This page describes the terms and conditions that govern your use of certain products or services, including MacStories.net, AppStories.net, and Club MacStories, offered by MacStories, Inc. (“MacStories,” “us,” or “we”).
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING ANY MACSTORIES PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, AS THESE TERMS AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.
This is a legally binding contract between you and MacStories. Please make sure you read it because it is important. We’ve tried to make it as clear as possible, but we welcome your feedback to voorhees@macstories.net if you have suggestions or questions.
1) Definitions
We’re going to use some shorthand to make this easier to read. When we say “Sites,” we mean https://macstories.net, https://appstories.net, and their subdomains. The MacStories products or services we offer, including any version of our websites, RSS feeds, APIs, software, and downloads, are referred to as the “Services.” When we say “your content,” we mean any text, sound, graphics, or other material that you post, upload, or otherwise share on the Sites. When we say “MacStories Content,” we mean all materials published or available on the Sites and through our Services (including, but not limited to, text, photographs, images, illustrations, designs, audio, video, “look and feel,” metadata, data, or compilations). Additional terms are defined throughout these Terms of Service.
2) Accepting These Terms of Service
Please read these Terms of Service before using the Sites and Services. If you do not agree to these Terms of Service, you may not use the Sites and Services. If we make material changes to these Terms of Service, we’ll let you know here.
3) Privacy Policy
Our privacy policy, which governs MacStories.net, Club MacStories, and AppStories, is available for review at macstories.net: and incorporated herein by reference.
4) Permitted Users
Our Sites and Services are designed for use by adults. You must be thirteen years of age or older to use them. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under the age of thirteen, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from a child under the age of thirteen, please contact us at voorhees@macstories.net. When you use the Sites and Services, you represent and warrant that you have the legal capacity to form a binding contract with us and are doing so by your agreement to these Terms of Service.
5) Use of Our Content and Services
The MacStories Content, including the Sites, are intended for your personal, non-commercial use, with the sole exception that limited portions of MacStories Content may be reproduced in other works, including commercial works, if properly attributed inline with the material that is used. Copying or storing any MacStories Content for other than these uses is expressly prohibited without prior written permission from us.
All materials published or available on the Sites are protected by copyright and owned or controlled by MacStories or the party credited as the provider of such materials. MacStories also owns copyright in the selection, coordination, compilation, and enhancement of the MacStories Content (“Arrangement”). You shall abide by all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained in any MacStories Content accessed through the Sites and Services. Non-commercial use does not include the use of MacStories Content without prior written consent from MacStories in connection with:
a) the development of any software program, model, algorithm, or other generative AI tool, including, but not limited to, training or using the MacStories Content in connection with the development or operation of a machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) system (including any use of the MacStories Content for training, fine-tuning, or grounding the machine learning or AI system or as part of retrieval-augmented generation); or
b) providing archived or cached data sets containing MacStories Content to another person or entity.
The Services and MacStories Content are protected by copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, database rights, sui generis rights, and other intellectual or proprietary rights in or to the Services and MacStories Content pursuant to U.S. and international laws. You may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except for your personal use only), create new works from, distribute, perform, embed, display, communicate to the public, or in any way exploit, any of the MacStories Content (or its Arrangement) or the Services in whole or in part.
Also, the MacStories, Club MacStories, and AppStories logos are trademarks of MacStories. Our trademarks may not be used in connection with any product or service without our express written permission.
We own our stuff; you own yours. You retain ownership of all content you share with us (“Submissions”). However, by sharing your content, you grant us a non-exclusive, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to access, use, and display your content in connection with the site and services we provide to you. This license permits us to perform any services that you registered for; for example, it permits us to store your Submissions on redundant data servers, but it does not permit us to sell or license your content to advertisers, artificial intelligence companies, or display your Submissions other than to those you have authorized to view it, nor does it transfer the copyright to us.
You are solely responsible for the content of your Submissions. However, while we do not and cannot review every Submission and are not responsible for the content of these messages, we reserve the right to delete, move, or edit Submissions that it, in its sole discretion, deems abusive, defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, in violation of these Terms of Service, or otherwise unacceptable.
Also, by making a Submission, you are consenting to its display and publication on the Sites and in the Services and for related online and offline promotional uses.
6) Prohibited Uses of the Services
You may not access or use, or attempt to access or use, the MacStories Content or Services to take any action that could harm us or a third party. You may not use the MacStories Content or Services in violation of applicable laws, including export controls and sanctions, or in violation of our or any third party’s intellectual property or other proprietary or legal rights. You further agree that you will not attempt (or encourage or support anyone else’s attempt) to circumvent, reverse engineer, decrypt, or otherwise alter or interfere with the MacStories Content or Services, or make any unauthorized use of the MacStories Content or Services. Without our prior written consent, you shall not:
a) access any part of the Services, MacStories Content, data or information you do not have permission or authorization to access, or for which we have revoked your access;
b) use robots, spiders, scripts, services, software, or any manual or automatic device, tool, or process designed to data mine or scrape the MacStories Content, data or information from the Services, or otherwise use, access, or collect the MacStories Content, data or information from the Services using automated means;
c) use the MacStories Content for the development of any software program, model, algorithm, or generative AI tool, including, but not limited to, training or using the MacStories Content in connection with the development or operation of a machine learning or artificial intelligence (AI) system (including any use of the MacStories Content for training, fine-tuning, or grounding the machine learning or AI system or as part of retrieval-augmented generation).
d) use services, software or any manual or automatic device, tool, or process designed to circumvent any restriction, condition, or technological measure that controls access to the Services in any way, including overriding any security feature, bypassing or circumventing any access controls or use limits of the Services, or failing to abide by exclusionary protocols such as the Robots Exclusion Protocol or the Automated Content Access protocol (our robots.txt notice does not constitute our prior written consent under these Terms of Service);
e) cache or archive the MacStories Content (except for a public search engine’s use of spiders for creating search indices solely for the inclusion of links and short, non-AI synthesized snippets of the MacStories Content in search results);
f) take action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our network or infrastructure;
g) do anything that could disable, damage, or change the functioning or appearance of the Services, including the presentation of advertising; and
h) perform text and data mining activities under Art. 4 of the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market.
Engaging in a prohibited use of the MacStories Content or Services may result in civil, criminal, and/or administrative penalties, fines, or sanctions against the user and those assisting the user.
7) Disclaimer of Warranties
We will strive to prevent interruptions to our Services and be good stewards of your data. However, the site and our services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including without limitation any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not make any warranty that the site or our services will meet your requirements, or that the services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, or that defects, if any, will be corrected. You understand that you download from or otherwise obtain content or services through the site at your own discretion and risk.
8) Limitations of Liability
Under no circumstances, including, without limitation, negligence, shall we be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, resulting from (1) the use or the inability to use the site; (2) the cost of procurement of substitute goods and services; (3) unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data; (4) loss of profits, use, data or other intangibles, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. The foregoing shall not apply to the extent prohibited by applicable law.
9) Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless us, our officers, directors, employees, members, partners, agents, and suppliers, and their respective affiliates, officers, directors, employees, members, shareholders, partners, and agents, from any and all claims and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising out of your use of the site, including but not limited to your violation of this agreement. We may, at our sole discretion, assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you. The assumption of such defense or control by us, however, shall not excuse any of your indemnity obligations.
10) Third-Party Content and Links to Third-Party Websites
The MacStories Content and Services contain links to third-party websites, services, resources, and advertisers (collectively, “Linked Content”). We do not control, endorse, sponsor, recommend, or otherwise accept responsibility for any of this Linked Content. Because we are not responsible for the availability of these outside resources or their contents or privacy practices, you should direct any concerns regarding any Linked Content to such site. When you access Linked Content, you accept that there are risks in doing so, and that we are not responsible for such risks. We encourage you to be aware when you follow a link and to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of each third-party website or service that you visit or utilize. Because we are not responsible for the availability of these outside resources or their contents or privacy practices, you should direct any concerns regarding any Linked Content to such site.
In addition, we will not and cannot monitor, verify, censor, or edit the content of any third-party site or service. By using the Services, you release and hold us harmless from any and all liability arising from your use of any third-party website or service.
Your interactions with organizations and/or individuals found on or through the Services, including payment and delivery of goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties, or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such organizations and/or individuals. You should make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any online or offline transaction with any of these third parties. You agree that we shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings.
11) General
These Terms of Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina in the United States without giving effect to its conflict of law provisions. You agree that you will bring any claim or cause of action arising out of your use of the site in the courts located within Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and you also agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of those courts.
You agree that any claim or cause of action arising out of your use of the site or these Terms of Service must be filed within one year after such claim or cause of action arose, or it shall be forever barred, notwithstanding any statute of limitations or other law to the contrary.
If any provision contained in these Terms of Service is determined unenforceable, then such provision will be severed and replaced with a new provision that most closely reflects the intent of the original provision, and the remaining provisions of these Terms of Service will remain in full force and effect.
No waiver of any provision of these Terms of Service shall be effective except pursuant to a written instrument signed by us expressly waiving compliance, and any such waiver shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the specific purpose stated in such writing.
You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and us as a result of these Terms of Service and/or your use of the site. You may not assign any right, interest, or benefit provided under these Terms of Service or through the site without our express prior written consent.
These Terms of Service set forth the entire agreement between you and us, and supersede any and all prior communications, agreements and proposals, whether electronic, oral or written, between you and us with respect to the site and our services.
A printed version of these Terms of Service and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to these Terms of Service and/or your use of the site to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.
Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms of Service or to respond to a breach by you or other parties will not in any way constitute a waiver of our right to enforce subsequently any terms or conditions of these Terms of Service or to act with respect to similar breaches.
Last Updated: June 17, 2024