Terms of Use
Last Modified: May 8, 2024
WELCOME TO METACULUS!
IMPORTANT! PLEASE CAREFULLY READ THESE TERMS OF USE, AS THEY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. The following terms and conditions, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, "Terms of Use") apply to the Metaculus.com web site including any content, functionality, and services offered on or through the Metaculus.com website (the "Service" or “Site” or “Website”)”, whether as a guest or registered user. Metaculus, Inc. is referred to in these Terms of Use as "Metaculus", "Metaculus Website," "we" or "our." "You," "your" and "user" refer to any person or entity using the Service.
These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of the Service, regardless of how you access it, whether by computer, mobile device, or otherwise; and whether directly through our Service, or through any third-party website that links to it ("Linked Service"). By using the Service, you agree to be bound and abide by the Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, found at https://www.metaculus.com/privacy-policy/, incorporated herein by reference. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use of the Privacy Policy, you are not authorized to access or use the Service and you must cease all such use immediately.
ARBITRATION NOTICE: Except for certain types of disputes described in the ARBITRATION section below, you agree that disputes between you and METACULUS will be resolved by binding, individual ARBITRATION and you waive your right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.
Account Registration & Termination
Metaculus provides the Service, a platform for users to predict future events in a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to science, politics and finance, and display their track record of accurately predicting such events. You may only have one Metaculus account for use of the Service. You may not create or use more than one account, and you may not share your account or any of the Service with others. A parent or guardian may create an account for the benefit of a minor, but otherwise you may not create an account for anyone unless expressly authorized by Metaculus. All information you provide to create an account must be accurate and complete. You may not impersonate any other person or use a name that is not your own. It is your responsibility to update your account information to keep it current and accurate. When you set up an account, you must also choose a password. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password, and for any and all use of your account. You agree not to use the account, username, or password of another user at any time, nor to disclose your password to any third party. You agree you will not sell or share or otherwise transfer your membership or any membership rights. You agree to notify Metaculus immediately if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account or access to your password. Metaculus has the right to terminate your account for any reason at our sole discretion without notice and without liability.
Age and Residence Requirements; U.S. Jurisdiction
The Service is offered and is available to individuals age 13 and over. If you are between the ages of 13 and the age of majority where you live, you must review these Terms of Use with your parent or guardian to confirm that you and your parent or guardian understand and agree to it. The Service is not intended or authorized for distribution or use in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to law or regulation or which would subject Metaculus to any registration requirement within such jurisdiction or country, and meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements. By using this Website, you represent and warrant that you of legal age to form a binding contract with the Company, are not on any list of restricted persons with whom it is unlawful for a U.S. company to do business. Metaculus operates the Service in the United States. Metaculus makes no representations or warranties that the Service is appropriate for use or access in other locations. Anyone using or accessing the Service from other locations does so on their own initiative and is responsible for compliance with United States' and local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content, if and to the extent such laws are applicable. We reserve the right to limit the availability of the Service and/or the provision of any content, program, product, service or other feature to any person, geographic area, or jurisdiction, at any time and in our sole discretion, and to limit the quantities of any such content, program, product, service or other feature that we provide.
Proprietary Rights
The Service is owned and operated by Metaculus. Unless otherwise explicitly specified by Metaculus, all materials that are included in or otherwise a part of the Service, including past, present, and future versions, domain names, source and object code, the text, site design, logos, graphics, bibliographic information, icons, and book cover images, as well as the selection, assembly and arrangement thereof and the "look and feel" of the Service (collectively, "Metaculus Content"), are owned, controlled, or licensed by Metaculus. Metaculus Content is protected from unauthorized use, copying and dissemination by copyright, trademark, patent, and other laws, rules, regulations and treaties. Any unauthorized use of Metaculus Content is prohibited. Any unauthorized use of the materials appearing on the Service may violate copyright, trademark, patent, and other applicable laws, rules, regulations, and treaties, and could result in criminal or civil penalties.
Your License to Use Site Content
Subject to your compliance with these Terms of Use, Metaculus grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-commercial, revocable and non-transferable license to view the Metaculus Content. You may only use the Service for your own personal use. You agree not to view, copy, or procure content or information from the Service by automated means (such as scripts, bots, spiders, crawlers, or scrapers), or to use other data mining technology or processes to frame, mask, extract data or other materials from the Metaculus Content (except as may be a result of standard search engine or Internet browser usage), unless formally authorized by Metaculus under separate written agreement. No materials from the Service may be copied, reproduced, modified, republished, downloaded, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any form or by any means without Metaculus's prior written permission or as expressly provided in these Terms of Use. You may not use the Service, any Metaculus Content, or any User Content accessed through the Service to train or otherwise create or develop any artificial intelligence or machine learning model or algorithm without Metaculus's prior written permission. When you download or use the Metaculus Content as authorized by these Terms of Use, you must: (a) keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices; (b) make no modifications to the Metaculus Content; and (c) not copy or adapt any object code associated with the Service or reverse engineer, modify or attempt to discover any source code associated with the Service, nor allow or assist any third party (whether or not for your benefit) to do so. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. Metaculus may impose reasonable limits on your scope of access to Metaculus Content, including limits on time or number of materials accessed or machines used to access such Content, to prevent unauthorized third party access to or use of that Content.
Social Distribution and Widgets
Metaculus may allow you, but only through express written permission, to engage in certain personal uses of Metaculus Content that include the ability to share certain Metaculus Content with others (“Social Distribution”). For example, the Service may allow you to send certain Metaculus Content to friends, display Metaculus Content on your personal web site or post Metaculus Content on a third party web site. You agree that you will not imply that you and Metaculus are affiliated in any way or that Metaculus approves of your comments. We reserve the right to revoke our permission for Social Distribution at any time and for any reason, and you agree to immediately cease Social Distribution upon notice of revocation and to comply with any terms we post in connection with the Social Distribution of Metaculus Content.
Similarly, the Service may provide content that you may choose to embed on your personal web page, third party web site or social networking site by pasting the HTML or other code provided by us (typically labeled as an embed code) (”Widgets”). Widgets are Metaculus Content and subject to the limited, revocable license described above. We may discontinue providing the Service necessary for the Widgets to operate or we may disable Widgets you have embedded at any time for any reason without any liability to you. You agree that our permission to you to use Widgets does not provide you (or any third party) with any intellectual property rights in or to the Widget or any Metaculus Content made available via any Widget.
NOTICE TO THIRD PARTY SITES: Any Metaculus Content made available in connection with your site, or otherwise, by our Widgets, third party widgets or otherwise, is our exclusive property and no grant of any intellectual property rights is made by us. We retain the right to demand that you cease any use of Metaculus Content upon notice.
User Content and Activities
All information we collect on this Website is subject to our Privacy Policy. By using the Website, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy.
When you submit, post, upload, embed, display, communicate, link to, email or otherwise distribute or publish any question, prediction, review, problem, suggestion, idea, solution, question, answer, feedback, message, image, video, text, profile data or other material (”User Content”) to Metaculus, any Metaculus employee or contractor, or a Metaculus web site, you grant Metaculus and our affiliates, licensees, distributors, agents, representatives and other entities or individuals authorized by Metaculus, a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, unlimited, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully sublicensable (through multiple tiers) and fully transferable right to make copies of such content and to publish such content through the Website, partners or affiliates, to make, use, reproduce, copy, display, publish, exhibit, distribute, modify, sell, offer for sale, create derivative works based upon and otherwise use the User Content. You also grant each user of the service the right to access your Content through the Website.
You further agree that Metaculus is free to use any ideas or concepts contained in any User Content for any purposes whatsoever, including, without limitation, developing, manufacturing and marketing products and Service; and creating informational articles, without any payment of any kind to you. You authorize Metaculus to publish your User Content in a searchable format that may be accessed by users of the Service and the Internet. Except as prohibited by law, you waive any moral rights you may have in any User Content you submit, even if such User Content is altered or changed in a manner not agreeable to you.
Metaculus is not required to host, display, or distribute, and may remove at any time, any User Content. Metaculus reserves the right to change the format, sizing, and any other display specifications of the User Content as it sees fit.
You represent and warrant that (i) you own the User Content submitted by you on, through or in connection with the Service, or otherwise have the right to grant the licenses set forth in this section, and (ii) the posting of your User Content on, through or in connection with the Service and/or Linked Service does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person or entity. Upon Metaculus’s request, you will furnish Metaculus any documentation, substantiation or releases necessary to verify your compliance with these Terms of Use. You retain full ownership of all your User Content and any intellectual property rights in that content, subject to the rights granted herein.
Except as otherwise described in the posted privacy policy, or other agreement on the Service presented at the time you provide your User Content (defined below), you agree that your User Content will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary and will not be returned. You acknowledge and agree that your relationship with Metaculus is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other type of special relationship, and that your decision to submit any User Content does not place Metaculus in a position that is any different from the position held by members of the general public, including with regard to your User Content. None of your User Content will be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Metaculus, and Metaculus will not be liable for any use or disclosure of any User Content that you provide.
It is our policy not to accept or consider content, information, ideas, suggestions or other materials other than those we have specifically requested, to which certain specific terms, conditions and requirements may apply. This is to avoid any misunderstandings if your ideas are similar to those we have developed or are developing independently. Accordingly, Metaculus does not accept unsolicited materials or ideas, and takes no responsibility for any materials or ideas so transmitted.
You understand that any predictions made on or through the Website as not guarantees – the future is not knowable, and the User Content on the Website is at most simply a prediction, forecast, or surmise about what may happen in the future. Acting in reliance on any User Content is at your own risk, and we advise you to do your own research and consult with your own professional advisors prior to taking any action relying on the User Content.
You agree that Metaculus has no obligation to monitor or enforce your intellectual property rights to your User Content but has the right to protect and enforce its and its licensees’ rights to your User Content. You further acknowledge and agree that Metaculus will not have any obligation to you with regard to User Content and that Metaculus may or may not monitor, display or accept your User Content and may delete it at any time. We may, but are not obligated to, review User Content prior to posting it on or distributing it through the Service, or allowing them to be distributed through the Service. This includes private messages exchanged by you and other users through the Service. This “User Content and Activities” section shall survive any expiration or termination of your relationship with Metaculus.
You understand and agree that Metaculus may, at various times, make a series of evaluations, decisions concerning whether your User Content is appropriate, or whether your predictions were accurate, and how much value (points or other value) to assign or take away from your profile, which is public. These evaluations and decisions may involve independent judgment from Metaculus, its user community, or other individuals that Metaculus may in its discretion grant the authority to make such evaluations and decisions. You expressly acknowledge that Metaculus and its assigns have the final authority to interpret and decide all issues relating to questions, comments, predictions, timing, resolutions, scoring and outcomes, and all other matters regarding the operation of the Site, even if they may be subject to different interpretations or resolutions. You agree to accept the interpretations and final decisions of Metaculus regarding such matters.
Acceptable Use Policy
You are solely responsible for the User Content you submit, through or in connection with our Service, and any material or information that you transmit to other users and for your interactions with other users. When you contribute, upload or otherwise provide User Content via the Service, you agree to comply with the following Community Usage Rules. In addition to removing prohibited materials, Metaculus may terminate the responsible accounts, and/or report such activities to law enforcement authorities as appropriate.
Prohibited User Content includes, but is not limited to, material that Metaculus determines:
- is patently offensive or promotes or otherwise incites racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
- harasses or advocates harassment of another person;
- exploits people in a sexual or violent manner or contains nudity, excessive violence, or offensive subject matter or contains a link to an adult or otherwise objectionable website;
- posts information that poses or creates a privacy or security risk to any person;
- constitutes or promotes information that you know is false or misleading or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous;
- constitutes or promotes an illegal or unauthorized copy of another person’s copyrighted work, such as providing pirated computer programs or links to them, providing information to circumvent manufacturer-installed copy-protect devices, or providing pirated music or links to pirated music files;
- involves the transmission of “junk mail,” “chain letters,” or unsolicited mass mailing, instant messaging, “spimming,” or “spamming”;
- contains restricted or password only access pages or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page) or solicits or is designed to solicit passwords or personal identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes from other users;
- furthers or promotes any criminal activity or enterprise or provides instructional information about illegal activities including, but not limited to, making or buying illegal weapons or providing or creating computer viruses;
- involves commercial activities and/or sales without prior written consent from Metaculus such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, or pyramid schemes;
- includes a photograph or video of another person that you have posted without that person’s consent;
- violates or attempts to violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, patent rights, trademark rights, contract rights or any other rights of any person.
- unauthorized advertising to, or solicitation of, any user to buy or sell any products or Service;
- circumventing or modifying, attempting to circumvent or modify, or encouraging or assisting any other person in circumventing or modifying any security technology or software that is part of our Service;
- activity that involves the use of viruses, bots, worms, or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware, or otherwise permit the unauthorized use of or access to a computer or a computer network;
- modifying, copying, distributing, downloading, scraping or transmitting in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, any content from the Service;
- covering or obscuring the banner advertisements and/or safety features (e.g., report abuse button) on your personal profile page, or any Metaculus page via HTML/CSS or any other means;
- any automated use of the Service, such as, but not limited to, using scripts to send messages or posts;
- use of the Service, any Metaculus Content, or any User Content accessed through the Service to train or otherwise create or develop any artificial intelligence or machine learning model or algorithm without Metaculus's prior written permission;
- interfering with, disrupting, or creating an undue burden on the Service or the networks or Service connected to the Service;
- displaying an unauthorized commercial advertisement on your profile, or accepting payment or anything of value from a third person in exchange for your performing any commercial activity through the use of the Service on behalf of that person, such as placing commercial content on review posts or solutions, links to e-commerce sites not authorized by Metaculus, or sending messages with a commercial purpose;
- activity unrelated or disruptive to the Service, such as submissions that force browsers to scroll horizontally, large blank or content-free submissions, "Bumping" multiple older topics (posting in them well after the last post), posting multiple identical or near-identical messages or topics, including "fad" topics, hard-to-read topic titles (e.g., ALL CAPS, AlTeRnAtE cApS, no spaces, no or excessive punctuation), or multiple hard-to-read or nonsensical messages in a single or multiple topics; or
- using the Service in a manner inconsistent with any applicable law.
Service Modifications
Metaculus reserves the right, in our sole discretion, to make changes to or discontinue any of the Service at any time. Any description of the Service provided by Metaculus is not a representation that the Service are working or will always work in that manner, as Metaculus is continuously updating the Service, and these updates may not always be reflected in the Terms of Use.
Mobile Use
The Service may offer features and Service that are available to you via your mobile device. These features and Service may include, without limitation, the ability to upload content to the Service, receive messages from the Service, download applications to your mobile phone or access features from the Service (collectively, the "Mobile Features"). We may charge for Mobile Features and these charges will be disclosed prior to completion of registration for the Mobile Feature. Also, standard messaging, data and other fees may be charged by your carrier. Carrier fees and charges will appear on your mobile bill or be deducted from your pre-paid balance. Your carrier may prohibit or restrict certain Mobile Features and certain Mobile Features may be incompatible with your carrier or mobile device. Contact your carrier with questions regarding these issues.
If you change or terminate your mobile account, you are responsible for promptly updating your Metaculus account information so that any messages or notices from Metaculus regarding the Service are sent to you and not to the person who is assigned your old number.
Email and Text Message Notifications
Notifications or receipts from Metaculus will be delivered to you by email at the address you provided to Metaculus when you created your account or as later updated. You hereby agree and acknowledge that Metaculus is not responsible to notify you in any way other than by email. Metaculus will not ask you for your personal information, account username, and password, or any of your credit or debit card information via email or text message. Metaculus will have no responsibility for any misuse of such information if you provide such information via email or text message.
Account Cancellation
You may cancel your account at any time throughout our Service. Metaculus may cancel your account in its sole discretion any reason, including but not limited to inactivity or misuse of the Service. Even if your account in cancelled, your information, posts, and any other data you have shared via the Service may persist within the Service after cancellation of your account.
Third Party Links, Content and Applications
There may be links from the Service, or from communications you receive from the Service, to third party web sites or online features. The Service also may include third party content that we do not control, maintain or endorse.
Functionality on the Service may also permit interactions between the Service and a third party web site or online feature, including applications that connect the Service or your profile on the Service with a third party site. For example, the Service may include a button enabling you to indicate, on your social networking page, that you "like" a specific product on the Service, or a feature that lets you post to your social networking page a link to a specific product or the ability to share content from the Service or your User Content with a third party, which may be publicly posted on that third party's web site. Using this functionality typically requires you to login to your account on the third party website, and you do so at your own risk. We do not control any of these third party sites or any of their content. Accordingly, you expressly acknowledge and agree that we are in no way responsible or liable for any of those third party sites or online features. YOUR CORRESPONDENCE AND BUSINESS DEALINGS WITH THIRD PARTIES FOUND THROUGH THE SERVICE INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE PAYMENT AND DELIVERY OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICE, AND ANY TERMS, CONDITIONS, WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH ANY SUCH DEALINGS, ARE SOLELY BETWEEN YOU AND THE THIRD PARTY.
Linking Policy
Metaculus grants you the revocable permission to link to the web sites on which these Terms of Use are posted; provided, however, that any link to such a web site: (a) must not frame or create a browser or border environment around any of the content on such web sites or otherwise mirror any part of such web sites; (b) must not imply that Metaculus or the Service are endorsing or sponsoring any third party or its products or Service, unless Metaculus has given the third party prior written consent; (c) must not present false information about, or disparage, tarnish, or otherwise, in Metaculus's sole opinion, harm Metaculus or its products or Service; (d) must not use any Metaculus trademarks without the prior written permission from Metaculus; (e) must not contain content that could be construed as distasteful, offensive or controversial or otherwise objectionable (in Metaculus's sole opinion); and (f) must be owned and controlled by you or the person or entity placing the link, or otherwise permit you to enable such link subject to these Terms of Use. By linking to a Metaculus web site, you agree that you do and will continue to comply with the above linking requirements.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in these Terms of Use, Metaculus reserves the right to prohibit linking to any Metaculus web site for any reason in our sole and absolute discretion.
Disclaimer of Warranties
THE METACULUS WEBSITE AND SERVICE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS," "AS AVAILABLE," AND "WITH ALL FAULTS" BASIS AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, METACULUS AND ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES OR VENDORS (COLLECTIVELY THE "METACULUS PARTIES") SPECIFICALLY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, OR ENDORSEMENTS OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO (A) THE SERVICE; (B) THE METACULUS CONTENT; (C) USER CONTENT; AND/OR (D) SECURITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO METACULUS OR VIA THE SERVICE. IN ADDITION, THE METACULUS PARTIES DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OF MERCHANTABILITY,NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, CUSTOM, TRADE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, SYSTEM INTEGRATION, AND FREEDOM FROM COMPUTER VIRUS.
WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE METACULUS PARTIES SPECIFICALLY DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED OR THAT THE SERVICE OR THE SERVER, NETWORK OR OTHER SOFTWARE AND EQUIPMENT THAT MAKES THEM AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. METACULUS DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDING THE CONTENT OF ITS PRODUCTS, WEBSITES OR SERVICE, OR REGARDING THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SERVICE IN TERMS OF THEIR COMPLETENESS, CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, USEFULNESS OR OTHERWISE, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY SET OUT ON THE SERVICE. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE ARE AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE METACULUS PARTIES DO NOT WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE ARE LAWFUL IN ANY PARTICULAR JURISDICTION, AND THE METACULUS PARTIES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM SUCH WARRANTIES. SOME JURISDICTIONS LIMIT OR DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF IMPLIED OR OTHER WARRANTIES SO THE ABOVE DISCLAIMER MAY NOT APPLY TO THE EXTENT SUCH JURISDICTION's LAW IS APPLICABLE TO THESE TERMS.
BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICE YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOUR ACTIVITIES ARE LAWFUL IN EVERY JURISDICTION WHERE YOU ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE.
THE METACULUS PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USER CONTENT, ACCURACY OR OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN USER CONTENT POSTED OR PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES ON THE SERVICE OR LINKED SERVICE, AND SUCH SERVICE ARE NOT NECESSARILY INVESTIGATED, MONITORED OR CHECKED FOR ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS BY METACULUS. INCLUSION OF ANY LINKED WEBSITE OR FEATURE ON THE SERVICE DOES NOT IMPLY APPROVAL OR ENDORSEMENT OF THE LINKED WEBSITE OR FEATURE BY METACULUS. IN ADDITION, THE METACULUS PARTIES ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY TO ANY PERSON OR ANY ENTITY FOR ANY DAMAGE (WHETHER ACTUAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHERWISE), INJURY, LOSS, CLAIM, OR LIABILITY OR OTHER CAUSE OF ANY KIND OR CHARACTER BASED UPON OR RESULTING FROM ANY USER CONTENT OR BY ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT OR PROGRAMMING ASSOCIATED WITH OR UTILIZED IN THE SERVICE OR LINKED SERVICE. POSTS AND LINKED SERVICE CREATED AND POSTED BY USERS ON, THOUGH OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE MAY CONTAIN LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES OR SERVICE. METACULUS TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIRD PARTY ADVERTISEMENTS OR LINKED SERVICE THAT ARE POSTED ON, THROUGH OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE OR LINKED SERVICE, NOR DOES IT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE GOODS OR SERVICE PROVIDED BY THESE THIRD PARTIES.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL METACULUS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, RESULTING FROM USE OF THE SERVICE OR LINKED SERVICE, ATTENDANCE AT A METACULUS EVENT, FROM ANY USER CONTENT POSTED ON OR THROUGH THE SERVICE OR LINKED SERVICE, OR FROM THE CONDUCT OF ANY USERS OF THE SERVICE, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE. THIS "DISCLAIMERS" SECTION SHALL SURVIVE ANY EXPIRATION OR TERMINATION OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH METACULUS.
Limitations of Liability; Waiver
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE METACULUS PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT, ECONOMIC, EXEMPLARY, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES OR DAMAGES)THAT ARE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATED TO: (A) THE SERVICE; (B) THE METACULUS CONTENT; (C) USER CONTENT; (D) YOUR USE OF, INABILITY TO USE, OR THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SITE; (E) ANY ACTION TAKEN IN CONNECTION WITH AN INVESTIGATION BY THE METACULUS PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES REGARDING YOUR USE OF THE SITE; (F) ANY ACTION TAKEN IN CONNECTION WITH COPYRIGHT OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OWNERS; (G) ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN THE SERVICE'S TECHNICAL OPERATION; OR (H) ANY DAMAGE TO ANY USER'S COMPUTER, MOBILE DEVICE, OR OTHER EQUIPMENT OR TECHNOLOGY INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGE FROM ANY SECURITY BREACH OR FROM ANY VIRUS, BUGS, TAMPERING, FRAUD, ERROR, OMISSION, INTERRUPTION, DEFECT, DELAY IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, COMPUTER LINE OR NETWORK FAILURE OR ANY OTHER TECHNICAL OR OTHER MALFUNCTION, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, WORK STOPPAGE, ACCURACY OF RESULTS, OR COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE OR EVEN IF THE METACULUS PARTIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF OR SHOULD HAVE KNOWN OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR TORT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WHETHER CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY NEGLIGENCE, ACTS OF GOD, TELECOMMUNICATIONS FAILURE, OR THEFT OR DESTRUCTION OF THE SITE). IN NO EVENT WILL THE METACULUS PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE FOR LOSS, DAMAGE OR INJURY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO EVENT WILL THE METACULUS PARTIES TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES OR CAUSES OR ACTION EXCEED THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO METACULUS IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS, OR $250, WHICHEVER IS GREATER. THE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY IN THESE TERMS OF USE WILL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY. THIS SECTION SHALL SURVIVE ANY EXPIRATION OR TERMINATION OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH METACULUS.
YOU AGREE THAT IN THE EVENT YOU INCUR ANY DAMAGES, LOSSES OR INJURIES THAT ARISE OUT OF THE METACULUS PARTIES' ACTS OR OMISSIONS, THE DAMAGES, IF ANY, CAUSED TO YOU ARE NOT IRREPARABLE OR SUFFICIENT TO ENTITLE YOU TO AN INJUNCTION PREVENTING ANY EXPLOITATION OF ANY WEB SITE, PROPERTY, PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR OTHER METACULUS CONTENT OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY THE METACULUS PARTIES, AND YOU WILL HAVE NO RIGHTS TO ENJOIN OR RESTRAIN THE DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, ADVERTISING, EXHIBITION OR EXPLOITATION OF ANY WEB SITE, PROPERTY, PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR OTHER METACULUS CONTENT OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY THE METACULUS PARTIES.
BY ACCESSING THE SERVICE, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY BE WAIVING RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO CLAIMS THAT ARE AT THIS TIME UNKNOWN OR UNSUSPECTED, AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH WAIVER, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND, AND HEREBY EXPRESSLY WAIVE, THE BENEFITS OF SECTION 1542 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF CALIFORNIA, AND ANY SIMILAR LAW OF ANY STATE OR TERRITORY, WHICH PROVIDES AS FOLLOWS: "A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR."
Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Metaculus Parties from and against any and all loss, liability, damages, judgments, claims, demands, costs, investigations, settlements, and expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or directly or indirectly relating to (a) your User Content; (b) your use of the Service or activities in connection with the Service; (c) your breach or anticipatory breach of these Terms of Use; (d) your violation of any laws, rules, regulations, codes, statutes, ordinances or orders of any governmental and quasi-governmental authorities, including, without limitation, all regulatory, administrative and legislative authorities; (e) information or material transmitted through your computer, even if not submitted by you, that infringes, violates or misappropriates any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent, publicity, privacy or other right of any person or defames any person; (f) any misrepresentation made by you; or (g) the Metaculus Parties' use of your information or User Content as permitted under these Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, or any other written agreement between you and Metaculus. You will cooperate as fully required by the Metaculus Parties in the defense of any claim. The Metaculus Parties reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and you will not in any event settle any claim without the prior written consent of a duly authorized employee of the Metaculus Parties. These indemnity obligations shall survive any expiration or termination of your relationship with Metaculus.
Reporting Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Violations
Metaculus respects the intellectual property rights of others and takes the protection of copyrights and other intellectual property seriously. Only the intellectual property rights owner or person authorized to act on behalf of the owner can report potentially infringing content. If you believe your work has been infringed through the Service, please notify us at Metaculus, Inc., Attention: Copyright Agent, 119 Merced Ave, Santa Cruz CA 95060, or at the email address copyright@metaculus.com and provide the following information:
- Your contact information, including name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
- A description of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed;
- A reasonably specific description of where the allegedly infringing material is located on the Service (including, e.g., the URL);
- A statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the allegedly infringing material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
- Your electronic or physical signature;
- A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf; and
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party.
NOTE: This contact information is for inquiries regarding potential copyright and other infringement only.
It is often difficult to determine if your intellectual property rights have been violated or if the DMCA requirements have been met. We may request additional information before we remove any infringing material. If a dispute develops as to the correct owner of the rights in question, we reserve the right to remove your content along with that of the alleged infringer pending resolution of the matter.
Metaculus will provide you with notice if your materials have been removed based on a third party complaint of alleged infringement of the third party's intellectual property rights.
IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT THAT MATERIAL IS OR IS NOT INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL PENALTIES. THESE INCLUDE MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS' FEES INCURRED BY METACULUS, BY ANY COPYRIGHT OWNER, OR BY ANY COPYRIGHT OWNER'S LICENSEE THAT IS INJURED AS A RESULT OF RELIANCE UPON YOUR MISREPRESENTATION. YOU MAY ALSO BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY. You agree we may provide your notice to the provider of the allegedly infringing material.
We have a policy of terminating accounts of users who repeatedly or intentionally infringe the intellectual property rights of others.
Legal Disputes
If a dispute arises between you and Metaculus, you agree that we will resolve any claim or controversy at law or equity that relates to or arises out of the Terms of Use or the Service or your use of the Service (a "Claim") in accordance with the subsections below.
General. You and Metaculus agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof (collectively, "Disputes") will be settled by binding arbitration; except as set forth in the Judicial Resolution section below. You acknowledge and agree that you and Metaculus are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action or representative proceeding. Further, unless both you and Metaculus otherwise agree, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. If this specific paragraph is held unenforceable, then the entirety of this "Legal Disputes" section will be deemed void. This "Legal Disputes" section will survive any termination of these Terms of Use. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each party reserves the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction with respect to any dispute related to the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party's intellectual property or proprietary rights or breach of the User Content and Activities provisions of this Agreement.
Arbitration Rules, Governing Law, Jurisdiction and Venue. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (the "AAA Rules") then in effect, except as modified by this Section of these Terms of Use. (The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org/arb_med or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.) The Federal Arbitration Act will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Section. These Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue of any action taken in a small claims court as contemplated by these terms will be the courts located in the Northern District of California and each of the parties hereto waives any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts.
Arbitration Process. A party who desires to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a written Demand for Arbitration as specified in the AAA Rules. (The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at www.adr.org/si.asp?id=3477 and a separate form for California residents at www.adr.org/si.asp?id=3485.) The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of California and will be selected by the parties from the AAA's roster of consumer dispute arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within seven (7) days of delivery of the Demand for Arbitration, then the AAA will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules.
Arbitration Location and Procedure. Unless you and Metaculus otherwise agree, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where you reside. If your claim does not exceed $10,000, then the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents you and Metaculus submit to the arbitrator, unless you request a hearing or the arbitrator determines that a hearing is necessary. If your claim exceeds $10,000, your right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator will have the discretion to direct a reasonable exchange of information by the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration.
Arbitrator's Decision. The arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the AAA Rules. The arbitrator's decision will include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitrator's award damages must be consistent with the terms of Limitation of Liability section of these Terms of Use as to the types and the amounts of damages for which a party may be held liable. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant's individual claim. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys' fees and expenses, to the extent provided under applicable law. Metaculus will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law to recover, attorneys' fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration.
Fees. Your responsibility to pay any AAA filing, administrative and arbitrator fees will be solely as set forth in the AAA Rules. However, if your claim for damages does not exceed $75,000, Metaculus will pay all such fees unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought in your Demand for Arbitration was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)).
Judicial Resolution. Notwithstanding the foregoing: (1) either party retains the right to bring an individual action in small claims court; (2) either party may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction or other appropriate tribunal to secure preliminary or provisional relief as available under applicable law in connection with a Dispute; and (3) any Dispute involving or relating to (i) the ownership, infringement, or misappropriation of any intellectual property right, including but not limited to copyrights, patents, patent disclosures and inventions (whether patentable or not), trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, know-how, and other confidential information, trade dress, trade names, logos, corporate names and domain names, together with all of the goodwill associated therewith, or (ii) your breach of the License to Use Site Content or the Acceptable Use Policy sections set forth above, may be brought in the courts of the State of California or the courts of the United States of America, in either case, situated in Santa Clara County, California. Each party hereby submits to the jurisdiction of such courts and waives any defense to the exercise of such jurisdiction based on lack of personal jurisdiction or forum non conveniens.
Changes. If Metaculus changes this Legal Disputes section, you may reject any such change by sending us written notice (including by email to legal@metaculus.com) within 30 days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the "Last Updated" date. By rejecting any change, you are agreeing that you will resolve any Dispute between you and Metaculus in accordance with the provisions of this Section as of the date you first accepted the terms of these Terms of Use (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms of Use).
This "Legal Disputes" section shall survive any expiration or termination of your relationship with Metaculus.
Policies
When using the Service, you are subject to any posted policies or rules applicable to features you use through the Service, including without limitation the GENERAL POLICIES, FAQ/Help and all policies referenced in the General Policies or elsewhere in this Agreement (“Additional Terms”). All such policies or rules are hereby incorporated into these Terms of Use. These policies may change from time to time.
Miscellaneous
Unless otherwise stated in this agreement, if any provision of the Terms of Use is declared invalid, illegal or unenforceable, all remaining provisions continue in full force and effect. The failure of Metaculus to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Use is not a waiver of such right or provision. The section titles of the Terms of Use are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. Non-performance of either party, except for the failure to make required payments, will be excused to the extent performance is delayed or rendered impossible by any reason where failure to perform is beyond the reasonable control of the non-performing party. This "Miscellaneous" section shall survive any expiration or termination of your relationship with Metaculus.
Changes
Metaculus may modify the Terms of Use including the linked policies contained herein from time to time, without prior notice, though you will receive email notice of substantial revisions to these Terms. By using our Service after we have updated the terms (or engaging in such other conduct as we may reasonably specify), you agree to be bound by the then-current version of the Terms of Use, including any changes we may have made since the last time you used our Service. It is therefore important that you review the Terms of Use regularly to ensure you are aware of any such changes. The updated Terms of Use will be effective as of the time of posting, or such later date as may be specified in the updated Terms of Use, and will apply to your use of the Service from that point forward.
Entire Agreement
The then-current Metaculus Terms of Use, including (a) any related policies and terms referenced in the Terms of Use and (b) any Additional Terms, are the entire agreement between you and Metaculus regarding the Service. The Terms of Use may not be modified without the consent of a duly authorized representative of Metaculus, and will supersede and prevail over any terms or conditions you may include with any purchase order or other transaction document or communication with us, regardless of whether Metaculus signs them or fails to object to them. This "Entire Agreement" section shall survive any expiration or termination of your relationship with Metaculus.
Contacting Metaculus
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Metaculus Websites or Service, please write to us Metaculus Inc., 119 Merced Ave, Santa Cruz CA 95060. All notices, authorizations, and requests to Metaculus shall be deemed given on receipt.