We make thesims.com web site (our "Site") and related services available pursuant to the following Terms of Service ("TOS") and any other rules posted on our Site. Your use of this Site signifies your agreement with this TOS and any posted rules. If you do not agree to the TOS and posted rules, then please do not use this Site. Although EA does not charge to use thesims.com, we may choose to charge for any or all of our services on this Site in the future. We may modify the TOS at any time, and your continued use of this Site signifies your agreement to the modified TOS. Please read the TOS and check back often.

1. Privacy Policy. To read our Privacy Policy, click on the "Privacy Policy" icon on our home page. If you are under 18, you must: (1) let your parent or guardian know about EA's Privacy Policy before you register to use this Site or any of this Site's services; and (2) have your parent's or guardian's permission before you use any of the bulletin board or chat features on this Site. Please don't post your name, address or any personal information about yourself anywhere on thesims.com.

2. Use of this Site.

2.1 Registration. You must register to use some of the features on this Site. We may change registration requirements from time to time. You may not provide false registration information about yourself.

2.2 Content. Content is defined as any graphics (including skins, buildings, and textures), sounds, music, video, audio or text that EA, you, or any other user may upload or transmit on this Site. You agree not to upload or transmit on this Site any Content that is subject to any third party’s copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right, unless you have express permission from all parties with rights in that Content, and those parties agree to this TOS. You bear the entire risk of the completeness, accuracy or usefulness of any Content found on this Site. Each user is solely responsible for the Content that he or she posts. EA does not pre-screen Content supplied by users. However, EA reserves the right to remove from this Site any Content (including bulletin board postings) at any time and for any reason. Removal may be immediate and without notice.

2.3 No Commercial Use. thesims.com is for your personal, non-commercial use only. You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any Content, software, products, or services obtained from this Site. You may not use this Site, or any of its Content, to further any commercial purpose, including any advertising or advertising revenue generation activity on your own Site.

2.4 Your Activity. You use this Site at your sole risk. You agree that you will be personally responsible for your use of this Site and for all of your communication and activity on this Site. EA reserves the right to deny you access to this Site, or any part of this Site, at any time without notice. If EA determines, in its sole discretion, that you engaged in prohibited activities, were not respectful of other users, or otherwise violated this TOS, EA may deny you access to this Site. EA’s judgments are final. You may not use this Site to:

(a) publish, post, distribute, or otherwise disseminate Content that is harassing, defamatory, infringing, pornographic, obscene, invasive of personal privacy or publicity rights, or otherwise unlawful or objectionable;

(b) threaten, harass, stalk, abuse others, or otherwise cause distress or unwanted attention to any person;

(c) upload files that contain software or Content owned by a third party unless you have express permission to do so and the third party agrees to this TOS regarding the uploaded software or Content;

1. promote or encourage any illegal activity including hacking, cracking or distribution of counterfeit software;

(e) upload files that contain a virus or corrupted data;

(f) interfere with this Site's availability to other users (e.g., excessive shouting [use of all caps] or flooding [continuous posting of repetitive text]);

(g) post messages on a bulletin board for any purpose other than personal communication;

(h) transmit advertising, promotional materials, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or make any commercial use of this Site;

(i) engage in any unlawful purpose, or use this Site in a manner that is contrary to any law or regulation; or

(j) impersonate another person or Site personnel, modify files without permission, or violate the TOS or the Site’s posted rules.

5. Nature of Communications; No Privacy. Your and other users’ communications are not endorsed, approved, or pre-screened by EA. You acknowledge and agree that your communications with other users via chats, conferences, bulletin boards, and any other avenues of communication on this Site are public and not private communications, and that you have no expectation of privacy concerning your use of this Site. You acknowledge that personal information that you communicate on this Site may be collected by other users and result in unsolicited communications, and that EA is not responsible for the actions of other users.

2.6 Rights Granted to EA. You grant to EA a royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, transferable, non-exclusive and fully sub-licensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, and display, in whole or in part, and without any notice or compensation to you, any Content that you post, transmit, upload or otherwise communicate on this Site. You waive and relinquish any "moral rights" that may exist in any Content, and agree not to assert any moral rights in Content.

2.7 Publicity Rights. If you win a contest, or are inducted into our Hall of Fame, you give us permission to post your user name and/or hometown on our Site in connection with your submission or the contest. If you do not want us to post your actual name on this Site, then please do not use your actual name as your user name.

3. Links to Third-Party Sites. EA may include hyperlinks on thesims.com to web sites operated by parties other than EA, including advertisers. EA does not control such web sites and is not responsible for their Content. Those sites may collect data or solicit personal information from you. Those sites are not subject to EA's Privacy Policy and EA is not responsible for the privacy policies on those sites, or the use of any information those sites may collect.

4. Community Web Pages.

1. Registration. To post a web page using the format provided with The Sims™ game and thus share game data with other players (a "Community Web Page"), you must register your copy of The Sims™ online and provide us with your product serial number and the other registration information requested.

4.2 Community Web Pages. EA is providing server space to users to post Community Web Pages ("Web Hosting Service"). As with all Content on this Site, you bear the entire risk of the completeness, accuracy or usefulness of any Community Web Page posted. Each user is solely responsible for the Community Web Page that he or she posts. EA does not pre-screen Community Web Pages. However, EA reserves the right to remove from this Site any Community Web Page at any time and for any reason. Removal may be immediate and without notice. You may not use your Community Web Page to engage in any activity prohibited by this TOS. You also may not post or maintain a Community Web Page that:

1. is not devoted to The Sims™ game;
2. has no activity for more than thirty (30) days;
3. acts as a door or sign post to another home page, or is used for data warehousing (storing data that is accessed from other sites);
4. restricts access to the Web Page through password protection or other means;
5. contains links to pages containing Content that is not permitted on this Site;
6. reflects any conduct that EA determines is harmful to EA, another user, or any third party; or
7. is used to send unsolicited email that uses thesims.com address, or refers to thesims.com.

3. No Guarantee of Availability. EA does not guarantee access to, or the availability of, any Community Web Page posted by you or another user. EA does not guarantee that a certain amount of space will be dedicated to Community Web Pages. EA reserves the right to change, withdraw, suspend, or discontinue this Web Hosting Service at any time, without notice. Users do not have the right to continued or uninterrupted use of any Community Web Page on this Site, or the right to post or maintain a Community Web Page. Without limiting the foregoing, EA has the right to: (1) limit or change the amount of server space available for Community Web Pages; (2) modify or remove Content on, or decrease the size of, Community Web Pages; (3) limit or change the duration of time that Community Web Pages may be hosted; and (4) remove or prevent any Community Web Page from being posted to this Site. EA is not obligated to make or keep backup copies of any Community Web Pages posted on this Site, or of any Content or Community Web Page modified or removed by EA.

4.4 Required Links or Content. EA may require each Community Web Page to contain a link to thesims.com home page or other links, and/or to display certain Content including, but not limited to, banner advertising or other advertising. You may not alter, remove or otherwise interfere with links or Content that EA places on Community Web Pages.

1. Downloadable Software.

5.1 License Terms. Any software that you may download from this Site ("EA Software") is the copyrighted work of Electronic Arts Inc. and/or its licensors. Use of EA Software is governed by the terms of any end-user license agreement that may accompany the EA Software. The following terms apply to your use of EA Software (to the extent not inconsistent with any accompanying end-user license agreement): (a) EA hereby grants to you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license to use the object code version of the EA Software solely on your single personal computer; (b) EA Software is provided strictly on an "as-is" basis, without any warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, including without limitation any warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose (even if EA has been informed of such purpose), non-infringement or compatibility with your computer hardware or software; (c) EA has no liability of any kind or nature in connection with your use of the EA Software (including liability for any consequential or incidental damages), and the entire risk of use (including without limitation any damage to your computer hardware or software) resides with you; and (d) your license to use the EA Software will terminate automatically and without notice in the event that you violate any of these license terms.

5.2 Export Controls: This Site is located in California, USA. Users who access this Site are solely responsible for knowing and complying with all federal, state, and local laws that may apply to them in their own locale. EA Software may be subject to United States export controls. By downloading EA Software from this Site, you warrant that you are not located in any country, or exporting EA Software to any person or place, to which the United States has embargoed goods.

6. No Unauthorized Copying or Distribution. You understand and agree that all Content, EA Software and all HTML and other code contained in this Site, is owned by EA and/or its licensors and is protected by copyright and other laws and international treaty provisions. Any reproduction or redistribution of the above listed materials is prohibited by law and may result in civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible. Without limiting the foregoing, copying the above listed materials to any other server or location for publication, reproduction or distribution is expressly prohibited.

7. Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability. EA hereby disclaims all warranties and conditions with regard to this Site, EA Software, Content, products, services and other material on this Site, including without limitation all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement of third party rights. This Site and all EA Software, Content, products, services and other material on this Site are provided "as is" and on an "as available" basis without warranty of any kind. EA and its licensors assume no responsibility for any damages suffered by you, including, but not limited to, loss of data, errors, use or reliance on inaccurate information, Site down time or interruptions caused by EA, its licensors, Content suppliers (including other users), and affiliates, or by your or any other user’s own actions, errors and/or omissions. You acknowledge and agree that EA is not liable for any action by EA, its licensors, its Content providers (including other users) or affiliates with respect to conduct, communication, Community Web Pages, or other Content on this Site. EA shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, exemplary, or consequential damages in connection with EA Software, this Site, or any of its Content. Your sole and exclusive remedy for breach of any warranty, or your dissatisfaction with this Site or any service on it, is to discontinue your use of this Site.

8. Indemnification. At EA’s request, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless EA, its affiliates, licensors, and suppliers, from all liabilities, claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising from any breach of this TOS by you. EA reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you hereunder, and in such event, you shall have no further obligation to provide indemnification for that matter.

9. Entire Agreement and Modifications. This TOS and any rules and instructions posted on this Site constitutes the entire agreement between you and EA regarding your use of this Site, and supercedes any other agreement or understanding. The TOS and posted rules may not be modified orally by any EA or Maxis employee. EA reserves the right to modify this TOS at any time. We may add new provisions or revise any of the terms and conditions of this TOS. You agree that it is your responsibility to review this TOS from time to time to keep yourself informed of any changes. You agree that your continued use of this Site after any changes to this TOS constitutes your acceptance of and agreement to such changes.

10. Governing Law. This TOS will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, as applied to agreements made and performed entirely within California. Any litigation or other dispute with respect to this Site and/or this TOS will take place in the state or federal courts located in Santa Clara County, California. You consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in the state and federal courts of Santa Clara County, California.

11. Our Relationship. You acknowledge and agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and EA as a result of this TOS or your use of this Site. You agree that you may not and will not hold yourself out as a representative, agent, or employee of EA, and EA shall not be liable for any representation, act, or omission on your part.

12. No Waiver. EA's failure to enforce at any time any of the provisions of this TOS shall not be construed as a waiver of any such provision. Any express waiver of a provision by EA shall not constitute a waiver of any future obligation to comply with such provision or any other provision of this TOS.

(c) 2000 Electronic Arts Inc. Material published on thesims.com is copyrighted by EA or its licensors. All rights reserved. Web Site (c) 2000 Electronic Arts Inc. All third party trademarks mentioned or displayed on this Site are the property of their respective owners.