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Politigram Terms of Use

Effective date: [EFFECTIVE DATE]

These terms are an agreement between you and [OPERATOR LEGAL NAME] ("we", "us"). They cover Politigram, our free feed of public votes by U.S. politicians. Using Politigram means you accept these terms. If you do not accept them, do not use it.

1. What Politigram is

Politigram shows votes by members of Congress and the Loudoun County (Virginia) Board of Supervisors. Each vote card has linked facts, such as campaign money totals by employer and industry, party line, and lobbying filings. Every fact has a source link and a date. We state facts only. We never say why anyone voted the way they did.

Politigram has no ads. We do not sell your data.

Not partisan. We do not back any party, candidate, campaign, or committee. [OWNER TO DECIDE: confirm that [OPERATOR LEGAL NAME] has no tie to any party, campaign, PAC, or lobbying firm, then say so here.] We apply the same rules to every politician and every party. A card or note may not say or hint that a politician acted for a hidden reason.

Where the facts come from. Votes come from official congressional and county records. Money facts come from FEC and Virginia Department of Elections filings. Lobbying facts come from Lobbying Disclosure Act filings. Each card names its source and date. No government body runs Politigram or checks our cards.

How the feed and notes work. [OWNER TO DECIDE: write one or two plain sentences on how the feed picks and orders cards, for example by date, by what you follow, or by topic.] A note shows only when raters who often disagree both rate it helpful. We may tune the scoring to fight abuse or fix bugs. [OWNER TO DECIDE: publish the scoring method at [METHOD PAGE URL].]

2. Who may use it

You must be at least 13 years old. We do not offer accounts to anyone under 13. If we learn that an account belongs to a child under 13, we will delete it.

You can read the feed without an account.

3. Accounts

Some features need an account. Sign-in by email code or Google is run by our provider Clerk. Give us true information. Keep your sign-in safe. You are responsible for what happens under your account. Tell us at [CONTACT EMAIL] if someone uses it without permission. One person may hold one account.

4. Rules for notes, checks, and reports

You can mark a card "Matches the source" or "Doesn't match", report an error, and write and rate community notes. When you do, you must follow these rules.

  • Cite a source. Every note needs a link to a public source.
  • Do not state false facts about any real person or group.
  • Do not harass, threaten, or demean anyone.
  • Do not post personal information, such as a home address, phone number, or private email.
  • Do not post individual donor names or details from donor records.
  • Do not state or hint that a politician acted for a hidden reason, such as money or favors. Notes state sourced facts only.
  • Do not pretend to be another person, a politician, a campaign, or a government office.
  • Do not use Politigram to ask for money, votes, or sign-ups, or to advertise.
  • Do not spam, use bots, or try to game ratings or scores. Do not use many cookies or accounts to vote more than once. Do not work with others to push ratings in a planned way.
  • Do not break the law or anyone's rights.

5. License you give us for your notes

You keep ownership of what you write. You give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, copy, display, modify (for example, to shorten or format), score, and distribute your notes and ratings in Politigram. We may let our service providers use your notes only to run Politigram for us. The license lasts as long as the note exists on Politigram. When a note is removed, we stop showing it, but copies other people made may remain. You promise that you have the right to give this license, and that your note does not break anyone's rights. We do not claim any right in the public records that your notes cite. [OWNER TO DECIDE: say whether notes stay public, or are removed, when you delete your account.]

6. Automatic moderation

We do not use human editors. Rules and software decide what shows. Notes, cards, and reports can be hidden or removed by automatic rules, by the note score, or by enough reader reports. These systems can make mistakes. We may also remove content or limit access at our own choice. We have no duty to show any note.

[OWNER TO DECIDE: tell the author in the app when a note is hidden, and why.] You can ask us to look again by writing to [CONTACT EMAIL] with the note and a reason. A new report, a new source, or a change in ratings may also make the system check the note again by itself. We do not promise a reply from a person. [OWNER TO DECIDE: offer a review by a person, and set a time limit, or keep it automatic only.]

A note on a card is a reader's view, not ours.

7. Data accuracy

Politigram uses public records from government sources. They can contain errors or be out of date. Our software can make mistakes too. A card marked "Unverified" has not yet been confirmed against its source. Check the source link before you rely on any fact.

Politigram is not legal, financial, tax, or voting advice. Money totals and lobbying filings do not show that anyone acted for any reason.

Corrections. To report an error, use the report button or write to [CONTACT EMAIL]. Send the card link, what is wrong, and a link to the official record that shows the right fact. Anyone may report, including the person a card is about.

  • If the error is ours (a wrong person, a wrong total, a bad parse), we fix it or hide the card. [OWNER TO DECIDE: set a target time, such as two business days to acknowledge.]
  • If the official record itself is wrong, we show what it says and keep the source link. Ask the agency that holds the record to fix it. When the agency changes it, we update our card.
  • If a source files an amendment, we show the newest version.
  • We correct wrong data. We do not remove accurate public records.
  • [OWNER TO DECIDE: show the date of each fix on the card, or keep a public corrections log.]

Software checks reports first. [OWNER TO DECIDE: say whether a person reviews reports, and how fast.]

8. Campaign finance data and data use

Some money facts come from Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. Federal law (52 U.S.C. 30111(a)(4)) says contributor information from FEC records may not be sold or used to ask for contributions or for any commercial purpose. Politigram shows totals by employer and industry only. It shows no individual donor names. You must not use Politigram to ask for contributions or for any commercial purpose. We apply the same rule to Virginia Department of Elections data. If you are not sure a use is allowed, ask us first at [CONTACT EMAIL].

You may share links to single cards and quote them. When you do, name Politigram and the original source, and keep the date. You must not:

  • copy the feed or large parts of it, or sell it or give it away as a data set;
  • use bots or scrapers to collect cards, notes, or ratings;
  • send requests so fast that they slow the service, or get around rate limits or blocks.

We may block traffic that breaks these rules. [OWNER TO DECIDE: say whether a public data export or API will exist.] Original government records stay under their own rules.

9. Links to other sites

We do not control linked sites. A link is not an endorsement.

10. Copyright and takedown notices

If you think content on Politigram copies your work, send a notice to our designated agent: [OPERATOR LEGAL NAME], [MAILING ADDRESS], [CONTACT EMAIL]. Include: your contact details; the work copied; where it appears; a good-faith statement that the use is not allowed; a statement, under penalty of perjury, that your notice is accurate and that you own the work or may act for the owner; and your signature. We may remove the content and may end the accounts of repeat infringers. [LAWYER: confirm DMCA agent registration with the Copyright Office.]

11. No warranty

POLITIGRAM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE". TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT PROMISE THAT POLITIGRAM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE.

12. Limit of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, [OPERATOR LEGAL NAME] AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, AND CONTRACTORS ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES. THIS INCLUDES LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, AND HARM TO REPUTATION. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATED TO POLITIGRAM IS LIMITED TO ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

Some states do not allow these limits. In those states, the limits apply as far as the law allows.

13. Indemnification

You agree to defend and indemnify [OPERATOR LEGAL NAME] and its owners, officers, and contractors against any claim, loss, or cost (including reasonable attorney fees) that comes from: (a) content you submit; (b) your breach of these terms; or (c) your misuse of Politigram or its data, including any use barred by Section 8. We may take over the defense at our own cost. You agree to help. You may not settle a claim that affects us without our written consent.

14. Changes to these terms

We may change these terms. We will post the new version here with a new effective date. For material changes we will also tell account holders in the app or by email. If you keep using Politigram after that date, you accept the change.

15. Ending your use

You may stop using Politigram at any time. You may ask us to delete your account (see our Privacy Policy). We may suspend or end your access at any time, for example if you break these terms, game the ratings, or repeat a rule break after a warning. When we can, we will tell you by email or in the app. Ending your account does not undo the license in Section 5 for notes that stay public. Sections that by nature should survive (4, 5, 7, 8, and 11 to 18) survive.

16. Governing law and disputes

The laws of [GOVERNING STATE] and U.S. federal law govern these terms, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute will be brought in the state or federal courts located in [GOVERNING STATE], and you agree to their authority. [LAWYER: decide on venue, arbitration, and class-action waiver.]

17. Severability

If a court finds part of these terms unenforceable, that part will be limited to the least extent needed. The rest stays in force.

18. Entire agreement

These terms and our Privacy Policy are the whole agreement between you and us about Politigram. Our failure to enforce a term is not a waiver. You may not assign these terms. We may.

19. Contact

[OPERATOR LEGAL NAME]
[MAILING ADDRESS]
[CONTACT EMAIL]