The following constitutes the policies and procedures for the Marin County Web Site as currently approved by the Board of Supervisors. Marin County reserves the right to change these policies and procedures at any time without prior notice. The following is not intended and should not be interpreted as a contract of any nature, either stated or implied.

Advertising

The Marin County Web Site will contain no paid advertising or other content promoting the gain or profit of individuals and/or non-Marin County Government businesses.

Copyrights

The purpose of Marin County's Internet presence is to share information and to enable wider connectivity to County functions in order to improve service to the public. Therefore, we encourage the sharing and dissemination of information found on our site. However, Marin County does retain copyright on its Web Site design elements, including but not limited to, graphic images, logos, trademarks, photographs and web code.

In instances where there is access to copyrighted materials, users of the Marin County Web Site, must respect all copyrights and may not copy, retrieve, modify or forward copyrighted materials, except where expressly allowed by the copyright law or with expressed written permission from the right owner.

Commercial use of these materials is prohibited without the written permission of Marin County. In all copies of this information, you must retain this notice and any other copyright notices originally included with such information. Marin County reserves all other rights.

Disclaimer-General

Every attempt was made to be sure that the information contained in the following pages was valid at the time of publication. Marin County reserves the right to make changes and improvements at any time and without notice. Marin County assumes no liability for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the information provided regardless of how caused. Marin County also assumes no liability for any decisions made or actions taken or not taken by the user of Marin County's Internet site in reliance upon any information or data furnished hereunder.

Disclaimer-Timeliness & Accuracy of Data

Although the data found using Marin County access systems have been produced and processed from sources believed to be reliable, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of any information. This disclaimer applies to both isolated and aggregate uses of the information. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate and timely data, Marin County provides this information on an "as is" basis. If you find any errors or omissions, please report them to the responsible department or to the webmaster at:  webmaster@co.marin.ca.us.

Election Campaigning

The Marin County Web Site service is provided through use of County Funds. County funds may not be used for election campaign purposes. Further, Marin County has adopted a no-advertising policy for its Internet site. Therefore, use of the Marin County Web Site for election campaigning is prohibited.

External Links

Marin County provides links to other sites on the Internet (WWW), where the information may be of value as an educational or reference tool, or because they may be related to the mission of Marin County. Marin County, at its discretion, may also provide links to sites providing software needed to access information or services provided by the County. Use of information obtained from those web sites is voluntary and at the sole risk of the user.

Web sites linked to by the Marin County Web Site, are not controlled or sponsored or endorsed by Marin County. Links to these web sites are not intended as an endorsement of any product or service offered or referenced on the linked web site, the organizations sponsoring said web site, or any views that might be expressed or referenced on the web site.

Similarly, web sites that link to the Marin County Web Site are not controlled or endorsed by Marin County.

Marin County, in its sole discretion, will determine whether the external web site link supports the purpose of this web portal and the mission of Marin County. Links to external web sites and pages may be removed or replaced at the sole discretion of Marin County, at any time without notice. In the event you discover problems with or have concerns regarding a linked external web site, please contact the organization responsible for the linked external web site or:  webmaster@co.marin.ca.us.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Though personal information may be required either by law or in order for us to provide a requested service, in doing so we are subject to the privacy requirements set forth in the Information Practices Act of 1977 (California Civil Code Section 1798 et seq.) and the requirements for administering information systems in California Government Code Section 11015.5. Pages that appear after you click on a link may be controlled by a different agency or entity, whose practices are not under Marin County's control.

We only collect, retain and use personal information where it is essential (and allowed by law) to administer Marin County business and to provide products, services and other opportunities requested by our visitors.

Prior to data collection, the user will be notified of:

• The purposes for which personally identifiable data are collected and that any subsequent use of the data shall be limited to and consistent with the fulfillment of those purposes.
• That personal data may not be disclosed, made available, or otherwise used for a purpose other than those specified, except with the consent of the subject of the data, or as required by law or regulation.
• That personal data is protected against loss, unauthorized access, use, modification, or disclosure, and that access to such data is limited to only those employees who need access in order to perform their assigned duties.

For each visitor, information is collected about the Internet Protocol (IP) address, type browser used, the date and time of the visit, and the IP addresses of the locations to which the visitor linked during his or her visit to our Web site. This information is strictly used for statistical reporting purposes. Please be advised that some software we use to administer our Internet site or to provide requested services does use a technology called "cookies".

A "cookie" is a tiny element of data that a Web site can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive. A cookie cannot read data off a hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. No user information is gathered through cookies except for that needed to run the specific application and it is used for those purposes only. You may set your browser to not allow any cookies to be set on your hard drive or to notify you when you receive a cookie.

We do not sell or rent our visitors' information to any outside company or organization. We do not reveal specific information about visitors or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use, except if required to do so by the Public Records Act (California Government Code Section 6250 et seq.) or other law.

Content Management-Bulletin Boards, Forums and Chat Areas

The purpose of Marin County's Internet presence is to share information and to enable wider connectivity to County functions in order to improve service to the public, as well as to meet the needs of County staff.

The Marin County Web Steering Committee must approve the creation and implementation of any bulletin board, forum or chat capability. All bulletin boards, forums and chat areas will be governed by written policies and procedures. In addition to the General Policies set forth in this document, the Marin County Web Steering Committee may formulate any additional Policies & Procedures related to the specific purposes of the Bulletin Board Service, forum or chat area. General Polices

Bulletin Board Services, forums and/or chat areas will be in support of the mission of the County and the originating department. Unless otherwise specified by departmental directive, Bulletin Board Services and forums will be administered, and chat areas moderated by Marin County Staff to ensure content is in keeping with County policy.

Bulletin Board Services, forums and chat areas are established to share information and usually, to promote dialogue about a specific topic or subject area. In posting issues and responses, rules of courtesy and common sense should be followed. New posting topics should relate to the overall purpose of the board. Response postings should relate to the specific topic being discussed. All postings should be polite, use appropriate language and not interfere with the use of others. Postings for personal gain or profit are prohibited. Official Communications

Forums and chat areas are established to improve communication on issues. However, postings do not constitute official communications to the County of Marin. All official communications must be processed through legally approved channels.

It is the responsibility of posting individuals to use Marin County facilities in a manner that is legal, respects the privacy of others, and does not infringe the copyrights of others. Posters are responsible for all content they post on Marin County Bulletin Board Services, forums and in chat areas. It is also the responsibility of posters not to re-publish postings by others without the poster's consent. Posters should be aware that forum or chat exchanges do not constitute an official communication with the county.

The posting of Internet site addresses is permitted when they relate directly to the subject at-hand. For security reasons, no HTML tags or code may be posted. No files or other material containing viruses may be posted, nor any other malicious attempt made to destroy or harm the data of another user or system.

In accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act USC Title 15 Chapter 19, postings by children under the age of 18, are only permitted under the direct supervision of a parent or guardian for the purpose of ensuring both proper use and that privacy of information requirements are met. Postings may not be of a discriminatory or harassing nature. They may not contain abusive, profane or offensive language or pictures. No messages with derogatory or inflammatory remarks about an individual's race, age, gender, disability, religion, national origin, physical attributes or sexual preference may be posted.

Postings must not jeopardize security, confidentiality, or place Marin County in a litigious position as a result of breaking any local, state or federal law. Postings may not be used for any purpose that is illegal or against Marin County policy.

Spam – Bulletin Board Services, forums and chat areas are public arenas of communication. Any form of private unsolicited communication to people who post is not acceptable. Posters should be aware that any messages created, sent or retrieved over the Internet are not private. Discretion should be exercised if data security or confidentiality are issues.

The Bulletin Board Service or forum administrator, or chat area moderator will remove postings in violation of these policies. Violations may result in cancellation of user posting privileges at the sole discretion of the administrator/moderator, or of any other Marin County agency or staff member as determined by the Marin County Web Steering Committee.

In the event you discover problems with or have concerns regarding posting activities on the Marin County Web Site, please contact the site webmaster at:  webmaster@co.marin.ca.us.

Marin County makes no guarantees of any kind, whether expressed or implied for the service it is providing. Bulletin Board Service and forum administrators, and chat area moderators do not investigate the accuracy of information contained in messages, or evaluate the suitability of any comments or advice contained in these messages.

Use of these BBS, forums or chat areas, constitutes understanding and acceptance of these terms and conditions. Use of any information obtained via the Marin County BBS, forum or chat areas is at the sole risk of the user.