As with any relationship, it is always a good idea to discuss what is to be expected from all parties beforehand. The Opt-Index is committed to providing you with a useful and responsive service, and in return, expects you to act with integrity, courtesy, and responsibility. Our Terms of Use describe specifically what you can expect from us, as well as what we require of you. By accessing and using The Opt-Index, you acknowledge that you have read and understand Cumberland Systems' policies, and that you will abide by them.

• our website content,
• general usage restrictions,
• our listing service,
• listing restrictions, and
• other general limitations.

It is our Agreement with you. We hope you find it straightforward. If you do have questions however, please send us an email message at service@optindex.com.

Search results are based strictly upon relevance to the search criteria. All listings are treated equally, and we do not auction result placement as advertising. Consequently, our search results return what we believe to be truly the most relevant information.

The Opt-Index is not responsible for the content of listing information. Under no circumstances will The Opt-Index be liable for errors, or for losses or damages arising out of your use of the listing information. All information in the directory is provided by individual account holders who are solely responsible for its accuracy, integrity, and quality. We do not review or verify all of the information entered into the directory (though we do investigate all user-reported problems). Users who view listing entries may be exposed to material that is inaccurate, misleading, indecent, or objectionable. Though it is not permitted, such content may exist in the directory without our knowledge. We do not represent that any given listing is authentic unless it has been authenticated (see below). Users should verify the identity of any business or individual they contact based upon an entry in The Opt-Index business directory, especially before transmitting any sensitive information.

We will actively pursue reports of inaccurate, misleading, misappropriated, or objectionable listing information. We encourage users to report listing errors to us. Every entry returned in search results is accompanied by a 'Red Flag' for use in reporting problems. The Opt-Index will promptly contact account holders regarding reported problems, remove suspect content from the directory, and suspend accounts as necessary. Account holders that refuse to correct genuine problems may have their accounts terminated. The Opt-Index will be the sole source of decisions regarding listing suitability, and its judgment will be final. Be aware that The Opt-Index may preserve listing information off-line if it believes this is a necessary step to comply with applicable law, enforce our policies, or protect our rights.

We are not responsible for the content of other websites. The Opt-Index business directory provides links to the websites of other organizations and individuals through its directory entries. The operator of each respective website is solely responsible for its content. We take no responsibility for the information, products, or services available at these sites. The Opt-Index will not be liable for damages resulting from accessing other websites or contacting other organizations and individuals using information found in the directory. Such information is provided merely for your convenience and does not imply approval or endorsement by The Opt-Index. Please use your best judgment when surfing the Internet.

You must be permitted to access and use our website according to the laws in your locality. In places where accessing or viewing The Opt-Index website is considered illegal, you must not do so. Persons who choose to access our website against local laws do so on their own initiative and are responsible for their own actions.

You must maintain acceptable behavior at all times while at The Opt-Index. You will not use the website for any purpose that is unlawful, abusive, harassing, obscene, threatening, libelous, or defamatory. You will not attempt to defeat any security measures that have been put in place to protect the interests of other website users. You will not act in a manner that interferes with other users' ability to use the website. You will not upload or post any material on our website that violates the intellectual property rights of others. You will not upload or download any files that may damage the operation of another computer. You will not take any action that might impose an unreasonably large load on our website. Access to our website is granted for your own, personal use.

You may not use listing data from the directory to send unsolicited bulk email. The information in the directory is provided for use by those who have a genuine interest in contacting and developing relationships with individual businesses or persons. Using the directory to gather email addresses by manual or automated means with the intent of sending bulk email (spam) is strictly prohibited.

Misuse of The Opt-Index may result in serious consequences. Though we welcome all visitors and account holders, we reserve the right to deny access to anyone who violates the policies of The Opt-Index. Should we become aware of an alleged violation, we may temporarily suspend a user's account to limit possible further violations. If we determine that a violation has occurred, we may terminate the user's account, remove all information in violation of our polices, and pursue possible civil remedies. If a violation represents a criminal offense, The Opt-Index will notify the proper authorities of the violation.

We do provide some listing enhancements for an annual fee. Listing enhancements are intended to improve the appearance of a listing (such as a larger font) or to increase its exposure (such as more keywords). They are entirely optional and do not affect the formulation of search results. A listing that matches a given search is displayed independent of whether it has been enhanced. An enhanced listing is never given preference over a regular one either during a search or in the arrangement of the results.

All listing enhancement fees are applied on an annual basis. The minimum term for any enhancement purchase is 1 calendar year. Enhancements may be purchased for as many as 10 years. The number of years determines the subscription term. Terms of less than 10 years may be extended to as many as 10 years any time after the initial purchase. The cost of additional enhancements, purchased during an already active subscription term, will be prorated based upon the time remaining in the current term. For example, if 18 months remain in the current subscription term when a new enhancement is purchased, then the cost of the new enhancement will be 1.5 times the annual fee. If less than 1 year remains in the current subscription, then the term must be extended by at least 1 year in order to purchase any new enhancements. For example, if 3 months remain in the current subscription term when a new enhancement is purchased, then the subscription will automatically be extended 1 year, and the cost of the new enhancement will be 1.25 times its annual fee. All other (already active) enhancements will be extended by 1 year as well, incurring the associated fees, unless they are canceled first. There is no refund for canceling an enhancement prior to the end of its subscription term. For more details, please see our Pricing page.

We do not collect sales tax on enhancement purchases. The Opt-Index maintains its offices in the Dallas, Texas area of the United States of America. This is the only state in which we have offices. Currently, advertising services, such as listing enhancements, are not considered taxable by the State of Texas.

The Opt-Index is not responsible for typographical errors. If the price of an enhancement or service is listed incorrectly, The Opt-Index may cancel orders placed for services at the incorrect price. If your order is canceled for this reason, we will notify you of the problem and give you the option of placing a new order at the correct price. If your order has already been charged to your bank account, you will be issued a full refund.

Expired enhancement data is not deleted. When an account's subscription term expires, all enhancements are suspended until the annual subscription fee is paid once again. Any actual enhancement data (such as extra keyword definitions) are not lost. They remain defined but inactive. An account's enhancements may be reinstated by renewing the subscription. Renewing an expired subscription causes the beginning date of the subscription term to be reset to the date of renewal. The Opt-Index may send account holders email reminders when their enhancements are about to expire.

Authentication gives you an assurance of accuracy. An account that has been authenticated by The Opt-Index has its listing displayed with the Authentication Seal in the search results. This seal indicates that the identity of the account holder has been verified through independent means such as by telephone or postal mail, and that this account holder is authorized to represent the named company. There is a one-time fee for this optional service. Although this step does not guarantee the accuracy of the listing information, it does ensure that the listing is presented as desired by its rightful owner.

You may delete your listing at any time. Deleting your listing will cause all listing and contact information to be removed from the active directory and your account to be closed. Paid extras such as listing enhancements will be canceled without a refund for any remaining subscription term. Once a listing is deleted, it cannot be restored. To re-create a listing, all information must be resubmitted to The Opt-Index website following the same procedure used for all new listings. Deleting a listing causes it to be removed from the currently active directory database. The listing will continue to exist in off-line and archived copies of the database, provided the listing was present when such a backup was performed. The Opt-Index offers the alternative of taking an individual listing "off-line" instead of deleting it. Off-line listings are still present in the directory but are not shown in search results.

We may reorganize the category hierarchy or change the category name assigned to your listing. We may rearrange, combine, rename, or add category classifications at any time. At times, we may combine two or more categories into one or rename an existing category. New categories may be added under existing categories to cover new topics or ideas. If an existing category containing listings is segmented into two or more new categories, we will assign each existing listing in the affected category to one of the new categories. If we change the category assigned to your listing or otherwise make a material change to the category hierarchy that impacts your listing, we will notify you by email. As always, account holders are free to consider alternate categories or request that new category classifications be added at any time.

We will do our best to protect your information. While The Opt-Index takes great pains to safeguard your information, it cannot absolutely guarantee its complete security. In spite of our best efforts, it is possible that unauthorized access to your information may occur. Should The Opt-Index learn of a break-in, it will promptly investigate to determine how the access occurred and take steps to prevent further occurrences. Additionally, all account holders in the directory at the time of the investigation will be notified of the event by email. If you are concerned about the security of the information at The Opt-Index, you should not provide us with your own information or you should remove it if it is already in the directory database. In no event will the failure of The Opt-Index to protect user information from unauthorized access cause the operators to be liable for any damages — actual, consequential, direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, or otherwise.

We will not misuse your listing information. Your listing information includes details such as company name, description, and address, as well as potentially copyrighted or trademarked material. We will confine the use of your information to the display of search results and listing details. We will not use your information to suggest an endorsement by you of The Opt-Index. Your voluntary submission of listing information will not be deemed to create a partnership, joint venture, or other agency relationship between us.

You may only list your business or organization once. A particular location or instance of a business must only be entered into the directory one time. If your company provides more than one type of service (for example, both website design and web hosting) or sells more than one type of product (both home electronics and car audio), then you are welcome to place your sole listing in more than one category for a fee. If your company has more than one branch or location, however, then each location should be entered into the directory separately.

Your listing information must conform to Opt-Index guidelines. Listings within the directory must meet certain standards for content and quality. In general, your listing information must be spelled, punctuated, and capitalized correctly — avoiding unnecessary CAPITAL letters. Business descriptions must be informative and objective; they must be well-written and avoid superlatives; and they must not include time-sensitive information (such as prices). Your listing information must not include any vulgar words, offensive terms, or material that promotes illegal activities. You must place your listing in a category within the directory that directly relates to one or more genuine business functions within your organization. Placing your listing in an unrelated category is strictly prohibited. The Opt-Index reserves the right to edit listing information as necessary to correct problems with format and content without notification.

You should associate your listing with relevant and appropriate keywords. You should select targeted keywords and phrases that directly relate to the particular products or services available from your organization or on your website. You must not use keywords that do not relate to your business. You should not use general terms that users will not typically search for such as "finest" or "largest". You need not include keywords related to your geographic location or category as these items are indexed and searched separately. You may wish to include your company name or abbreviation among your keywords in case a user attempts to search in this way. You may also want to include alternate keyword spellings, abbreviations, and acronyms to increase your chances of being found.

You may not use a competitor's brand names as keywords. You must not use terms which may infringe on the the copyrights or trademarks of competitors such as product or company names. You may use brand names of products or services you provide if you have permission to use them in advertising.

Your website addresses must refer to your own, original web pages. Each web page address you enter for your listing must refer to a website that is entirely under your company's direct control. Moreover, your website should contain unique, informative content. The Opt-Index cannot accept a reference to a website that is identical to or substantially similar to any other Internet website, or one that redirects or acts as a doorway to a different website. Doing so would quickly fill the directory with duplicate entries.

Consequently, the following types of websites are specifically not permitted in the directory:

• Affiliate Links - Web page addresses that refer to another merchant's website, typically with an affiliate ID attached.
• Affiliate Gateways - Sites which are primarily intended to drive traffic to other websites via affiliate links, unless they also contain substantial, original content.
• Affiliate Resellers - Websites that represent one of several versions of an on-line retailer site supplied by another merchant who maintains control of the primary website, as well as the product, financial transactions, and fulfillment.
• Search Entries - Web page addresses that refer to entries found in other on-line directories, yellow pages, classified services, or auctions.

Your website should be up and running at all times. Pages should not be under construction, and all links on the page should be working. You should test web page addresses using our Test Page feature as you submit them to the directory. Each page address (URL) you enter into the directory for your website must refer to a unique web page.

You must select the appropriate content rating for each of your web pages. A web page's audience may need to be limited based upon the text and images the page contains. Web pages listed within The Opt-Index business directory are rated by selecting the youngest age group for which the content would generally be considered appropriate. When rating content, consider all aspects of the web page including the type of language, expressions of violence, exposure to unregulated sources (such as chat), promotion of activities considered immoral or offensive, and sexual explicitness of images. Each web page is rated according to one of five content levels: all ages, children 7 years and above, teenagers 13 years and above, teenagers 17 years and above, and adults only.

You are granting us permission to display your listing information in the results of relevant searches. Your listing information may include, but is not limited to, company name, description, address information, telephone numbers, email addresses, and website URLs as supplied by you. We do not claim ownership of the information you enter for your listing. By entering it into the directory however, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, and display the information as required to generate search results and listing details. Users who bookmark a page displaying your information may later return directly to it without performing a search. Users may also save a copy of your listing entry as a file or print it to paper for their own use. Users may then use this information to communicate with you directly. Your information may also include your copyrighted or trademarked property. By providing such intellectual property, you are granting us permission to use it freely in the presentation of your listing.

You must provide accurate and complete Administrative Contact Information. So that we may contact you regarding your account, you must provide us with your correct contact information (street address, email address, and telephone number). Furthermore, you must keep this information current by updating it as it changes. By providing us with this information, you agree to accept communications from us as necessary to service your account, to notify you of changes in service or features, and to send you reminders. Failure to keep your Administrative Contact Information accurate or up-to-date may force us to suspend or terminate your account.

You must provide accurate and current Business Listing Information. Users of The Opt-Index expect to find accurate and current listing information within the directory. As an account holder, you should take pride in your listing and update it whenever necessary to keep it current. Your listing is shown in the search results with a date stamp (for example, "Effective: 08/2003") that allows users to determine the age of your information. This date is based upon the year and month of your most recent successful login as the account holder. It is not based upon the date of the most recent account modification (though the two might be the same). We operate under the assumption that, during your most recent logged-in session, you reviewed your listing information and updated it as necessary. By taking this approach, account holders are not forced to make frivolous listing changes simply to update their date stamps.

Your account may be terminated if it appears abandoned. Your free account automatically receives a 2-year, renewable display term. This 2-year period is restarted each time you login successfully. If you do not login for 2 years, we may consider your account dormant. Before we mark your account dormant, we will send you reminder notifications by email, beginning when there are about 3 months left. If your account becomes dormant, your listing will no longer be shown in search results. Dormant accounts will be kept in the directory for an additional year. If you login during the 1-year grace period, your account will automatically be reinstated. If you fail to login before the year is up, your account will be considered abandoned and will be terminated. Accounts with paid enhancements will be displayed until the end of their subscription term or for 2 years, whichever is longer.

You are responsible for your account. You agree to maintain the confidentiality of your account password. Failure to keep your account password secret may result in unauthorized access and modifications to your account for which The Opt-Index cannot be held liable. (Please note that Opt-Index personnel will never ask you for your password. If you forget your password, you may request that a new one be sent to you from the Login Assistance page.) You should notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or other breach in security. If you share your account with others by granting them account access, you agree that changes and transactions made on our website via your account by someone other than yourself are made with the authority of the owner of the account.

You must not be under the age of 13. The Opt-Index does not solicit or accept personally identifiable information from children, either with or without their parents' consent.

You acknowledge that The Opt-Index is not infallible. You agree that The Opt-Index will not be liable to you in the event that problems or errors occur during searches for or displays of listing information. While we have taken great care to design, build, and deploy a robust and correct website application, we cannot guarantee that it will always work without error. Defects may be present without our knowledge. We provide our users with a readily available forum for reporting problems via our Feedback form. Upon receipt of a problem report, we will quickly move to address it.

You acknowledge that the display of The Opt-Index website will vary depending upon the client used. In particular, you agree that The Opt-Index will not be liable to you in the event that paid listing enhancements fail to render as expected on some client combinations. While The Opt-Index has control over how its web pages are assembled at the server using standard HTML and JavaScript, it has no control over the browser software, operating system, or hardware used at the client. It is these client components that are responsible for rendering the pages and controlling the user experience. Although The Opt-Index has been tested on many of the most popular combinations of client components, it is not possible to validate the site against all combinations. Consequently, not all pages may render properly on all clients. Not all features may work properly on all clients. In particular, some listing enhancements may not appear as expected on some clients. Appearance enhancements such as larger font, bold, and italics may fail to render properly. Also, a particular color used to enhance the Business Name may not appear the same on all clients.

Opt-Index logos, trademarks, and service marks are the property of Cumberland Systems, the owner of The Opt-Index. These are the registered or unregistered property of Cumberland Systems. The Opt-Index, Opt-Index, The Real-Time Business Directory, The Real-Time Directory, the Opt-Index logo, and associated domain names (optindex.com, optindex.net, opt-index.com, opt-index.net, theoptindex.com, theoptindex.net, theopt-index.com, theopt-index.net) are service marks of Cumberland Systems Company in the United States and other countries. You may not copy, distribute, or reuse these items without our written permission except as outlined above for your own use.

All other logos, trademarks, and service marks are the property of their respective owners. Logos, trademarks, and service marks belonging to other parties may appear at times on The Opt-Index. These are the registered or unregistered property of their respective owners and are used by permission. You may not copy, distribute, or reuse these items without written permission from their respective owners except as outlined above for your own use.

All pages on The Opt-Index website are Copyright © 2008 Cumberland Systems Company. All rights reserved. All site content, including all page source and text, may not be copied, posted, or distributed in any way except as outlined above for your own use. The use of Opt-Index content on any other web site without written permission is prohibited.

You may hyperlink to The Opt-Index website. The Opt-Index grants limited rights to those who wish to reference its website from their website or in other media. (Please see our Link to Us page for more details.) Links to our website must be clearly identified as such. References to The Opt-Index must not be fashioned so as to appear as an endorsement of the linking site by The Opt-Index. Hyperlink references to our website may not be used in a manner that could be considered disparaging or negative. The Opt-Index reserves the right to review all references to its site and withdraw the right to link to its site on a case-by-case basis. Third-party websites that link to The Opt-Index do so with the understanding that permission to do so may be withdrawn at any time. The Opt-Index cannot be aware of all websites that may link to it, either with or without permission, and it bears no responsibility for those sites that do.

Unsolicited business proposals become the property of Cumberland Systems. Although we value customer input and appreciate good ideas, we cannot consider proposals for advertising, promotions, site design, logos, or new services in confidence. Doing so may cause problems when determining if an idea was provided by a proposal we received or developed in-house. If you do send us your concepts or ideas, it is with the understanding that your information will become the property of Cumberland Systems who may then use it freely without limitation with no compensation or attribution to you.

THE OPT-INDEX IS PROVIDED "AS IS". We hope you enjoy using The Opt-Index and find it useful. However, the website was never intended to take part in vital personal or business transactions. Those who use the website in this manner do so at their own risk. We provide no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event will the failure of The Opt-Index to perform in a certain manner cause the operator to be liable for any damages — actual, consequential, direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, or otherwise.

We reserve the right to change our policies as necessary to reflect changes in service. Changes shall become effective immediately at the time of posting. Should any of our policies change substantively for some reason, or should they be liable to change because of some foreseeable event such as the pending sale of the company, each account holder will be notified by email prior to the change. At that time, or at any other time, you may reassess our policies and opt to remove your account completely and to stop using the directory. Small changes to a policy such as simple corrections or clarifications that do not impact the true substance of a policy will not be announced. All users are encouraged to check back as often as they like to review the latest revision. The effective date of the each policy always appears at the bottom of the page.

You agree to indemnify The Opt-Index against any and all claims arising out of your use of our website. You agree to indemnify and hold The Opt-Index harmless from any claim or demand because of any violation of this policy, or of the law, by you. This condition means that if we are sued by a third party based on the content of your listing, your use of the website, or your violation of our policies, you will pay any damages awarded against us, including attorneys' fees.

You agree that this Agreement is made and entered into in Dallas County, Texas. Our website is controlled by our offices in the State of Texas, United States of America. Though it can be accessed from anywhere in the world, by accessing and using our website, you agree that Texas law governs the interpretation of this agreement and any disputes arising from it. You also submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the applicable courts of Dallas County, Texas and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas for such matters. If any provision of the Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then the remainder of the Agreement shall continue to be valid and enforceable.