Terms of Service

The short version: be a decent human, you own what you post, and money never buys influence here. The longer version is below, in plain language.

Last updated June 2026. Written to be understood, not to hide things.

These terms are the agreement between you and OpenBook when you use the site at openbook.space. OpenBook is open source, so the way the platform actually behaves can be checked against the real code on GitHub. If these terms and the code ever disagree, that is a bug, and you can tell us.

Who can use OpenBook

• You need to be old enough. You must be at least 13, and older if the law where you live requires it, to have an account.
• One person, real accounts. OpenBook is built around one human, one voice, so please do not run bot accounts or networks of fake accounts. The anti-bot and anti-sybil systems exist to protect exactly that.
• Keep your account secure. You are responsible for your account. You can sign in with a password, with Google, or with a passkey (your fingerprint, face, or device PIN). Do not share your login with anyone.

Your content is yours

You keep ownership of everything you post: your posts, comments, photos, videos, stories, and messages. To show your content to the people you share it with, you give OpenBook a limited permission to store and display it as part of running the service. That permission ends when you delete the content or your account. We do not sell it or hand it to advertisers (see the Privacy Policy).

You are responsible for what you post, so only share things you have the right to share. When you delete something, it is really removed, not just hidden, and closing your account removes your account data.

The rules of the road

OpenBook's full ranking, reputation, and moderation rules are public on the Rules page and in the code. The basics:

• Do not post illegal content, do not harass or threaten people, do not spam, and do not try to break, overload, or exploit the platform.
• Moderation is distributed and transparent: content owners and communities moderate their own spaces, every action is written to a public log, and you can appeal. Confirmed violations affect your standing, never your votes.
• Illegal material (such as child sexual abuse material) is removed immediately, its fingerprint is blocked from being re-uploaded, and it is reported to the proper authorities. Being open and transparent is never a loophole for this.

Money never buys influence

Marketplace

The marketplace lets members buy and sell directly with each other. OpenBook is not the seller and is not a party to your deal, so check who you are dealing with and trade carefully. Protected escrow is currently turned off, so treat every trade as direct between you and the other person.

The service is provided as it is

OpenBook is run on a best-effort basis and is offered "as is." We work hard to keep it online and safe, but we cannot promise it will never have downtime, bugs, or interruptions. To the extent the law allows, OpenBook is not liable for losses that come from using, or not being able to use, the service.

Ending your use

You can leave at any time by deleting your account. We can suspend or remove accounts that break these terms or the community rules, through the same transparent, appealable moderation process. We will not remove people for posting lawful opinions a crowd happens to dislike. That protection is why OpenBook exists.

Changes to these terms

If these terms change, the change lands in the public code history first, so there is a permanent, timestamped record. There are no quiet edits.

Contact

Questions about these terms? Open an issue on the GitHub repository. It is public, it is tracked, and you will get a real answer.