ForkBar Terms of Service

Effective Date: [Launch Date — to be set] Last Updated: 2026-05-26

⚠️ Draft note for review: This is a standard SaaS template adapted to ForkBar's specific design (AI-assisted writing, fork-tree mechanics, single Pro subscription tier). Items in [brackets] need filling in (entity name, jurisdiction, governing law). Before launch, recommend a lawyer pass — especially for limitation-of-liability cap, arbitration clause, and any jurisdiction-specific consumer rights overrides.

1. Introduction

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of ForkBar (the "Service"), an AI-assisted collaborative fiction platform operated by [Entity Name] ("we", "us", "our").

By creating an account or using the Service in any other way, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

These Terms form a legally binding contract between you and us. Please read them carefully.

2. Eligibility and accounts

2.1 Who can use the Service

• You must be at least 13 years old (16 if you are in the EEA) to create an account
• You must provide accurate registration information (email, username) and keep it up to date
• One person, one account — sock-puppet accounts are not allowed

2.2 Account security

• You are responsible for keeping your password (or third-party authentication credentials) confidential
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account
• If you suspect unauthorized access, change your password immediately and contact us

2.3 Account suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your account if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, abused the Service, engaged in fraud, or created a legal risk for us or other users. Where practical, we will give you notice and a chance to cure the violation before suspension. We are not obligated to do so if the violation is severe (e.g., illegal content, security threat).

You may delete your account at any time via /settings → Delete account, which is immediate and permanent (see Privacy Policy Section 7.2).

3. Your content

3.1 You own what you create

You retain all rights to the stories, characters, world bibles, chat messages, and other content you create on the Service ("Your Content"). This applies whether you wrote it directly, generated it with AI assistance, or some combination — Your Content is yours.

3.2 License you grant to us

By posting Your Content to the Service, you grant ForkBar a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to store, display, distribute, and reproduce Your Content for the purposes of operating the Service. This includes:

• Displaying your public chapters to other users
• Indexing your public chapters for search and discovery features
• Caching your content on our content delivery network
• Allowing other users to fork your public chapters (see Section 5)

This license terminates when you delete Your Content, except (a) Your Content forked by others remains accessible to those forks under a similar license, and (b) we may retain backups in encrypted form for up to 30 days.

3.3 License you grant to other users

By marking a chapter as public, you allow other users to fork it (Section 5). The original chapter remains yours and unmodified; forks are new derivative projects owned by the forker.

If you do not want your work to be forkable, keep it private or unlisted.

3.4 You are responsible for what you create

You represent that:

• Your Content does not infringe any third party's copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or other rights
• Your Content does not violate Section 6 (prohibited content)
• You have all necessary rights and permissions to grant the licenses in Sections 3.2 and 3.3

If you upload content created or contributed to by other people (e.g., co-authored work), you confirm that you have their permission to do so.

4. AI-generated content

4.1 How AI assistance works

ForkBar uses third-party large language models (LLMs) to help you generate prose, outline chapters, develop characters, and check continuity. You provide prompts; the AI generates suggested content; you decide whether to publish it.

4.2 Ownership of AI-generated content

You own the prompts you write and the AI-generated outputs produced from your prompts, treated as Your Content under Section 3. You are responsible for reviewing, editing, and approving the output before publication.

4.3 No guarantee of originality

LLMs generate text statistically. Outputs may resemble work produced for other users on similar prompts, or text from the model's training data. We make no warranty of originality, and you should not assume an AI-generated passage is unique to you. If you intend to publish ForkBar-generated content externally, exercise your own judgment about originality and attribution.

4.4 Quality and safety

AI outputs may be inaccurate, biased, offensive, or otherwise unsuitable. You are responsible for reviewing AI outputs before they reach other users. We attempt to screen AI output for prohibited categories (Section 6) before it is published publicly, but this screening is not perfect and you remain responsible.

4.5 Third-party AI providers

The LLMs we use are operated by third parties (OpenRouter, xAI, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google AI). Each provider has its own terms governing how prompts and outputs are handled. We pass your prompts to whichever provider is currently configured; you can find the current provider in the Privacy Policy (Section 6).

5. Forks

5.1 What forking is

Any public chapter can be forked by any user. A fork creates a new, separate project owned by the user who forked, starting from the forked chapter's prose. The original project is unaffected.

5.2 Attribution

Every fork preserves an attribution chain showing the parent project, the chapter that was forked, and the user who forked. You may not remove or obscure this attribution.

5.3 Forking and Your Content

By making a chapter public, you accept that other users may fork it. Forking is a core feature of the Service — the "story-version of GitHub" model.

5.4 Content in forks

The forker is responsible for the content of their fork from the fork point forward. ForkBar does not endorse fork content, and the original author bears no responsibility for what others write in derivative branches.

5.5 Forking and copyright

Forks rely on Section 3.3 — your grant of a fork-compatible license to other users when you publish publicly. This grant covers ForkBar's operational use of the fork mechanism and the forker's right to continue your story. It does not transfer copyright in your original chapter to the forker.

6. Prohibited content and conduct

You may not post, generate, or attempt to publish content that:

• Sexually exploits, abuses, or depicts minors (zero-tolerance; reported to law enforcement)
• Promotes or facilitates real-world violence, terrorism, or self-harm (depictions in fiction are not prohibited per se, but content that operationally facilitates such acts is)
• Constitutes hate speech, harassment, or threats against individuals or groups based on protected characteristics
• Names real, identifiable, living individuals in a defamatory or sexually explicit context without their consent
• Constitutes spam, scam, malware, phishing, or any attempt to deceive other users
• Infringes third-party intellectual property rights (we honor valid DMCA takedown requests — see Section 10)
• Attempts to bypass safety, moderation, or rate-limit measures, or to extract system prompts or training data from the underlying LLMs
• Violates applicable laws

You may also not:

• Use the Service to mass-generate content for commercial republication elsewhere (we are not a content farm)
• Reverse-engineer, scrape, or attempt to access the Service in ways the API does not support
• Resell or sublicense the Service or any portion of it
• Use the Service in any way that disrupts other users or imposes unreasonable load (e.g., automated bulk generation beyond your rate limits)

Violations may result in content removal, account suspension, or account termination per Section 2.3.

7. Subscriptions and payments

7.1 Plans

The Service offers a Free tier and a Pro tier. Current features and pricing are at /pricing. We may change pricing for future billing periods; existing subscribers will be notified at least 30 days before any price increase takes effect for their plan.

7.2 Payment processing

Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. Your card details are entered on Stripe's hosted checkout and never reach ForkBar's servers. By subscribing, you also agree to Stripe's terms of service.

7.3 Auto-renewal

Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each billing period (monthly or annual) unless canceled. You can cancel at any time via /settings → Billing → Manage subscription, which opens Stripe's customer portal.

7.4 Cancellation

• If you cancel, your subscription remains active until the end of the current billing period; you are not refunded for the unused portion of that period.
• After the period ends, your account moves to the Free tier. Free-tier usage limits apply.

7.5 Refunds

We do not generally issue refunds for partial billing periods. If you believe you were billed in error or have a legitimate refund claim, contact us at [support@forkbar.app] and we will review.

7.6 Taxes

Prices shown on /pricing may not include applicable VAT, GST, or sales tax. Where required by law, taxes are added at checkout and remitted by us (or by Stripe Tax on our behalf). You are responsible for any taxes that apply to your purchase under your local law.

7.7 Free tier

The Free tier is provided "as is" and may be discontinued or modified with notice. We do not guarantee Free-tier availability indefinitely.

8. Service availability and changes

8.1 Service availability

We strive to keep the Service available 24/7, but we do not guarantee any specific uptime. We may experience planned maintenance windows, third-party outages (e.g., GCP, Vercel, Stripe), or unplanned downtime. We are not liable for losses arising from temporary unavailability.

8.2 Service changes

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue features at any time. For material changes that adversely affect a paid feature you rely on, we will give you reasonable advance notice (typically 30 days) and, where appropriate, a pro-rated refund.

8.3 Beta features

Some features may be labeled "beta" or "experimental." These are provided as-is and may change or be removed at any time without the protections of Section 8.2.

9. Intellectual property

9.1 ForkBar's intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, branding, and documentation, is owned by us and protected by intellectual property laws. Except for the rights expressly granted to you in these Terms, we retain all rights.

9.2 Feedback

If you give us feedback, suggestions, or ideas for improving the Service, we may use them without restriction or compensation. You confirm that any feedback you provide is non-confidential and that we may incorporate it.

10. DMCA and copyright complaints

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, please send a written notice to [dmca@forkbar.app] containing:

1. Your physical or electronic signature
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed
3. Identification of the allegedly infringing content (URL, project ID, chapter URL)
4. Your contact information (address, phone, email)
5. A statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized
6. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner

We will respond per the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Repeat infringers will have their accounts terminated.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE DISCLAIM ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT:

• The Service will meet your requirements
• The Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free
• AI-generated content will be accurate, original, suitable, or non-infringing
• Defects will be corrected

Your use of the Service is at your sole risk.

Some jurisdictions do not allow exclusion of certain warranties; in those jurisdictions, the exclusions above apply only to the maximum extent permitted by law.

12. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW:

• We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages (including lost profits, lost data, or loss of business) arising from your use of the Service
• Our total cumulative liability for any claim arising from these Terms or the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred U.S. dollars ($100)

These limitations apply even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose.

Some jurisdictions do not allow limitation of liability for certain damages; in those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from any claim, demand, loss, or damage (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from:

• Your use of the Service
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any third party's rights (including IP, privacy, publicity, or contract rights)
• Content you post, generate, or distribute via the Service

We may, at our option, take exclusive control of the defense of any matter for which you would otherwise be required to indemnify us. You will cooperate with us in such defense.

14. Governing law and dispute resolution

14.1 Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of [State, e.g., Delaware], USA, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

14.2 Jurisdiction

Any dispute that is not subject to arbitration (Section 14.3) will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in [County, State], and you and we consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

14.3 Arbitration (US users only)

⚠️ Optional clause — confirm with lawyer before enabling. Arbitration clauses are heavily regulated and may not be enforceable in some jurisdictions (notably California consumer protection law and many EU member states).

For users in the United States: any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, in [City, State]. You and we waive the right to a jury trial and to participate in a class action. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing [legal@forkbar.app] within 30 days of first accepting these Terms.

14.4 EU / UK / EEA users

If you are a consumer in the EU, UK, or EEA, mandatory consumer protection laws of your country of residence apply notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 14. You may bring proceedings against us in the courts of your country of residence.

15. General

15.1 Entire agreement

These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and any additional terms applicable to specific features form the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service.

15.2 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.

15.3 Waiver

Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.

15.4 Assignment

You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign these Terms freely (e.g., in connection with a corporate transaction), with notice to you.

15.5 No agency

These Terms do not create any agency, partnership, employment, or joint-venture relationship.

15.6 Headings

Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.

15.7 Survival

Sections 3.2 (license you grant), 9 (intellectual property), 11 (disclaimers), 12 (limitation of liability), 13 (indemnification), 14 (governing law / arbitration), and 15 (general) survive termination of these Terms.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. For material changes, we will:

• Update the Last Updated date at the top
• Notify you via email at least 14 days before changes take effect
• Display a prominent notice in the Service

Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Service and may delete your account.

17. Contact

For questions about these Terms:

• Email: [support@forkbar.app] (general) or [legal@forkbar.app] (legal-specific)
• Postal: [Entity Name, Address — to be filled]

ForkBar is built by a small team. These Terms reflect industry-standard SaaS practices adapted to AI-assisted collaborative fiction. We are not a law firm and this document is not legal advice. If you have questions about your specific rights, consult a qualified lawyer.