Terms of Service

Effective Date: 10 December, 2022

Welcome to Certified.Social, a Mastodon server/Web site (“Certified.Social,” “Web site,” “Site”, “Server”, “Node”, “Instance”, “We”, “Us”) owned by a Delaware corporation (“The Corporation”, “Parent Corporation”). This Terms of Service (“Terms”, “Agreement”, “Contract”), which incorporates our Privacy Policy, is intended as a contract between Us and users like you (“Client”, “User”, “You”) that articulates your rights and our rights relating to the Site and Server. By accessing this Site and Server, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions set out in this agreement. If you do not agree to these terms, you may not access this Site or Server. By using Certified.Social’s service, you agree that you have read, understand and agree to these terms. You also agree to review this agreement periodically to be aware of modifications to this agreement, which may occur from time to time at the sole discretion of Certified.Social. Your continued use of the site will be deemed your conclusive acceptance of any modified agreement.

Other relevant definitions of used in this agreement:

  • Account: a client’s registered user account on the Site and Server.
  • Access or Accessing: means viewing or using or posting the content or information on the Site or Server.
  • Downloads: any data posted on the Server or Site available for download by a Client.
  • User Content: any textual, image, video, audio, and other content posted by a Client on the Site or Server.
  • Client: a paid member of the Site and Server who maintains an account.
  • User: any party who accesses the site, regardless of whether or not he or she is a Client.
  • Conduct and Content Standards: a set of rules regarding use of the Server and Site and regarding the nature of User Content.

Don’t stop reading, please. Or at least make sure your legal or business representative reads it and informs you of its contents. By using the Site and Server, you are agreeing to be bound by these Terms. You should know what they say, especially because if you do not agree to these Terms, you should not use the Site or Server. It also contains information that you might use to your benefit.

WHAT IS CERTIFIED.SOCIAL?
Certified.Social is a fee-based membership Web site and Mastodon micro-blogging and social networking server that serves high-profile individuals.

AND NOW FOR THE LEGALESE
Our Parent Corporation grants you a personal, worldwide, royalty-free, non-assignable and non-exclusive license to use Certified.Social in the manner described herein.

Short version: This means that that you can read, listen to, watch, and intellectually consume all public information on the Site and Server, plus participate in our Mastodon server if you have a Client account. In exchange, we ask that you use the Site and Server in the manner and spirit for which it was created. You agree to adhere to the policies and the Conduct and Content Standards that govern the Site’s and Server’s use.

To be clear, you are NOT permitted to interrupt the serving of our Site or Server, introduce malicious code to our Server, assist anyone in misusing the Site or Server in any way, or use the Site or Server to violate the law or the safety or dignity of another person in any way. It takes a lot of work to make keep things running here, and in the end you’ll be hurting yourself as much as us if you interfere with its operation.

LIMITED LICENSE

You can browse the Site and Server without logging in. However, to participate in our Server you need to have a Certified.Social Client account. We use the Mastodon micro-blogging and social networking platform and host it on our own servers.

Certified.Social hereby grants each Client a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access a Mastodon account on our server and post to it locally and to federated sites not limited or excluded by the Server. The Limited License is subject to the provisions contained herein, and subject to the payment of the applicable membership fees and adherence to these Terms.

CLIENT ACCOUNT CREATION, MAINTENANCE, AND ACTIVITY

Certified.Social accounts are created by Certified.Social staff on behalf of a Client after a thorough vetting and verification process and upon payment and maintenance of an annual fee. New accounts will be delivered with a temporary password which the client agrees to change immediately. A Client is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account information and login credentials. You are solely responsible for all activity that occurs with your account, regardless of whether you have authorized such activities. Client agrees to adhere in good faith to the server’s Conduct and Content Standards. Certified.Social is protected from liability arising from posts by clients in the U.S. by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. If the security of your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately at certifiedsocial@protonmail.com or by the phone number that will be provided to you.

FEES, RENEWAL, AND REFUND POLICIES

All fees/prices shown on the Certified.Social Site and Server or communicated via e-mail or other means are in US funds unless otherwise specified.

Each Client has access to an account on the Certified.Social Mastodon Server, a page to list their other verified social media accounts, and access to Certified.Social billing and support services site, as well as such additional services as Certified.Social may provide to Clients in the future.

By creating an account on Certified.Social you are agreeing to receive notifications, newsletters and other communications regarding news, events, and policy changes from Certified.Social.

The Client membership automatically renews monthly/annually on the anniversary date of initial purchase until cancelled by the user. It is the member’s responsibility to track their renewal date. Client account fees are refundable within 2 days following the renewal date and subject to a USD$75 administration fee.

Client Membership fees are non-refundable except under limited circumstances. Clients may cancel their membership at any time to prevent future renewal but no full or partial refunds will be issued. Renewal fees already processed will not be refunded.

Certified.Social reserves the right to increase or decrease Client membership fees for a subsequent membership period at any time and for any reason, provided, however, that notice is given to the Client at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the membership.

Any discounts or other special offers are only valid for initial term; memberships renew at the current membership rates.

Certified.Social may terminate the Client membership and these Terms if it is unable to renew the membership based on inaccurate or outdated credit card or banking information. Right of access to the Client services granted under these Terms is effective only upon payment of the membership fees.

THIS IS OUR SITE AND NODE

We may, in our sole discretion and without any forewarning, suspend or terminate your account for violating these Terms, for violating the Conduct and Content Standards, or for any other reason we choose. We can remove any or all of your User Content without any forewarning, for any reason we choose. Even when we don’t terminate you or remove your content, we want to be clear that it does not imply that we assume any responsibility for, or endorse your User Content.

To ensure that Clients and Users of the Site and Server do not engage in Prohibited Conduct, Certified.Social reserves the right to monitor use of the Site and Server and reserves the right to revoke or deny access to to any person whose use of the Site or Server suggests violations of our Conduct and Conduct standards. The standard for what is considered “normal use” and “abuse” shall be determined solely by Certified.Social.

Account suspensions will not result in any refunds to the client. Account termination will result in a pro-rated refund of the client’s annual fee, minus a USD$75.00 Termination fee. Clients with Terminated accounts will be given adequate time and (at Certified.Social’s discretion) assistance in downloading an archive of the client’s posts. At its sole discretion, Certified.Social may post on the client’s account and on their behalf a final message directing followers to a new account on another Mastodon server or to the client’s Web site URL.

Certified.Social can also remove or alter the content we ourselves post on our site, without any forewarning, for any reason we choose.

ACCESS TO CERTIFIED.SOCIAL SITE AND NODE

Certified.Social strives to provide its Clients with access to the Site and Server on a continuous basis. To that end, all reasonable efforts will be taken to provide uninterrupted access. However, from time to time, members may be unable to access the Programs or other areas of the site due to conditions beyond the control of Certified.Social. Also, from time to time, access may be unavailable due to software issues, server downtime, increased traffic, Site and Server maintenance, and other related reasons. In response to any unavailability of the Site or Server to its Clients, Certified.Social will take all commercially reasonable steps to ensure access is restored within a reasonable period of time.

Certified.Social aims to provide the highest quality service to its Clients. To that end, Certified.Social reserves the right to change, modify, or discontinue any aspect or feature of the Site or Server, its functionality and its content in whole or in part. Such changes, modifications, additions or deletions will be effective immediately and notice may be provided by e-mail or by posting such changes on this site.

In the event that Certified.Social’s main administrator is unable to address technical emergencies, other trusted parties and staff have full administrative access to the Server’s server infrastructure.

If the Server has to shut down permanently, Clients and Users will be given at least three months of advance warning via e-mail so that users may export their data and find another Server.

All Users are responsible for ensuring they have sufficient and compatible hardware, software, Internet service and telecommunications equipment necessary for use of the site.

AGE RATING AND USAGE BY CHILDREN

The United States government has put limits on our ability to accept users under a certain age through the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. The EU and EEA require that our products and services are all directed to people who are at least 16 years old. Therefore, Certified.Social is not intended for users under the age of 16. Nobody under age 16 may maintain an account or use any part of the Site of Server that requires the submission of personally identifiable information, like e-mail or name. Any account that is created by a person under age 16 will be terminated and any content created will be removed from the Site and/or Server.

CC: NON-COMMERCIAL SHARING WITH ATTRIBUTION

Except where indicated, Certified.Social editorial-created content is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution. This means that you may link to it and otherwise share it, but if you do, you need to give us credit. You may not use our editorial-created content in any commercial capacity; we do this for a living. But if you have an idea for collaboration, we are open to hearing from you.

YOU ASSERT THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO PUBLISH WHAT YOU POST

Any content that you submit or make available via your account on the Certified.Social Mastodon Server or elsewhere on our Site is considered “User Content.” This includes comments that you write, as well as items that you upload or link to, like images, videos, graphics, audio files, text or other works. When you make User Content available on Certified.Social, you are asserting that you have all the relevant copyright, trademark and intellectual property rights to make that work available or have a well-reasoned belief that your republication of the work is a “fair use.”

YOU GRANT US THE RIGHT TO USE YOUR CONTENT
By submitting User Content, you grant us an unlimited license to use your content in any way we choose. This includes creative uses such as republishing the work in full or part on our Site, Server, and elsewhere, and practical uses such as copying your content to make back ups of it, displaying it on the website, and distributing and modifying it as needed to make the Site work.

Because our servers are located remotely, and because User Content is retained indefinitely, you grant us these rights worldwide and irrevocably, and agree that we don’t owe you royalties for any use of your content based on these rights.

YOU GRANT THE COMMUNITY THE RIGHT TO REUSE YOUR USER CONTENT
Further, when you make User Content available on Certified.Social, you grant the world a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License to it. Be mindful of this when you post.

THIRD-PARTY LINKS
It should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway as some folks seem to miss it and drag us into Federal court: this Site and Server contains links to and comments from other sites and Mastodon servers that are not owned or controlled by Certified.Social and its Parent Corporation. Please be aware that Certified.Social and its Parent Corporation are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other Sites or Mastodon servers. This Terms of Service applies only to this Site and Server.

Certified.Social makes no warranty, either expressed or implied, of the accuracy, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of the information provided by third parties. This includes, but is not limited to, any information found on a link located on this site that allows users to access information found on another site.

WE DO NOT ENDORSE SITE OR SERVER USER CONTENT

Certified.Social and its Parent Corporation take no responsibility for, nor assumes any liability, and expressly does not endorse or share the opinion of Client User Content.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK: INDEMNITIES AND WARRANTIES

When you create content, you are solely responsible for it and the opinions that you express are your own. You will not hold us responsible [you indemnify us] for any User Content that violates any law or infringes the rights of any third party.

In the legal world, indemnify means you agree to hold Certified.Social, its Parent Corporation, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and defend them against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including without limitation reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, arising out of or in any way arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Site, Server, Services, and all Certified.Social and User Content, your violation of these Terms of Service, your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any intellectual property right, publicity, confidentiality, property or privacy right; or (iv) or any claim that your User Content caused damage to a third party.

User or Client chooses to access the Certified.Social Site or Server at his/her own risk. The Site and Server are provided on an “as is, as available” basis without warranty of any kind (beyond the warranties set forth in this agreement), expressed or implied, and any and all warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement of third parties’ rights are specifically disclaimed. Certified.Social does not warrant any particular result from use of the software or Site or Server, that the information on the site is accurate, complete or complies with any particular law or regulation, or that the operation of and your access to the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, virus-free or completely secure.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY SHALL CERTIFIED.SOCIAL, ITS PARENT CORPORATION, OR ANY OF THEIR AFFILIATES, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS, SUCCESSORS, OR ASSIGNEES BE LIABLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF THE CERTIFIED.SOCIAL SITE AND SERVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, LOSS OF DATA, OR ANY AND ALL OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES.

Although Certified.Social has attempted to provide accurate information on the site, it and its Parent Corporation makes no guarantee or warranty, express or implied, as to the reliability, accuracy, timeliness or completeness of that information and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions therein.

GOVERNING LAW
Any claim or dispute between you and Certified.Social and its Parent Corporation arising out of or relating to these Terms, in whole or in part, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without respect to its conflict of laws provisions. We agree and you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of a state court located in Wilmington, DE or the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

Certified.Social and its Parent Corporation avail themselves of the full protections of the First Amendment rights accorded to them U.S. Constitution, and are not obliged to maintain User Content in violation of its Terms or of its Conduct and Content Standards.

CHANGES TO THESE TERMS
Business of Design Inc. reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Except as otherwise stated herein, any change to these Terms is effective immediately. Notice to users may be given through e-mail, a posting on the Site or any other means by which a user may obtain notice. User agrees to check the Site periodically for changes to these Terms. Any use of the site after changes have been made shall be deemed acceptance of those changed terms and/or conditions.

COPYRIGHTS, TRADEMARKS AND OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

Certified.Social, its Parent Corporation, or its third party content providers shall retain all worldwide rights in the intellectual property in and on the site, including, but not limited to, trademarks, service marks, trade dress, inventions, ideas, trade secrets, the source code, the HTML code, the “look and feel” of the site, its color combinations, layout, and all other graphical elements, and the copyrights in and to its original content. You should assume that everything you read or see on the site is copyrighted, trademarked, or otherwise protected and owned or licensed by Certified.Social except as expressly stated on the site or in these Terms, nothing that you read or see on the Site or Server created by Certified.Social may be copied, reproduced, modified, distributed, transmitted, republished, displayed or performed for commercial use without the prior written consent of Certified.Social.

If you submit any unsolicited personally identifiable information, intellectual property, idea, copyrightable material, invention, discovery, improvement, trade secret or know-how to Certified.Social, you may forfeit your intellectual property rights and moral rights contained in such communication or material.

DMCA TAKEDOWN NOTICE AND PROCEDURE
Certified.Social and its Parent Corporation respect the copyrights of others, and we ask our users to do the same. When we reproduce a copyrighted image, text, video or music, we do so only to the extent necessary to comment upon or discuss it; or with permission from its copyright holder; and we always include a link to the original source when possible and appropriate.

We will, at our discretion, deactivate or terminate the Client account of any user that infringes the copyright of others. We do believe in fair-use exceptions and will defend them on behalf of our Clients.

If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied and is accessible on the Certified.Social Server in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please send a notice to our Copyright Agent providing the following information:

  1. The electronic or physical signature of the owner of the copyright or the person authorized to act on the owner’s behalf;
  2. A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
  3. A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located, including the URL where it is posted;
  4. Your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address;
  5. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law or permitted under fair-use legal doctrine; and
  6. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

Parent Corporation’s Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement can be reached as follows:

By e-mail: certifiedsocial@protonmail.com

Please be aware that misrepresentations of infringement can result in liability for monetary damages.

If you as a Client posted material that has been removed due to a DMCA takedown notice and you believe that the material in question is not infringing, you or your authorized legal representative may file a counter notification with our Copyright Agent with the following information:

  1. A physical or electronic signature.
  2. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the URL location at which the material appeared before it was removed or access to it was disabled.
  3. A statement by you or your legal representative, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
  4. Your or your legal representative’s name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of federal district court for the judicial district in which the address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under DMC 512, subsection (c)(1)(c) or an agent of such person.

SECURITY; AUTHORIZED USE

Users and Clients are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of the site. Certified.Social has the right, but not the obligation, to investigate occurrences of possible violations and will cooperate with all applicable law enforcement authorities in prosecuting violators. Certified.Social may suspend your access while it conducts an investigation. Clients are required to enter a user name and password to access portions of the Site or Server. To protect against unauthorized access to your account, it is recommended that you close the browser when you have finished using the site. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your user name and password.

You represent and warrant that you are the person on whose behalf you claim to accept these Terms. You also represent and warrant that you are an adult who is legally able to enter into these Terms.

You may not use the account, user name or password of someone else at any time. You agree to notify Certified.Social immediately of any unauthorized use or loss of your account, user name, password and/or credit card information. You also agree to notify Certified.Social immediately if you are aware of or suspect other unauthorized use of the site and/or the site content. Certified.Social and its Parent Corporation will not be liable for any loss that you incur as a result of an unauthorized using your user name and password with or without your knowledge. You may be held liable for any losses incurred by Certified.Social, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents or representatives due to an unauthrorized party’s use of your account, user name or password.

Certified.Social will never ask you for your password. If you need a new user name and/or password, Certified.Social will generate a new user name and password automatically through its computers and send it to your e-mail or postal address.

TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT

In addition to Certified.Social’s other rights, it may terminate this Agreement at any time and at its sole and absolute discretion. Certified.Social may also terminate Access to the Site or Server or cancel Client subscriptions without notice if it believes, in its sole judgment, that You have breached or may breach any term or condition of this Agreement, or engaged in conduct that Certified.Social deems inappropriate.

“Mastodon” is a trademark of Mastodon gGmbH.