Terms of Service & Community Agreement

1. Accounts and access

By creating an account, you agree to these terms. You must be at least 13 years old to create an account or use community features. If you are under 18, you must have permission from a parent or guardian. Use accurate account information, keep your password private, and take responsibility for activity on your account. Do not impersonate someone else or create an account to evade a restriction. You can read public parts of the site without joining; posting, messaging, and member spaces require a confirmed account with the appropriate access.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and delete personal information.

A free website account and a paid Founders membership are different. Founders and Plus membership payments are handled by Stripe. Books and other purchases are separate unless an offer expressly says otherwise.

2. Treat people with respect

These rules apply to posts, replies, direct and group messages, display names, profiles, Artist Homes, images, stickers, links, and anything else you share here. Disagree with ideas and stories without attacking people. Criticism and good-faith discussion are welcome; abuse is not.

• No hate or discrimination. Do not use slurs, dehumanizing language, hateful symbols, exclusionary calls, or targeted abuse based on a person’s actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, nationality, religion, caste, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or other personal characteristic. Do not encourage discrimination.
• No threats or violence. Do not threaten, celebrate, organize, or encourage violence, including hate-motivated violence. Do not share instructions intended to hurt someone or make credible threats of harm.
• No harassment. Do not bully, stalk, intimidate, sexually harass, repeatedly contact someone who has asked you to stop, or coordinate others to target a person.
• Protect privacy and safety. Do not share another person’s private information, private messages, photos, location, or identifying details without permission. Do not exploit, groom, or sexualize minors.
• Be honest and lawful. Do not scam, phish, spam, impersonate others, spread malware, interfere with the service, or use it to plan or promote unlawful activity.
• Share responsibly. Post only material you have the right to share. Do not upload pirated books, stolen art, or someone else’s private work. Mark major story spoilers clearly. Do not post sexually explicit material or graphic violence in community spaces.

Context matters. Quoting harmful language to discuss a book or report abuse is different from using it to attack someone; we may still limit the material if it puts members at risk.

3. Your words, art, and messages

You retain ownership of your original work. You represent that you have the rights and permissions, or another lawful basis, needed to upload your content and allow the uses described here. You grant Chautauqua Ink House a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, technically format, display, and deliver your content solely to operate the features you use and to make it available to the audience authorized by those features. We may allow service providers to perform those functions for us, subject to this purpose limitation. This license does not transfer ownership or authorize unrelated commercial exploitation.

Community book submissions remain private to you and authorized reviewers until a House administrator approves them for the member library. Submitting a book authorizes that review and, if approved, its presentation in the member library. Approval is not a certification that you own all rights. Contact us if you want to withdraw a submission or remove an approved book.

The license ends when your content is removed from the service, except for limited copies reasonably necessary for legal obligations, safety, dispute handling, or technical backups. Other people may have retained copies they received before removal. This permission does not allow us to continue offering a removed book for ordinary reading.

Other members’ work and Ink House books, artwork, and site design belong to their respective owners. An account does not grant permission to copy, redistribute, or sell them.

4. Reporting and moderation

Use the Report control where available to flag a post. If a message or profile raises a safety concern, stop engaging and bring it to a House administrator. Do not use public posts to repeat private details or amplify abuse. For immediate danger, contact local emergency services.

We may review reported material and related context, remove content, limit features, suspend or close accounts, and preserve or disclose information when reasonably needed for safety or legal compliance. Serious or repeated violations may lead to immediate action. Reports are reviewed in context; we cannot promise that every report will have a particular outcome or that every message will be monitored in real time. Do not make knowingly false reports or retaliate against someone for reporting.

5. Copyright complaints

Our Copyright Policy explains notices, counter-notices, and our policy of terminating repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances. Send copyright concerns to copyright@chautauquainkhouse.com.

6. Responsibility for third-party claims

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify Chautauqua Ink House and its confirmed legal operators against third-party claims, damages, and reasonable legal costs arising from your unlawful content, your infringement of another person’s rights, or your material breach of these Terms. This obligation does not apply to the extent a claim results from our own negligence, willful misconduct, or violation of law. We will give you reasonably prompt notice of a claim and reasonable cooperation. No settlement may impose an admission, payment obligation, or nonmonetary obligation on a party without that party’s consent. This provision does not limit rights or protections that applicable law does not allow us to exclude.

7. Membership billing, cancellation, and refunds

Secure payments and your purchase

Chautauqua Ink House provides your membership. Stripe processes Founders and Plus membership payments through the secure checkout on this site. The Stripe name and badge identify our payment processor; they do not imply Stripe’s endorsement of Ink House. Payment information is handled as described in our Privacy Policy and Stripe’s Privacy Policy.

Prices are in US dollars. The checkout shows the recurring amount, billing interval and any applicable tax before you confirm payment. Your purchase authorizes the recurring charges disclosed at checkout until you cancel renewal. Access is connected to your signed-in account after payment is verified. An incomplete checkout does not grant paid membership.

Recurring membership and voluntary cancellation

Founders and Plus memberships renew at the price and interval disclosed at checkout until canceled. For Stripe memberships, cancel renewal from My plan & access, then Manage Stripe membership before your next billing date. Access continues through the time already paid for. Upgrades show the amount due before confirmation and begin after payment is verified; downgrades begin at renewal. If you cannot access the cancellation controls, contact hello@chautauquainkhouse.com for help.

Canceling Stripe renewal stops future charges and preserves the remaining paid period. Cancelling does not itself issue a refund. Deleting your Ink House website account, stopping use of the site, or making a separate purchase does not cancel a Stripe subscription. One-time purchases do not renew automatically.

Plan changes and payment problems

Before confirming an upgrade, review the price adjustment shown in your account. An upgrade takes effect after payment is verified. A scheduled downgrade takes effect at your next renewal; you keep your current plan through its paid period. A pending or failed payment may delay a plan change or renewal. Follow any payment-recovery instructions shown in your account, and contact us if your paid access looks incorrect. Do not start another subscription to resolve a pending payment.

Canceling renewal is separate from requesting a refund. We do not routinely refund unused portions of a voluntarily canceled membership; you keep the paid access instead. We consider exceptional circumstances and billing errors individually, and this does not limit refunds or other rights required by applicable law.

Termination for serious or repeated violations

If we terminate your membership because of a serious or repeated violation of our Terms or Community Standards, fees already paid are generally nonrefundable, including fees for unused time, except where applicable law requires otherwise. We will cancel future subscription renewals when terminating your paid membership. You may request a review of the decision by contacting hello@chautauquainkhouse.com. Nothing in this policy limits your mandatory consumer rights.

Refund requests and billing errors

For other refund requests, duplicate or incorrect charges, or a mistaken termination, email hello@chautauquainkhouse.com with your purchase email, order reference, and a short explanation. Do not send full card details. We review requests individually under applicable law and the purchase terms. The violation rule above does not apply merely because you disagree with a decision or request a refund. If we end a paid service for reasons unrelated to your misconduct, we will address unused prepaid access fairly, including a proportionate refund where appropriate or required by law. Purchases from external book retailers follow their checkout terms and applicable consumer rights.

8. Service, changes, and questions

We work to keep Ink House available, but features may change or be interrupted. We may update these terms as the House grows. Revised terms will appear here with a new effective date. If we ask you to accept a new version, that version will apply after you acknowledge it.

If you do not agree, do not create an account or use member features. You can still explore public pages. If you have a question about these terms or need help with a report, email hello@chautauquainkhouse.com. For copyright concerns, email copyright@chautauquainkhouse.com. You do not need an account to contact us.