Kink and Poly Aware Directory Terms of Use

Kink and Poly Aware Directory Terms of Use

Last Modified: November 9, 2021

Welcome to the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) Terms of Use (TOU). We hope that these will help ensure that the products, services and information you might gain through your use of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory will serve your needs. These terms are so important that we cannot permit you to use the Kink and Poly Aware Directory unless you agree to them. By using the Kink and Poly Aware Directory, you are agreeing to these terms.  

Every Kink and Poly Aware Directory user is required to comply with these TOU and is responsible for any violations. You are not allowed to assist or engage others in a way that would violate these Directory TOU. We will enforce and ensure compliance with this Directory TOU by using methods we consider to be appropriate.

We reserve the right to modify these KAP TOU at any time without giving you prior notice. Your use of KAP following any such modification constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by these TOU as modified. You agree to review the TOU on a regular basis and always remain in compliance.

  1. Definitions

“Agreement” or “TOU” means this Kink and Poly Aware Directory Terms of Use and all materials referred or linked to in here.

“User” means the individual or entity that searches for or uses any of the professionals on Kink and Poly Aware Directory.

” Kink and Poly Aware Directory “, “KAP”, “NCSF”, “we”, “us” or “our” means Kink and Poly Aware Directory and by extension the National Coalition of Sexual Freedom (NCSF) as administrator.

“Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP)” means the online directory that lists professionals and Professional or Service Providers that may offer products or services.

“Flag Guidelines” means the policies applicable to reports submitted to the Kink and Poly Aware Directory as being misleading, inaccurate, or defunct.

“Sensitive Information” means credit or debit card numbers; personal financial account information; Social Security numbers; passport numbers; driver’s license numbers or similar identifiers; employment, financial or health information, including any information subject to regulations, laws or industry standards designed to protect data privacy and security, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.

“Professional or Service Offerings” means those products, services, integrations, templates, digital assets, or applications that are listed on or offered by Professional or Service Providers on the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP).

“Professional or Service Providers” are professionals, partners, Professional or Service Providers and other individuals or entities that that list or provide the Professional or Service Offerings on the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP).

“Professional or Service Provider Content” means all content, including without limitation, language, data, information, and images, provided through or disclosed by use of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP), whether by us, our customers, or other users of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP).  Professional or Service Provider Content does not include Your Content.

“Third-Party Products” means products and professional services that are provided by third parties which may interoperate with or be used in connection with the KAP products.

“Third-Party Sites” means third-party websites linked from within or accessed through the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP).

“You” or “your” means the person or entity using the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP), whether you are a professional, Professional or Service Provider, User, customer, or user.

“Your Content” means all content, including without limitation, language, data, information, and images, provided through or disclosed by use of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP), by you.

Poly, Kink, and Swinger awareness levels:

  • Friendly is a minimal level of general knowledge about the chosen field and openness to working with clients without automatically pathologizing behaviors or interests
  • Aware is a level where clinicians have specific knowledge of concepts and practices that are important to the subculture, and experience working with more than one or two identified clients
  • Knowledgeable is a more advanced level of knowledge and affirmative care. Kink Knowledgeable Resource NCSF, 2019; Shahbaz & Chirinos, 2017 p33
  1. Access to the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP)

We will provide you access to use the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) according to the terms of this Agreement.  Certain parts of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) may only be accessible to you if you are a KAP professional.

You may be required to select a username and you may not use a username that: (i) belongs to someone else, (ii) impersonates another person, (iii) is misleading, (iv) violates any intellectual property or other proprietary rights, (v) is vulgar or offensive, (vi) that uses ‘KAP’,  or ‘NCSF’ as all or part of it, unless we provide express permission to do so, or (vii) that we reject, which we may choose to do in our discretion.  All information you provide in your profile must be accurate.  If you believe your access to or use of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) has been breached, compromised, or unauthorized, notify us immediately at https://www.kapprofessionals.org/2019/12/contact-a-kap-administrator/

We can remove or discontinue all or a portion of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) (including, without limitation, Professional or Service Providers or Professional or Service Offerings) at any time, without notice, in our discretion.  We can choose which Professional or Service Providers or Professional or Service Offerings to promote, and we can also choose how we want to promote them, if at all.  Provision of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) does not mean we endorse, support or warrant the Professional or Service Provider or Professional or Service Offerings, even if the Professional or Service Provider or Professional or Service Offerings is listed or designated as ‘KAP Certified’.

  1. Your Conduct and Content 

    Every professional who is listed on the KAP referral list must believe that kink and non-monogamy can be healthy expressions of sexuality, and that any form of consensual sexuality between adults can be considered healthy if practiced in a safe and responsible manner. Some of the forms of sexuality we are referring to here are SM, BD, DS, leather, and fetish. In short, a professional must agree that any form of consensual sexuality between adults can be considered healthy if practiced in a safe and responsible manner. KAP accepts submissions from kink-and-poly-aware professionals throughout the world. Most listings are in the United States. NCSF reserves the right to remove KAP professionals upon review.

    KAP Approval Guidelines: Kink and Poly Aware Professionals (KAP) reserves the right to refuse listings from any professional for any reason and reserves the right to remove any listing of any professional at any time at the sole discretion of KAP. 

Your content must be accurate: 

  • If you put yourself forward as any kind of professional, you must be licensed and have the relevant expertise. Any user can ‘flag’ a listing for inaccuracy, and these listings are removed pending investigation.
    • For example: If you use terms like “Counseling” or “Therapy”, your licensing and expertise must qualify you to use those terms.  The Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation’s resource pages (http://www.clearhq.org/boards.html for North American listings) include links to many of the licensing and regulatory bodies for various regions and professions.

Your Conduct

  • You must embrace an affirmative consent culture. If you have questions about Consent, please visit Consent Counts
  • If you have two (2) or more reports with IRR, your listing may be removed without notice. 
  • If you have been banned from groups or clubs for consent violations your listing may be removed without notice. 
  • You must provide services ethically, “bait-and-switch” tactics may cause you to be removed without notice. 
  • Two or more “flags” on your listing for poor or unethical service may cause your listing to be removed without notice. 

 If You Have a Complaint About a KAP Professional

We want your experience with the professionals listed here to be the best it can be for you. So, if you do experience any conduct from a professional that you consider inappropriate, we want to hear about it, but you should consider reporting that professional to the appropriate governmental agency or licensing body where the professional does business. KAP does not have the resources or authority to act on or to resolve any complaint against any professional listed here.

The Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation’s resource pages (http://www.clearhq.org/boards.htm for North American listings) include links to many of the licensing and regulatory bodies for various regions and professions.

 

  1. Acceptable Use.  

You may use the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) to provide or learn information about Professional or Service Providers, Professional or Service Offerings and to submit reviews, solely in compliance with this Agreement.  You may not (directly or indirectly) use the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) with content, or in a manner that: 

  • is confidential, proprietary or discloses Sensitive Information.
  • discloses or solicits the private information of any person;
  • is threatening, abusive, harassing, stalking, or defamatory;
  • is deceptive, false, misleading or fraudulent;
  • No solicitation for sexual services
  • No minors (under 18) or animals in a sexual context
  • No solicitation for illegal activities
  • No sharing anyone’s personal, identifying, confidential or proprietary information
  • No postings the primary purpose of which is to drive traffic to a website
  • No service or content that violates the law or legal rights of others
  • is invasive of another’s privacy or otherwise violates another’s legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity);
  • contains vulgar, obscene, indecent or unlawful material;
  • infringes a third party’s intellectual property right(s);
  • publishes, posts, uploads, or otherwise distributes any software, music, videos, or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by rights of privacy or publicity) unless you have all necessary rights and consents to do so;
  • uploads files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another person’s computer;
  • downloads any file that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in that way;
  • falsifies or deletes any author attributions, legal or proprietary designations, labels of the origin or source of software, or other material contained in a file that is uploaded;
  • restricts or inhibits any other user of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) from using and enjoying our website and/or the KAP products;
  • harvests or otherwise collects information about others, including e-mail addresses, without their consent;
  • damages, disables, overburdens, or impairs any KAP website or interferes with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP);
  • violates the usage standards or rules of an entity affected by your use, including without limitation, any ISP, ESP, or news or user group (and including, by way of example, and not limitation, circumventing or exceeding equipment use rights and restrictions and/or location and path identification detail);
  • is legally actionable between private parties; and/or
  • is in violation of any applicable law or regulation.
  1. Suspension and Notice of Violations. We may immediately suspend use of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) and/or remove a Service Offering, at any time without notice, for actual or suspected violations of the terms contained in this Section 3 (Your Conduct and Content).  This right is in addition to those other rights of suspension and removal that we otherwise have under this Agreement.   
  2. Claims of Copyright Infringement. We respect the intellectual property rights of others, and we ask our users to do the same. We may, in its sole discretion, suspend the access or terminate the accounts of users who violate others’ intellectual property rights.  If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes infringement on our website, please follow the steps and provide the information as detailed in the ‘Flagging a Listing’, of the KAP Website Terms of Use available at https://www.kapprofessionals.org/2019/12/how-to-flag-a-listing/.
  3.  Our Use of Your Content.  You grant to us all rights, licenses and permissions necessary to display, reproduce, disseminate, and otherwise use Your Content in connection with the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP).  We may edit or remove Your Content at any time in our sole discretion.
  4. Use by the public: If you are a user of KAP, you understand and agree that we are not responsible for engagement with a Professional or Service Provider or use of Professional or Service Offerings.  If you elect to engage with a Professional or Professional or Service Provider, the terms and conditions regarding your use of the Professional or Professional or Service Offerings are between you and the Professional or Professional or Service Provider. Any questions, concerns or disputes that arise based on your use of a Professional or Service Offering should be addressed with the Professional or Professional or Service Provider, not with us.   If you use the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP), its content (including without limitation, reviews), a Professional or Service Provider listed, or any Professional or Service Offerings, you do so at your sole risk.
  1. Use by Professional or Service Providers

If you are a Professional or Professional or Service Provider, you must respond to inquiries regarding your Professional or Service Offerings within a reasonable period.  If you are listed as a Professional or Service Provider, we also expect that Professional or Service Offerings you provide are done so with good quality and in a professional and workmanlike manner.  We may remove you as a Professional or Service Provider at our discretion, at any time, without notice to you.  One of the reasons we might remove you as a Professional or Service Provider is if we determine that you are not responsive or are not delivering the product or service you have advertised, you are not qualified or licensed to provide the product or service you are advertising, or have been convicted of crimes of a sexual or fraudulent nature.  Submitting your information as a Professional or Service Provider does not guarantee you will be listed on the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) or promoted by us.

  1. Prohibited Activities

You may not use the Kink and Poly Aware Professionals Directory for activities that:

  1. Violate any law, statute, or ordinance.
  2. Relate to transactions involving:
  • Involve narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that are not prescribed by a licensed medical doctor,
  • Involve items or services that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity,
  • Have stolen goods including digital and virtual goods,
  • Promote hate, violence, racial or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory or the financial exploitation of a crime,
  • Have items that infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy or any other proprietary right under the laws of any jurisdiction,
  • Are sexually oriented services prohibited by law such as prostitution or other sex work.
  • Any business or service that may violate SESTA/FOSTA
  • Someone who also offers paid BDSM services or financial domination.
  1. Relate to transactions that:
  • show the personal information of third parties in violation of applicable law,
  • support pyramid or ponzi schemes, matrix programs, other “get rich quick” schemes or certain multi-level marketing programs,
  • are associated with purchases of annuities or lottery contracts, lay-away systems, off-shore banking or transactions to finance or refinance debts funded by a credit card,
  • involve offering or receiving payments for the purpose of bribery, blackmail, extortion, or coercion.
  1. Professional or Service Offerings, Third-Party Sites and Products

The Professional or Professional or Service Offerings, Third-Party Products and Third-Party Sites are not under our control. Professional or Professional or Service Offerings, Third-Party Sites and Third-Party Products are provided to you only as a convenience, and the availability of any Professional or Service Offerings, Third-Party Sites or Third-Party Products does not mean we endorse, support or warranty the Professional or Service Offering, Third-Party Product or Third-Party Product.

  1. Term and Termination 

This Agreement will apply for as long as you use the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP).

Termination and Suspension. We may terminate this Agreement and/or suspend your access to the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) immediately if you: (i) violate any of the terms of this Agreement, (ii) use the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) in a way which has or may negatively reflect on or affect us, our users, constituents, or partners, or (iii) if we determine it to be necessary or desirable in our sole discretion.  We are not obligated to provide you with any of Your Content used in connection with the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) after termination.  

10. Your Representations and Warranties

You represent and warrant that: (i) your participation in the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) will not conflict with any of your existing agreements or arrangements, (ii) you have sufficient rights to share all Your Content with us for our use and with other users of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP), and (iii) that the Professional or Service Offerings and Your Content does not violate or constitute the infringement of any intellectual property right, right of privacy, right of publicity or other proprietary right.  If you are a Professional or Service Provider, you further represent and warrant that you have all sufficient rights, licenses, and permissions to offer and provide the Professional or Professional or Service Offerings.

  1. Indemnification

You will indemnify, defend and hold us harmless, at your expense, against any third-party claim, suit, action, or proceeding (each, an “Action”) brought against us (and our officers, directors, employees, agents, Professional or Service Providers, licensors, and affiliates) to the extent that such Action is based upon or arises out of: (a) your use of the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP), (b) your noncompliance with or breach of this Agreement, (c) your use, offer or provision of Professional or Service Offerings, Third-Party Sites or Third-Party Products, or (d) your submission of a review. We will: notify you in writing within thirty (30) days of our becoming aware of any such claim; give you sole control of the defense or settlement of such a claim; and provide you (at your expense) with any and all information and assistance reasonably requested by you to handle the defense or settlement of the claim. You shall not accept any settlement that (i) imposes an obligation on us, (ii) requires us to make an admission, or (iii) imposes liability not covered by these indemnifications or places restrictions on us without our prior written consent.

  1. Disclaimers; Limitations of Liability

Disclaimer of Warranties. WE AND OUR AFFILIATES AND AGENTS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, SECURITY OR ACCURACY OF THE KAP PROFESSIONALS, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, THE KINK AND POLY AWARE DIRECTORY (KAP), OR THE PROFESSIONAL OR SERVICE PROVIDER CONTENT FOR ANY PURPOSE.  THE KINK AND POLY AWARE DIRECTORY (KAP) IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND WITH REGARD TO THE KINK AND POLY AWARE DIRECTORY (KAP) AND THE PROFESSIONAL OR SERVICE PROVIDER, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.  THE KINK AND POLY AWARE DIRECTORY (KAP) AND PROFESSIONAL OR SERVICE PROVIDER CONTENT MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS.

No Indirect Damages. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES.

Limitation of Liability. IF, NOTWITHSTANDING THE OTHER TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, WE ARE DETERMINED TO HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, THE PARTIES AGREE THAT OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.

 Professional or Service Offerings, Third Party Sites and Products. WE DISCLAIM ALL LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO PROFESSIONAL OR SERVICE OFFERINGS, THIRD-PARTY SITES AND THIRD-PARTY PRODUCTS THAT YOU USE. OUR LICENSORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY OF ANY KIND UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT ABSENT YOUR AGREEMENT TO THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, WE WOULD NOT PROVIDE THE KINK AND POLY AWARE DIRECTORY (KAP) TO YOU.

  1. General

Amendment; No Waiver. We may update and change any part or all of this Agreement. If we update or change this Agreement, the updated Agreement will be posted at https://www.kapprofessionals.org/.  The updated Agreement will become effective and binding on the next business day after it is posted. When we change this Agreement, the “Last Modified” date above will be updated to reflect the date of the most recent version. We encourage you to review this Agreement periodically. If you do not agree with a modification to this Agreement, you should not use the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP).

Correction of Errors and Inaccuracies. The content on the Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) may contain typographical errors or other errors or inaccuracies and may not be complete or current. We therefore reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update the Professional or Service Provider Content and Your Content at any time without prior notice. However, we do not guarantee that any errors, inaccuracies or omissions will be corrected.

Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, without regard to the conflict of laws provisions thereof. In the event either of us initiates an action in connection with this Agreement or any other dispute between the parties, the exclusive venue and jurisdiction of such action shall be in the state and federal courts in the District of Columbia.

Force Majeure. Neither party will be responsible for failure or delay of performance if caused by: an act of war, hostility, or sabotage; act of God; electrical, internet, or telecommunication outage that is not caused by the obligated party; government restrictions; or other event outside the reasonable control of the obligated party. Each party will use reasonable efforts to mitigate the effect of a force majeure event.

Relationship of the Parties. Both you and we agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and us as a result of this Agreement.

Compliance with Applicable Laws.  You shall comply with all applicable foreign and domestic laws (including without limitation export laws), governmental regulations, ordinances, and judicial administrative orders. Export laws and regulations of the United States and any other relevant local export laws and regulations may apply to the Professional or Service Provider Content and the KAP products and services. You will comply with the sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury. You will not directly or indirectly export, re-export, or transfer the Professional or Service Provider Content or the KAP products and services to prohibited countries or individuals or permit use of the Professional or Service Provider Content or the KAP products and services by prohibited countries or individuals.

Severability. If any part of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable by applicable law, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of this Agreement will continue in effect.

Notices. Notice will be sent to the contact address set forth herein (as such may be changed by notice given to the other party), and will be deemed delivered as of the date of actual receipt.

To National Coalition for Sexual Freedom

822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127 Baltimore MD USA 21202-3707

Attention: General Counsel

To you: your address as provided in our account information for you.  We may give electronic notices specific to you by email to your e-mail address(es) on record in our account information for you. We may give notice to you by telephone calls to the telephone numbers on record in our account information for you.

Entire Agreement. This Agreement is the entire agreement between us for Kink and Poly Aware Directory (KAP) and supersedes all other proposals and agreements, whether electronic, oral or written, between us. We object to and reject any additional or different terms proposed by you, including those contained in your purchase order, acceptance or website. It is the express wish of both you and us that this Agreement and all related documents be drawn up in English. We might make versions of this Agreement available in languages other than English. If we do, the English version of this Agreement will govern our relationship and the translated version is provided for convenience only and will not be interpreted to modify the English version of this Agreement.

No Third Party Beneficiaries.  Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to or shall confer upon any person or entity (other than the parties hereto) any right, benefit or remedy of any nature whatsoever under or by reason of this Agreement.

No Licenses. We grant to you only the rights and licenses expressly stated in this Agreement, and you receive no other rights or licenses with respect to us, the KAP products and services, our trademarks, or any other property or right of ours.

Authority. Each party represents and warrants to the other that it has full power and authority to enter into this Agreement and that it is binding upon such party and enforceable in accordance with its terms.

Survival. The following sections shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement: ‘KAP’s Proprietary Rights’, ‘Professional or Service Offerings, Third-Party Sites and Products’, ‘Your Representations and Warranties’, ‘Indemnification’, ‘Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability’, and ‘General’.