Terms of Service (TOS)

This website is the property of Avoli, Inc.  In 2003 this website was "FIRST IN SERVICE as the first Piedmont Triad's first Triad Living Magazine. Avoli, Inc. reserves the right to seek litigation against anyone breaching our "FIRST IN SERVICE" status either in print or the web. 

Definitions. The term  "Content" refers to Synergy web content and Content brokered by Synergy through Syndicated services.  The term "Synergy" refers to Avoli, Inc.

The following terms and conditions govern all use of the Synergy website and all Content, services and products available at or through the website. The Website is offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies and procedures that may be published from time to time on this Site (collectively, the "Agreement"). In addition, when using particular Synergy services, you agree to abide by any applicable posted guidelines for all Synergy services, which may change from time to time. Synergy has the right, but is not obligated, to strictly enforce the TOS through any or all means.

Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using the Website. By accessing or using any part of the web site, you agree to become bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the Website or use any products or services. If these terms and conditions are considered an offer, acceptance is expressly limited to these terms. The Website is available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old.

Responsibility of Website Visitors. Synergy has not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, posted to the Website or that of our linked websites, and cannot therefore be responsible for that material's Content, use or effects. By operating the Website, Synergy does not represent or imply that it endorses the material there posted, or that it believes such material to be accurate, useful or non-harmful. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive Content. The Website may contain Content that is offensive, indecent, or otherwise objectionable, as well as Content containing technical inaccuracies, typographical mistakes, and other errors. The Website may also contain material that violates the privacy or publicity rights, or infringes the intellectual property and other proprietary rights, of third parties, or the downloading, copying or use of which is subject to additional terms and conditions, stated or unstated. Synergy disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from the use by visitors of the Website, or from any downloading by those visitors of Content there posted.

Content Posted on Other Websites. We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites and web pages to which Synergy links, and that link to Synergy. Synergy does not have any control over those non-Synergy websites and web pages, and is not responsible for their Contents or their use. By linking to a non-Synergy website or webpage, Synergy does not represent or imply that it endorses such website or webpage. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive Content. Synergy disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from your use of non-Synergy websites and web pages.

Copyright Infringement and DMCA Policy. As Synergy asks others to respect its intellectual property rights, it respects the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that material located on or linked to by Synergy violates your copyright, you are encouraged to notify Synergy by clicking on the "Contact Synergy" link. Synergy will respond to all such notices, including as required or appropriate by removing the infringing material or disabling all links to the infringing material. In the case of a visitor who may infringe or repeatedly infringes the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of Synergy or others, Synergy may, in its discretion, terminate or deny access to and use of the Website. In the case of such termination, Synergy will have no obligation to provide a refund of any amounts previously paid to Synergy

Intellectual Property. This Agreement does not transfer from Synergy to you any Synergy or third party intellectual property, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with Synergy. Synergy, Synergy, the Synergy logo, and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with Synergy, or the Website are trademarks or registered trademarks of Synergy or Synergy's licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of the Website grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any Synergy or third-party trademarks.

Privacy and Information Disclosure. Your use of the Synergy website or the Service signifies acknowledgement of and agreement to our Privacy Policy. You further acknowledge and agree that Synergy may, in its sole discretion, preserve or disclose your Content, as well as your information, such as email addresses, IP addresses, timestamps, and other user information, if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: comply with legal process; enforce the Terms of Service; respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third-parties; respond to claims that any Content is defamatory; protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Synergy, its users or the general public.

Changes. Synergy reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the Website following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. Synergy may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the Website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Termination. Synergy may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your Synergy account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Website. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.

Disclaimer of Warranties. The Website is provided on AS IS and AS AVAILABLE basis. Synergy and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, availability, timeliness, security or reliability. Neither Synergy nor its suppliers and licensors, makes any warranty that the Website will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. You understand that you download from, or otherwise obtain Content or services through, the Website at your own discretion and risk.

Limitation of Liability. In no event will Synergy, or its suppliers or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of this agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement or substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data;

General Representation and Warranty. You represent and warrant that (i) your use of the Website will be in strict accordance with the Synergy Privacy Policy, with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable Content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside or any other laws, rules and regulations) and (ii) your use of the Website will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.

Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Synergy, its officers, agents, employees, its subsidiaries, affiliates, contractors, and its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims, losses, damages (actual and consequential), suits, judgments, litigation costs and attorneys' fees, of every kind and nature, arising out of your use of the Website or Synergy Services, including but not limited to out of your violation of this Agreement.

No Endorsement. Links to other websites do not imply an endorsement of the materials disseminated by publishers at those websites, nor does the existence of a link to another website imply that the organization or person publishing at that website endorses any of the materials at this website. Synergy is not responsible for the materials contained at any website linked to this website or through syndicated Content services. In addition, you may be bound by the terms of use and privacy provisions of other websites.

Miscellaneous. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Synergy and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of Synergy, or by the posting by Synergy of a revised version. Except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, this Agreement, any access to or use of the Website will be governed by the laws of the state of North Carolina, U.S.A., excluding its conflict of law provisions, and the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be the state and federal courts located in North Carolina. Except for claims for injunctive or equitable relief or claims regarding intellectual property rights (which may be brought in any competent court without the posting of a bond), any dispute arising under this Agreement shall be finally settled in accordance with the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, Inc. ("JAMS") by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with such Rules. The arbitration shall take place in North Carolina, in the English language and the arbitral decision may be enforced in any court. The prevailing party in any action or proceeding to enforce this Agreement shall be entitled to costs and attorneys' fees. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties' original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. You may assign your rights under this Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms and conditions; Synergy may assign its rights under this Agreement without condition. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.

No Resale of Services.  You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, trade, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Services, use of the Services, or access to the Services.

Non Compete: Advertisers.  You agree as an advertiser NOT to advertise with competing online media or offline printed media while utilizing our advertising services.  You agree to these terms during the non-compete timeframe of 1 year after your relationship ends with this web site and Avoli, Inc.

Non Compete: Editors.  You agree as an editor/freelancer NOT to contribute or edit content with competing online media or offline printed media while utilizing our editor/freelance services.  You agree to waive 'Right to Work' privileges in this matter during the non-compete timeframe of 1 year after your relationship ends with this web site and Avoli, Inc.

Force Majeure.  Synergy will be not liable hereunder by reason of any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations hereunder on account of strikes, shortages, riots, insurrection, fires, flood, storm, explosions, acts of God, war, governmental action, labor conditions, earthquakes, material shortages or any other cause which is beyond Synergy's reasonable control.

Construction.  The headings of Sections of this Agreement are for convenience and are not to be used in interpretation.

Responsibility of Syndicated Content Contributors. This section only pertains to Content contributors posting Content directly to Synergy through a login page.  If you post material to the Website, post links on the Website, or otherwise make (or allow any third party to make) material available by means of the Website (any such material, "Content"), You are entirely responsible for the Content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content posted. That is the case regardless of whether the Content in question constitutes text, graphics, an audio file, or computer software. By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:  Synergy at it's discretion will approve or not-approve content.  Synergy asks that you follow the 'How to Write an Editorial' document sent after initial approval of your Back Office account.

The downloading, copying and use of the Content will not infringe the proprietary rights, including but not limited to the copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret rights, of any third party; if your employer has rights to intellectual property you create, you have either (i) received permission from your employer to post or make available the Content, including but not limited to any software, or (ii) secured from your employer a waiver as to all rights in or to the Content; you have fully complied with any third-party licenses relating to the Content, and have done all things necessary to successfully pass through to end users any required terms; the Content does not contain or install any viruses, worms, malware, Trojan horses or other harmful or destructive Content; the Content is not spam, and does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial Content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites, or to further unlawful acts (such as phishing) or mislead recipients as to the source of the material (such as spoofing); the Content is not obscene, libelous or defamatory (more info on what that means), hateful or racially or ethnically objectionable, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party; and By submitting Content to Synergy for inclusion on the Website, you grant Synergy a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, copy and distribute the Content provided by you. If you delete Content, Synergy will use reasonable efforts to remove it from the Website, but you acknowledge that caching or references to the Content may not be made immediately unavailable. Furthermore, you acknowledge and agree that Synergy will not be responsible for removing Content from other websites.

Without limiting any of those representations or warranties, Synergy has the right (though not the obligation) to, in Synergy's sole discretion (i) refuse or remove any Content that, in Synergy's reasonable opinion, violates any Synergy policy or is in any way harmful or objectionable, or (ii) terminate or deny access to and use of the Website to any individual or entity for any reason, in Synergy's sole discretion.

Content submitted to Synergy may be distributed and harvested to 3rd parties for added syndicated Content exposure, however Synergy is not under any obligation to do so.

We do not allow following Content:

    Non-English Content is not allowed.

    Fowl language Content is not allowed.

    Pornographic, adult or mature Content is not allowed.

    Libelous, defamatory, threats or hate promoting Content is not allowed.

    Copyright violations are not allowed.

    Private and confidential personal information is not allowed.

    Spamming, hacking, cracking, malware or viruses are not allowed.

    No Content that promotes illegal activity is allowed.

Press Releases

Neither party will issue any press releases, or otherwise make any public statements or communications regarding this Agreement or the relationship of the parties without the other party’s prior written consent.