Warning: Diving is an activity in which there exists the potential for serious injury or death

Warning: Scuba diving, in particular technical scuba diving, is an activity in which there exists the potential for serious injury or death. ALL Users must read and agree to these Terms of Service before using this site.

This web site is dedicated to technical diving, an activity which is inherently dangerous. You should not depend on information gleaned from this site for your personal safety. Your diving safety depends upon your own judgment based on competent instruction, experience, and a realistic assessment of your diving ability.

There is no substitute for professional instruction and certification in technical diving and it is widely available. You should engage a certified diving instructor or school to learn diving safety techniques. If you misinterpret a concept expressed on this site, you may be killed or seriously injured as a result of the misunderstanding. Therefore, the information provided on this site may only be used to supplement competent personal instruction from a certifying technical diving agency. Even after you are certified and proficient in technical diving, occasional refresher or additional training under the instruction of a diving instructor is a safe way to raise your diving standards and learn new and more advanced techniques. All information is presented solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be considered as scuba diving instruction in any way.

There are no warranties, either expressed or implied, that the instructions and information on this website are accurate and reliable. There are no warranties as to fitness for a particular purpose or that this site is merchantable. Your use of this site indicates your assumption of the risk of death or serious injury as a result of diving’s risks and is an acknowledgement of your own sole responsibility for your diving safety.

The following terms and conditions are in reference to The Deco Stop web site and discussion board (www.thedecostop.com), here in referred to as "The Deco Stop". These terms and conditions apply to all sites, services, and resources within the The Deco Stop.

1. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

The Deco Stop provides its service to you, subject to the following Terms of Service (referred to as "TOS"), which may be updated by us from time to time without notice. You may review the most current version of the TOS at any time at: http://thedecostop.com/tos.htm. In addition, when using particular The Deco Stop services, you shall be subject to any posted guidelines or rules applicable to such services.

2. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE

The Deco Stop provides users with access to informational resources including communication and interactive resources pertaining to Technical Scuba Diving and the Diving industry. Under no circumstances shall The Deco Stop be liable to any user on account of that user's use or misuse of the site or reliance on the site. Such limitation of liability shall apply to prevent recovery of direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special, punitive and exemplary damages (even if The Deco Stop has been advised of the possibility of such damages). Such limitation of liability shall apply whether the damages arise from use or misuse of the site or reliance on the site, from inability to use the site, or from the interruption, suspension, or termination of the site or services offered on the site (including such damages incurred by third parties).

Such limitation shall also apply with respect to damages incurred by reason of other services or goods received through or advertised on the site or received through any links provided on the site. .Such limitation shall apply, without limitation, to the costs of procurement of substitute goods or services, lost profits, or lost data. These limitations shall apply notwithstanding any failure of essential purpose of any limited remedy. The Deco Stop makes no warranties as to the accuracy of its information and due to the volatile nature of the information contained within The Deco Stop. The Deco Stop can not screen or authenticate all articles, posts, listings or other information. The Deco Stop will not sell any member information.

3. TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP & USAGE RESTRICTIONS

Site Membership

a) Membership is available to any person over the age of 18 who registers and accurately provides all the required information, provides a legitimate electronic mail address and obtains a unique The Deco Stop member name and password. Membership is non-transferable. The use of web-based email accounts may be denied due to abuse.

b) All membership information must be accurate and belong to the person registering. All persons are limited to having one user account. Invalid, incomplete, or falsified information can result in the immediate termination of all membership privileges for that user and, possibly a permanent ban, restricting the member from using any of The Deco Stop’s services at any time.

c) Usage of this site is restricted to persons over the age of 18.

d) The Deco Stop is not responsible for the content of any member's posts, and the views expressed on The Deco Stop are the responsibility of the posting member and not The Deco Stop. The Deco Stop does not preview member posts in any way before they appear on the site. Any link posted to a third-party internet address does not imply an endorsement of that site or its content by The Deco Stop.

e) The Deco Stop forums are for the discussion of technical diving and related topics. While the administrators and moderators of The Deco Stop will attempt to keep all off-topic messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of The Deco Stop nor the moderators will be held responsible for the content of any message.

f) The Deco Stop forums may contain profanity.

g) As a condition of buying and selling items listed in any forum of The Deco Stop, Buyer and Seller agree that The Deco Stop is not brokering or otherwise participating in any purchase or sale. The Deco Stop has no knowledge of the terms of sale, the condition of any items offered for sale, the accuracy of any aspect of the sale or the use to which any item shall be put. Buyer assumes all responsibility for proper use of any item so purchased. Buyer acknowledges that improper use of some or all of the items offered for sale on The Deco Stop may cause serious injury or death. Buyer further acknowledges that scuba diving, particularly technical scuba diving, carries with it a risk of serious injury or death that may not be avoided, even if the items purchased on The Deco Stop are used properly. Buyer shall seek qualified assistance and instruction in the use of all items purchased. Users may not post links to any off-site “for-sale” items or any auctions.

h) Pornography of any type is not allowed. Posts of an illegal nature will not be tolerated. Threats of any kind will not be tolerated and will be removed and the user suspended or banned permanently. Removed threats will be retained by the owners as evidence should legal action be desired by the threatened party.

i) The owners, administrators, and moderators of The Deco Stop reserve both the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason, and the right to suspend or delete any user account for any reason we feel is in violation of the TOS, both explicit and implied.

j) Membership in The Deco Stop is a privilege, not a right. We reserve the right to deny service to any person at any time without cause.

4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

It is the policy of The Deco Stop to respond expeditiously to claims of intellectual property infringement. The Deco Stop will promptly process and investigate notices of alleged infringement and will take appropriate actions under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"). Should a violation of intellectual property be discovered, the document(s) or messages in such violation will be removed in a timely manner after any and all investigating has been completed to prove the authenticity of such a claim.

5. PUBLIC CONTENT ON THE DECO STOP

Any and all content posted for inclusion in publicly accessible areas of The Deco Stop are the responsibility of the creator. The Deco Stop makes no claims or warranties about such information or its authenticity. Upon posting any content on The Deco Stop, you grant The Deco Stop the non-exclusive right to publish, modify and use such content solely for the purpose of displaying such content.

No representations made or advice given by The Deco Stop Members or Moderators should be in any way considered a diagnosis, treatment or cure for any illness or condition, either discussed or implied. Answers to questions are offered as information only and should always be used in conjunction with advice from your personal diving physician. No responsibility is taken by The Deco Stop, its Members or Moderators, for any conceivable consequence which might be related to any answer that is freely given to questions on this site.

6. LIMITATION OF RE-USE

You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes or noncommercial purposes any portion of the services or content contained within The Deco Stop and its subsidiary sites. In order to use any content, graphical art, photos or files owned by or published by The Deco Stop, direct, written authorization must be obtained from The Deco Stop with no exceptions at any time for any reason.

7. LEGAL RESTRICTIONS

This agreement shall be constructed and controlled by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising hereunder will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Each member agrees to personal jurisdiction by tile state and federal courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The Deco Stop reserves the right to change, modify or update this TOS agreement at any time without notification. Membership in and the use of resources contained within thedecostop.com constitutes full agreement and acknowledgement of the restrictions, limitations and terms set forth in this agreement.