Legal/User Agreement

Terms of Use

thecannon is a student funded organization that operates thecannon.ca (“The Website”). thecannon is jointly owned by two entities (collectively known as “Owners”): the Central Student Association at the University of Guelph (“CSA”) and the Guelph Campus Co-operative (“GCC”). The Website is administered through an Operating Committee whose voting members consist of elected members of the CSA Executive and CSA Board of Directors, CSA Staff, elected members of the GCC and GCC Staff (“Website Operating Committee”). Thecannon also has paid staff responsible for the day-to-day upkeep of the site (“Employees”), including the enforcement of any rules and regulations related to The Website.

People who sign up for accounts on The Website (“Users”) or who navigate The Website must agree to adhere by the provisions outlined in this document (“The Agreement”). By accepting the terms of The Agreement, you agree to adhere to its provisions whenever you use The Website for any reason whatsoever.

Accounts

thecannon requires users to create accounts in order to post material on The Website, including news and opinion pieces, classifieds, events and comments. The user account system is intended to give users control of their content on The Website.

By signing up for an account on thecannon, you agree that you will not misrepresent yourself by providing identifying contact information (name, address, phone number or email address) of someone other than yourself. Please use the first and last names that you are commonly known as: accounts that use an obvious alias will be deleted.

In order to address concerns about fraudulent postings, thecannon requires that all users reside within the country of Canada. Accounts created from outside of Canada will be immediately deleted.

Users under 18 years of age must obtain permission from a parent’s or guardian before creating an account or posting content on The Website.

Human Rights and Equity

Thecannon respects the policies of the Central Student Association and the University of Guelph, which prohibit discrimination and harassment based on all grounds identified by the Ontario Human Rights Code: sex, sexual orientation, race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed (faith), age, marital status, family status and same-sex partnerships, and receipt of public assistance.

Content that is found to be in violation of these policies will be immediately deleted from the website. Users found posting content that is considered discriminatory will have their accounts deleted and be barred from further use of the site.

Classifieds

thecannon makes available a classifieds section on The Website to allow users to advertise and view items or services for sale.

The classified section is meant to help members of the community connect with individuals who may wish to buy or sell an item or service. It is not intended as a forum for corporate or commercial advertising.

The content in the classifieds section is provided on an “as is, where is” posted basis by users. thecannon provides no endorsement or representation of any kind regarding the products or services bought or sold on The Website. Each user of The Website is responsible for verifying the accuracy of any information the user may desire to use from the classifieds section.

By using The Website classifieds section, you accept any risk or injury or loss of any kind relating to or arising out of your use of the classifieds section. You agree to release thecannon, its Employees and Owners from liability of any kind relating to or arising out of the use of the information in the classified section.

When posting content on The Website classified section, you agree that you will not:

post content or items in an inappropriate category on the classifieds section;
post multiple classified ads for the same item in the same category;
post the same accommodations more than once, post multiple listings for vacancies within the same rental property — for example, one listing each for each available room in a shared apartment or house, and/or repost the same accomodation more than once per week;
post classified ads for corporate or commercial ventures such as retail outlet sales, mail order or online businesses, job agency recruiting drives, etc. Individuals and agencies that manage rental properties are the sole exception to this rule.
post classified ads for items or services that originate outside the country of Canada;
post classifieds containing information that is false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, libelous or invasive of a person’s privacy;
post material that is abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, threatening, or otherwise in violation of any law.
post classifieds that do not offer an item or service;
post classifieds offering the for-profit sale of instructional materials produced by faculty, librarians, veterinarians, staff and student Creator(s), as defined in Article 52 of the UofG-UGFA Collective Agreement. (See “Classifieds postings Intellectual Property” below).
post classifieds that promote giveaways, random drawings, lotteries, raffles, prizes or bonuses.
post classifieds that violate applicable laws, or the policies of thecannon, the CSA, the GCC or The University of Guelph.
post classifieds soliciting sexual actions or services. Ads containing adult, erotic, or mature products, content, or services are forbidden.
Failure to abide by this stipulation will result in the immediate termination of the user’s account.

thecannon works with local and national law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute perpetrators of illegal activity on The Website. thecannon reserves the right to reveal your account information in the event of a complaint or legal action arising from any classified posted by you.

Classifieds postings and Intellectual Property

Article 52 of the Collective Agreement between the University of Guelph and the University of Guelph Faculty Association outlines the rights of faculty members to own creative and academic works they produce.

The preamble of Article 52 states that “The fundamental principle of the University’s policy with respect to ownership is that Intellectual Property is owned by the faculty, librarians, veterinarians, staff and student Creator(s) who create it, subject only to the specific exceptions set out in this Article…”

Article 52.1.3.2 further defines Intellectual Property as “communication signals and works including but not limited to: publications, notes, books, texts, articles, monographs, glossaries, bibliographies, cartographic materials, modular posters, study guides, laboratory manuals, correspondence course packages, interactive textbooks, websites, course work delivered on the Internet, including distance education, multimedia instructional packages, syllabi, tests and work papers, lectures…”

As the owners of intellectual property, the members outlined in the UofG-UGFA Collective Agreement have the exclusive right to distribute, sell or resell creative and academic works they produce. Posting these works for sale on thecannon could result in legal liability for both the site and the User.

When posting classifieds on thecannon, Users agree that they will not offer Intellectual Property for sale on the site including but not limited to:

PDF, eBook and online versions of textbooks
tests, midterms and finals
lab manuals
course notes and study guides
other instructional materials produced by faculty, librarians, veterinarians, staff and student Creator(s), as defined in Article 52 of the UofG-UGFA Collective Agreement.

Events

thecannon makes available an event listings section to allow users to advertise upcoming events on The Website. These listings are intended to be used by organizations at the University of Guelph and in the City of Guelph to promote non-profit, publically-accessible community events.

An event listing displayed on this web site does not imply a recommendation by thecannon, nor does it imply that the event organizers endorse thecannon.

Each user of the event listings section is responsible for verifying the accuracy of any information he/she may desire to use from these listings.

By posting on the event listings, you agree that you will not:

post listings for events that originate outside the City of Guelph, unless they also provide transportation from Guelph;
post listings for events that advertise corporate or commercial ventures like sales, advertising campaigns, etc. Local arts events such as concerts, recitals and movie screenings are exempt from this rule;
post listings for events which are private functions;
post listings for events containing information that is false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, libelous or invasive of a person’s privacy;
post material that is abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, threatening, or otherwise in violation of any law.
post listings for events that violate applicable laws, or the policies of thecannon, the CSA, the GCC or The University of Guelph.

thecannon reserves the right to delete or alter any event listing, or restrict access to The Website event listing section for any reason whatsoever.

While thecannon screens event listings for flagrant violations of The Agreement, it is not responsible for verifying the accuracy of specific information (date, time, etc.) contained in event listings. By using The Website event listings section, you agree to indemnify and hold thecannon, its Employees and Owners harmless with respect to any liability of any kind relating to or arising out of the information contained in the event listing section or any use of such information.

Occasionally, thecannon, its Employees and Owners may post an event listing for an event happening on the University of Guelph campus or in the City of Guelph, using publically available information. This is for informational purposes only and does not imply an endorsement of the event by thecannon, its Employees or Owners, nor does it imply that the event organizers endorse thecannon.

News and Opinion

The Website publishes user-contributed content, including but not limited to news articles, opinion pieces, reviews and letters to the editor. The statements, opinions and views expressed in user-contributed areas are the property of the individual/individuals contributing the information. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of thecannon, its Employees or Owners.

By submitting original written content to thecannon, you agree to allow thecannon to identify you as the author. You further agree to allow thecannon to publish your work for free on the website for a period of no less than one year.

Contributing authors retain the rights to their work after publication; they may republish their material after it has been published on thecannon, or request that their articles be removed from The Website after a period of no less than one year from the date of publication.

When contributing written work, you agree not to submit any copyrighted work unless you own the right to the material. Quotes from, and both links and references to such material are acceptable.

thecannon reserves the right to block publication of written content that is false, inaccurate, misleading, defamatory, libelous or invasive of a person’s privacy.

thecannon makes all efforts to ensure the accuracy of information presented on the website and will gladly correct errors, omissions or other inaccurate information revealed to it in a timely manner.

Posted Comments

thecannon makes available discussion boards on The Website so that users can respond to certain written works posted on The Website, including news and opinion pieces. thecannon does not vouch for or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message posted on these discussion boards, and are not responsible for the contents of any message. Messages express the views of their authors, not the views of thecannnon, its Employees or Owners.

You agree that you will not use these discussion boards to post any material that is knowingly false and/or defamatory. You agree to avoid personal insults, attacks and mischievous antagonism (otherwise known as trolling). You agree not to post material that is inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, threatening, invasive of a person’s privacy or otherwise in violation of any law. You understand that racist, sexist, homophobic and other oppressive language is not appropriate on The Website and will be deleted.

When posting on The Website discussion boards, you remain solely responsible for the content of your messages, and you agree to indemnify and hold thecannon, its Employees and Owners harmless with respect to any claim based upon transmission of your message(s).

When posting on The Website discussion boards, you agree not to post any copyrighted work unless you own the right to the material. Quotes from, and both links and references to such material are acceptable.

thecannon reserves the right to delete or alter any message or thread, or restrict access to The Website discussion boards, for any reason whatsoever.

Personal Information and Privacy

Except where otherwise stated in the Agreement, thecannon will not disclose any personal information to third parties without your explicit consent.

By navigating Thw Website, you agree that thecannon may collect personal information through your interaction on the Website, including but not limited to:

account information, including email address and physical contact information;
discussion board postings, classified postings, event postings, correspondence through the Website, and correspondence sent to Staff and The Operating Committee;
other information from your interaction with the Website, including but not limited to: computer and connection information, statistics on page views, traffic to and from the Website, IP address, and cookies.

You further agree that thecannon may disclose personal information as necessary without your consent in order to:

respond to legal requirements;
enforce the policies of thecannon, its Owners or The University of Guelph;
respond to claims that a listing or other content violates the rights of others, or;
protect anyone’s rights, property, or safety.

Such information will be disclosed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

From time to time, thecannon may conduct online surveys for internal purposes, to gather general information about users and their views. Participation in these surveys is voluntary; no information will be collected except that which is knowingly supplied by the user. Identifying personal information will not be shared with third parties.

Users participating in contests run by thecannon may be required to submit varying degrees of personal information. The specific information to be collected and how it will be used will be disclosed in the general contest rules and regulations and/or in the referring contest webpage. The names, addresses and photograph or likeness of contest winners may be reproduced on the site or in other advertising materials.

Thecannon and its website administrators use cookies to better understand how The Website is used and to improve the performance of the Website for our users. Thecannon does not use cookies to collect personal information about our Users, and we do not sell information about our traffic patterns to third parties.

External Links

thecannon and users of The Website may supply links that take you to other websites outside of our service. Any links provided to third party websites are provided solely for your convenience and information. The operation and content of such third party websites is beyond the control of thecannon, its Employees and Owners.

thecannon does not endorse in any manner whatsoever or accept any responsibility for the information, content or other material which may be contained on such websites, the use of such websites, or any products or services advertised on or sold through any such websites.

You agree not to hold thecannon, its Employees or Owners liable under any circumstances for any damages whatsoever, direct or indirect, resulting from any use of this website or any other third party website linked to this website, whether or not we are advised of the possibility of such damages.

Terms of Use Violation, Appeals and Account Suspension

As a User, you agree to adhere to all aspects of the The Agreement when using The Website. Users found to be in violation of The Agreement may face a range of consequences determined by The Website Employees, including but not limited to:

deletion of offending postings
written warnings
temporary account suspension
account deletion and permanent barring from the site

This may be in addition to consequences arising from violations of policies of the CSA, the GCC and The University of Guelph, as well as applicable laws and statutes.

A User whose account is suspended may not apply for or use another account until their previous suspension has been lifted. Users caught applying for or using another account while under suspension will have the offending accounts deleted and be barred from further use of the site.

Users may request an appeal of an account suspension or deletion within 14 days of the decision being handed down. Appeals will be reviewed and acted upon by members of the Website Operating Committee.

Changes to the Agreement

The Operating Committee reserves the right to revise The Agreement at any time in the future without notice. Revisions to The Agreement will be posted on The Website. By using The Website, Users accept to adhere to any revisions made to The Agreement at any point in the future. Users are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the terms of The Agreement and conducting themselves accordingly.