Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using divita (“the Platform”), including creating an account, browsing content, or making a purchase, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”), our Privacy Policy, and any additional policies referenced herein. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and divita. We may update these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated via email or Platform notification at least 30 days before they take effect. Your continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Platform. If you are between 13 and 18 (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction), you represent that your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf. Users under 18 may not make purchases or receive payouts.

By using the Platform, you represent and warrant that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms and that your use complies with all applicable local, state, national, and international laws.

3. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You must notify us immediately of any unauthorized access or security breach.

You may not share your account, create multiple accounts to circumvent restrictions, or use another person’s account without permission.

You may delete your account at any time from your profile settings. Account deletion is subject to a 14-day grace period during which you can cancel the deletion by signing back in. After the grace period, your account and associated data will be permanently deleted, subject to our data retention obligations (see Section 15 and our Privacy Policy).

4. Content Ownership and License

You retain full ownership of all content you create and publish on divita, including blog posts, books, eZine contributions, marginalia, comments, and reviews.

By publishing content on the Platform, you grant divita a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, display, reproduce, distribute, and promote your content in connection with operating and marketing the Platform. This license continues for as long as your content remains on the Platform and terminates when you delete the content, except where the content has been shared, purchased, or referenced by other users in ways that require continued hosting (e.g., purchased books, published eZine issues).

You may export your content at any time (EPUB, PDF) and remove it from the Platform by deleting it, subject to the limitations above regarding purchased or collaboratively published content.

5. Prohibited Content

You may not publish, upload, distribute, or transmit any content that falls into the following categories. Violation of this section may result in immediate content removal, account suspension, and forfeiture of any pending earnings.

5.1 Adult and Sexually Explicit Content

Content that depicts, promotes, or facilitates nudity, explicit sexual acts, pornography, or sexual services, including but not limited to: subscriber-only nude or semi-nude images, adult audio or video content, live sexual chat services, escort or companionship services, or sexually explicit fiction written primarily for pornographic purposes.

5.2 Intellectual Property Infringement

Content that infringes on the intellectual property or proprietary rights of any third party, including: unauthorized reproduction or distribution of copyrighted works (e.g., leaked music albums, pirated books, copied articles); use of trademarks, logos, or brand identities without authorization; or content that misappropriates trade secrets or confidential information.

5.3 Violent Extremism and Hate Speech

Content that engages in, encourages, promotes, glorifies, or celebrates unlawful violence toward any person or group; content that promotes hate speech or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, immigration status, age, or any other protected characteristic; content that recruits for or provides material support to terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups.

5.4 Other Prohibited Content

• Content that exploits, abuses, or endangers minors in any way, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
• Content that facilitates fraud, phishing, or financial scams
• Content that promotes or facilitates illegal drug use, sale, or manufacturing
• Content that promotes self-harm or suicide
• Content that constitutes doxxing (publishing private personal information without consent)
• Content designed to harass, bully, stalk, or intimidate specific individuals
• Deliberately misleading content presented as factual (disinformation)
• Malware, viruses, or any content designed to damage or disrupt computer systems
• Content that facilitates illegal gambling or unlicensed financial services
• Content that promotes or sells regulated goods (firearms, tobacco, pharmaceuticals) in violation of applicable laws

6. Acceptable Use

In addition to the content restrictions above, you agree not to:

• Use the Platform for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms
• Post spam, unsolicited promotional content, or chain messages
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to other accounts, Platform systems, or networks
• Use automated tools (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access the Platform, collect data, or create accounts without prior written permission
• Circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security, rate-limiting, or content moderation features
• Impersonate another person, entity, or divita staff
• Engage in any activity that could disable, overburden, or impair the Platform’s infrastructure
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Platform
• Use the Platform to collect personal information about other users without their consent
• Manipulate engagement metrics (view counts, likes, follows) through artificial means

7. Content Moderation and Enforcement

Users may report content that violates these Terms. Reported content is reviewed by Platform administrators who may: dismiss the report, issue a warning, hide the content, remove the content, or restrict the author’s account.

divita reserves the right to remove any content and suspend or terminate any account at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including but not limited to violations of these Terms. We are not obligated to provide advance warning before taking enforcement action, particularly for severe violations (e.g., CSAM, credible threats of violence, payment fraud).

Repeated or severe violations may result in permanent account termination and forfeiture of any unpaid earnings. Users who have been permanently banned may not create new accounts.

8. Payments and Purchases

8.1 General

Certain features of the Platform require payment, including purchasing books, subscribing to eZines, purchasing individual eZine issues, and sending patronage payments to authors. All payments are processed by our third-party payment processor, Stripe, Inc. (“Stripe”). By making a purchase, you also agree to Stripe’s Terms of Service.

8.2 Pricing and Currency

All prices are displayed in US Dollars (USD) unless otherwise indicated. Prices are set by individual authors or eZine editors and may change at any time. The price at the time of purchase is the price you pay.

8.3 Payment Authorization

By providing payment information, you represent that you are authorized to use the payment method and authorize divita (via Stripe) to charge the applicable fees. You are responsible for any fees or charges incurred by your payment method.

8.4 Subscriptions

eZine subscriptions may be billed on a recurring basis (monthly, quarterly, or annually) as specified at the time of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled before the next billing date. You may cancel a subscription at any time from your account settings; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

8.5 Taxes

Prices may be exclusive of applicable taxes. You are responsible for any sales tax, VAT, or other taxes imposed on your purchases, except where divita is legally required to collect such taxes.

9. Refund Policy

9.1 Digital Content Purchases

Due to the nature of digital content, all sales of books and individual eZine issues are final once the content has been accessed or downloaded. If you have not accessed the content, you may request a refund within 14 days of purchase by contacting support.

9.2 Subscriptions

If you cancel an eZine subscription, you will retain access until the end of your current billing period. No partial refunds are provided for unused portions of a billing period. If you believe you were charged in error, contact support within 30 days.

9.3 Patronage Payments

Patronage payments (tips) to authors are voluntary and non-refundable.

9.4 Chargebacks

If you initiate a chargeback or payment dispute, we reserve the right to suspend your account pending investigation. Fraudulent chargebacks may result in permanent account termination.

10. Author Monetization

10.1 Eligibility

Authors may earn revenue through book sales, eZine subscriptions and issue sales, and patronage payments, subject to eligibility requirements as determined by divita. We reserve the right to modify eligibility criteria at any time.

10.2 Revenue Share and Fees

divita retains a platform fee from each transaction. The current fee structure is disclosed on the Platform and may be updated with 30 days’ notice. Payment processing fees charged by Stripe are separate and are deducted before revenue share calculations.

10.3 Payouts

Author earnings accumulate in an internal ledger. Payouts are processed according to the schedule and minimum thresholds published on the Platform. divita is not responsible for delays caused by Stripe, your financial institution, or incomplete payout information.

10.4 Tax Obligations

Authors are solely responsible for reporting and paying all taxes on their earnings. divita may require tax identification information (e.g., W-9, W-8BEN) before processing payouts. We may report earnings to tax authorities as required by law.

10.5 Forfeiture

If your account is terminated for violation of these Terms, any unpaid earnings may be forfeited. Earnings associated with fraudulent transactions, prohibited content, or Terms violations will be reversed.

11. Discounts and Promotions

divita administrators and individual authors may offer discount codes and promotional pricing. Discounts are subject to availability, expiration dates, and usage limits. Discounts cannot be combined unless explicitly stated. divita reserves the right to modify or revoke any promotion at any time.

12. eZines and Collaborative Content

When you submit content to an eZine, the eZine editor may accept, reject, or request changes to your submission. Accepted submissions are published as part of the eZine issue. You retain ownership of the underlying content.

If an eZine is monetized, revenue from subscriptions and issue sales is distributed between the eZine editor and contributing authors according to terms established by the eZine editor. divita is not a party to these arrangements and bears no liability for disputes between editors and contributors regarding revenue distribution.

13. Reading Circles

Reading circles are collaborative groups for shared reading and discussion. Circle organizers are responsible for managing membership and moderating circle activity. Circle-scoped marginalia and discussions are visible only to circle members.

14. Intellectual Property

The divita Platform, including its design, code, branding, logos, and documentation, is the property of divita and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Platform without prior written permission.

“divita” and the divita logo are trademarks of divita. You may not use these marks without prior written consent.

15. Copyright Complaints (DMCA)

We respect intellectual property rights and respond to notices of alleged infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If you believe your copyrighted work has been reproduced on divita without authorization, you may submit a DMCA takedown notice to our designated agent with:

• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing, with sufficient detail to locate it
• Your contact information (name, address, email, phone number)
• A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized
• A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the owner
• Your physical or electronic signature

Repeat infringers may have their accounts terminated.

16. Termination

You may terminate your account at any time by deleting it from your profile settings. divita may terminate or suspend your account at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice.

Upon termination: (a) your license to use the Platform ceases immediately; (b) you remain liable for any amounts owed; (c) purchased content you have downloaded remains yours; (d) content you published may be retained where necessary for other users’ purchased or collaboratively published content; (e) Sections 4, 9, 10, 14, 18, 19, and 20 survive termination.

17. Third-Party Services

The Platform integrates with third-party services including Stripe (payments), Google and GitHub (authentication), and ElevenLabs (text-to-speech). Your use of these services is subject to their respective terms and privacy policies. divita is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or conduct of any third-party service.

18. Disclaimers

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

divita does not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure; that defects will be corrected; or that the Platform is free of viruses or other harmful components. We do not endorse, guarantee, or assume responsibility for any content published by users.

19. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DIVITA AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY.

IN NO EVENT SHALL DIVITA’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE PLATFORM EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO DIVITA IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS ($100).

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

20. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless divita and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, or expenses (including reasonable attorney’s fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Platform; (b) your content; (c) your violation of these Terms; or (d) your violation of any rights of a third party.

21. Dispute Resolution

Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the Platform will first be attempted to be resolved through good-faith informal negotiation. If a dispute cannot be resolved informally within 30 days, either party may pursue resolution through binding arbitration or in the courts, as permitted by applicable law.

You agree that any claims will be brought individually and not as part of a class action, class arbitration, or representative proceeding, except where prohibited by applicable law.

22. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

23. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

24. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and divita regarding the Platform and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

25. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, wish to submit a DMCA notice, or need to report a violation, contact us at [email protected].