Terms

Welcome to ThanksPorch. These Terms are the agreement between you and ThanksPorch ("we", "us"). By coming in, or by using ThanksPorch, you agree to them. Please also read our Privacy Policy, which explains how we look after your information.

We've kept these Terms as short and plain as we can. The short version: be kind, be honest, share what's yours to share, and look out for each other.

1. What ThanksPorch is, and isn't

ThanksPorch is a place to write thank-you cards and to share things, help and know-how with people you know: Porchmates and the people your cards reach.

ThanksPorch is not a marketplace or a rental service, and we're not part of the arrangements you make with each other. When you lend, borrow, give, pick up or help:

• the arrangement is between you and the other person;
• we don't check the people, the items, the help or the advice shared here;
• we can't promise that any of it is safe, accurate or as described.

2. Who can use ThanksPorch

You can use ThanksPorch if you:

• give us an email address that is yours;
• haven't been removed from ThanksPorch by us before.

Children should use ThanksPorch with guidance from a parent or guardian.

One account per person, please. Your account is for you, not for a business or a group.

3. Your account

• Keep access to your email, and to any Google or Apple account you sign in with, secure. Whoever controls those can come in as you.
• Don't share your sign-in codes with anyone. We'll never ask you for one.
• You're responsible for what happens on your account. If you think someone else has got in, write to hithanksporch@gmail.com.

4. What you share stays yours

The words, photos and cards you put on ThanksPorch remain yours.

So that ThanksPorch can work, you give us permission to store, copy, resize, adapt for different screens, and show your content to the people you choose, including anyone you give a card to, and only for running ThanksPorch. This permission:

• doesn't let us sell your content;
• doesn't let us use it in advertising;
• doesn't let us show it to people you didn't choose;
• ends when you delete the content or your account. Copies already shared with others in a conversation are the exception: messages stay with the person they were sent to.

You're responsible for what you share. Each time you upload or share something, you confirm that:

• it's safe: an item is in the condition you describe and is safe to use, and any help or advice you give won't put anyone at risk;
• it's yours to share: you own it or have permission. That covers photos you took or are allowed to use, things that are yours to lend or give, and knowledge you're free to pass on;
• it doesn't infringe anyone's rights: not copyright or trademarks, and not anyone's privacy or image. If other people can be recognised in a photo, make sure they're comfortable with it being shared.

If something you shared turns out to be unsafe, or to break someone's rights, please take it down. We may remove it too.

5. Writing about other people

Thanks Cards are about real people, and some of them may not use ThanksPorch. Write about others the way you'd want to be written about:

• Use the name they'd recognise.
• Don't include private details they wouldn't want shared, such as their health, their home address or their family matters.
• Remember that whoever holds a card's link or QR code can read the card.

6. Being a good Porchmate

To keep ThanksPorch a place people feel at home, please don't:

• harass, threaten, shame or pressure anyone, including pressuring someone into lending, giving or meeting;
• share anything illegal, dangerous or recalled: weapons, drugs, alcohol or tobacco to minors, prescription medicine, or unsafe food or equipment;
• offer professional services, such as medical, legal, financial, electrical or childcare services, that need a licence you don't hold;
• use ThanksPorch to sell, advertise, recruit or spam;
• post anyone's personal information without their permission, or try to find out where someone lives;
• pretend to be someone else, or create accounts to get around a block or a removal;
• share sexual content, hateful content, or content that exploits anyone;
• try to see what you weren't meant to see, collect data in bulk, or interfere with how ThanksPorch works.

7. Lending, borrowing and meeting up

A little care goes a long way:

• Agree on the details first: what's being shared, its condition, when it comes back, and what happens if something breaks or gets lost.
• Meet somewhere you're comfortable. Your exact address is optional. You decide whether and when to share it.
• Trust your instincts. You can always say "not this time". You don't owe anyone a yes.
• If something goes wrong between you, try to sort it out together first. If someone breaks these Terms, write to hithanksporch@gmail.com and we'll look into it.
• Lending and borrowing are at your own risk. To the extent the law allows, we aren't responsible for items that are lost, damaged or not returned, or for injuries that happen during an arrangement between members.

8. Our part

• We'll do our best to keep ThanksPorch running and your information safe.
• We may change, add or retire features as ThanksPorch grows. If a change significantly affects how you use ThanksPorch, we'll tell you in advance.
• ThanksPorch is free. If we ever offer paid extras, they'll be optional, and we'll announce them before they start. Sharing with the people you know will never depend on paying, and we'll never take a cut of what you share with each other.

9. Ending things

• You can leave at any time by deleting your account. The Privacy Policy explains what happens to your information.
• We may limit or close an account that breaks these Terms, puts others at risk, or that the law requires us to act on. Where it's safe and reasonable, we'll tell you why and give you a chance to respond.

10. Disclaimers and limits

We work hard on ThanksPorch, but we provide it "as is" and "as available". To the extent the law allows, we make no promises about:

• ThanksPorch being uninterrupted or free of errors;
• anything shared by members: items, help, advice, or the people themselves.

To the extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect or consequential losses. Our total liability to you for any claim about ThanksPorch is limited to the amount you've paid us for using it.

Nothing in these Terms limits rights you have under consumer protection laws that can't be waived.

11. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. Any dispute that can't be resolved informally will be decided in the courts of British Columbia, unless the law where you live gives you the right to bring it elsewhere.

12. Changes to these Terms

When we change these Terms, we'll update the date at the top. If a change matters, we'll tell you in ThanksPorch before it takes effect. If you keep using ThanksPorch after it takes effect, that means you accept the new Terms. If you don't agree, you can stop using ThanksPorch and delete your account.

13. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Write to hithanksporch@gmail.com.