Bug Works - Terms and Conditions

Last Updated: October 25, 2025

1. Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to Bug Works! These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of our website and services. By creating an account or using our platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you may not use our service.

Our Privacy Policy, which is a part of this agreement, explains in detail what information we collect and how we use it. We are a high-privacy service, and we encourage you to read it.

2. Our Service and the Fediverse

Bug Works is not a traditional, isolated social media platform. It is a "node" (or server) that is part of a large, decentralized, and interconnected network called the "Fediverse." This unique structure has important consequences you must understand:

  • Decentralized Network: When you post public content, your post is not just stored on our server. It is shared (or "federated") with other independent servers in the Fediverse whose users follow you or interact with your content.
  • Other Servers: We do not own, operate, or control any other server in the Fediverse. These servers are run by other people and have their own rules, moderation policies, and privacy practices.
  • Public Content is Public: Because of federation, your public posts and profile information may be copied and stored on many other servers, outside of our control. You should have no expectation of privacy for public content.

3. Your User Account

  • Age Requirement: You must be at least 13 years old to use Bug Works.
  • Account Information: You agree to provide a valid email address for account verification and password resets. You are responsible for keeping this information accurate.
  • Account Security: You are responsible for safeguarding your password and for all activities that occur under your account. Please notify us immediately of any unauthorized use.

4. Your Content

  • You Own Your Content: You retain all ownership rights to the content you create and post on Bug Works.
  • License to Us: To run the service, you grant Bug Works a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, host, publish, and share this content *according to your post's visibility settings*. This license is purely for the purpose of operating, promoting, and improving the service and enabling it to federate with the network.
  • Your Responsibility: You are solely responsible for your content and for any consequences of posting it. You represent that you have all necessary rights to post your content and that it does not violate the law or these Terms.

5. Community Rules and Conduct

You agree not to post content or engage in behavior that is:

  • Illegal: Do not post content that is illegal in our jurisdiction or yours.
  • Hate Speech & Harassment: Do not attack, threaten, or harass people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, disability, or medical condition.
  • Spam: Do not use the service for unsolicited advertising or spam.
  • Impersonation: Do not impersonate another person or entity.
  • Malicious: Do not post viruses, malware, or other code intended to disrupt the service.
  • Privacy Violations: Do not post the private, non-public information of others without their explicit consent (doxxing).

6. Termination

  • By You: You are free to stop using our services at any time. You can delete your account from your settings page.
  • By Us: We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if you violate these Terms or our community rules.
  • Effect of Termination: Terminating your account removes your data from the Bug Works server. We will make a good-faith effort to send deletion requests to the Fediverse for your public content, but we cannot guarantee deletion on other servers that we do not control.

7. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

  • Your access to and use of the service is at your own risk. The service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without any warranties, express or implied.
  • Bug Works, its operators, and affiliates will not be liable for any damages (including indirect, incidental, or consequential damages), data loss, or for any content or conduct of other users or third parties on the Fediverse, whether on our server or another.

8. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make a significant change, we will provide notice to you (for example, by email or a post on our platform). By continuing to use Bug Works after the changes take effect, you agree to be bound by the new Terms.

9. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at support@bug.works.