Hoop.la Terms of Service
Effective December 16, 2011
Hoop.la is a hosted online community service (the "service") provided by Social Strata, Inc. ("Social Strata", "we", "us"). All content created in a Hoop.la site is owned by and controlled by the site owner ("you").

Our Commitment
We'll provide you a hosted Hoop.la site, as defined by the plan you selected, and the right to use our software for as long as your account is active and in good standing.

We'll provide support through our portal at http://help.socialstrata.com. Most support is free through this portal, but more complex troubleshooting may be subject to a fee, which we will determine in advance.

We'll maintain and upgrade the service as needed, and we'll do our best to notify you 24 hours in advance of any impact to the service, unless emergency maintenance is necessary. We'll notify you either by email or by an announcement on our support page, at http://help.socialstrata.com. You may also want to follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/gethoopla, because we will also post important service announcements there.

We will providee service and features according to the plan that you have purchased, however plan features and details may change from time to time and you agree that your sole recourse at such times is to cancel your service, subject to the terms of this agreement.

We respect your privacy and the information that you provide to us is subject to our Privacy Policy.

We will only disclose your personal information and/or content if we are required to do so by law (usually though not necessarily through a subpoena), in order to respond to copyright infringement claims, per your request, or if necessary in order to protect other people.

If you ever want to export your content, we will assist as best we can, subject to a price quote. (Our goal is to make the export process as automated as possible in the future.)
Your Commitment
You are solely responsible for all activity in your Hoop.la site, including all content posted to your community, as well as the behavior of all members in your community. (Social Strata has no role in managing your community.) You agree to comply with our Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP").

You agree not to do anything that is illegal in your local jurisdiction or in the United States of America, and to remove content that is illegal. You won't post any copyrighted material, and, when notified of such, you will remove copyrighted material posted by your users.

You won't remove or tamper with our branding, both Social Strata and Hoop.la.

You are at least 13 years old.

You agree that we may list and/or market your site on marketing materials, including site name, screenshot or sample image/logo, and URL (if your site is public).

You agree to pay the fees associated with the plan you select, if applicable. You understand that you will be charged every month on the same day for that month's service. You understand that your plan will automatically renew until you cancel. All payments are non-refundable, even if you cancel before the paid-through date. If your account is not in good standing, you may not be able to access your site.

You agree to keep your contact information current, so that we may contact you successfully when the need arises.
Notes and Other Disclosures
Your Right To Cancel: You may cancel service at any time, for any reason, at the end of the current paid period. Refunds will not be given, however. You may cancel via your Hoop.la site's online control panel. Your site and all of its contents may be deleted by Social Strata anytime after the cancellation effective date or anytime after service has been terminated by Social Strata.

Transfer of Ownership: You may transfer ownership of your community, as long as the account is in good standing.

iPhone App: Some plans include an iPhone app, which is configured to be distributed for free. However, if you wish to charge a fee for your Hoop.la iPhone app, you may set any rate, subject to the Apple App Store terms and fees imposed by Apple. Social Strata will retain 10% of net revenues (as received from Apple), and distribute the remaining 90% to you within 30 days of receipt from Apple. Distribution will be made via PayPal or check, as you choose. The fee for distribution will be $1 for PayPal, $7.50 for check.

Page View Limits: If your site exceeds page view limits for its plan in a given month, you may be subject to page view overage fees at rate of $1.50 per thousand page views, rounded up to the nearest thousand. Usage overage fees are due within 15 days of receipt of invoice.

Copyright Infringement Notification: Social Strata has filed a designation as an agent with the United States Copyright Office to receive notifications of copyright infringement. Valid notifications provided to Social Strata of copyright infringement must include the following:
  • Information that identifies the content that has been infringed, and information that helps Social Strata to locate the infringing content.
  • A statement that you have a good faith belief that the content is infringing.
  • A statement that the information provided is accurate, and that you are the copyright holder or his/her representative.
  • Name, address, phone number and email address of the reporting party.
Please send all infringement claims to the following address: Social Strata, Inc., Attn: Copyright Violation Agent, 1985 Riviera Drive, Suite 103-114, Mount Pleasant, SC 29464, USA

Limitation of Liability: IN NO EVENT SHALL SOCIAL STRATA BE LIABLE TO CUSTOMER OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFIT DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE (OR YOUR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE), EVEN IF SOCIAL STRATA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, SOCIAL STRATA'S LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CAUSE WHATSOEVER, AND REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE ACTION, WILL AT ALL TIMES BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID, IF ANY, BY CUSTOMER TO SOCIAL STRATA UNDER THIS AGREEMENT DURING THE TWO (2) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE ON WHICH SUCH CLAIM AROSE.

Indemnity: You agree to indemnify and hold Social Strata and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, employees, partners, and licensors harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your or your users' content, use of the service, violation of the Terms of Service or the AUP, or violation of any rights of another person or entity.

Service Provided As-Is: You understand that the service is provided "as-is" and on an "as available" basis, and that no performance guarantees are available. You agree that Social Strata is not liable for any damages that may occur through your or your users' use of the service because of service unavailability or feature loss, or because of data loss that may occur. In addition, although best efforts will be made to maintain a secure data environment, Social Strata is not liable for damage caused due to security breaches by outside parties.

Our Right To Terminate: We may suspend, terminate, and/or delete your account if you violate this TOS, if you request such action, at the request of legal authorities, or for other reasons at our discretion. If we terminate your account prior to its paid-through date, we will provide a pro rata refund.

Venue: This TOS is governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina. You and Social Strata agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within Charleston County, South Carolina.

This TOS is available for review online at http://socialstrata.com/docs/hoopla_tos.html and may be modified by Social Strata at any time. We'll notify you if there are substantive changes, however.