We didn’t have enough money to hire a lawyer to write our user agreement. Besides, we’re not fond of lawyers as the majority of them seem to cause more problems than they’re worth. (How’s that for alienating a whole segment of your potential customer base? Wait – we’re not done yet.)

Additionally, we understand that pretty much no one ever reads these things. (Come now – how many times have you even read even three words on a EULA? If you have, there’s a good chance you’re a lawyer.) By gosh! They are so long and so boring and written in a way that most can’t even understand what they mean. Additionally, in our world where courts pretty much decide whatever they want (they call it judicial discretion - harumph!), we surmise that’s probably the intent of most of these agreements - to be unclear (another being that it increases fighting and, thus, attorney’s fees).

There are a few points in some of these agreements that should be common sense, if sense were as such. Thus, even those points seem somewhat a waste of space. But, we acknowledge that the legal infrastructure requires them, no matter how useless they might seem otherwise. (And, of course, the term useful depends on your values and purpose.) Ergo, we’ll waste a few bytes of computer space to put them up as well.

Cynicism aside, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we’re big supporters of what reddit.com has accomplished. Perhaps one of the reasons they still aren’t making money, even though their volume is so huge, is because they spend too much on attorneys. Be that as it may, their legal team put together what appears to be a somewhat reasonable user agreement and privacy policy. We figure that, if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us. So, rather than waste our limited funds, we’re going to use theirs with only slight modifications. We do hope the insane copyright laws don’t prevent copyrighting legal documents.

So, without further ado…

valME user agreement Last Revised Mar 16, 2019. Effective Jan 15, 2014

1 We want you to know your rights and our rights and, so, we have prepared this agreement ("user agreement" or "agreement" or "terms of service") between valME.io ("we", "our," "us") and you. This agreement sets the terms of your use of the valME website and services ("valME"). This agreement is meant to encourage a fair and tolerant place for ideas, people, links, and discussion.

first, the legal stuff

2 This agreement is a legal contract between you and us. You acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. If you do not agree to this agreement, you should not use valME. Please take a look at valME’s privacy policy too - it explains how we collect and use your information.

your access to valME

3 Without advance notice and at any time, we may, for violations of this agreement or for any other reason we choose: (1) suspend your access to valME, (2) suspend or terminate Your Account or valME sponsor account, and/or (3) remove any of your User Content from valME.

4 We reserve the right to monitor valME, and your use of the Service means you agree to such monitoring. At the same time, we do not guarantee we will monitor at all.

valME is for your personal and commercial, lawful use

5 valME is designed and supported for personal and commercial use only. You may not use valME to break the law, violate an individual's privacy, or infringe any person or entity’s intellectual property or any other proprietary rights.

valME is for fun and growth

6 valME is intended to be a place for your entertainment and supportive of your individual growth. We are not responsible for any decisions you make based on something you read on valME.

valME is intended as a marketplace, kind of

7 valME is also intended as a marketplace of content, kind of sort of. Obviously, you are not required to buy karma, exchange karma, or give karma to us or anyone else, even when you get value from content. That is different than a typical marketplace, where you are required to pay something of value before receiving something of value. So, in that sense, valME transactions are more like donations. Regardless, if you do buy, exchange, or give karma, any transactions you undertake are your responsibility alone, so be careful.

8 You may not use valME to conduct transactions for any illegal goods or services. This does not mean we agree with the laws that make those goods and services illegal, but just that we acknowledge the government will not allow us to operate otherwise.

your valME account

9 To participate in valME, you must create an account that includes a username, a valid and current email address, and a password ("Your Account"). Of course, you can also browse valME without logging in.

10 You are solely responsible for the information associated with Your Account and anything that happens related to Your Account.

11 You may not license, transfer, sell, or assign Your Account without our written approval.

payment information, redemptions, and refunds

12 You may submit your Bitcoin, debit, or credit card information ("Payment Information") via the website to purchase and redeem karma or other products or services via valME. valME uses third-party service providers to process your payment information. If you submit your Payment Information, you agree to pay all costs that you incur, and you give us permission to charge you when payment is due for an amount that includes any applicable taxes, fees, and charges to valME or one of our service providers.

13 Karma may be redeemed for Bitcoins only between a minimum and daily maximum range, which is identified here, but which we may change. In the future, karma may also be redeemable for products or services provided by third-party providers or partners. As a result of the current banking marketplace and government regulations, karma is not redeemable for any other value or currency. Karma is not redeemable within our testing environments/during testing, except for testing purposes which are determined by us. Karma redemption may be denied, temporarily or indefinitely, if there are suspicions of fraud and/or suspected violations of this agreement.

14 Refunds for purchased, unused, abandoned, or forfeited karma are not provided. All sales are final.

content

valME content

15 valME contains graphics, text, photographs, images, video, audio, software, code, website compilation, website "look and feel," and website advertisements supplied by us or our licensors, which we call "valME content." valME content is protected by intellectual property laws including copyright and other proprietary rights of the United States and foreign countries.

16 We grant you the right to access the valME content in the manner described in this agreement. You may not otherwise make unauthorized commercial use of, reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform, or publicly display valME content, except as permitted by the doctrine of fair use or as authorized in writing by us. If you are interested in licensing valME content, contact us at support@valme.io.

your content

17 You retain the rights to your copyrighted content or information that you submit to valME ("User Content") except as described below.

18 By submitting User Content to valME, you grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform, or publicly display your User Content in any medium and for any purpose, including commercial purposes, and to authorize others to do so.

19 You agree that you have the right to submit anything you post, and that your User Content does not violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret, or any other personal or proprietary right of any other party.

20 Please take a look at valME’s privacy policy for an explanation of how we may use or share information submitted by you or collected from you.

we don’t endorse user content

21 We take no responsibility for, we do not expressly or implicitly endorse, and we do not assume any liability for any User Content submitted by you to valME.

links and valME

22 valME is a place with many third-party hyperlinks posted by users like you. We are not responsible for the content or actions of any third party websites or services associated with posted links. You agree to take sole legal responsibility for any links you post, and neither this agreement nor our privacy policy applies to any content on other websites related to those links. You should consult the terms and privacy policies of those other websites to understand your rights.

valME rules

your participation on valME

23 These guidelines are intended to keep people safe, protect kids, keep valME running, and to encourage personal responsibility for what you do on valME. You must:

• Keep Everyone Safe: You agree to not intentionally jeopardize the health and safety of others or yourself.
• Keep Personal Information Off valME Without Prior Consent: You agree to not post anyone's sensitive personal information that relates to that person's real world or online identity unless you have that person's specific consent to do otherwise.
• Do Not Incite Harm: You agree not to encourage harm against people.
• Protect Kids: You agree not to post any child pornography or sexually suggestive content involving minors.
• Take Personal Responsibility: As you use valME, please remember that your speech may have consequences and could lead to criminal and civil liability.

communities rules

24 You agree to review and make your best efforts to abide by our guidelines and rules.

25 Communities may create their own guidelines and rules and enforce them as they see fit, providing they do not violate the terms of this agreement.

26 You agree that valME is not responsible for the actions taken or not taken by moderators.

moderators

27 Moderating a community is an unofficial, voluntary position. We reserve the right to revoke that position for any user at any time. If you choose to moderate a community, you agree to the following:

• You may not enter into any form of agreement on behalf of valME, or the communities which you moderate, without our written approval.
• When you receive notice that there is content that violates this user agreement on communities you moderate, you agree to remove it immediately.

don’t spam the valME community

28 You may not post any graphics, text, photographs, images, video, audio or other material that we deem to be junk or spam. Cluttering valME with this sort of content reduces the quality of the valME experience for others.

respect users that edit their content

29 You may not purposefully negate any user's actions to delete or edit their content on valME. This is intended to respect the privacy of valME users who delete or edit their content, and is not intended to abridge the fair use or the expressive rights shared by us all.

don’t mess with valME

30 You agree not to interrupt the serving of valME, introduce malicious code onto valME, make it difficult for anyone else to use valME due to your actions, attempt to manipulate votes, karma, or valME’s systems, or assist anyone in misusing valME in any way. It takes a lot of work to maintain valME. Be cool.

31 We support the responsible reporting of security vulnerabilities. To report a valME security issue, please send an email to support@valme.io. You agree not to divulge any valME security vulnerability to anyone without our prior consent and only after we have corrected the flaw.

other ways of accessing valME

32 We encourage the creation of other ways to access valME, including browser extensions and mobile and desktop applications. We take no responsibility for, we do not expressly or implicitly endorse, and we do not assume any liability for any mobile or desktop application.

33 If you produce or maintain a browser extension or application, you agree not to purposefully negate any user's actions to delete or edit their content on valME.

children and valME

34 valME is not directed at people under the age of 13, and valME does not knowingly collect any personal information from such people. If you know that a user under the age of 13 is accessing valME, please contact us at support@valme.io.

DMCA

copyright, the dmca, & takedowns

35 We will respond to legitimate requests under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), and we retain the right to remove User Content on valME that we deem to be infringing the copyright of others. If you become aware of User Content on valME that infringes your copyright rights, you may submit a properly formatted DMCA request (see 17 U.S.C. § 512) to valME.

36 Misrepresentations of infringement can result in liability for monetary damages. You may want to consult an attorney before taking any action pursuant to the DMCA. Any DMCA request should be sent to this contact information:

valME

Attn: DMCA takedown

copyright@valme.io

Fax: (202) 919-4832

37 Please send our Copyright Agent 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. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or a representative list of such works;
3. The URL or Internet location of the materials claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity, or information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
4. Your name, address, telephone number and email 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; 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.

38 If you believe User Content was wrongly removed from the valME site due to a DMCA request, you may request a copy of the DMCA notice and you may file a counter-notification by sending us the following:

1. Your physical or electronic signature;
2. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and where the material was located online before it was removed or access to it was disabled;
3. A statement by you, 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; and
4. Your 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 DMCA 512 subsection (c)(1)(c) or an agent of such person.

a few more legalities

39 Please read the following very carefully. Each of the following sections applies to the maximum extent permitted by law. Where jurisdictions do not allow disclaimers of implied warranties or the limitation of liability in contracts, the contents of this section may not apply.

indemnity

40 All the things you do and all the information you submit or post to valME remain your responsibility. Indemnity is basically a way of saying that you will not hold us legally liable for any of your User Content or actions that infringe the law or the rights of a third-party or person in any way.

41 Specifically, you agree to hold valME, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, and third-party service providers harmless from and defend them against any claims, costs, damages, losses, expenses, and any other liabilities, including attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or related to your access to or use of valME, your violation of this user agreement, and/or your violation of the rights of any third-party or person.

disclaimer of warranties

42 valME is provided "as is" and without warranty of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we and our affiliates and third-party service providers disclaim any and all warranties, express or implied, including (but not limited to) implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement of proprietary rights, or any other warranty, condition, guarantee or representation, whether oral or electronic. You are solely responsible for any damage to your computer or mobile device, loss of use, or loss of your User Content. We do not guarantee that valME will always work properly.

limitation of liability

43 We will not be liable for any special, consequential, indirect, incidental, punitive, reliance, or exemplary damages, whether in tort, contract, or any other legal theory, arising out of or in any way connected with this agreement or your use of or attempt to use valME, including (but not limited to) damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, or data. This limitation on liability shall not be affected even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow for the exclusion of implied warranties or the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above exclusions may not apply to you. You may have other rights that vary from state to state.

44 You agree to release us, our affiliates, and third-party service providers, and each associated director, employee, agents, and officers, from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential), of every kind and nature, known and unknown, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected to your use of valME.

governing law

45 We want you to enjoy valME, so if you have an issue or dispute, you agree to raise it and try to resolve it with us informally. You can contact us with feedback and concerns here or by emailing us at support@valme.io.

46 The headings in this agreement are for convenience and do not control any of its provisions.

47 Any claim or dispute between you and us arising out of or relating to this user agreement, in whole or in part, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Illinois without respect to its conflict of laws provisions. We agree and you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Cook County, IL.

severability and enforcement

48 If any provision of this user agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the extent necessary to render it enforceable without losing its intent. If no such modification is possible, that provision will be severed from the rest of this agreement.

49 If we do not enforce any right or provision in this user agreement, that is not to be deemed a waiver of our right to do so in the future.

changes to this user agreement

50 This user agreement is the entire agreement between you and us concerning valME. It supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements between you and us. We may modify this user agreement at any time. If we make changes to this agreement that materially affect your rights, we will provide advance notice and keep this edition available as an archive on the valME website. By continuing to use valME after a change to this agreement, you agree to those changes.

51 This user agreement is effective as of January 15, 2014.

Thank you reddit. If you were here, we would be happy to give you an upvote... that is, an upvote with value.