Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account, subscribing to a plan, or otherwise using any part of the SysopHQ platform, you agree to these Terms of Service in full. If you do not agree, you must not use the service.

These terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("the Sysop" or "Subscriber") and SysopHQ ("we", "us", "our").

2. Services Provided

SysopHQ provides managed hosting for Bulletin Board System (BBS) software. We provision, maintain, secure, and operate the underlying infrastructure for your BBS instance. The software running your BBS is provided as-is as part of the service.

Specific features, node limits, and database options vary by plan as described on our Pricing page. We reserve the right to modify, update, or improve the service at any time.

3. Accounts and Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to subscribe to SysopHQ. By creating an account you represent that you meet this requirement.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at Sysophq@gmail.com if you suspect unauthorized access.

You may not create more than one account per person or organization without prior written consent.

4. Sysop Responsibility

You are fully responsible for your BBS community. This includes all content posted by your users, the conduct of your users, and the rules you set and enforce. SysopHQ provides infrastructure and software only — we are not a moderator, publisher, editor, or participant in your community.

You are responsible for:

• Setting and publishing community rules for your BBS
• Actively moderating your community and removing prohibited content promptly
• Responding to user reports and complaints
• Ensuring your BBS operates in compliance with all applicable local, state, national, and international laws
• Any domain name you use with your BBS — including registration, renewal, trademark compliance, and associated costs

SysopHQ is not liable for any user behavior, content, disputes, or legal issues that arise on your BBS instance.

5. Prohibited Use

You may not use SysopHQ to host, distribute, facilitate, or promote:

• Illegal content of any kind under applicable law
• Content that infringes on intellectual property rights
• Harassment, threats, or targeted abuse of individuals
• Spam, phishing, or fraudulent activity
• Malware, exploits, or content designed to harm other systems or users
• Content involving the exploitation of minors in any form
• Any activity that violates the rights of third parties

Violation of any of the above may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account without refund and without prior notice. We reserve the right to report illegal activity to the appropriate authorities.

6. Billing and Payment

Subscriptions are billed monthly on the anniversary of your sign-up date. All prices are listed in USD. Payment is processed securely through Stripe, SysopHQ never receives, transmits, or stores your credit or debit card information — all payment data is handled exclusively by Stripe.

Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the start of the next billing period.

Cancellations take effect at the end of the current paid period. You will retain access until that date. We do not provide prorated refunds for unused time on cancellation.

If a payment fails we will attempt to notify you by email. Accounts with overdue payments may be suspended until payment is received. Accounts that remain overdue for more than 30 days may be terminated.

If our service fails in a significant or material way we will make it right — contact us and we will work out a fair resolution.

7. Service Availability

We aim to keep your BBS running continuously. Sysop Pro subscribers have a formal 99.9% uptime SLA. All other plans receive best-effort reliability.

Scheduled maintenance windows are announced in advance and performed during off-peak hours. Emergency maintenance may occur without advance notice when necessary to protect service integrity or security.

We are not liable for downtime caused by factors outside our reasonable control, including but not limited to: internet outages, upstream provider failures, natural disasters, or acts of government.

8. Your Data

Your data belongs to you. We hold it as a custodian, not as an owner. We do not sell, rent, or share your BBS data or your users' data with third parties for commercial purposes.

You may request a full export of your BBS data at any time by contacting Sysophq@gmail.com. Exports are provided in a standard format suitable for self-hosting or archival.

Upon account termination we will provide a final data export before deleting your data from our systems. Data is typically deleted within 30 days of account closure.

By using SysopHQ you grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to store and process your data solely for the purpose of providing the service.

9. Termination

You may cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings or by contacting us. Access continues until the end of the paid period.

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately and without notice if you violate these Terms of Service — particularly Section 5 (Prohibited Use) or Section 4 (Sysop Responsibility). In serious cases we reserve the right to terminate without a refund.

Upon termination we will provide a data export on request, after which your data will be permanently deleted from our systems.

10. Limitation of Liability

SysopHQ is provided "as is" and "as available." We make no warranty, express or implied, that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or meet any specific requirement you may have.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, SysopHQ's total liability to you for any claim arising out of or related to these terms or the service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including but not limited to loss of revenue, loss of data, or loss of community — even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

We are not responsible for the actions of your users or any third parties interacting with your BBS.

11. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and notify active subscribers by email at least 14 days before material changes take effect.

Continued use of the service after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms. If you do not agree with a change, you may cancel your subscription before the effective date.

12. Contact

For questions about these Terms of Service, to report a violation, or for any legal correspondence please contact us at:

Sysophq@gmail.com

We will respond to all legal inquiries within 5 business days.