Terms of Use Agreement, Revised 10/04/2022.

Use of FreeToastHost websites

FreeToastHost is a free website provider, content management system, and email list server for the exclusive use of Toastmasters clubs and districts in good standing. Use of this system is strictly for purposes of Toastmasters related activities and business. Any use of this system for personal activities or non-Toastmasters activities will be considered a violation of this agreement and the offending website may be removed from the system. While we certainly want to make the system work well for the majority of its users, some basic terms of use are necessary to ensure that the system continues to function as intended and is readily available in the future. By continuing to use the FreeToastHost website system, you are agreeing to abide by these Terms of Use.

The following are specific examples of inappropriate use of the FreeToastHost system:

Ownership of data and content. While you are certainly the owner of your content and information entered into the FreeToastHost website system, we are the owner of the database in which it resides, the system HTML template, and all scripts and program code used to operate the system. If we find that our scripts or our provided default content (with the exception of user-editable content) are being adversely infringed upon or altered without our consent, we reserve the right to take appropriate action, up to and including removal from the system.

In accordance with Toastmasters International Policies and Protocols, the use of FreeToastHost and its functions is limited to Toastmasters activities and promotions. The club president and the district director are responsible for all content on the club and district sites respectively. Use of the membership and email lists is restricted to Toastmasters information and shall not be used for solicitation or any other use.

Any misuse or violation of Toastmasters International Policies and Protocols pertaining to use of the website may result in removal of offensive material and suspension of the offending website and a ban from posting comments on the FreeToastHost support forums.

Use of the FreeToastHost support forums

The FreeToastHost support forum is for the sole purpose of providing help and support for users of FreeToastHost club and District websites. Any other type of solicitation is expressly prohibited.

We ask you to be respectful at all times, both to other users and to Ambassadors. The Ambassadors are all volunteers and, depending on when you post your query, may not be available at that time. In addition, not all Ambassadors are able to answer every question. Much of the time, your query will be addressed within about 24 hours, though it does depend on the availability of the support volunteers.

We may refer you to our online documentation if the answer to your inquiry is best explained there--we try our best to keep it updated and as useful as possible. We may also refer you to another forum topic thread or ask you to search the forum topics if we believe that your inquiry has already been addressed. If we do these things, it does not mean that we are trying to ignore you or are unwilling to support you. In many cases, it is just more effective and efficient to refer inquiries to documented features or already explained solutions rather than to repetitively try to explain the same solution over and over again, which has the net effect of making us less available for new unresolved issues.

You may be asked to carry out certain instructions and post the results to the forum, so that we can figure out exactly what is going wrong. This may seem like extra work, but it is needed so that we can be sure we're addressing the real cause of an issue. If that isn't something you wish to do, then we reserve the right to lock the thread and not provide further support with that particular issue.

You don’t have to like everything about FreeToastHost. You don’t have to like it at all. But please express your opinions respectfully. Personal attacks, threats or derogatory statements about Ambassadors, admins or other users are not acceptable.

A single less-than-ideal post is unlikely to cause major problems. However, persistent posting in an unacceptable manner will result in being put on moderation or an outright ban from posting.

In addition, the following are not allowed on these forums and are likely to result in an immediate ban:

• Offensive language, “adult” content, spam
• Politics, religion or other contentious topics. There are plenty of other places where you can discuss these.
• Overt advertising for other services or businesses. A discreet mention or link in your signature may be OK.
• Instructions for circumventing Terms of Service, EULAs etc.