VenueStatus

Terms of Service

DRAFT — REQUIRES LEGAL REVIEW BEFORE GOING LIVE. This is a first draft. It is not legal advice. See README.md for the review path.

Effective Date: [EFFECTIVE DATE]

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and Darksoft LLC d/b/a VenueStatus ("VenueStatus", "we", "us", or "our"), the operator of the website at venuestatus.com, our mobile applications, our APIs, and any related services (collectively, the "Service").

By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you accept these Terms. If you do not accept, do not use the Service.

1. The Service

VenueStatus is a real-time status communication platform for sports organizations, parks-and-rec departments, schools, and similar entities ("Organizations" or "Orgs") to publish the status of their fields, courts, venues, and similar facilities to parents, coaches, players, and members of the public.

The Service has two faces:

  • An authenticated admin app (web and native iOS / Android via Flutter) used by Org staff to update statuses and notes.
  • A public, unauthenticated read view at venuestatus.com/{org-slug} and via APIs and embeddable widgets.

2. Eligibility

To use the admin app, you must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is greater.
  • Have the legal authority to enter into these Terms on behalf of the Organization you are registering.
  • Not be barred from using the Service under any applicable law.

The public read view is available to anyone, including minors, and does not require an account.

3. Accounts

3.1 Org Admin accounts

When you create an account, you become the first Owner of an Organization. You may invite additional Admins under that Organization. Owner and Admin permissions are described in the in-app role information.

You agree to:

  • Provide accurate, current information at signup.
  • Keep your authentication credentials confidential.
  • Notify us promptly at security@venuestatus.com of any unauthorized use of your account.
  • Be responsible for all activity under your account.

3.2 Public Viewers

Members of the public who view an Org's public page do not create accounts. They may optionally subscribe to free notifications by providing a push token, email, or phone number. Notification subscriptions are governed by the Privacy Policy.

4. Plan tiers and billing

4.1 Plans

VenueStatus offers three plans:

| Plan | Public-page ads | Branding | Custom domain | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Free | Yes (Google AdSense, non-personalized) | "Powered by VenueStatus" footer | No | Full feature set | | Pro | None | Logo + primary color | No | Email/SMS support | | Enterprise | None | Full custom branding | Yes | Priority support, larger admin teams |

Pricing for Pro and Enterprise is published on venuestatus.com and may change with notice.

4.2 Billing

Pro and Enterprise subscriptions are billed via Stripe, Inc. by either the Owner of the Organization or another authorized billing contact, on a recurring monthly or annual basis as selected at checkout. Subscriptions auto-renew until canceled.

You authorize us, via Stripe, to charge your payment method for the applicable subscription fee, plus any applicable taxes. By providing a payment method, you represent that you are authorized to use that payment method.

4.3 Refunds

We do not offer refunds for partial billing periods. If you cancel during a billing period, your plan remains active until the end of that period and is then downgraded to Free. Refunds required by law (e.g., consumer-protection rules in some jurisdictions) will be honored.

4.4 Failed payments and downgrades

If a payment fails, Stripe will attempt to recover the charge per its standard retry schedule. If the payment cannot be recovered, the Organization is automatically downgraded to the Free plan and ads return to the public page. Data is not deleted by a downgrade.

4.5 Free tier and advertising

The Free plan is supported by Google AdSense advertising on the Organization's public page. By using the Free plan, you acknowledge and consent that:

  • AdSense will serve non-personalized, contextual ads (the entire venuestatus.com domain is configured as child-directed; see the Privacy Policy).
  • Ads appear below the fold on the public page and do not block status visibility.
  • We retain 100% of advertising revenue from your Organization's public page.

You may upgrade to Pro or Enterprise at any time to remove ads.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Publish content that is illegal, defamatory, obscene, harassing, or that infringes any third-party right.
  • Misrepresent the status of a venue or organization for fraudulent purposes.
  • Use the Service to send spam or unsolicited communications outside the notification system Public Viewers have opted in to.
  • Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to access the source of the Service except as permitted by law.
  • Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Service, or breach security or authentication measures, except via responsible disclosure to security@venuestatus.com.
  • Use automated means to scrape the Service beyond the rate limits published for the public JSON API, or use the API to circumvent embed-attribution rules on the Free tier.
  • Resell, white-label, or redistribute the Service in ways not permitted by your plan.

We may suspend or terminate any account that violates these rules, with or without prior notice.

6. Your content

You retain ownership of everything you publish through the Service ("Your Content"), including statuses, notes, announcements, organization names, and branding assets.

By publishing Your Content via the Service, you grant VenueStatus a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to host, store, reproduce, modify (only as necessary for technical display, e.g., resizing logos), display, and transmit Your Content solely for the purpose of operating and providing the Service, including via APIs and embeddable widgets controlled by you.

You represent and warrant that you own or have the necessary rights to Your Content and that its publication does not violate any law or third-party right.

7. Communications and notifications

By using the Service, you consent to receive operational communications from us by email (account, billing, security, and service notices). These are not marketing.

Public Viewers who opt in to notifications consent to receive push, email, or SMS messages as described in the Privacy Policy. SMS messages are subject to standard message and data rates from your carrier. Reply STOP to any SMS to unsubscribe.

8. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, logos, and trademarks (other than Your Content), is owned by Darksoft LLC d/b/a VenueStatus and protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws. Except as expressly granted, no rights are transferred to you.

9. Third-party services

The Service integrates with third-party services including (without limitation) Stripe, Google FCM, Google AdSense, Resend, Twilio, Apple Push Notification service, and various authentication providers. Your use of those services is governed by their own terms. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of these third parties.

10. Account and Org termination

10.1 Termination by you

The Owner of an Organization may delete the Org at any time from inside the admin app. Deletion is soft for 30 days — the Org's public page returns 404, admins lose access, and any Stripe subscription is canceled immediately. The Owner may restore the Org during the 30-day grace period by contacting support@venuestatus.com. After 30 days, the Org and all dependent data are permanently deleted.

GDPR Article 17 right-to-erasure requests are honored immediately, bypassing the grace period.

10.2 Termination by us

We may suspend or terminate your account, with or without notice, if:

  • You materially breach these Terms.
  • Your use of the Service threatens its security, reliability, or compliance posture.
  • We are required to do so by law, court order, or regulator action.
  • Continued provision of the Service is no longer commercially viable.

If we terminate your account other than for breach, we will provide reasonable notice and a data-export option where feasible.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or uninterrupted operation.

We do not warrant that:

  • The Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or perfectly accurate.
  • Statuses, notes, or notifications will be delivered instantaneously or without delay.
  • The Service will detect or prevent any specific harm.

Status decisions are operational decisions made by the Organization. VenueStatus is a publishing tool — it is not a substitute for an Organization's own safety, weather, or emergency procedures. Public Viewers are responsible for using their own judgment, including verification with the Organization where conditions warrant.

12. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, VenueStatus and its affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost data, or business interruption, arising out of or related to the Service, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

In no event shall our total liability to you for all claims related to the Service exceed the greater of: (a) the amount you paid VenueStatus in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) USD $100.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless VenueStatus and its affiliates from any claim, demand, loss, or damages (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of: (a) Your Content, (b) your breach of these Terms, (c) your violation of any law or third-party right, or (d) your misuse of the Service.

14. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of [DARKSOFT LLC FORMATION STATE], United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. The federal and state courts located in [DARKSOFT LLC FORMATION STATE] have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of these Terms or the Service, and you consent to such jurisdiction.

Alternatively, the parties may elect binding arbitration via the AAA Commercial Rules in place of litigation. Decision pending — see [ARBITRATION OR COURT] placeholder.

If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder remains in effect.

15. Changes to these Terms

We may modify these Terms from time to time. The "Effective Date" at the top reflects the latest revision. Material changes will be announced via in-app notification to Org Admins and by notice on venuestatus.com at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

16. Miscellaneous

  • Entire agreement: these Terms (together with the Privacy Policy and any plan-specific addenda) constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service.
  • No waiver: failure to enforce any right is not a waiver of that right.
  • Assignment: you may not assign your rights without our prior consent. We may assign our rights and obligations to an affiliate or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale.
  • Headings: for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.
  • Force majeure: neither party is liable for delays caused by events outside reasonable control (natural disasters, wars, pandemics, infrastructure outages of major providers).

17. Contact