The gist:

We, the folks at ShipIndex, run a website called ShipIndex.org, which is designed to help you research vessels. We would love for you to uses it. Access to a subset of our index data is free, and we offer paid upgrades for access to our premium data and other advanced features. Our service is designed to make it fast and easy to discover resources that help your research about ships, by sharing with you the citation data that we have accumulated. We make this data available on the site for you to use, but it is not there for you to gather and collect in bulk or to be stored for personal purposes or redistribution of any kind.

The below Terms of Service are available under a Creative Commons Sharealike license, which means you’re more than welcome to take it and repurpose it for your own use; just make sure to replace references to us with ones to you. WordPress.com was kind enough to spend a lot of money and time on the agreement below, and thought other people shouldn’t need to do the same. If you use this document, it would be nice to attribute them and keep a link to them.

Terms of Service:

The following terms and conditions govern all use of the ShipIndex.org website and all content, services and products available at or through the website, including, but not limited to, access to the ShipIndex.org Premium Content (“Premium Access”), (taken together, “the Website”). The Website is owned and operated by ShipIndex.org, LLC (“ShipIndex”). The Website is offered subject to your acceptance without modification of all of the terms and conditions contained herein and all other operating rules, policies (including, without limitation, ShipIndex’s Privacy Policy) and procedures that may be published from time to time on this Website by ShipIndex (collectively, the “Agreement”).

Please read this Agreement carefully before accessing or using the Website. By accessing or using any part of the Website, you agree to become bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement. If you do not agree to all the terms and conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the Website or use any of its services. If these terms and conditions are considered an offer by ShipIndex, acceptance is expressly limited to these terms. The Website is available only to individuals who are at least 13 years old.

1. Your ShipIndex.org Account. If you create an account on the Website, you are responsible for maintaining the security of your account, and you are fully responsible for all activities that occur under the account. You must immediately notify ShipIndex of any unauthorized uses of your account or any other breaches of security. ShipIndex will not be liable for any acts or omissions by you, including any damages of any kind incurred as a result of such acts or omissions.
2. Allowed Usage. You agree not use any type of software or other kind of tool or device such as spiders, bots, scrapers, rippers, etc. to access and/or manipulate the data contained on ShipIndex’s Website; nor shall you harvest any information and data. Violation of this provision shall be grounds for immediate termination of this Agreement.
3. Fees and Payment. Optional Premium Access is available on the Website. By selecting Premium Access you agree to pay ShipIndex the monthly or annual subscription fees indicated for that service (the payment terms for Premium Access are described below). Payments will be charged on the day you sign up for Premium Access and will cover the use of that service for a monthly or annual period as indicated. Premium Access fees are not refundable.
4. Premium Access.
   • Fees; Payment. By signing up for Premium Access you agree to pay ShipIndex any setup fees and monthly or annual subscription fees indicated on our home page in exchange for the services listed. Applicable fees will be invoiced starting from the day your Premium Access is established and in advance of using such services. ShipIndex reserves the right to change the payment terms and fees upon thirty (30) days prior written notice to you. VIP Services can be canceled by you at anytime on 30 days written notice to ShipIndex.
   • Premium Access for Individuals. By purchasing Premium Access online through an account on ShipIndex.org, you are responsible for maintaining the security of that account, and you agree to not share access to your account with other individuals including, but not limited to, colleagues, co-workers, research partners, supervisors, students or any other potential or current individual subscriber to Premium Access. Premium Access purchased this way is granted to an individual person and is not to be shared among individuals sharing a computer terminal. You may cancel Premium Access at anytime by halting the recurring payment via the payment gateway interface (e.g. PayPal).
   • Premium Access for Institutions. Institutions must use our institutional sales process to gain Premium Access. Users at the institution will gain Premium Access via IP-based or other authentication mechanisms but will not share access gained through username/password login. Institutions with Premium Access are responsible for maintaining the security of their systems and preventing Premium Access from being available to unauthorized users, as well as preventing harvesting of content from the Website through their institutional authorization as specified in Section 2 of this Agreement. Institutions may elect to enter into a separate written agreement with ShipIndex, and these Terms of Service shall not be considered to supersede this other agreement. Its terms will take precedence over these Terms of Service in the case they conflict.
   • Support. Premium Access include access to priority email support. “Email support” means the ability to make requests for technical support assistance by email at any time (with reasonable efforts by ShipIndex to respond within one business day) concerning the use of the Premium Access. “Priority” means that support for Premium Access customers takes priority over support for users of the standard, free ShipIndex services.
5. Content Posted on Other Websites. We have not reviewed, and cannot review, all of the material, including computer software, made available through the websites and webpages to which ShipIndex.org links, and that link to ShipIndex.org. ShipIndex does not have any control over those non-ShipIndex websites and webpages, and is not responsible for their contents or their use. By linking to a non-ShipIndex website or webpage, ShipIndex does not represent or imply that it endorses such website or webpage. You are responsible for taking precautions as necessary to protect yourself and your computer systems from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and other harmful or destructive content. ShipIndex disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from your use of non-ShipIndex websites and webpages.
6. Intellectual Property. This Agreement does not transfer from ShipIndex to you any ShipIndex or third party intellectual property, and all right, title and interest in and to such property will remain (as between the parties) solely with ShipIndex. ShipIndex, ShipIndex.org, the ShipIndex.org logo, and all other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with ShipIndex.org, or the Website are trademarks or registered trademarks of ShipIndex or ShipIndex’s licensors. Other trademarks, service marks, graphics and logos used in connection with the Website may be the trademarks of other third parties. Your use of the Website grants you no right or license to reproduce or otherwise use any ShipIndex or third-party trademarks. The entire content of ShipIndex.org is ShipIndex's intellectual property. You agree to not copy or distribute any material presented on ShipIndex.org without express written consent from ShipIndex.
7. Changes. ShipIndex reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify or replace any part of this Agreement. It is your responsibility to check this Agreement periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to the Website following the posting of any changes to this Agreement constitutes acceptance of those changes. ShipIndex may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the Website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. This document was last updated on 15 Apr 2010.
8. Termination. ShipIndex may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your ShipIndex.org account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Website. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you have Premium Access, such account can only be terminated by ShipIndex if you materially breach this Agreement and fail to cure such breach within thirty (30) days from ShipIndex’s notice to you thereof; provided that, ShipIndex can terminate the Website immediately as part of a general shut down of our service. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability.
9. Disclaimer of Warranties. The Website is provided “as is”. ShipIndex and its suppliers and licensors hereby disclaim all warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Neither ShipIndex nor its suppliers and licensors make any warranty that the Website will be error free or that access thereto will be continuous or uninterrupted. You understand that you download from, or otherwise obtain content or services through, the Website at your own discretion and risk.
10. Limitation of Liability. In no event will ShipIndex, or its suppliers or licensors, be liable with respect to any subject matter of this agreement under any contract, negligence, strict liability or other legal or equitable theory for: (i) any special, incidental or consequential damages; (ii) the cost of procurement or substitute products or services; (iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or (iv) for any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to ShipIndex under this agreement during the twelve (12) month period prior to the cause of action. ShipIndex shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.
11. General Representation and Warranty. You represent and warrant that (i) your use of the Website will be in strict accordance with the ShipIndex Privacy Policy, with this Agreement and with all applicable laws and regulations (including without limitation any local laws or regulations in your country, state, city, or other governmental area, regarding online conduct and acceptable content, and including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside) and (ii) your use of the Website will not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights of any third party.
12. Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ShipIndex, its contractors, its licensors, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the Website, including but not limited to your violation of this Agreement.
13. Miscellaneous. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between ShipIndex and you concerning the subject matter hereof, and they may only be modified by a written amendment signed by an authorized executive of ShipIndex, or by the posting by ShipIndex of a revised version. Except to the extent applicable law, if any, provides otherwise, this Agreement, any access to or use of the Website will be governed by the laws of the state of New York, U.S.A., excluding its conflict of law provisions, and the proper venue for any disputes arising out of or relating to any of the same will be the state and federal courts located in the state of New York. If any part of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that part will be construed to reflect the parties’ original intent, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect. A waiver by either party of any term or condition of this Agreement or any breach thereof, in any one instance, will not waive such term or condition or any subsequent breach thereof. You may assign your rights under this Agreement to any party that consents to, and agrees to be bound by, its terms and conditions; ShipIndex may assign its rights under this Agreement without condition. This Agreement will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns.