Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Welcome to the Terms of Use for joshuaslocumsocietyintl. This page sets out the basic conditions for using the Society website, including the archive material, registry references, articles, page links, and contact tools made available online.

I tend to read terms the same way I read an old logbook: not for drama, but for bearings. They tell you what the page is for, what conduct keeps the passage safe, and where responsibility rests when a visitor chooses to use the material.

By using this site, you agree to follow these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the site.

Current Terms and Last Update

Last updated: June 16, 2026.

These are the current Terms of Use for joshuaslocumsocietyintl. When the Society changes this page, the updated date above should change as well. That date matters. A researcher returning after a long gap should be able to see whether the rules have shifted since the last visit.

In maritime work, dates are never decorative. A chart correction, a vessel registration, or a log entry gains meaning from its time and place. The same habit serves this page. The date helps visitors understand which version of the terms governed their use at the time they read them.

How to read this page

Read these terms before relying on the site for research, citation planning, registry review, or correspondence with the Society. The language is meant to be plain. If a point affects your intended use, slow down and read that section closely.

The Society may revise these terms from time to time. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the revised terms.

Acceptance: What Using This Site Means

By using joshuaslocumsocietyintl, you agree to these terms.

Use includes visiting pages, reading entries, searching or reviewing archive references, consulting registry material, following internal links, submitting a contact message, or otherwise interacting with the site. You do not need to sign a paper form for these terms to apply. Opening the site and using its content is enough.

This is a simple arrangement, but it carries real weight. The site exists to support respectful interest in Joshua Slocum, the Spray, solo voyaging, and the wider record of sailors who crossed oceans with limited company and much responsibility. Visitors help keep that work useful by treating the material with care.

Acceptance does not give a visitor ownership of site content. It gives permission to use the site within the limits described here.

Use the Archive and Registry for Lawful Purposes

Use our service for lawful purposes only.

That rule is short because it needs to be. The Society's pages may support family research, maritime history, reading groups, educational work, vessel-interest inquiries, and correspondence about archival questions. Those uses belong in safe water when handled honestly.

Unlawful use does not. Do not use this site to violate intellectual property rights, harass another person, impersonate someone, submit false information, interfere with site operation, attempt unauthorized access, or distribute harmful code. Do not use archive or registry references to mislead readers about a person, vessel, event, or affiliation.

A practical example

Suppose a visitor finds a registry reference connected to a sailor and wants to include it in a local history article. A sound use would quote or describe the reference carefully, keep the context intact, and avoid implying that the Society has endorsed the article unless the Society has actually said so. A poor use would lift the reference, add invented details, and present the result as an official Society finding.

The difference is not academic. Maritime history often turns on names, dates, ports, and vessel identities. A small distortion can travel farther than the original correction.

If you are unsure whether a proposed use is lawful or appropriate, pause before publishing or distributing the material. For questions about the Society's pages, use Contact the Society.

Scope: What These Terms Cover

These terms cover use of joshuaslocumsocietyintl and the material made available through this website. That includes pages about Captain Joshua Slocum, the Spray, solo circumnavigators, sailing alone, society archives, terms, privacy, contact information, and related site content.

The terms apply to the website as a whole, not just to one article or one page. They also apply when a visitor reaches the site through a search engine, a direct link, a shared citation, or an internal navigation path.

Content and historical material

Historical content can include interpretation, transcription, description, commentary, and references to archival subjects. The Society works in a field where old records may contain variant spellings, incomplete dates, or accounts shaped by the customs of their time. Use that material with attention.

These terms do not promise that every item on the site will meet every visitor's research need. They also do not grant permission to reuse material beyond what the law allows or what the Society has expressly permitted. Where rights, permissions, or publication questions matter, the visitor remains responsible for checking the relevant requirements.

Site access

The Society may maintain, change, suspend, or remove parts of the site as needed. Archive pages may be revised. Registry information may be reorganized. Navigation may change. Those ordinary adjustments help keep the site manageable and useful.

If a page disappears or moves, that does not create a right to demand restoration. It may simply mean the Society has corrected, consolidated, or reconsidered the material.

Related Pages for Privacy and Contact

Terms do not stand alone. Two nearby pages help complete the picture: the privacy page and the contact page.

When I handle maritime records, I prefer a clear trail: what the record says, where it came from, and who to ask when something needs review. These related pages serve that same habit online.

If you continue to use joshuaslocumsocietyintl, you acknowledge that you have read and accepted these Terms of Use. Keep them in mind when reading, citing, sharing, or writing to the Society. A steady hand with terms helps preserve the usefulness of the archive for the next reader.