Terms of Service

Who we are

"ReefScales," "we," "us," and "our" refer to the operator of the Service.

Contact us through our contact page for any questions or concerns.

Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may use the Service only with permission of a parent or legal guardian.

You may not use the Service if you are prohibited from doing so under applicable law.

Intended location and availability

The Service is intended for users located in the United States. We make no representations that the Service is appropriate, lawful, or available for use in other locations. If you access the Service from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for complying with local laws.

Accounts and security

Some features require an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate account information
• Maintain and promptly update it as needed
• Keep your credentials secure
• Be responsible for all activity under your account

Community Rules

Your use of the Service is also subject to the ReefScales Community Rules, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference.

By using the Service, you agree to follow the Rules. Violations of the Rules are violations of these Terms.

The Service is educational and community-driven

ReefScales is designed to help reef keepers organize, preserve, and improve reefing knowledge over time, and to support constructive community discussion and sharing.

You understand and agree that:

• Reef keeping is complex and outcomes vary
• Content on the Service is provided by the community and may change
• ReefScales is not "the authority"; the platform is a framework for community knowledge to evolve

No professional advice

The Service is provided for general informational and educational purposes only.

User content and contributions

The Service may allow you to submit content, including knowledge base edits, posts, comments, images, builds, and other materials ("User Content").

You retain ownership

You retain ownership of your User Content as between you and ReefScales.

License you grant ReefScales

By submitting User Content, you grant ReefScales a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to host, store, reproduce, modify (for formatting, organization, moderation, and collaborative editing), publish, display, distribute, and otherwise use your User Content for the purpose of operating, improving, and promoting the Service.

Knowledge base revisions and collaborative editing

If you contribute to the knowledge base, you understand that:

• Other users and moderators may edit, reorganize, or remove content
• The Service may maintain revision history and attribution
• Content is intended to evolve over time

Your responsibility

You are responsible for your User Content. You represent and warrant that:

• You have all rights necessary to submit it
• It does not infringe intellectual property or privacy rights
• It complies with these Terms, the Rules, and applicable law

Content visibility and deletion

Some User Content may be public by default. You should not post sensitive personal information.

We may remove or restrict access to content at any time, including content that violates these Terms, the Rules, or applicable law, or content that harms trust and safety.

Acceptable use

You agree not to misuse the Service. You may not:

• Attempt to access accounts or systems you are not authorized to access
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service (including abuse of rate limits)
• Introduce malware or harmful code
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated methods to access the Service without permission (except standard search engine indexing consistent with robots.txt)
• Reverse engineer or attempt to derive source code except as permitted by law
• Use the Service for scams, fraud, or deceptive schemes
• Use the Service to violate laws or regulations

We may block or rate-limit traffic that appears abusive.

Intellectual property

The Service (excluding User Content), including software, design, logos, branding, and features, is owned by ReefScales or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, lease, or create derivative works from the Service except as permitted by law or with our written permission.

Feedback

If you provide suggestions or feedback, you grant ReefScales the right to use it without restriction or compensation, and without any obligation to you.

Third-party links and services

The Service may include links to third-party sites or services. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content, policies, or practices. Your use of third-party sites is at your own risk.

Paid services

At this time, the Service is not collecting payments for access to the knowledge/community features. If we introduce paid features, purchases, or marketplace functionality in the future, additional terms may apply and will be presented to you at that time.

Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ReefScales DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

We do not guarantee that:

• Information will be accurate, complete, or up to date
• The Service will be uninterrupted or error-free
• The Service will meet your expectations
• Use of the Service will prevent tank issues or livestock loss

Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ReefScales WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.

IN NO EVENT WILL ReefScales'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE EXCEED THE GREATER OF:

• (A) $100 USD, OR
• (B) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID ReefScales (IF ANY) IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those jurisdictions, some of these limits may not apply.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ReefScales and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or related to:

• Your use of the Service
• Your User Content
• Your violation of these Terms, the Rules, or applicable law

Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Service at any time.

We may suspend or terminate your access (or any part of the Service) at any time if we reasonably believe you:

• Violated these Terms or the Rules
• Pose a risk to trust and safety
• Used the Service in a harmful or unlawful way
• Or for operational or security reasons

Changes to the Service and these Terms

We may update or change the Service over time, including adding, removing, or modifying features.

We may modify these Terms at any time by posting updated Terms and updating the "Last updated" date. Continued use after changes means you accept the updated Terms.

Copyright and takedown requests

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, contact us with:

• Identification of the copyrighted work
• Identification/location of the material claimed to be infringing
• Your contact information
• A statement of good-faith belief
• A statement under penalty of perjury that your claim is accurate and you are authorized to act

Takedown contact: Contact form

Governing law and venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, United States, without regard to conflict of laws rules.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Florida, and you consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in those courts, except where prohibited by applicable law.

Miscellaneous

• Severability: If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remain in effect.
• No waiver: Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.
• Assignment: You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms as part of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale.
• Entire agreement: These Terms, the Rules, and the Privacy Policy form the entire agreement between you and ReefScales regarding the Service.