Community Terms

1.1Communities are third parties

Communities are created and run by independent Owners. Except for Communities labelled “Run by RUO News,” we do not create, review, moderate or control any Community or its Content. We do not endorse any Community, its Owners, Staff, Members, courses, events, products or claims, and we do not verify what they say about themselves.

1.2A listing is not a recommendation

Appearing in the directory, ranking highly or being shown as “Featured” does not mean we approve of a Community or vouch for its accuracy, safety or quality. Rankings may use signals such as activity, size and recency. If we are ever paid for a placement, we will label it “Sponsored.”

1.3Not medical, legal or professional advice

Content in any Community is for education and discussion only. It is not medical, legal, financial or other professional advice, and no doctor–patient or similar relationship is formed. Research-use-only compounds are not approved for human use. Communities may discuss doses and protocols, including those used in studies or by other people; that discussion is not a recommendation, and you are responsible for your own decisions.

1.4What can’t be listed

We will not list, and may remove, any Community that:

• sells, sources, promotes or links to sellers of research-use-only compounds, including through discount codes or affiliate links;
• makes false or misleading health claims, or presents animal or lab results as proof of effects in people;
• is aimed at or admits anyone under 18;
• impersonates a person, brand, clinic or institution, or misstates its Owners’ credentials;
• breaks the law or these terms, or exposes Members to fraud, harassment or unsafe practices.

1.5Our rights over the directory

We decide what appears in the directory and how. We may decline, rank, feature, label, hide or remove a listing at any time, including while we look into a report. Removing a listing does not by itself close the Community; Part 2 covers that.

1.6We don’t monitor, but we act on reports

We have no duty to monitor Communities. Report a Community that breaks the law or these terms to [trust & safety email]. We review reports and may act, but we don’t promise a particular outcome or response time. Copyright complaints go to our [DMCA policy].

1.7Joining and paying

Paid memberships are sold only through the Platform. RUO Ready, LLC collects payment through Stripe on the Owner’s behalf, keeps the platform fee, and pays the rest to the Owner. Access, cancellation and refunds follow section 3.8 and the Community’s posted policy.

2.1Who can be an Owner

You must be at least 18, give accurate information about yourself and your Community, and keep your contact details current. If you run a Community for a business, you confirm you’re authorized to accept these terms for it. Each Community has exactly one Owner.

2.2Your rights

Within these terms and the law, you may:

• Brand it: choose the Community’s name, URL, logo, cover image, description and colors, and whether it appears in the directory.
• Set the rules: publish house rules that add to, but don’t loosen, these terms.
• Control membership: make the Community public or private, invite people, approve or decline join requests, and remove Members.
• Charge for access: set a price, collected through the Platform under section 2.4.
• Appoint Staff: make Members admins or moderators, and remove those roles.
• Moderate: pin, lock, hold or remove Content; mute or ban Members; and set automatic moderation rules.
• Teach and host: publish courses, lessons and quizzes, schedule events, and configure points, levels and badges.
• Keep your work: you keep ownership of the Content you create, subject to the license in 2.6.

2.3Your responsibilities

You agree to:

• Follow the law and these terms, and keep your house rules consistent with them.
• Moderate in good faith. Act on reports within [3] days, remove Content that breaks these terms, and apply your rules consistently.
• Keep it educational. No sourcing, sales, vendor promotion, discount codes or affiliate links for research-use-only compounds, from you, your Staff or your Members.
• Be accurate. Don’t make misleading health claims. Say whether evidence comes from people, animals or lab studies. Mark a Member as a verified expert only after reasonably checking their credentials.
• Disclose connections. Clearly disclose any sponsorship, payment, free product or business relationship behind Content you or your Staff post.
• Own or license what you teach. Publish only courses, files, images and recordings you created or have permission to use.
• Describe paid access honestly. State what Members get, post a refund and cancellation policy, and honor it.
• Keep your Community safe. Don’t admit anyone you know or suspect is under 18. Remove Members who harass, threaten or exploit others.

2.4Payments and payouts

• To charge for access you must open a Stripe connected account through the Platform and accept the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service. Stripe, not RUO News, holds and moves funds.
• You appoint RUO Ready, LLC as your limited agent to collect membership payments. A Member’s payment to us counts as payment to you.
• We keep a platform fee of [X% of each payment] plus Stripe’s processing fees, and Stripe pays the rest to you on its payout schedule.
• Collect payment for Community access only through the Platform. Don’t charge Members for access elsewhere or steer them to off-Platform payment.
• Refunds, chargebacks and payment disputes are deducted from your balance or future payouts. We may refund a Member directly where the law or Stripe requires it, where paid access wasn’t delivered, or where your Community is closed.
• We may delay or hold payouts while we investigate suspected fraud, a high rate of disputes, or a breach of these terms.
• You’re responsible for taxes on your payouts and for giving Stripe accurate tax information. We may collect and remit sales tax on memberships where the law requires.

2.5Member data and admin tools

As Owner or Staff you may see Members’ profiles and, for admins, their contact details. Use this only to run your Community. Don’t sell it, export it for unrelated marketing, share it with third parties, or contact Members outside the Platform without their consent. Follow the privacy laws that apply to you.

Admin tools such as password resets, sign-out of all devices, role changes, mutes and bans are for running the Community and protecting Members. Don’t use them to take over, lock out, impersonate or retaliate against anyone. Staff actions are recorded in an audit log that we may review.

2.6License you give us

You give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, display, reproduce, adapt for formatting and distribute your Community’s name, branding and Content on the Platform, and to show your listing in the directory, search and promotions for the Platform. It ends when the Content is deleted, except for copies kept for backups, legal reasons or disputes.

2.7Our rights

To protect Members, the Platform or the public, we may remove or hide Content or a listing; suspend, restrict or close a Community; remove an Owner or Staff member; review a Community, its Content and its audit log when investigating a report or legal request; and change Platform features. Where reasonable and lawful, we’ll tell you what we did and why, and give you a way to respond.

2.8Transferring or closing a Community

You may transfer ownership only to another Member who accepts these terms, using the Platform’s transfer tools. To close a Community, give Members at least [30] days’ notice and stop new sign-ups. We will cancel renewals and refund any prepaid period that won’t be delivered, deducted from your balance.

2.9Your indemnity

You will defend and indemnify RUO Ready, LLC, its affiliates and their officers, employees and agents against claims, losses and costs (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your Community, your Content, your Staff’s actions, your dealings with Members, or your breach of these terms or the law.

3.1Eligibility and your account

You must be at least 18, use one account, and give accurate information. You’re responsible for activity on your account. Keep your password private; we and Community admins will never ask for it. A Community admin may send a password reset link or code to your email or phone on file. Use only links you expected, and tell us at [support email] about any you didn’t request.

3.2Each Community has its own rules

By joining a Community you agree to follow its house rules as well as these terms. If they conflict, these terms win.

3.3How to take part

Don’t:

• sell, source or promote research-use-only compounds, or post vendor names, links, discount codes or affiliate links;
• make health claims you can’t back up. Cite sources and say whether evidence comes from people, animals or lab studies;
• harass, threaten, demean or discriminate against anyone;
• post anyone else’s personal information without permission;
• impersonate others or misstate your credentials;
• post spam, malware, or Content you don’t have the right to share;
• manipulate points or leaderboards, for example with fake accounts or traded likes.

3.4Your Content

You keep ownership of what you post. You give the Community’s Owner and Staff, and us, a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, reproduce, adapt for formatting and distribute it within the Community and on the Platform. Content may stay visible after you leave unless you delete it or ask us to.

3.5Points, levels and badges

Points, levels, badges, streaks and leaderboard positions are for recognition only. They have no cash value, can’t be sold or transferred, and aren’t property. Owners and we may change how they work and remove points earned by breaking the rules.

3.6Your profile and location

Your profile (name, handle, photo, bio and activity) is visible to members of Communities you belong to. Your location appears on a Community map only if you turn it on, and only at city level. See our [Privacy Policy].

3.7Moderation

Owners and Staff may hold or remove your Content, mute you, or remove or ban you from their Community. Ask the Community’s admins if you disagree with a decision there. We may also remove Content or restrict accounts across the Platform and, where reasonable and lawful, will tell you and give you a way to appeal at [appeals email].

3.8Paid memberships

• The price, billing period, renewal terms and what’s included are shown before you pay. Prices are in U.S. dollars.
• RUO Ready, LLC charges you through Stripe on the Community’s behalf. Stripe handles your card details; we don’t store them.
• Memberships renew automatically at the end of each billing period until you cancel. You can cancel at any time from your account settings, and cancellation takes effect at the end of the current period.
• Refunds follow the Community’s posted policy and any rights you have under the law. If paid access isn’t delivered or the Community closes, we’ll refund the unused prepaid period.
• Please contact us before disputing a charge with your bank so we can try to fix it.

3.9Health information

Nothing in a Community is medical advice. Don’t rely on Community Content for decisions about your health, and don’t share personal health details you want kept private. In an emergency, contact emergency services.

3.10Leaving

You may leave a Community at any time. Leaving doesn’t cancel a paid membership; cancel it separately. You may delete your RUO News account from your settings, which removes your profile and memberships, subject to records we must keep by law.

4.1Disclaimer

The Platform, the directory and all Communities are provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement. We are not responsible for any Community, Owner, Staff member, Member or Content, or for dealings between them.

4.2Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, RUO Ready, LLC will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data or goodwill, arising from the directory or any Community. Our total liability for any claim will not exceed the greater of $100 or the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim.

4.3Changes

We may update these terms. For material changes we’ll give at least [14] days’ notice on the Platform or by email. Continuing to use the Platform after that means you accept the change. Changes to section 4.4 don’t apply to disputes we already knew about.

4.4Governing law, arbitration and class-action waiver

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and by the Federal Arbitration Act.

• Try to resolve it first. Before starting arbitration, send a written description of the dispute to [legal email] (or we’ll send one to you). Both sides will try in good faith to resolve it within 30 days.
• Individual arbitration. Any dispute that isn’t resolved will be decided by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (for Owners acting for a business, its Commercial Arbitration Rules). Hearings may be held by video or in Travis County, Texas.
• No class actions or jury trials. Disputes are brought only on an individual basis, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective or representative proceeding. You and we each waive the right to a jury trial.
• Exceptions. Either side may bring an individual claim in small-claims court, or seek a court order to stop infringement or misuse of intellectual property.
• Opting out. You may opt out of arbitration within 30 days of first accepting these terms by emailing [legal email] with your name and account email.
• Courts. Anything not subject to arbitration will be heard only in the state or federal courts in Travis County, Texas. If the class-action waiver is found unenforceable for a claim, that claim goes to those courts, not to arbitration.

4.5Other terms

These terms add to the RUO News [Terms of Use] and [Privacy Policy]. If one part is unenforceable, the rest still applies. Not enforcing a term is not a waiver.

4.6Contact

RUO Ready, LLC · [mailing address] · [legal email]