vBulletin Cloud Questions

**interfx** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 7:27am

Very interesting, had not noticed the home page announcement, usually just go directly to Forum. Had not seen in the announcements section here on the forum yet. (might have missed it?)...

Hope to see some of these questions answered, good solution for some of my clients smaller forums.

**scottct1** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 7:44am

Here is the press release...

Fully Hosted Version of vBulletin Emphasizes Ease-of-Use, Efficiency, and Security

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 22, 2014) - vBulletin® today announced the launch of vBulletin Cloud™ (www.vbulletin.com/en/vbulletin-cloud), an all-new cloud-based version of the company's ubiquitous forum software. vBulletin Cloud makes running a forum easier than ever by giving forum sites the option to have vBulletin handle hosting and all back-end infrastructure.

"Our customers have been asking for a hosted version of vBulletin for quite some time," said Joe Rosenblum, CTO of Internet Brands, the parent company of vBulletin. "Rather than rush a product to market, we spent several months talking to current forum owners to gauge their unique needs and expectations. We're very proud of the final result, and we think vBulletin Cloud truly leads forums into the modern era of cloud-based software."
The cloud-based version of vBulletin was created with three major themes in mind: ease-of-use, efficiency, and security.

Ease-of-Use: Now Anyone Can Run a Forum
vBulletin Cloud removes virtually all barriers to setting up a forum, and is ideal for entry to mid-level customers looking to establish a stand-alone forum or to integrate a forum with a larger site. There is no hardware to purchase or manage, and sites are fully customizable with all of vBulletin's main features enabled, including all key admin controls. Fast, easy set-up and management is presented in a non-technical way, eliminating the need for site operators to have extensive programming or coding experience.

"There is now no faster or easier way to get a forum up and running," said Rosenblum. "Forums are at last accessible to virtually anyone on the Internet."

Efficiency: Saving Time and Money
The total cost of vBulletin Cloud site operation is likely to be lower for customers than hosting a forum site themselves, thanks to low total cost and savings on hosting and staffing. vBulletin Cloud provides low monthly and annual pricing with no set-up charges and no long-term commitment. Pricing is based on bandwidth usage and starts as low as $15 per month. 100GB of storage is included at no additional cost. Sites have the option of starting with a low-priced plan and growing into higher tiers if needed.

"Hosting headaches and expenses are now a thing of the past for forum owners," said Rosenblum. "vBulletin Cloud allows customers to focus on what's important: nurturing and growing their forums into world-class online communities."

Security: At the Core of the Cloud
With major data breaches making headlines and affecting millions of people around the world, security has become imperative for website operators. vBulletin Cloud sites will be hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), providing world-class security and scalability and removing the need for sites to worry about hosting hardware purchases and maintenance.

Software upgrades are also no longer a concern with vBulletin Cloud. Sites will be automatically upgraded to each new version of the software with little or no work required by customers, ensuring that vBulletin Cloud websites are always running the most secure version of vBulletin possible. High-performance servers are optimized for vBulletin and provide robust data redundancy and back-up, ensuring that costly downtime is minimized for vBulletin Cloud sites.

Availability
On launch, the initial version of vBulletin Cloud is for new websites. Shortly, vBulletin will provide the capability to migrate existing forums to vBulletin Cloud. For more information and pricing and availability, visit www.vbulletin.com/en/vbulletin-cloud.

About vBulletin
vBulletin (www.vbulletin.com) is the world leader in forum and community publishing software.
Customers have created vibrant communities for over 10 years on vBulletin's stable and mature platform. Developed with security, powerful administration features and speed in mind, it serves over 100,000 online communities worldwide. vBulletin is a division of Internet Brands, Inc.

**feldon23** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 8:11am

vBulletin Cloud is your solution to all the hassles of hosting and maintaining your vBulletin forums.

Hosting and maintaining vBulletin forums has grown in difficulty over the years due to browser and PHP compatibility issues, and overall coding. Perhaps by design?

So... vBulletin SaaS aka vBulletin Cloud aka EZBoard 2. The irony is, I switched from EZBoard to vBulletin to reclaim control over my site's destiny.

**is_it_me** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 8:17am

"Our customers have been asking for a hosted version of vBulletin for quite some time," said Joe Rosenblum, CTO of Internet Brands, the parent company of vBulletin. "Rather than rush a product to market, we spent several months talking to current forum owners to gauge their unique needs and expectations. We're very proud of the final result, and we think vBulletin Cloud truly leads forums into the modern era of cloud-based software."

Now, that is just so funny!

**interfx** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 9:04am

Where is the appropriate place to ask questions of this new SAS model?

**scottct1** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 9:07am

Originally posted by interfx

Where is the appropriate place to ask questions of this new SAS model?

I would guess Pre Sales since we are seeking information on it before we buy it.

**Wayne Luke** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 9:59am

If someone signs up can I import my current database or is this for new setups only?
Currently as it says in the announcement it is for new sites only. We're working on import capabilities.

If its for new startups online do they expect anyone to sign up for a package higher then the $14.99 starter pack? (I don't see ANY starter forum doing above 25GB for a LONG LONG time).
People like choices and the packages were designed for long term use.

Does it come with vBulletin or do I need to buy that as well?
It includes vBulletin and provides a lower cost of entry to customers who do not want to deal with hosting.

If I move to the vb cloud will vb import my current forum into the Cloud and at what cost?
Please see your first question. This is the same only reworded.

Who owns the database? If I want to move off of vBulletin Cloud can I move my site or is it gone forever?
You own the data. The structure is copyrighted as part of vBulletin. We're working on export alongside import.

If I decide to move off of vb cloud how hard will it be for me to move my site to another host?
As difficult as it is to move vBulletin currently.

What is the SLA? Do I get credits for down time?
Will try to find out the answer to this.

What is the specs of the servers you are using? Are these just simple computers or high quality setups complete with raid setups?
They are using Amazon Web Services. Whatever systems they use in their databases.

What is my bandwidth speed to the net? Sure 25 GB is great, but if its being served from a 28.8 modem it does no good.
They are using Amazon Web Services which is known for its redundancy and reliability along with providing high speed connections.

Code:

Where is your acceptable use policy? Where are your terms and condition?

vBulletin Terms and Condidtions

http://www.vbulletin.com/en/terms/

vBulletin Community Software

Privacy Policy - Internet Brands

http://www.internetbrands.com/privacy/privacy-highlights.html?site=www.vbulletin.com

http://www.vbulletin.com/en/license-agreement/ (bottom part of page)

Do I get access to my admin control panel or do I need to submit and pay for a ticket for you to do simple admin functions for me?
You get access to the control panel. However certain functions are restricted for security purposes.

Can I SSH it my account?
There is no SSH or FTP access provided to the servers.

Do you offer any kind of control panel so that we can control our site?
You get access to an account control panel and the vBulletin control panel.

Will we have access to a mailer demon so that our notifications can go out? If yes would these mails be from a special domain or can we use our own domain?
Email is provided and you can set up your own SMTP if you wish.

Do you support SSL connections? If yes how much to add SSL support?
We are working on this currently.

Am I able to use Plugins and other 3rd party add ons?
vBulletin 5 does not support Plugins. Third-party addons are not allowed on Cloud sites.

You give 25 GB of Bandwith but you give 100GB os drive space. Does that mean your bandwidth count is only on outgoing data and not incoming data?
Don't have an answer at this time.

Can you opt out of Automatic upgrades? With vBulletins track record a lot of us like to wait and see how others do with the upgrades before we risk upgrading out own site.
You cannot opt-out of upgrades. For this kind of control, you need to use the downloaded product.

How long is ticket turn around?
Standard ticket system time varies.

How much is each ticket submitted?
There is no "per ticket submitted" price. You can or cannot submit tickets depending on your support status.

What kind of security do you have to protect my forum?
Each Cloud site is on its own virtual machine and not accessible to other accounts. No direct access to the servers is allowed except through our own VPN and access is limited to only personnel that need access.

Is my information secure? Who can view or access my database? I have some private forums which require NDA's for people to access, I do not want vb staff getting bored and deciding to poke around in my database and accessing this classified information.
If you require NDA's then you'll want to control your database on your own servers.

Is support available 24/7? Or if something happens to my site off hours do I need to wait for you guys to go to work again?
Yes. If something happens to your site, how long it takes to bring online depends on what happened. We can't guess.

In case of server failure how long does it take for you to get the site running again on another server?
The time it takes to create a new AWS virtual machine and load the data in the database. Will vary per instance though.

Am I able to use vBulletin 4 series or it is only for vb5?
Only the latest version of vBulletin 5 is supported.

If this new hosting service is so great why is it not being used on vBulletin.com and .org?
No comment to baited questions.

**interfx** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 10:06am

Can a user update the VB5 Cloud style using a 3rd party style package?

**scottct1** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 10:37am

Thanks Wayne for the answers. I posted the questions before the press release came out thus some of the questions were indeed answered in the press release.

As far as my question about AUP and Terms and conditions you answered...

Code:

Where is your acceptable use policy? Where are your terms and condition?

vBulletin Terms and Condidtions

http://www.vbulletin.com/en/terms/

vBulletin Community Software

http://www.internetbrands.com/privac....vbulletin.com
http://www.vbulletin.com/en/license-agreement/ (bottom part of page)

None of those are really valid in a hosting environment, what I was looking for was something like...

Acceptable Use Policy

http://www.dreamhost.com/acceptable-use-policy/

General Acceptable Use Policy - Prohibited Content and Activities: Hacking, Anonymous Proxies, Blacklisting, Spamming, Spoofing, Spampdexing, IRC Bots.

Acceptable Use Policy | TotalChoice Hosting

http://www.totalchoicehosting.com/web-hosting-aup.html

Read the TotalChoice Acceptable Use Policy. Here you can find our complete Acceptable Use Policy for our Hosting Plans at TotalChoice Hosting.

Hosting.com domain name is for sale. Inquire now.

http://www.hosting.com/resources/terms-conditions/aup/

Hosting.com is available for purchase. Get in touch to discuss the possibilities!

Because from what I read from your links (Unless I missed something) it does not really cover hosting policiesm do and don't.

At the way your worded now your opening the door for lots or warez and porn forums. And I am sure IB / VB does not want that.

While I am not a fan of vBulletin 5, when existing sites are able to be moved over I would possibly consider it for some smaller sites I own. I would have to see how restricted on what you can do with your site and software before I decide though. I am not liking the no plugins or 3rd party ads ons though.

**BirdOPrey5** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 11:00am

Originally posted by interfx

Can a user update the VB5 Cloud style using a 3rd party style package?

Only style variable edits are supported on the VBCloud platform. If you need template edits or to import styles you need the regular download package.

**Wayne Luke** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 11:15am

Originally posted by scottct1

Thanks Wayne for the answers. I posted the questions before the press release came out thus some of the questions were indeed answered in the press release.

As far as my question about AUP and Terms and conditions you answered...

None of those are really valid in a hosting environment, what I was looking for was something like...

Acceptable Use Policy

http://www.dreamhost.com/acceptable-use-policy/

General Acceptable Use Policy - Prohibited Content and Activities: Hacking, Anonymous Proxies, Blacklisting, Spamming, Spoofing, Spampdexing, IRC Bots.

Acceptable Use Policy | TotalChoice Hosting

http://www.totalchoicehosting.com/web-hosting-aup.html

Read the TotalChoice Acceptable Use Policy. Here you can find our complete Acceptable Use Policy for our Hosting Plans at TotalChoice Hosting.

Hosting.com domain name is for sale. Inquire now.

http://www.hosting.com/resources/terms-conditions/aup/

Hosting.com is available for purchase. Get in touch to discuss the possibilities!

Because from what I read from your links (Unless I missed something) it does not really cover hosting policiesm do and don't.

At the way your worded now your opening the door for lots or warez and porn forums. And I am sure IB / VB does not want that.

While I am not a fan of vBulletin 5, when existing sites are able to be moved over I would possibly consider it for some smaller sites I own. I would have to see how restricted on what you can do with your site and software before I decide though. I am not liking the no plugins or 3rd party ads ons though.

I don't know why the Cloud Service Agreement is not on its own page but it is on the page with the license agreement. Maybe it is a limitation of Magento. I've copied it here:

Service Agreement for vBulletin Cloud

This Agreement is between you (“You” or “Your”) and vBulletin Solutions, Inc., a California corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Internet Brands, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“vBulletin,” “we,” “our,” “us”).
1. Definitions.

(a) “Account” means Your vBulletin Cloud profile and includes Your Service plan level and features You have selected through the customer portal and personal information You have provided to vBulletin in connection with your vBulletin Cloud profile.
(b) “Content” means written, graphical and electronic content and data, including, without limitation, text, audio, video, photographs, illustrations, photographs, designs, and forms.
(c) “Data Policy” means vBulletin’s standard data deletion policy, as modified from time to time.
(d) “Effective Date” means the date of commencement of the Service as listed in Your Account.
(e) “End User” means a third party that visits Your Website.
(f) “End User Content” means Content supplied by End User displayed on Your Website.
(g) “Privacy Policy” means vBulletin’s privacy policy posted at http://www.internetbrands.com/privac...ighlights.html, as modified from time to time.
(h) “Service” means Your access to and use of the vBulletin Software and vBulletin Cloud.
(i) “vBulletin Cloud” means vBulletin’s website hosting service.
(j) “vBulletin Content” means Content supplied by vBulletin.
(k) “vBulletin Software” means the most current version of vBulletin 5 Connect and any subsequent upgraded versions, as they become available; provided that vBulletin reserves the right to not offer You subsequent upgraded versions its sole discretion.
(l) “Website” means Your website hosted by vBulletin.
(m) “Your Content” means Content supplied by You, made available by means of the Service or on Your Website.
2. Service.

(a) Use of Service. The Service is intended to be used solely for hosting forum websites and not for other usage such as remote digital storage. The Service will only be offered for websites created within the vBulletin Cloud platform. vBulletin may change, discontinue or impose conditions on the Service at any time. vBulletin will provide the Service to You pursuant to its standard policies and procedures then in effect.
(b) Service Levels. The Service offers various Service levels. The Service features, including permitted bandwidth, e-mail usage, and network usage, will depend on the level of Service selected by You in Your Account. The levels of Service and their respective features, as set forth in Your Account and described on vBulletin’s website (www.vBulletin.com), may be changed by vBulletin from time to time.
3. Payment.

You will pay, and authorize vBulletin to charge, the Service fees using Your selected payment method. The fees are based on the Service purchased and not actual usage. Payment obligations are non-refundable. vBulletin reserves the right to contact You or take down Your Website if You fail to make timely Service payments. vBulletin may change Service pricing at any time in its sole discretion, provided that the new pricing will become effective upon commencement of the next Term, at which time, the new price will automatically be applied to Your Service unless terminated by You in accordance with this Agreement.
(a) Overage. The fees are based on the Service purchased and not actual usage, unless the actual usage exceeds the Service purchased. In the event that Your use of the Service exceeds the use provided for by the Service level selected by You in Your Account, vBulletin will be authorized to charge You the fee associated with the Service level consistent with Your usage.
4. vBulletin Property & Feedback.

(a) vBulletin Property. vBulletin retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Service, including without limitation all software, underlying core code used to provide the Service, and vBulletin Content, including all logos and trademarks reproduced through the Service (collectively, “vBulletin Property”). This Agreement does not grant You any intellectual property rights in or to the vBulletin Property or any component thereof. You recognize and agree that: (i) vBulletin Property is the property of vBulletin or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws; and (ii) You do not acquire any right, title, or interest in or to the vBulletin Property except the limited and temporary right to use it as necessary for Your use of the Service.
(b) Feedback. vBulletin will have a royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual license to use and incorporate into the Service any suggestions, enhancement requests, recommendations or other feedback provided by You.
5. Domain Names.

You may opt to use a personal domain name in connection with the Service, or in the alternative, a sub-domain of vBulletin.net.
(a) Personal Domain Name. In all instances where You use a personal domain name for the Service, You represent and warrant that you have all necessary right and title to the domain name, and that use of the domain name will not interfere with or violate any third party rights. Your personal domain will be subject to the terms of the Uniform Domain Dispute Resolution. You acknowledge that You, and in no case vBulletin, will be solely responsible the domain name, including all filings and fees associated with the domain name.
(b) Sub-Domain of vBulletin. In all instances where vBulletin provides You with a sub-domain of vBulletin.net, vBulletin retains all right, title, and interest in the sub-domain. This Agreement does not grant You any property rights in or to the sub-domain or any part thereto, except the limited and temporary right to use the sub-domain in connection with Your use of the Service during the Term.
(c) Data. You acknowledge and agree that vBulletin may associate any data of any kind with the domain name associated with Your Website or any uniform resource location incorporating said domain name until you replace such date with Your Website, at such time if Your Website is not available and upon termination of the Service. Notwithstanding the generality of the foregoing statement, vBulletin may cause your domain to result in a “Webpage cannot be found” or “404 error page.”
6. Your Account, Password, and Security.

Upon registration, You will choose a username, password, and other Account information. You will have the ability to assign other individuals as administrators for Your Account. You will be solely responsible for use of the Service by any such administrators and any other person who uses Your username or password to access the Service whether or not You specifically authorize such person’s use or actions. You are solely responsible for (i) maintaining the confidentiality of Your username, password, and Account and (ii) all activities that occur under Your username, password and Account. You acknowledge and agree that under no circumstances will vBulletin be liable, in any way, for acts or omissions by You, Your administrators, End Users, or any other third parties, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions.
7. Monitoring the Services.

vBulletin may take any legal and technical remedies to enforce or prevent the violation of this Agreement or any other vBulletin agreement or policy. vBulletin has no obligation to monitor the Service but may do so to (i) comply with laws, regulations, or governmental or legal requests; (ii) protect the overall integrity of its network including preventing the distribution of viruses or other malicious code; (iii) operate the technical aspects of the Service in a proper, effective, and reasonable manner; (iv) protect itself, its employees, or others as described in the Privacy Policy; or (v) to enforce or prevent breaches of this Agreement or any other vBulletin agreement or policy. vBulletin will use commercially reasonable efforts to schedule any maintenance outages in a way that minimizes the impact upon You and other customers; however, vBulletin cannot guarantee that Your Service will not be interrupted and cannot always provide advance notice of such outages. vBulletin reserves the right to immediately take down Your Website, in whole or in part, in its sole discretion, at any time and with or without notice to You.
8. Access and Use of Information.

By using the Service, You consent to the transfer, copying, processing and storage of Your Content. You will possess and retain all right, title, and interest in and to Your Content. vBulletin’s use and possession is solely to provide and maintain the Service and for the analysis and reporting of usage data. vBulletin will only disclose information regarding Your use of the Service in accordance with the Privacy Policy, which applies only to the Service and does not apply to any third party site or service linked to the Service or recommended or referred to through the Service. Notwithstanding the foregoing, vBulletin may disclose Your Content as required by applicable law or by proper legal or governmental authority. vBulletin reserves the right to archive Your Content for the purpose of backing up the Service. vBulletin will retain Your Content until erased pursuant to the Data Policy.
9. DMCA.

You agree to designate an agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement by providing contact information to the U.S. Copyright Office and posting such information on Your Website, in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). You further agree to expediently respond to notifications of claimed infringement. If vBulletin receives a notification of claimed infringement for Your Website, vBulletin will attempt to contact You. In the event that You fail to expediently respond to a direct notification of claimed infringement notification or correspondence by vBulletin regarding claimed infringement notification, vBulletin reserves the right to take down Your Website or any Content claimed to be infringing without Your consent. You will not be entitled to reimbursement of Service fees for Website downtime resulting from Your failure to respond to DMCA notifications or correspondences. vBulletin may be required to disclose information to individuals asserting rights under the DMCA, andYou expressly authorize vBulletin to comply with any and all lawful notices, subpoenas, court orders, or warrants without prior notice to You.
10. Your Representations and Warranties. You represent and warrant:

(a) Your Account information is accurate and You will, at all times, maintain the accuracy of such information;
(b) You will abide by all applicable laws, rules and regulations in connection with this Agreement, the Service, and your Website, including DMCA and the CAN-SPAM Act of 2011, as amended;
(c) Your Website will have a posted privacy policy that, at a minimum, discloses the personal information you collect form users and is in compliance with all applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines and any other applicable laws and regulations with respect to online privacy and offers End Users an opportunity to opt-out from collection and use of non-personal identifiable information;
(d) Your Content, Your Website, and End User Content do not and will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party;
(e) Your Website will not to store, transmit, or display any Content that is obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, harassing, pornographic, racially or ethnically offensive, that encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense or give rise to any civil liability;
(f) Your Content, Your Website, and End User Content will be free of any dangerous or malicious content or scripts that could potentially damage or impair the Service to You or other customers (ex. viruses, Trojan horses, Easter eggs, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, buffer overflow programs; back doors, trap doors, cross-site scripting, spam, bots of any type, denial of service attacks);
(g) You will not attempt to undermine, interfere, disrupt, or otherwise adversely affect the security, integrity, or performance of the Service, vBulletin’s network, or third-party data contained therein, as determined by vBulletin in its sole discretion;
(h) You will not utilize processes that generate unreasonable or excessive usage of vBulletin’s system resources, as determined by vBulletin in its sole discretion;
(i) You will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or their related systems or networks.
11. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND AS AVAILABLE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VBULLETIN MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NONINFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. FURTHER, VBULLETIN MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT VBULLETIN CONTENT OR INFORMATION MADE ACCESSIBLE BY OR THROUGH THE SERVICE, THE SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF THE SERVICE, OR THE SERVICE’S RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, OR ABILITY TO MEET YOUR NEEDS. WITHOUT LIMITING THE GENERALITY OF THE FOREGOING, (I) VBULLETIN HAS NO OBLIGATION TO INDEMNIFY OR DEFEND YOU AGAINST CLAIMS RELATED TO INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS; AND (II) VBULLETIN DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL PERFORM WITHOUT ERROR OR IMMATERIAL INTERRUPTION.
12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

IN NO EVENT (A) WILL VBULLETIN’S LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU UNDER THIS AGREEMENT IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE CLAIM; AND (B) WILL VBULLETIN BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING ARISING FROM (I) CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE; (II) END USERS’ USE OF THE WEBSITE; (III) OTHER PARTIES ACCESSING YOUR CONTENT OR ACCOUNT; (IV) SECURITY BREACHES; (V) INTERCEPTION OF TRAFFIC SENT OR RECEIVED USING THE SERVICE; (VI) INTERRUPTIONS OF THE SERVICE, INCLUDING INTERRUPTIONS DUE TO MAINTENANCE; (VI) RELIANCE ON OR USE OR MISUSE OF THE SERVICE; (VIII) MISTAKES, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELETION OF YOUR CONTENT OR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICE; (IX) INABILITY TO ACCESS THE SERVICE DUE TO CONNECTIONS, INTERNET ROUTING, FILTERING BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, HACKING, SPAMMING, OR ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE OUTSIDE THE CONTROL OF VBULLETIN; OR (X) THE USE OF THE SERVICE BY YOU, END USERS, OR OTHER THIRD PARTIES THAT INFRINGES A THIRD PARTY’S COPYRIGHT, PATENT, TRADEMARK, TRADE SCRET, CONFIDENTIALITY, PRIVACY, OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OR CONTRACTUAL RIGHTS. THE LIABILITIES LIMITED BY THIS SECTION APPLY: (I) TO LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENCE; (II) REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT PRODUCT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE; (III) EVEN IF VBULLETIN IS ADVISED IN ADVANCE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE DAMAGES IN QUESTION AND EVEN IF SUCH DAMAGES WERE FORESEEABLE; AND (IV) EVEN IF YOUR REMEDIES FAIL OF THEIR ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. IF APPLICABLE LAW LIMITS THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION, VBULLETIN’S LIABILITY WILL BE LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMISSIBLE.
13. Damages.

You understand and agree that, because damages are often difficult to calculate, if it becomes necessary for vBulletin to pursue legal action to enforce this Agreement against You, You will be liable to pay vBulletin the following amounts as liquidated damages, not as a penalty, but as a reasonable estimate of vBulletin’s damages for the specified breaches of this Agreement:
(a) If Your Content violates this Agreement, You agree to pay vBulletin $100 for each item posted in violation of this Agreement. We may, but will not be required to, issue You a warning before assessing damages.
(b) If You display, copy, duplicate, reproduce, reverse engineer, or exploit any vBulletin Property in violation of this Agreement, you agree to pay vBulletin $1,000 for each item of vBulletin Property.
(c) If you intend to damage, interfere with, disrupt, impair, disable or otherwise overburden the Service or vBulletin’s server, You agree to pay vBulletin $1,000 for each instance.
14. Indemnification.

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless vBulletin, its parent and affiliates, and their respective shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents, licensees, and assigns from and against all claims, losses, damages, liability, costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from (i) Your use or misuse of the Service; (ii) the use or misuse of the Service by anyone else through Your Account; and (iii) a breach of any of Your representation, warranty, or obligation hereunder.
15. Subpoena Policy.

(a) Service of Subpoenas. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers. We do not release non-public information about our customers, except as lawfully required by appropriate legal process such as subpoena, court order, or other valid legal process. We are headquartered in El Segundo, California and will only respond to legal process in compliance with California State and United States Federal law. We only accept legal process delivered by mail or facsimile (we do not accept legal process via e-mail). Acceptance of legal process by these means is for convenience only and does not waive any objections, including lack of jurisdiction or proper service. A person or entity seeking the identity or account information of a vBulletin customer in connection with a civil (as opposed to criminal) legal matter must properly serve us with a subpoena at the following address:
Internet Brands, Inc.
Attention: Legal Department
909 N. Sepulveda Blvd., 11th Floor
El Segundo, California 90245
Fax: 310-280-4335
(b) Documentation; Notice; Response. We reserve the right to request a copy of the complaint and any supporting documentation that demonstrates how the information requested is related to the pending litigation and the underlying subpoena. Upon receipt of a valid civil subpoena, vBulletin will promptly notify the customer whose information is sought. If circumstances do not amount to an emergency, Internet Brands will not immediately produce the user information sought by the subpoena and will provide the customer an opportunity to move to quash the subpoena in court.
(c) Fees for Subpoena Compliance. We will charge the person or entity submitting the civil subpoena for costs, and any applicable taxes, associated with subpoena compliance. Payment must be made within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the invoice. Checks should be made out to vBulletin Solutions, Inc. Our subpoena compliance costs are as follows:
Research: $150.00 per hour
Mailing: Cost as billed
Copies: $.50 per page
Discs and Hard Drives: Cost as billed
(d) E-mail Policy. vBulletin will not produce the content of e-mail, as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 10 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq., prohibits an electronic communications service provider from producing the contents of electronic communications, even pursuant to subpoena or court order, except in limited circumstances.
16. Term & Termination.

(a) Term. This Agreement commences on the Effective Date and will continue on a month-to-month basis (“Term”).
(b) Termination for Cause. vBulletin may terminate this Agreement for material breach by You upon thirty (30) days’ prior written notice to You. If vBulletin terminates this Agreement for cause, You will not be entitled to a refund of the unused portion of the fees paid for the Service.
(c) Termination for Convenience. You may terminate this Agreement for convenience at any time by ceasing use of the Service. If terminated for convenience by You, You will not be entitled to a refund of the unused portion of the fees paid for the Service. vBulletin may terminate this Agreement for convenience upon If terminated for convenience by vBulletin, You will be entitled to a refund of the unused portion of the fees paid for the Service.
(d) Effects of Termination. Upon termination of this Agreement, the rights granted hereunder by any party to the other will cease immediately and Your access to the Service will cease. The following provisions will survive termination of this Agreement: (i) any obligation of You to pay for Service rendered before termination; (ii) Sections 3 (Payment), 4 (vBulletin Property & Feedback), 5 (Domain Names), 8 (Access and Use of Your Information), 11 (Disclaimer of Warranties), 12 (Limitation of Liability), 13 (Damages), 14 (Indemnification), 15 (Subpoena Policy), and 17 (Miscellaneous) of this Agreement; and (iii) any other provision of this Agreement that must survive termination to fulfill its essential purpose.
17. Miscellaneous.

(a) Notices. We may send You notices pursuant to this Agreement to the contact information listed in Your Account, and such notices will be deemed received two (2) days after they are sent. You may send written notices pursuant to this Agreement to vBulletin Solutions, Inc., 909 N. Sepulveda Blvd., 11th Floor, El Segundo, CA 90245, Attention: Legal Department, and such notices will be deemed received two (2) days after they are sent.
(b) Amendment. We may amend this Agreement (including the Privacy Policy) from time to time by posting an amended version at our website (vBulletin.com). Any modified version will be effective at the time it is posted. Your continued use of the Service following the effective date of an amendment will confirm Your consent thereto. This Agreement may not be amended in any other way.
(c) Independent Contractors. The parties are independent contractors. Nothing in this Agreement, or any action by the parties, will be construed to create a partnership, joint venture, or agency. Neither party may bind the other in any way.
(d) No Waiver. Neither party will be deemed to have waived any of its rights under this Agreement by lapse of time or by any statement or representation other than in an explicit written waiver. No waiver of a breach of this Agreement will constitute a waiver of any prior or subsequent breach of this Agreement.
(e) Force Majeure. To the extent caused by force majeure, no delay, failure, or default will constitute a breach of this Agreement.
(f) Assignment & Successors. Neither party may assign this Agreement or any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the other’s express written consent, except vBulletin may assign this Agreement in connection with a sale, merger, or transfer to a corporate affiliate without Your consent. This Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the respective successors and assigns of the parties.
(g) Choice of Law & Jurisdiction. This Agreement will be governed solely by the laws of the State of California, without reference to its conflict of law rules. The parties irrevocably consent to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California and the Central District of California, respectively. The aforementioned choice of venue is intended by the parties to be mandatory, and not permissive, in nature.
(h) Severability. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the parties hereby waive any provision of law that would render any clause of this Agreement invalid or otherwise unenforceable in any respect. In the event that a provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable, such provision will be interpreted to fulfill its intended purpose to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, and the remaining provisions of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect.
(i) Conflicts among Attachments. In the event of any conflict between the terms of this Agreement and those of the Privacy Policy, the terms of this Agreement will govern.
(j) Entire Agreement. This Agreement sets forth the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous writings, negotiations, and discussions with respect to the subject matter hereof.
Effective 12/26/2013

**internalaudit** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 12:24pm

Would vBulletin offer a trial of this cloud service, especially for people like me who are new to building forums / bulletin boards on the web? This is heaven sent as I want to focus on my service offerings but still want interaction among users.

Also, how will the cloud version get around the problem with spam bots and other nuisances which take up lots of resources?

**Wayne Luke** · Wed 22 Jan '14, 12:44pm

We're currently having problems with the vBulletin 5 demo system. We're working on getting it back on line. It would be the demo for the Cloud as well as the Download software.

vBulletin 5 already has bot and spam management tools built-in to the software.

**internalaudit** · Fri 24 Jan '14, 5:27am

Keep us posted when the demo Cloud will be up and running. Hopefully, we can make tweaks to it and see if it fits our needs. Thanks again Wayne.

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