Managed by Rural Development Initiatives (RDI), RIPPLE provides a variety of multimedia content, information and tools online, including a database of resources for rural communities, personal profiles, blog entries, photos, group forums, posting/listing tools, and push notification services. By using RIPPLE, you agree to the following terms and policies.
RDI reserves the right to change at any time and without notice to changes these terms and policies simply by posting such changes on the RIPPLE site. Any such change will be effective immediately upon posting. Any information you submitted previously is covered by the new policy.
If you have any questions about these terms and policies, please contact Rural Development Initiatives by sending an email to ripplehelp@rdiinc.org. Please reference these Terms and Privacy Policy in the subject line.
TERMS OF USE
Content and Validity of Information
All comments, messages, documents, text, files, images, photos, video, links, and other content posted on RIPPLE’s blogs, resources database, profiles, and discussion threads are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such content originated. Use of any content, information, or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services, or information available through this website meets your specific requirements.
In addition, RDI does not warrant the validity of any information contained in those posts. RDI will not, under any circumstances, be liable for any content or any loss or damage due to the use of any content posted, emailed, or made available via RIPPLE. RDI performs regular site checks to ensure that users are not abusing the site by posting spam or abusive language, but we cannot guarantee the accuracy or relevance of any user-contributed posts.
Membership and Sharing Your Information on a Personal Profile
As a RIPPLE member, you can create a personal profile, including photograph, biographical data, experience + expertise, and contact information, that will be viewable by all RIPPLE members. Membership also allows you to start discussions and post comments on RIPPLE Groups. You alone are responsible for controlling how you share information (including privacy settings), and how other members can view your information online.
RDI is not responsible or liable for any loss, damage, or injury that results from the way you share your information, and any interactions among or between users and members. RDI is under no obligation to become involved in any dispute among and/or between users or members, and you release both RIPPLE, RDI, and partners from claims, demands and damages of every kind, known or unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, due to disputes and services.
Membership is governed by community guidelines.
Other Websites and Third-Party Content or Services
RIPPLE contains links to other websites and third-party content or services that are completely independent of RIPPLE. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are entering another website for which RDI has no responsibility. We encourage you to read the terms of use and privacy statements on all such sites as their policies may be different than ours.
In addition, any interactions with organizations, businesses, and/or individuals found through RIPPLE, including sharing of information, are solely between you and such organizations, businesses, and/or individuals. You should make whatever investigations you feel is required or appropriate before proceeding with any online or offline interaction with any of these parties.
We invite third-party linking to RIPPLE from an external site, but such linking does not imply RDI’s endorsement or approval of any product, position, viewpoint, individual, company, or organization.
PRIVACY POLICY
What Information We Collect and How We Use That Information
Certain forms on the RIPPLE site require users to give us personally identifying information, such as name and email address. This helps ensure the credibility of users’ comments and other posts and allows us to manage the site overall.
RDI does not disclose or share any personal information, including your name or email address, with other organizations for any reason, except if required by law. Only RDI staff and our authorized agents have access to personally identifiable information provided by visitors to the RIPPLE site, as part of our regular site maintenance. Site maintenance may include contacting users to inform them of concerns regarding data they submitted on RIPPLE.
Browser Information and Use of Cookies
RDI uses an external service to provide real-time reporting to us and our authorized agents regarding browser access to the RIPPLE site. Reporting includes information on page views, unique views, unique visitors, repeat visitors, frequency of visits, and peak-volume traffic periods. We do not use this service to request, record, require, collect, or track any Internet users’ personally identifiable information.
Cookies are pieces of information that websites transfer to visitors’ computers. The RIPPLE site may use cookies to enhance visitors’ experiences while using it, such as generating personalized content. You may choose to configure how your web browser deals with cookies. If you have cookies turned off in your web browser, some features of the site may not be fully accessible.
Security
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the personally identifiable information we collect online. Information submitted to RIPPLE is securely stored, and passwords entered on the site are encrypted when submitted. No data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information in transmission, RDI does not ensure or warrant the complete security of such information during transmission.