Terms of Use

1. General

Elkhorn Hosting (“Elkhorn”) is a departmental subsidiary of Aspen Digital Services. All references to Elkhorn in these Terms of Use refer to its parent: Aspen Digital Services.

These Terms of Use (“Agreement”) governs the use of the services (“Service” or “Services”) that are made available by Elkhorn Domains and Hosting (“Elkhorn”, “we” or “us”). These Terms of Use represent the whole agreement and understanding between Elkhorn and the individual or entity who subscribes to our service (“Member”, “Members” or “you”).

PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. By your use of the Service, you agree to comply with all of the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement. Elkhorn may terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, for conduct that is in breach of this Agreement, for conduct that Elkhorn believes is harmful to its business, or for conduct where the use of the Service is harmful to any other party.

Elkhorn may, in its sole discretion, change or modify this Agreement at any time, with or without notice. Such changes or modifications shall be made effective for all Members upon posting of the modified Agreement on the current page. You are responsible to read this document from time to time to ensure that your use of the Service remains in compliance with this Agreement.

2. Services

Elkhorn offers Members domain name registration, website hosting, and email hosting services for the duration of the service term purchased from Elkhorn.

Services are provided on the basis of facility and equipment availability. Elkhorn reserves the right not to provide one or more Services where necessary facilities or equipment are not available, or for any other reason.

Access to Elkhorn-provided web and email servers is terminated upon expiry of the Service.

Details regarding your domain reside with your domain registrar. Where Elkhorn is your domain registrar, these details may be found, with login, at https://manage.opensrs.net/.

Hosting controls for your website can be found—with login—at https://elkhornhosting.com:2083

You may contact Elkhorn at any time to request recovery of login information for domain and/or hosting control, insofar as Elkhorn has such in our possession. You may be required to provide proof of identity upon making a request for login recovery.  Elkhorn reserves the right to charge a credentials-recovery fee for each such request.

3. Web Hosting

All Elkhorn web hosting accounts will display a “Coming Soon” web page by default when activated. This page informs visitors that the Member has recently setup their account with Elkhorn. The “Coming Soon” default index web page may be removed by the Member at any time once they have access to the web server. The “Coming Soon” web page may include such things as, but without limitation to, the following:

All Elkhorn web hosting services, including service trials and promotional hosting offers, and their billing terms may be prorated and adjusted to expire on the last day of a month.

All service trials and promotion offers are considered to be delivered in full upon the completion of the service term stated on invoices received by the Member for the trial or offer. Elkhorn is not obligated to provide reimbursement for any proration or service term adjustment on service trials or promotional offers.

Promotional offers, including special introductory rates, promotional rates, or any non-regular pricing, are only available to new customers, unless specifically stated otherwise, and are only valid for the term stated on invoices received by the Member for the offer. All hosting services at promotional rates will renew at the regular service rate.

Your hosting service will end upon expiry.

4. Email

Elkhorn’s email service provides customers with the capability to send and receive email via the Internet. Elkhorn retains the right, at our sole discretion, to restrict the volume of messages transmitted or received by you in order to maintain the quality of our email services to other Members and to protect our computer systems.

Elkhorn may, at its discretion, block electronic communications from other entities on the Internet.

Elkhorn’s server environment is optimized to provide email and web services to many customers simultaneously.  Using Elkhorn’s email service to send mass email is discouraged, and may result in Terms of Use violations and/or account suspension.  Third-party email services are available for mass emailing, such as Constant Contact; customers who need mass-email capability may be referred to these services.  Customers who have questions about the capabilities and limits of Elkhorn’s email service are encouraged to contact us.

5. Usage Policies and Definitions

1. Flexible Storage and Flexible Bandwidth Usage Policies and Definitions

Elkhorn’s offer of “flexible” storage and bandwidth means that Elkhorn does not set an arbitrary limit on the amount of resources a hosting account can use. Subject to this Agreement, Elkhorn will make every commercially reasonable effort to provide Members with the necessary storage, bandwidth, and other server resources to power their websites, provided that the Member’s use of the service complies with the terms specified in this Agreement.

However, Elkhorn’s offering of “flexible” storage services does not allow an account’s resource usage to negatively or adversely affect the service experience of other Members. Elkhorn’s shared hosting service is designed to meet the typical needs of an average small-business or home-business website. Our services are not intended to support the greater web-hosting needs of large enterprises, or to be used as an online storage warehouse to store backups, files, emails, videos, etc., or to be used as a streaming/sharing hub. Members found to be adversely affecting the performance of other Member accounts by excessively using network bandwidth, server storage, memory or CPU resources, will be flagged by Elkhorn administrators and/or anti-abuse controls. These Members will then be asked to consider services tailored to sites with consistently greater needs, or to modify their usage of Elkhorn server resources. Serious offenses will result in the account service suspension or termination, with or without notice.

The reselling any of the Service’s resources is strictly prohibited. Any accounts found to be reselling resources will immediately be suspended, with or without notice.

6. Domain Name Registration

Elkhorn offers domain name registration and renewal services in partnership with ICANN accredited registrar Tucows. Elkhorn processes registration and renewal services through this registrar at its discretion.

Domain names which have opted in to the Automatic Domain Renewal service, and any optional features associated with them, will be automatically renewed for the minimum term available for that domain type at the contracted or amended renewal rate prior to expiry. Members are solely responsible for all domain-related costs. Members may choose to opt in or out of the Automatic Domain Renewal by email or phone request. If your hosting plan includes a free domain name, Elkhorn may automatically renew your domain name for you upon expiry as part of your hosting plan’s benefits, regardless of your Automatic Domain Renewal settings.

Elkhorn reserves the right to refuse to transfer a domain whose account holds a balance.

You acknowledge and agree that Elkhorn may, but is not obligated to, place your domain name in a Domain Lock status to prevent unauthorized or hostile transfers of your domain name.

Domain transfer services are included at no cost for active domain names that are either registered or renewed through Elkhorn at the regular rate.

In addition to this Agreement, new domain-registration accounts are also subject to the Domain Registration Agreements of the respective governing registries.

7. Service Fees / Payments / Invoices

All Elkhorn fees and charges are quoted and billed in US Dollars unless otherwise noted.

Elkhorn processes Credit Card payments through ProPay and PayPal, and accepts check payments as well. At its sole discretion, Elkhorn may use credit card issuer-approved services, such as VISA Account Updater and MasterCard Automatic Billing Updater, to acquire updated payment information for the purpose of processing outstanding payments that are on your account. Elkhorn may take any reasonable action to validate your credit card and registration information and collect all payments due. You agree to pay all attorney and collection fees arising from any efforts to collect any past due amounts from you, to the extent allowed by law.

Service fees are due per the terms stated on the invoice for the services. All fees must be paid in full.

Billing inquiries and disputes should be brought to Elkhorn’s attention within 30 days of the invoice date. Failure to do so will be deemed to be an admission that the invoice and charges are accurate.

If any chargeback or charge dispute notices are received for your account, services provided to you may be immediately suspended pending investigation, and you will be subject to chargeback service charges. Where applicable, Elkhorn reserves the right to put your domain name into “Registrar Hold” status and deny any transfer requests for that domain name until the chargeback or dispute issue has been resolved.

An account will be suspended if its service renewal fees are not paid within 72 hours of the due date. Accounts suspended in this manner can be re-activated upon payment of the Account Reactivation Fee (see below).

Any applications or requests for services will be declined if payment cannot be successfully processed within 72 hours of the order. In-store credit and coupons issued by Elkhorn are not transferable and are of no cash value.

Elkhorn reserves the right to modify service fees and rates, effective upon posting on the Elkhorn website or on this Agreement. Current service charges include the following (non-exclusive list):

Account Reactivation Fee: $15.00
Chargeback Service Charge: $25.00
Reactivation Fee (TOS Violation): $35.00

8. Termination / Plan Change / Refund Policy

Elkhorn may terminate your Service under the following circumstances (non-exclusive list):

All Member data is removed from Elkhorn servers for such terminations.

You may request account termination or hosting plan changes at any time by calling 541-403-1283 or by email.

Refunds may be requested upon voluntary termination of this Agreement, less the balance of any outstanding service fees.

Refunds will not be given for one-time service fees (e.g., file recovery fees, domain redemption fees, etc.)

Refunds will not be given on unrealized subscription-based services following account termination due to Terms of Use violations.

Elkhorn reserves the right to grant or deny any refund requests with cause.

Domain name registrations and renewals cannot be cancelled or refunded.

Where a subscription is cancelled which includes a complimentary domain registration, the retail value of the gTLD on the day the subscription is cancelled will be used to determine the value of the domain registration. This amount will be subtracted from the gross refund amount. In the event that the net refund amount on a cancelled subscription is less than zero after factoring in the value of the domain’s registration, no refund will be given.

9. Member Responsibility

When you apply to use Elkhorn services, you may be asked to select an Account Name and Password. The Account Name and Password are the means through which you access certain services. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to safeguard the Account Name and Password you select from any unauthorized use. IN NO EVENT WILL ELKHORN BE LIABLE FOR THE UNAUTHORIZED USE, OR FOR THE MISUSE, OF YOUR ACCOUNT NAME OR PASSWORD.

Members are responsible for maintaining accurate account information at all times, including credit card and contact information. This information can be updated by contacting Elkhorn.

Members are responsible for their content and security of their websites.  Except where members pay for Elkhorn site-backup services, Elkhorn does not warrant that it backs up member site content, or that backups of site content will be available for members. Members are encouraged to back up their site content, including site files, databases and email. As site backup processes are resource-demanding, backup schedules should be planned judiciously, so as not to negatively affect the hosting environment for other members, which could lead to account suspension.

10. Prohibited Conduct

Elkhorn does not allow the sending of unsolicited commercial email (“Spam”) through its hosting resources. Any Member engaging in the sending of Spam through the Elkhorn network will be considered in breach of this Agreement and will be suspended from the Service immediately.

Your use of the Service must be in compliance with US laws—and the laws of your own country (if not the US)—at all times.

You are responsible to ensure that your use of the Service does not negatively affect Elkhorn’s hosting environment. Spawning multiple processes, consuming excessive amounts of memory, CPU or bandwidth capacity, and other practices may lead to account suspension.

The following is a non-exclusive list of content and behavior prohibited by the Service:

11. Notices

You agree that, unless other instructions are posted on Elkhorn’s website, any notices required to be given under this Agreement will be deemed to have been given if delivered by email or fax, or sent by registered mail or by courier to each of the parties in accordance with the most current contact information you have provided to us, and the contact information for Elkhorn posted on the Elkhorn website. All notices shall be effective upon receipt, except that email and fax notices shall be effective upon transmission.

12. Privacy

The Elkhorn Privacy Policy sets out our obligations with respect to the safeguarding, collection and use of Members’ personal information. The Elkhorn Privacy Policy is subject to modification from time to time, and such changes are effective upon posting of the modified policy.

Email newsletters will only be sent directly by Elkhorn. Member information will not be disclosed or sold to any third parties. You may also be contacted by Elkhorn for customer experience and service feedback.

13. Reservation of Rights

Elkhorn reserves the right and sole discretion to:

You agree that it may be necessary for us to temporarily suspend the Service for technical reasons or to maintain network equipment or facilities.

14. Limitation of Liability

The Service is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and the use of the Service is at your own risk. Elkhorn makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the Service, or any service or information provided through the Service. Elkhorn is not responsible for any damages, injury or economic loss arising from the use of the content or Service provided by Elkhorn.

In no event will Elkhorn be liable to you for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages or economic loss arising out of the Service or in connection with your website or any other services or products provided to you.

Elkhorn, its officers, directors, owners, agents and employees shall in no way be liable to you or anyone else for any loss or injury resulting from the use of the Service or of your website.

In no event shall Elkhorn be held liable for any damages or economic loss, whatsoever, as a result of notifying any official of potentially illegal content on your website, or for providing copies of your data files to the appropriate authorities or cooperating with law enforcement efforts to locate persons who have posted content that is illegal or promotes illegal conduct.

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Elkhorn harmless from and against, and to reimburse Elkhorn with respect to, any and all losses, damages, liabilities, claims, judgments, settlements, fines, costs and expenses (including reasonable related expenses, legal fees, costs of investigation) of every nature whatsoever incurred by Elkhorn by reason of or arising out of or in connection with:

16. Force Majeure

Elkhorn will not be liable for any delay, interruption or failure in the provisioning of services if caused by acts of God, declared or undeclared war, fire, flood, storm, slide, earthquake, power failure, the inability to obtain equipment, supplies or other facilities that are not caused by a failure to pay, labor disputes, or other similar events beyond our control that may prevent or delay service provisioning.

17. Unenforceable Provisions

If any part of this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, such part will be ineffective to the extent of such invalid or unenforceable part only, without affecting the remaining parts of this Agreement in any way.

18. Governing Law

The rights and obligations of the parties pursuant to this Agreement are governed by, and shall be construed in accordance with, the laws of the state of Oregon and the federal laws of the United States of America.

You may be subject to other local, provincial or state and national laws. You hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the State of Oregon for any dispute arising under or relating to this Agreement and waive your right to institute legal proceedings in any other jurisdiction. We shall be entitled to institute legal proceedings in connection with any matter arising under this Agreement in any jurisdiction where you reside, do business or have assets.

19. Age of Majority

Elkhorn does not accept agreements and payments from persons under the legal age of 18 years. By submitting your account application, you confirm that you are over 18 years of age or your parent or legal guardian has agreed to accept this Agreement on your behalf.

20. Waiver

No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement will be deemed to constitute a waiver of any other provision nor shall such a waiver constitute a continuing waiver unless otherwise expressly provided in writing duly executed by the party to be bound thereby.

21. Entire Agreement

This Agreement, as may be updated from time to time, represents the complete agreement and understanding between us with respect to the Service and supersedes any other written or oral agreement.

 

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