Mindbottling is a community where you can ask questions, provide answers, write articles and rate content that helps you. You can profit from your experience and benefit from being a "know it all." This is the Mindbottling User Agreement (the "Agreement") that governs Mindbottling.com. We hope you find these terms both clear and acceptable. By your use of the Site you signify your acceptance of this Agreement.
This Agreement applies to all users accessing the Site, is legally binding on you, and will affect your rights regarding information and material you post. If you upload or otherwise add any proprietary material to the Site, the terms applying to bottlers/writers apply to you. The terms "you" and "your" refer to you, the bottler/writer/user. The terms "Mindbottling", "we", "us", and "our" refer to Mindbottling, LLC.
To contribute to Mindbottling, you must join and create an account ("Account"). By creating an Account, you agree the information you provide is accurate, current, and complete, and that you will keep it up-to-date. After your Account is created, we give you the option to select a username (pseudonym); however we encourage our members to use their real name as it helps establish the credibility of your work and furthers your personal recognition. You are not permitted to change your username after creating your account. Further changes must be requested through support@Mindbottling.com. You agree not to share or transfer your password or other Account access information with any other party, temporarily or permanently. You shall bear sole responsibility for all use of your Account and for the confidentiality of any passwords you create to access this Site.
All activities under your Account are your responsibility, and you agree that sharing or transferring your Account is in violation of this Agreement. Should you notice any unauthorized use of your Account, contact Mindbottling immediately at support@Mindbottling.com. Mindbottling will not be responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of someone else using your Account. Each person may only open one (1) Account. To contribute to the Site, you must be at least 13 years of age or older.
In order to maintain Mindbottling as a trusted platform, we reserve the right to cancel the Account of members who engage in fraudulent behavior or other activities we deem unacceptable or contrary to this Agreement. In the event that Mindbottling cancels your Account or your access to this Site because of fraudulent or other unacceptable activities (as defined by Mindbottling) contrary to this Agreement (including but not limited to registration with multiple accounts, posting copyright violations, attempted manipulation of the Mindbottling rating system, generation of artificial traffic, or other violations of this Agreement, the law, or the legal rights of a third party), you agree that the license granted herein to content submitted by you shall not terminate, but you will agree to forfeit all rights you may have to your Account and to any then accrued or future earnings from the Site or by Mindbottling with respect to any material you previously submitted. If Mindbottling cancels your account, and you feel this was done in error, please contact us at support@Mindbottling.com.
Our Privacy Policy can be found at http://www.mindbottling.com/privacypolicy.cfm. The Privacy Policy sets forth the standards for the way we handle your personal information. By using Mindbottling, you consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of the information you give to us in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information about our information collection and use practices.
Mindbottling does not claim ownership of the content you publish on the Site. After publishing content on the Site, you (or a third party who permitted you to publish their content on the Site) continue to retain all ownership to the content, subject to the license terms described herein, and you continue to have the right to use the content in any way you choose. In exchange for your services and granting Mindbottling a license to use your content, Mindbottling provides you with earnings and recognition as define herein.
When you read or in any other way use the content (that is not of your own creation) on Mindbottling, you agree to the following site usage requirements:
Mindbottling is working to build a comprehensive knowledge base business with your help. Mindbottling shares a portion of its revenue with its active members based on their level of activity and value that each member brings to the Site. Mindbottling's revenue sharing model is based on the services you provide to Mindbottling including a number factors, including the number of page views that each member's articles generates, the value of each subject area to our advertisers and the additional members you invite to the Site.The current level of payout is 30% of the revenue generated from a members content. Payout rates are subject to change at any time.
Members with affiliates are entitled to 10% of the base earnings of the member's they've brought to mindbottling. These members are defined as first level affiliates of the original member. The member is also entitled to 5% of the earnings of the members brought to mindbottling by their first level affiliates. These members are called second level affiliates. Base earnings are defined as earnings generated by content only. Members do not gain earnings on their affiliates affiliate revenue. Affiliate payout rates are subject to change.
As long as members remain active on the Site, their earnings continue to accrue. Members' Accounts become "dormant" in the event that they fail to "participate" in the Site for any continuous period of one hundred eighty (180) days. "Participation" is defined as writing an article, logging in to the site with their member account, or inviting additional members to the Site. If a member fails to do any of these activities for period of one hundred eighty (180) days, their Account will become Dormant and the member will cease to earn additional earnings until such time as their Account is re-activated through participation. If an account is classified as Dormant, prior earnings are not lost (other than as outlined herein), and the Account can be reactivated by the member at any time by participating as outlined herein.
Members can view their current balance by logging into their account. You hereby agree that you have no legal right, and have not earned any amount, unless and until your earnings balance reaches the minimum payout threshold ("Minimum Payout Threshold") (which is currently set at $10 for payment via Paypal.com, and is subject to change by Mindbottling in its discretion). Members do not earn interest on balances under the Minimum Payout Threshold. Once a member reaches the Minimum Payout Threshold, he/she has earned and is entitled to receive the amount set forth in the earnings balance and may withdraw his/her earnings from his/her Account. In that you have achieved the Minimum Payout Threshold but your Account remains Dormant for at least 365 days, you understand and agree that you forfeit any and all right you have to any accrued but unclaimed earnings. In the event that your account has not reached the Minimum Payout Threshold, you agree that you have not earned any amount from Mindbottling.All earnings are subject to a 60 day holding period from the date that they are generated.
What does this all mean? If you don't participate at Mindbottling for six (6) months, your account will stop receiving any distribution from the revenue sharing pool. If you return to Mindbottling after six months but before 18 months, your account balance will still be there, and you will start earning again. If you leave Mindbottling for a full 18 months, you will lose any accrued earnings in your account.
The payment calculator we use to determine your earnings is based on proprietary technology we have created. While we believe that this system will work for the foreseeable future, we want to continue to bring you the most up-to-date technology and calculation models possible. For that reason, we reserve the right to change the program, or the conditions of participation, at any time, with or without notice to you. Any changes will be reflected in this Agreement.
In the event of your death, your Account and the right to continue to receive earnings for the services and content you provided to Mindbottling may be transferred to your heirs in accordance with this Agreement and applicable law; provided, however, in order to continue to receive earnings from your Mindbottling contributions your heir(s) must remain active on the site and agree to be subject to this Agreement. The transfer to your heir(s) of the Account and the right to continue to receive earnings from your content is conditional upon your heir(s) providing Mindbottling with legal proof of death, in its discretion, and your bequest of your Account within six months of your death. Failure to provide such proof in a form as agreed to by Mindbottling will render any such transfer null and void.
Right now, only members with a valid United States Social Security number can receive payments. Mindbottling would like to setup payment structures for members who are citizens of other countries - but right now we can not. All paid members will receive a 1099 or other US tax notice at the end of the year regarding their payouts. Likewise, Mindbottling will report any and all payouts in accordance with US IRS statutes.
Payment Structure: Mindbottling Sub-Licensing Your Writing
In the event that Mindbottling is able to generate additional earnings from a member's content, either directly such as providing the content to other publishers, or indirectly, Mindbottling's promise to its members is that we will always share a portion of the earnings with the member providing such content. That portion is at our discretion and may be, but not guaranteed, a flat rate, percentage of collections or ongoing payout.
The following list outlines the rules for content submissions on this Site. Please follow these rules. If you don't, Mindbottling will likely be forced to cancel your Account.
You agree to indemnify and hold Mindbottling, Inc., and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, and employees, harmless from any claim, damage, expense or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of: (a) materials that you submit, post, or upload to the Site, (b) your use of the Site, (c) your connection to the Site, (d) your violation of this Agreement, (e) your violation of any rights of another party, or (f) violations to this Agreement or the rights of a third party by your dependents.
You acknowledge and agree that the materials available on the Site, including art work, graphics, photographs, images, screen shots, text, music, digitally downloadable files, video clips, trademarks, logos, product and character names, slogans, the software used in connection with the Site, and any compilations of the foregoing ("Mindbottling Content") contain proprietary and confidential information that is the property of Mindbottling and its licensor's, and is protected by applicable U.S. and international intellectual property and other laws. Third-party content, including site user-posted content (including graphics, video clips, images, trademarks, trade names, characters), trademarks and copyrights is the property of the third parties that market or license that content, and is used by Mindbottling subject to license, or subject to the fair use provisions of U.S. copyright or trademark law or such use is made permissible under other applicable law.
Unless expressly authorized in this Agreement or otherwise by Mindbottling, you agree not to download, display, use, modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works of the Mindbottling content in whole or in part, in any publications, in public performances, on websites other than this site, for any commercial purpose, in connection with products or services that are not those of Mindbottling, in any other manner that is likely to cause confusion among consumers, that disparages or discredits Mindbottling and/or its licensor's, that dilutes the strength of Mindbottling's or its licensor's property, or that otherwise infringes Mindbottling's or its licensor's intellectual property rights. You further agree to in no other way misuse any content which you do not own that appears on this Site.
Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, you are not granted any rights or license to any intellectual property with respect to the Mindbottling Site or its contents. Mindbottling reserves all rights not expressly granted to you under the terms of this Agreement and Mindbottling retains exclusive ownership of the Mindbottling Site, the software used in connection with Mindbottling and all intellectual property associated therewith, including the name "Mindbottling," the term "bottlers" and the Mindbottling logos.
If you are a trademark or copyright owner and you believe that your trademark or copyright rights have been violated, please go to our Help Section to read about reporting infringements of intellectual rights and follow the instructions at that area. Users who believe that user-posted content includes infringing materials should report it to Mindbottling.
This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida without application of its principles of conflicts of laws. By using this Site, you hereby agree that any and all disputes regarding this Agreement will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal, state and local courts for Tampa, Florida. This Agreement operates to the fullest extent permissible by law. If any provision of this Agreement is found unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision is deemed severable from the remaining provisions of the Agreement and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
Different countries have different regulations. Mindbottling makes no representations that the materials on this site are appropriate or legally available for use in locations outside the United States. If you are accessing this Site from jurisdictions where the contents of this site may be illegal, you are solely responsible for complying with all local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content. By submitting information to this site, you understand and agree that by submitting your information you are transferring it from your country and submitting it to Mindbottling's servers in the United States.
BY ACCEPTING THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY AND YOU EXPLICITLY WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. YOU AGREE THAT REGARDLESS OF ANY STATUTE OR LAW TO THE CONTRARY, ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO USE OF THE SITE OR THIS AGREEMENT MUST BE FILED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER SUCH CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION AROSE OR BE FOREVER BARRED.
If we want to change the Site, our related services and functionalities, fees, payment structures, the terms of this Agreement, our selection of content, or the way we present content, we are free to do so at any time without any prior notice. Mindbottling is a channel for content you submit, and as such we have the right but not the obligation to screen or otherwise control any content posted on Mindbottling. Mindbottling retains the right, in its sole discretion, to refuse to post or remove any material submitted or posted on the Site for any reason, including if we believe it is in violation of this Agreement.
Notices to you regarding changes to the Site and this Agreement may, but will not necessarily, be made via email, regular mail, links to notices on the Site, in a pop-up or other format upon the Site, depending on the character of message. We recommend you keep your eye on the Bottlers Section (http://www.Mindbottling.com/bottlers), where changes may be posted and discussed. Your input is also welcome! Your continued use of the Site indicates your acceptance of any changes to this Agreement.
Mindbottling has the right to cancel your account (or any part thereof), or to exclude you from the Site, if due to fraudulent or other unacceptable activities, at any time in our sole reasonable discretion, with or without prior notice. In case of cancellation, you agree that the license granted herein to content submitted by you shall not terminate, but you will agree to forfeit all rights you may have to your Account and to any then accrued or future earnings from the Site or by Mindbottling with respect to any material you previously submitted. If we decide to cancel your account, the cancellation will not affect your remaining responsibilities to Mindbottling according to this Agreement. If we cancel your account, you may not open a new one under your own or an alternate name/email address.
Mindbottling makes no representations about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, or lack of viruses or other harmful components of this Site, its content (whether Mindbottling or user-submitted content), or its features, and disclaims all liability in the event of any service failure. You acknowledge that any reliance on such material and/or systems will be at your own risk, and Mindbottling makes no warranties regarding any transactions entered into through the Site or any service. Mindbottling also makes no representations regarding the amount of time that any content will be preserved.
THIS SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE MADE WITH RESPECT TO THIS SITE OR ANY INFORMATION OR SOFTWARE THEREIN. YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, SHALL MINDBOTTLING OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE. THIS INCLUDES A SPECIFIC WAIVER BY MINDBOTTLING OF ANY LIABILITY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL, OR ANY UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR USE OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR CONTENT. DAMAGES AS USED HEREIN INCLUDE WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE MINDBOTTLING OR ANY MATERIALS THAT HAVE BEEN POSTED TO THE SITE, INCLUDING STATEMENTS OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and Mindbottling and governs your use of the Site and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals whether electronic, oral or written, between you and Mindbottling with respect to the site and services. Both you and Mindbottling acknowledge and agree that no partnership is formed and neither you nor Mindbottling has the power or the authority to obligate or bind the other.
The failure of Mindbottling to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
This Site may hyperlink to sites not maintained or related to Mindbottling. Hyperlinks are provided as a service to users and are not sponsored by or affiliated with this Site or Mindbottling, and Mindbottling makes no representations or warranties about the content, completeness, or accuracy of those third-party sites. Information you submit at a third-party site accessible from this Site is subject to the terms of that site's privacy policy, and Mindbottling has no control over how your information is collected, used, or otherwise handled.
Software that may be available in connection with this Site is further subject to United States export controls. No software may be downloaded from this Site or otherwise exported or re-exported in violation of United States export laws. Downloading or using the software is at your sole risk.
The failure of Mindbottling to comply with this Agreement because of an act of God, war, fire, riot, terrorism, earthquake, actions of federal, state or local governmental authorities or for any other reason beyond the reasonable control of Mindbottling, shall not be deemed a breach of this Agreement.
The headings in this Agreement are for your convenience and reference. These headings do not limit or affect this Agreement.
This Agreement constitutes a binding agreement between you and Mindbottling, and is accepted by you upon your use of the Site. By clicking "I agree" you represent that you are capable of entering into a binding agreement, and that you have reviewed this Agreement and agree to be bound by its terms.