The Voice for Texas Architecture

Privacy Policy

Website policies of the Texas Society of Architects.

Privacy Policy

Website policies of the Texas Society of Architects.

Website Users

The Texas Society of Architects (TxA) websites (texasarchitects.org and txamagazine.org) are controlled and operated in whole or in part by the Texas Society of Architects from its office in Austin, Texas. TxA makes no representation that these materials are appropriate or available for use outside the territory of the US. Users outside of the US who access the TxA websites do so at their own risk and are responsible for compliance with applicable local laws. TxA reserves the right in its sole discretion to refuse or terminate access to its websites at any time.

TxA reserves the right to modify these Terms of Use at any time. Your continued use of our websites shall be deemed to be your acceptance of any modified Terms of Use. If any future change is unacceptable to you, you should discontinue using the websites.

The TxA websites are owned by the Texas Society of Architects, which owns (or licenses) all the wallpaper, characters, artwork, icons, graphics, music, text, and other content on the sites, unless otherwise indicated (“Content”), and all HTML, CGI, and other code and scripts in any format used to implement the site (“Code”). You may not copy, modify, upload, download, transmit, (re)publish, or otherwise distribute any Code or Content from these sites except as expressly permitted by these rules and the instructions for each section of any portion of the website.

You may not modify or use the Content or Code you receive from these sites for any purpose other than those permitted, and doing so will violate TxA’s copyright and other proprietary rights. TxA performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of TxA’s right to comply with law enforcement requests or requirements relating to the user’s use of these sites or information provided to or gathered by TxA with respect to such use.

Intellectual Property

Copyright Notice

Unless otherwise specified herein or within the TxA websites, the following notice applies to all content of these websites:

Copyright © 2018 Texas Society of Architects, 500 Chicon, Austin, Texas, 78702, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

TxA and AIA Trademarks

TxA’s registered trademarks include, but are not limited to, our name, “Texas Society of Architects,” the Texas Society of Architects logo, and Texas Architect, our bi-monthly publication.

The AIA’s registered trademarks include, but are not limited to “The American Institute of Architects,” “FAIA,” “AIA,” the Eagle and Column Logo, “AIA Contact Documents,” “AIA College of Fellows,” “AIA National Convention and Design Exposition,” and “AIArchitect.”

Nothing in these terms of use or on TxA’s websites shall be construed to grant any rights or license to any TxA or AIA trademark.

Non-Endorsement

TxA does not sponsor or endorse any enterprise whether public or private, operated for profit. Further, no TxA officer, director, committee member, or employee in his or her official capacity is permitted to approve, sponsor, endorse, or do anything that may be deemed or construed to be an approval, sponsorship, or endorsement of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product.

Your Acceptance of These Terms of Use

You acknowledge you have read and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. You further agree to comply with all local laws, regulations, and rules regarding online conduct and acceptable website/internet content. You represent you have the legal authority to accept these Terms of Use on behalf of yourself or any party you represent.

If you do not agree to these terms, please discontinue use of the Texas Society of Architects’ websites.

User Generated Content Terms and Conditions

The following terms apply to areas of the TxA websites that allow third party users to post content (“User Generated Content”), including, without limitation, in discussion forums (“Forums”). You agree that your registration for, access to, and participation in any Forum is subject to these terms, and applicable law.

TxA retains the rights, but not the responsibility, to edit or remove any User Generated Content and/or terminate your account for any reason in its sole discretion.

Do not post any content that violates any applicable local, state, national, or international law. Do not post any content, or take any action, that is designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment, or to interfere with or disrupt the websites or services connected to the websites.

Your User Generated Content is not confidential or proprietary. You grant to TxA a non-exclusive, non-revocable, worldwide, perpetual right to use your User Generated Content in any manner or media now or later known without limitation including but not limited to the right to sublicense and assign and commercialize without any compensation due to you.

Ownership You are responsible for ensuring that any User Generated Content that you post does not, and will not violate third party rights of any kind. You warrant and represent that you own or control all rights, or have obtained the necessary permissions from the owner of such rights, in any User Generated Content that you post to any Forum.

General Use You acknowledge and agree that TxA does not have any obligation to review User Generated Content, that TxA is not in any manner responsible for User Generated Content, that TxA does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of User Generated Content, and that TxA cannot ensure that harmful, inaccurate, deceptive, offensive, threatening, defamatory, unlawful or otherwise objectionable User Generated Content will not appear on the websites. You also acknowledge that by providing you with the ability to access, view and/or post User Generated Content on the websites, TxA is merely acting as a passive conduit for such distribution and is not undertaking any obligation or liability relating to any User Generated Content or activities of users on the websites.

Users agree to use TxA website user-generated content functions only to send and receive messages and material that are proper and related to the particular Forum. In addition to the terms stated herein and by way of example and not as a limitation, the user agrees that when using a Forum, users shall not:

You represent and warrant also that the content you supply does not violate these terms, and that you will indemnify and hold TxA harmless for any and all claims resulting from content you supply.

Digital Millennium Copyright Act

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any User submission or other content infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) by providing our Copyright Agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail):

TxA’s designated Copyright Agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is:

Missy Floyd-Seward
Social Media & Marketing Coordinator
Email: melissa@texasarchitects.org

For clarity, only DMCA notices should go to the Copyright Agent. You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this Section 5(D), your DMCA notice may not be valid.

Counter-Notice If you believe that your User Submission that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use the content in your User Submission, you may send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Copyright Agent:

If a counter-notice is received by the Copyright Agent, TxA may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that it may replace the removed content or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the content provider, member or user, the removed content may be replaced, or access to it restored, in 10 to 14 business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at TxA’s sole discretion.

Disclaimers

THE CONTENT, CODE, ACCESS, AND OTHER FEATURES OF THESE SITES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND/OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. TXA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY SUCH FEATURES WILL OPERATE IN AN UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE FASHION, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THESE SITES OR THE SERVER ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.IN NO EVENT SHALL TXA BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION LOST PROFITS AND COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS, ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE ANY CONTENT OR FEATURES, OR YOUR FAILURE TO ACCESS OR CLICK-THROUGH ACCESS ANY CONTENT OR FEATURES, EVEN IF TXA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.TXA SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIMS BROUGHT BY THE OWNERS OF CONTENT OR SITES ACCESSED THROUGH CLICK-THRU ACCESS BASED ON YOUR INAPPROPRIATE OR UNPERMITTED ACCESS OF SUCH CONTENT OR SITES. YOU HEREBY AGREE TO INDEMNIFY TXA FOR SUCH CLAIMS IF BROUGHT AGAINST TXA IF YOU USED THIS SITE FOR SUCH INAPPROPRIATE OR UNPERMITTED ACCESS.

Applicable Law

This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. Those who choose to access these sites from other locations do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.

The United States controls the export of any software downloadable from this website. No software or any other materials associated with the TxA websites may be downloaded or otherwise exported or re-exported to countries or persons prohibited under export control laws, including but not limited to countries against which the United States has embargoed goods, or to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons or the U.S. Commerce Department’s Table of Deny Orders. You are responsible for compliance with the laws of your local jurisdiction regarding the import, export, or re-export of any such materials. By using and/or downloading any such materials from the TxA websites, you represent and warrant that you are no located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any such country to which such import, export, or re-export is prohibited or are not a person or entity to which such export is prohibited.

If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

It is important to the Texas Society of Architects (TxA) that its data collection methods and use are transparent to its members, customers, and visitors to all TxA web properties. If there are additional questions, please contact TxA using contact information contained within this document.

 

Integrated Web Strategy and Technology Policy

Overview

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Component and the Texas Society of Architects (A regional component of AIA) maintain centralized databases that house data about all of our members, past members, prospect members, product customers, and companies within the built community. AIA National provides a centralized database for member and customer transactions and communications. All users of the centralized database system are required to adhere to the rules outlined in this policy and must sign a terms of use agreement prior to obtaining access.

Texasarchitects.org and txamagazine.org are the Texas Society of Architects’ main websites and our primary venue for providing information to our members and the public.

Member and customer privacy is important to TxA and this policy is to inform TxA members and customers how their data is used and to provide direction for opting out of the online services and communications (electronic and paper) offered to members and customers of TxA. The services are outlined in detail in the “How Your Information Is Used” section of this document.

TxA does not use illegal misleading methods to mine public data. All data is obtained through normal business practices including but not limited to membership applications, online purchases, event registrations, state licensing board lists, and trade shows.

This document can be found online in the “About Us” section of the TxA website and as a referenced link during the online member and customer registration process.

What Data TxA Collects

Members and Customers can register with TxA online or by completing a paper form when available. Registration is required to obtain any product or service (tangible or virtual) offered by TxA. Some products and services also require AIA or TxA membership. In all cases registration requires that a valid mailing address be submitted to appropriately fulfill a product or service request. Online registration requires a valid email be provided because an online profile is created during the registration process.

Occasionally TxA asks for additional demographics such as race, age, sex, birth date, architectural license number, education, and employment status as a part of its diversity and inclusion initiatives and commitment. This information is for internal use only and is not required by a registrant at any time. It is not shared with any outside vendors, partners, or online services.

When purchasing a product or service online users are asked to provide a credit card number to complete their transaction. TxA does not store credit card information after the transaction is complete however, it does maintain a reference number provided by its credit card gateway, TxA follows Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards for all online and paper sales and this practice is PCI Compliant.

Prospect lists are obtained directly from the State Licensing Board for registered Architects. Information provided to TxA includes name, address, and license number for registered architects only.

How Your Information is Used

TxA communicates to its members and customers electronically and through bulk mail and email advertisements. All electronic communications adhere to the CAN SPAM Act.

Owners of any third party system used by TxA do not have the permission of TxA to use TxA data for data mining and solicitations.

Your data is used according to your relationship to TxA. A description of the different relationship types is below.

Nonmember Customer Data

Nonmember customer data obtained through online or storefront (paper) registration and sales is for internal TxA purposes only and is not shared or sold to vendors for bulk mail solicitations. It is also used for market research within TxA.

Member Data

Member data is obtained through AIA’s national database, through online registration, or through paper applications submitted for membership. TxA does not sell email addresses, telephone numbers, and additional demographic information.

There are several external databases in addition to the centralized database management system that provide services for our members to use as a part of their AIA membership. A description of the systems and the data that is shared with each system is below

“Find an Architect”  is an online database for use by the general public to search for Architects within a geographical area. Members have the option of having their company information in its online directory.

TxA Online Member Directory is only available to members and it allows them to contact each other.

Commitment to Data Security

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, TxA has implemented the appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online and by paper.

The portions of our website requiring login or data entry by web users are protected by SSL. All paper applications are redacted, shredded and disposed of within 10 days.

Web Browsing Practices

Logging Practices

Our site logs do generate certain kinds of non-identifying site usage data, such as the number of hits and visits to our sites. This information is used for internal purposes by technical support staff to provide better services to members and the public. We are also logging some specific technical information generated by our content server which is used for troubleshooting server functionality. Site information is used to confirm participation in TxA programs and may be used to advise participants of the numbers of visitors who come to our site from their sites. No personal information is collected.

Our web servers automatically record domain names of the websites of visitors to our sites. The domain name is a web address registered for every website on the internet. The web servers keep track of the pages visited on the TxA websites and the amount of time spent on those pages. TxA only uses this information for statistical purposes, to find out which pages users find most useful and to improve the website.

Cookies

Our websites are not set up to track, collect or distribute personal information not entered by visitors. A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive. TxA uses non-identifying cookies to provide easier site navigation and access to forms. Cookies used by TxA are session-based and therefore only last for the duration of the user’s session. Cookies created by TxA are stored on the TxA server and not on user’s browser. The cookie is used to keep user ID generated by the server after user sign in to the system. You can still use TxA sites if your browser is set to reject cookies. Our cookies do not generate personal data, do not read personal data from your machine and are never tied to anything that could be used to identify you.

External Links Disclaimer

TxA provides links from our web pages to external websites because they provide information that may interest our customers. This is provided as a convenience only. External links do not constitute an endorsement by TxA of the opinions, products, or services presented on the external site, or of any sites linked to it. TxA is not responsible for the legality or accuracy of information on externally linked sites, or for any costs incurred while using externally linked sites.

External links are intended to support TxA’s mission. They are not intended to support private or commercial organizations or businesses. Links to .org, .gov, .edu, .mil or other nonprofit sites that share architectural interests inherent to TxA’s mission are encouraged because of their general non-commercial, public-interest nature. Links to .com, .net, and other commercial domains are acceptable if supportive of customers’ needs and relevant to TxA’s mission.

TxA reserves the right to review links and add or remove links at any time for any reason consistent with TxA Policy and Guidance.

When you link to an outside website, including the social networking sites, you are leaving the TxA website and the TxA’s information management policies no longer apply. TxA encourages you to read the privacy statement of each and every website that you visit before you provide any personal information.

Social Networking Sites and Applications

It is important to note that the TxA also links to other third-party sites and applications (e.g, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube). These sites and applications may not follow the same privacy policies as the TxA. For instance, these sites and applications may use cookies, collect data, and use the data in ways that the TxA would not. TxA is not responsible for the privacy practices on these other sites.

Security

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, TxA computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Anyone using this system expressly consents to such monitoring and is advised that if such monitoring reveals evidence of possible abuse or criminal activity, such evidence may be provided to appropriate law enforcement officials. Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on this server are strictly prohibited and may be punishable by law, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996.

How to Contact Us

TxA’s hours of operation are from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST, Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Friday (except national holidays). You may contact us any time and a staff member will respond to your query.

Mailing Address

Texas Society of Architects
500 Chicon St.
Austin, TX 78702, USA
Phone: 512 478 7386

To protect your privacy and security, we will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

TxA staff use return email addresses to answer the email we receive. Please do not send us sensitive information, such as your credit card or social security numbers, via email. It is possible that during transmission of your email this information may be intercepted by a third party. We cannot guarantee its safety while in transit. If you choose to contact TxA staff using an email address, a discussion forum, the TxA blog, text message, or other electronic communication method, or if you choose to complete an online form provided on the TxA website you may be asked to provide your name, email address or other personal information.

The purpose of collecting this information is to allow staff to respond to your enquiry or to evaluate individual web services. Only authorized staff will have access to the information provided and the information will only be used for the purpose it was intended.

Texas Society of Architects Web Properties

Websites

Texas Society of Architects texasarchitects.org

Texas Architect Magazine txamagazine.org

Social Media

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/txarchitects

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/texas-society-of-architects/

Twitter https://twitter.com/TXArchitects

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/AIATexas<

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/txarchitects/