Terms of Service

Last Updated: December 26, 2024

Welcome to General Consensus. By accessing or using our voting platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). Please read them carefully.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account, voting on items, or otherwise using General Consensus (the "Service"), you agree to:

  • Comply with these Terms of Service
  • Comply with our Privacy Policy
  • Comply with all applicable laws and regulations

If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use the Service.

2. Eligibility

  • Minimum Age: You must be at least 13 years old to create an account
  • Age-Restricted Content: Content marked as 18+ or 21+ is restricted based on your birth date and region
  • Accurate Information: You must provide truthful and accurate information during registration
  • One Account Per Person: You may only create one account unless you have explicit permission from us

3. Account Registration and Security

3.1 Account Creation

You may create an account by:

  • Registering with an email address and password
  • Signing in with Google or Facebook (OAuth)

3.2 Account Security

You are responsible for:

  • Maintaining the confidentiality of your password
  • All activities that occur under your account
  • Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized access

We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your account credentials.

3.3 OAuth/Social Login

If you sign in with Google or Facebook:

  • You authorize us to access your email and basic profile information
  • You are also bound by Google's or Facebook's terms of service
  • You can revoke access at any time through your Google/Facebook account settings

4. Voting System

4.1 How Voting Works

  • You can vote "Like," "Dislike," or "Unsure" on items
  • Each user gets one vote per item
  • You can change your vote at any time
  • Votes are used to generate aggregated, anonymized statistics

4.2 Vote Integrity

You agree NOT to:

  • Use bots, scripts, or automated tools to cast votes
  • Create multiple accounts to manipulate voting results
  • Coordinate with others to artificially inflate or deflate vote counts
  • Attempt to reverse-engineer or manipulate the voting algorithm

Violation of vote integrity may result in immediate account termination.

4.3 Statistical Accuracy

We strive to provide accurate voting statistics, but:

  • Statistics are aggregated and may have sampling limitations
  • Demographic breakdowns are based on self-reported user data
  • We reserve the right to exclude suspicious or fraudulent votes from statistics
  • Historical statistics may not reflect deleted or modified votes

5. User Conduct

5.1 Prohibited Activities

You agree NOT to:

  • Use the Service for any illegal purpose
  • Harass, abuse, or harm other users
  • Impersonate any person or entity
  • Transmit viruses, malware, or malicious code
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems
  • Scrape, crawl, or data mine the Service without permission
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Service's functionality
  • Reverse-engineer or decompile any part of the Service

5.2 Demographic Information

When providing demographic information (age, gender, country, etc.), you agree to:

  • Provide truthful and accurate information
  • Understand that inaccurate demographics may skew statistical results
  • Not misrepresent your age to access age-restricted content

6. Content and Intellectual Property

6.1 Our Content

All content on General Consensus, including:

  • Items available for voting
  • Categories and taxonomies
  • User interface design
  • Logos, trademarks, and branding
  • Statistical reports and visualizations

...is owned by General Consensus or licensed to us. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works without our written permission.

6.2 User-Generated Content

If we allow user submissions in the future (e.g., suggesting items for voting), you agree that:

  • You own or have rights to any content you submit
  • You grant us a worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, and distribute your submissions
  • Your submissions do not infringe on others' intellectual property
  • We may moderate, edit, or remove submissions at our discretion

6.3 Fair Use

You may:

  • Share links to General Consensus on social media
  • Cite our public statistics with proper attribution
  • Screenshot and share results for non-commercial purposes

7. Privacy and Data Usage

Our collection, use, and protection of your personal data is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

Key points:

  • We collect account information, demographics, voting data, and usage metrics
  • Individual votes are aggregated and anonymized for public statistics
  • We do NOT sell your personal information to third parties
  • You have rights to access, correct, and delete your data (GDPR)

8. Age-Restricted Content

  • 18+ Content: In most regions, you must be 18 or older to view adult content
  • 21+ Content: In some regions (e.g., United States), you must be 21 or older for certain categories (e.g., alcohol)
  • Filtering: Age-restricted content is automatically filtered based on your birth date and country
  • Misrepresentation: Falsifying your birth date to access restricted content is a violation of these Terms

9. Service Availability

9.1 No Guarantees

We provide the Service on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not guarantee that:

  • The Service will be uninterrupted or error-free
  • Defects will be corrected
  • The Service is free from viruses or harmful components
  • Results or statistics will be accurate or reliable

9.2 Maintenance and Updates

We may:

  • Perform scheduled or emergency maintenance
  • Update, modify, or discontinue features without notice
  • Temporarily suspend the Service for technical reasons

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

  • No Damages: We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
  • Maximum Liability: Our total liability shall not exceed £100 or the amount you paid us (if any) in the past 12 months
  • No Warranties: We disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose

This includes damages from:

  • Loss of data or voting history
  • Unauthorized access to your account
  • Service interruptions or errors
  • Decisions made based on our statistics
  • Third-party services (Google, Facebook)

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless General Consensus, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from:

  • Your violation of these Terms
  • Your violation of any law or regulation
  • Your violation of others' rights
  • Your use or misuse of the Service

12. Account Termination

12.1 Termination by You

You may delete your account at any time. When you delete your account:

  • Your personal information (email, demographics) is removed
  • Your account is converted to an anonymous "dead account"
  • Your voting data is retained for statistical integrity but cannot be linked to you

12.2 Termination by Us

We may suspend or terminate your account if:

  • You violate these Terms of Service
  • You engage in fraudulent or abusive behavior
  • You create multiple accounts to manipulate votes
  • We are required to do so by law
  • We discontinue the Service entirely

We will attempt to notify you before termination, but are not obligated to do so in cases of serious violations.

12.3 Effect of Termination

  • You immediately lose access to your account
  • Your voting history is anonymized and retained
  • These Terms survive termination where applicable (e.g., liability limitations, indemnification)

13. Third-Party Services

13.1 OAuth Providers

When you sign in with Google or Facebook:

  • You are subject to their respective terms of service and privacy policies
  • We are not responsible for their actions or data practices
  • Issues with OAuth login should be directed to the respective provider

13.2 External Links

Our Service may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for:

  • The content or accuracy of external sites
  • The privacy practices of external sites
  • Any damages resulting from visiting external sites

14. Dispute Resolution

14.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, without regard to conflict of law principles.

14.2 Dispute Process

If you have a dispute with us:

  1. Contact Us First: Email support@generalconsensus.org to attempt informal resolution
  2. Negotiation Period: We will work with you for 30 days to resolve the issue
  3. Formal Proceedings: If unresolved, disputes will be handled in the courts of England and Wales

14.3 Arbitration (Optional)

For disputes under £10,000, both parties may agree to binding arbitration as an alternative to court proceedings.

15. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make significant changes:

  • We will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
  • We will display a prominent notice on the Service
  • We may send you an email notification

Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the new Terms.

16. Miscellaneous

16.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and General Consensus.

16.2 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect.

16.3 No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any provision does not constitute a waiver of that provision.

16.4 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms. We may assign our rights and obligations to any party without your consent.

16.5 Force Majeure

We are not liable for delays or failures caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control (e.g., natural disasters, war, government actions, internet outages).

17. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms of Service:

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