Terms of Use

Houston Press, LP

Last Updated: September, 2025

Objectives

The website (the “Site”) contains content provided as a service to users who agree to abide by the following acceptable conduct terms. Your right to use the Site is governed by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Terms”). Please review both carefully before using the Site. By using the Site in any way, you agree to comply with these Terms.

The Site may change these Terms at any time and for any reason. Updated versions will be posted at:

http://www.houstonpress.com/about-terms-of-use

Please visit this page periodically to stay informed of changes. By continuing to use the Site after changes are posted, you accept and agree to the modified Terms.

The Site may modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Site or any features, benefits (including without limitation blocking or terminating your account), rules, or conditions at any time, without notice—even if such changes affect how you use the Site. You agree the Site will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification or discontinuance.

User Conduct

Without limitation, you agree to refrain from the following actions while using the Site:

Transmitting any information, data, text, files, links, software, chats, communications or other materials that is unlawful (including harmful to minors), physically threatening, invasive of another’s privacy, defamatory, obscene, or that contains hate speech; or any material that encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable law or regulation.
Impersonating an employee of Houston Press or falsely claiming affiliation with Houston Press.
Forging headers or otherwise manipulating identifiers to disguise the origin of any materials transmitted through the Site.
Posting adult content or explicit adult material unless: (a) such material is specifically permitted in designated adult categories and allowed by applicable law; and (b) you are at least 18 years of age (or not considered a minor in your state of residence).
Posting, anywhere on the Site, obscene or lewd graphics or photographs, or graphics/photographs which depict or simulate sexual acts.
Harming minors in any way.
Impersonating any person or entity, or falsely stating or otherwise misrepresenting your affiliation with a person or entity.
Uploading, posting, emailing, transmitting, or otherwise making available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of solicitation, except in areas of the Site specifically designated for such purpose.
Interfering with or infringing the intellectual property or proprietary rights of others.
Using any automated device, spider, robot, crawler, data mining tool, software or routine to access, copy, or download any part of the Site unless expressly permitted.
Taking any action creating a disproportionately large usage load on the Site unless expressly permitted.
Sending messages for the purpose of, or otherwise engaging in, disruptive or damaging activities online, including excessive use of scripts, sound waves, scrolling, or use of viruses, bots, worms, time bombs, trojan horses, or any other destructive element.
Gaining or attempting to gain unauthorized access to non-public areas of the Site. If you have a password to a non-public area, you may not disclose or share your password with any third parties or use it for unauthorized purposes.
Attempting to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any software comprising or making up any part of the Site; modifying any metadata; copying or duplicating Site content; or framing/linking to the Site or its content without the Site’s express written consent.
Interfering with or disrupting the Site or the servers or networks through which the Site is provided.
Stalking or otherwise harassing any other person.
Using the Site to engage in or assist another to engage in fraudulent, abusive, manipulative, or illegal activity.

You agree to comply with all applicable laws and regulations concerning your use of the Site. You understand that any materials you post, transmit, or otherwise make available in public areas of the Site and its social media channels—including comments and messages posted in response to news articles (collectively, “User Content”)—are solely your responsibility. The Site may, but is not obligated to, pre-screen, monitor, or approve any User Content. The Site has the right, but not the obligation, to remove, move, refuse, edit, republish, or delete any User Content for any reason. Any user who violates the Terms may, in our sole discretion, be permanently banned from posting or using the Site.

You acknowledge, consent, and agree that the Site may access, preserve, and disclose your account information and User Content if required by law or in a good-faith belief that such access, preservation, or disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce these Terms; (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; or (e) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the Site, its users, and the public.

Use of Materials

Any User Content you make available in public areas of the Site (including comments/messages on news articles) will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary to you. You grant the Site (and our affiliates) an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, distribute, translate, modify, adapt, publicly perform, publicly display, archive, and create derivative works from such User Content in any medium, without review/approval by you and without notice or compensation.

Termination of Access

The Site may terminate your access for any reason if we believe you have violated these Terms. You agree not to hold the Site liable for such termination and agree not to attempt to use the Site after termination.

Copyright and Trademarks

All materials on the Site (including logos, images, text, illustrations, audio, and video files) are protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, or other proprietary rights owned by or licensed to the Site or by third parties who have posted on the Site. Materials from the Site or any other website owned/operated/controlled/licensed by the Site may not be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way except as explicitly permitted. By posting content, you grant the Site and its owners/licensees the rights described above.

Notification of Infringement (DMCA)

If you believe your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide the following to the Site’s Copyright Agent:

An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner;
A description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property you claim has been infringed;
A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Site;
Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
A signed statement that you have a good-faith belief the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.

Copyright Agent (Houston Press):

Email: copyright@houstonpress.com

Mail: Houston Press, LP – Copyright Agent, Houston, TX

(Use email for fastest response.)

The Site may, under appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers.

Privacy Policy

The Site has a Privacy Policy setting forth how information about you is collected, used, and stored. Your use of the Site constitutes acknowledgment and agreement with our Privacy Policy, and you agree the Site may use your personal information as described therein.

Fees

The Site may impose fees for posting Content in certain areas. Users uploading Content to fee-based areas are responsible for such Content and compliance with these Terms. No refunds will be provided if Content is removed from fee-based areas for violation of these Terms.

Links

The Site has no control over and is not responsible for content of websites linked to or from the Site, whether or not affiliated. Links are for your convenience only; you access them at your own risk.

Release

The Site assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, currency, completeness, or usefulness of information, views, opinions, or advice in any material on the Site, and does not endorse opinions or recommendations posted by others. Information posted is the responsibility of the poster. The Site is not responsible for interactions among users. Your dealings with others are solely between you and them. The Site is not liable for goods/services/resources/content available through third-party dealings or for harm related thereto and is under no obligation to become involved in disputes.

You are entirely responsible and liable for any User Content that you (or anyone using your account) posts.

Disclaimer of Warranties

YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. THE SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE SITE MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. YOU DOWNLOAD OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN MATERIAL THROUGH THE SITE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK; YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA RESULTING THEREFROM. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN WARRANTY EXCLUSIONS, SO SOME EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY.

Limitation of Liability

The information, services, and products available on the Site may contain errors and may be subject to interruption. While the Site endeavors to maintain its offerings, it cannot be held responsible for errors, defects, lost profits, or other consequential damages arising from use of the Site.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE SITE OR ITS AFFILIATES, OWNERS, AGENTS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES, SPONSORS, SUPPLIERS, OR PARTNERS (COLLECTIVELY, “INDEMNIFIED PARTIES”) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO: (1) YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE; (2) ANY INFORMATION, SERVICES, OR PRODUCTS PROVIDED THROUGH THE SITE; OR (3) ANY INTERACTION BETWEEN YOU AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS OF THE SITE—EVEN IF ANY INDEMNIFIED PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

YOU ACCEPT ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR, AND AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE INDEMNIFIED PARTIES FROM AND AGAINST, ANY ACTIONS TAKEN BY YOU OR ANY PERSON AUTHORIZED TO USE YOUR ACCOUNT. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE SITE OR THESE TERMS, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO STOP USING THE SITE.

If you are a California resident, you waive rights under California Civil Code § 1542 (unknown claims), to the extent permitted by law.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Indemnified Parties from any claim or demand (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) made by any third party due to or arising out of your use of the Site, your violation of these Terms, or your infringement of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity. The Site reserves the right, at its expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you.

Jurisdiction and Choice of Law

These Terms shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any action to enforce these Terms or relating to the Site shall be brought only in the state or federal courts located in Harris County, Texas, and you expressly consent to the jurisdiction of such courts. Any claim arising out of or related to use of the Site or these Terms must be filed within one (1) year after such claim arose or be forever barred.

General

These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and the Site regarding your use of the Site and supersede any prior agreements. You may also be subject to additional terms when you use affiliate services, third-party content, third-party software, or visit linked sites. Section titles are for convenience only and have no legal effect.

Violations

Please report any violations of these Terms via our feedback form on the Site.

Severance and Waiver

If any provision of these Terms is unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision shall be deemed severable and will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. If any provision is found invalid, the parties agree the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions. The Site’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision shall not constitute a waiver unless acknowledged in writing.