protecting Other People's Rights

We respect other people's rights, and expect you to do the same.

1. You will not post content or take any action on Bridging The Gap that infringes or violates someone else's rights or otherwise violates the law.
2. We can remove any content or information you post on Bridging The Gap if we believe that it violates this Statement.
3. If we remove your content for infringing someone else's copyright, and you believe we removed it by mistake, we will provide you with an opportunity to appeal.
4. If you repeatedly infringe other people's intellectual property rights, we will disable your account when appropriate.
5. You will not use our copyrights or trademarks (including Bridging The Gap, the Bridging The Gap and F Logos, FB, Face, Poke, Wall and 32665), or any confusingly similar marks, without our written permission.
6. If you collect information from users, you will: obtain their consent, make it clear you (and not Bridging The Gap) are the one collecting their information, and post a privacy policy explaining what information you collect and how you will use it.
7. You will not post anyone's identification documents or sensitive financial information on Bridging The Gap.

Mobile

We currently provide our mobile services for free, but please be aware that your carrier's normal rates and fees, such as text messaging fees, will still apply.

In the event you change or deactivate your mobile telephone number, you will update your account information on Bridging The Gap within 48 hours to ensure that your messages are not sent to the person who acquires your old number.

Payments

If you make a payment on Bridging The Gap or use Bridging The Gap Credits, you agree to our Payments Terms.

Special Provisions Applicable to Share Links

If you include our Share Link button on your website, the following additional terms apply to you:

1. We give you permission to use Bridging The Gap’s Share Link button so that users can post links or content from your website on Bridging The Gap.
2. You give us permission to use such links and content on Bridging The Gap.
3. You will not place a Share Link button on any page containing content that would violate this Statement if posted on Bridging The Gap.

Special Provisions Applicable to Advertisers

You can target your specific audience by buying ads on Bridging The Gap. The following additional terms apply to you if you place an order through our online advertising portal ("Order"):

1. You will pay for your Orders in accordance with our Payments Terms. The amount you owe will be calculated based on our tracking mechanisms.
2. Your ads will comply with our Advertising Guidelines.
3. We will determine the size, placement, and positioning of your ads.
4. We do not guarantee the activity that your ads will receive, such as the number of clicks you will get.
5. We cannot control how people interact with your ads, and are not responsible for click fraud or other improper actions that affect the cost of running ads.
6. You can cancel your Order at any time through our online portal, but it may take us seven days before the ad stops running.
7. Our license to run your ad will end when we have completed your Order. You understand, however, that if users have interacted with your ads, your ads may remain until the users delete it.
8. We can use your ads and related content and information for marketing or promotional purposes.
9. You will not issue any press release or make public statements about your relationship with Bridging The Gap without written permission.
10. We may reject or remove any ad for any reason.

If you are placing ads on someone else's behalf, we need to make sure you have permission to place those ads, including the following:

1. You warrant that you have the legal authority to bind the advertiser to this Statement.
2. You agree that if the advertiser you represent violates this Statement, we may hold you responsible for that violation.

Special Provisions Applicable to Pages

Pages are special profiles that may only be used to promote a business or other commercial, political, or charitable organization or endeavor (including non-profit organizations, political campaigns, bands, and celebrities).

You may only administer a Bridging The Gap Page if you are an authorized representative of the subject of the Page.

Pages can only post content and information under the "everyone" setting.

When you publish content or information to your Page we have no obligation to distribute your content or information to users.

If you use a Fan Box widget off of our site to promote your Page, others will be able to copy and place the widget elsewhere.

You may not place a Fan Box widget in an advertisement.

If you collect user information on your Page, Section 9 of this Statement also applies to you.

If you display advertising on your Page, Section 11 of this Statement also applies to you.

Amendments

We reserve the right to make changes to this policy.  Changes to this policy will be communicated to all Bridging The Gap users in any method of communication deemed appropriate, including but not limited to email or posting on the site.

We can make changes for legal or administrative reasons upon notice without opportunity to comment.

Termination

If you violate the letter or spirit of this Statement, or otherwise create possible legal exposure for us, we can stop providing all or part of Bridging The Gap to you. We will notify you by email or at the next time you attempt to access your account. You may also delete your account or disable your application at any time.

Disputes

You will resolve any claim, cause of action or dispute ("claim") you have with us arising out of or relating to this Statement or Bridging The Gap exclusively in a state or federal court located in Hennipen County. The laws of the State of Minnesota will govern this Statement, as well as any claim that might arise between you and us, without regard to conflict of law provisions. You agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located in SHennipen County, Minnesota for the purpose of litigating all such claims.

If anyone brings a claim against us related to your actions, content or information on Bridging The Gap, you will indemnify and hold us harmless from and against all damages, losses, and expenses of any kind (including reasonable legal fees and costs) related to such claim.

WE TRY TO KEEP Bridging The Gap UP, BUG-FREE, AND SAFE, BUT YOU USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE ARE PROVIDING Bridging The Gap "AS IS" WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT Bridging The Gap WILL BE SAFE OR SECURE. Bridging The Gap IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIONS, CONTENT, INFORMATION, OR DATA OF THIRD PARTIES, AND YOU RELEASE US, OUR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS FROM ANY CLAIMS AND DAMAGES, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH ANY CLAIM YOU HAVE AGAINST ANY SUCH THIRD PARTIES. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR OTHER CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS STATEMENT OR Bridging The Gap, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THIS STATEMENT OR Bridging The Gap WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100) OR THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID US IN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY OR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH CASES, Bridging The Gap’s LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

Special Provisions Applicable to Users Outside the United States

We strive to create a global community with consistent standards for everyone, but we also strive to respect local laws. The following provisions apply to users outside the United States:

1. You consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.
2. If you are located in a country embargoed by the United States, or are on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals you will not engage in commercial activities on Bridging The Gap (such as advertising or payments) or operate a Platform application or website.

Definitions

1. By "Bridging The Gap" we mean the features and services we make available, including through (a) our website at www.mnbtg.org and any other Bridging The Gap branded or co-branded websites (including sub-domains, international versions, widgets, and mobile versions); (b) our Platform; and (c) other media, software (such as a toolbar), devices, or networks now existing or later developed.
2. By "us," "we" and "our" we mean Bridging The Gap, or if you are outside of the United States, Bridging The Gap.
3. By "Platform" we mean a set of APIs and services that enable applications, developers, operators or services, including Connect and RSS feeds, to retrieve data from Bridging The Gap or provide data to us.
4. By "information" we mean facts and other information about you, including actions you take.
5. By "content" we mean anything you post on Bridging The Gap that would not be included in the definition of "information."
6. By "data" we mean content and information that third parties can retrieve from Bridging The Gap or provide to Bridging The Gap through Platform.
7. By "post" we mean post on Bridging The Gap or otherwise make available to us (such as by using an application).
8. By "use" we mean use, copy, publicly perform or display, distribute, modify, translate, and create derivative works of.
9. By "active registered user" we mean a user who has logged into Bridging The Gap at least once in the previous 30 days.
10. By "application" we mean any application or website (including Connect sites) that uses or accesses Platform, as well as anything else that receives data.

Other

This Statement makes up the entire agreement between the parties regarding Bridging The Gap, and supersedes any prior agreements.

If any portion of this Statement is found to be unenforceable, the remaining portion will remain in full force and effect.

If we fail to enforce any of this Statement, it will not be considered a waiver.

Any amendment to or waiver of this Statement must be made in writing and signed by us.

You will not transfer any of your rights or obligations under this Statement to anyone else without our consent.

All of our rights and obligations under this Statement are freely assignable by us in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, or by operation of law or otherwise.

Nothing in this Statement shall prevent us from complying with the law.

This Statement does not confer any third party beneficiary rights.