1. Agreement and eligibility
By accessing or using Folkbench, you agree to these Terms and the policies they incorporate. You must be legally able to enter a binding agreement; if you are below the age of majority, use requires a parent, guardian, or organization authorization where permitted. If you use Folkbench for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization. You may not use the service if applicable law prohibits you from doing so.
2. The Folkbench service
Folkbench provides an evaluation directory, public service information, evidence windows, vendor participation tools, and related Beta features. Features may be incomplete, unavailable, changed, or withdrawn while the Beta is developed.
A contract, schema, placeholder, status response, or one-time successful check is not a promise that a capability is available in production.
3. Accounts and access
You must provide accurate account information, protect access to your identity-provider account and active Folkbench sessions, and promptly report suspected unauthorized use. You are responsible for actions taken through your account unless applicable law provides otherwise.
Authentication does not automatically grant vendor or operations permissions. Folkbench may require additional verification, organization membership, or role approval.
4. Directory information and decisions
Directory entries combine provider-documented, observed, measured, calculated, editorial, and unknown information. Measurements describe a stated sample and time window, not permanent performance or universal availability.
Folkbench is not the provider of services listed in the directory. You remain responsible for reviewing a vendor’s terms, privacy practices, pricing, regional availability, security, and suitability before using that vendor.
5. Submissions and vendor participation
You retain ownership of material you submit. You grant Folkbench a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, review, reproduce, format, translate, and publish the material as needed to operate the service and create reviewed directory snapshots.
You must have the rights and authority needed for every submission, test target, credential reference, and evaluation authorization. Additional Vendor Participation Terms apply to vendor workspaces and controlled evaluations.
6. Acceptable use
You must follow the Acceptable Use Policy. You may not misuse accounts, credentials, submissions, probes, reports, or public content; interfere with the service; evade safeguards; manipulate evidence; or use Folkbench for unlawful or unauthorized activity.
7. Third-party services
Folkbench may link to or interoperate with identity, infrastructure, analytics, email, vendor, and future payment services. Those third parties are responsible for their own services. Their terms may apply separately, and Folkbench does not control their availability or content.
8. Intellectual property
Folkbench, its software, original editorial content, evaluation formats, and branding are owned by Folkbench or its licensors. Except for rights expressly granted in these Terms, no rights are transferred to you. Vendor names and marks remain the property of their respective owners.
9. Suspension and termination
Folkbench may restrict, suspend, or terminate access when reasonably necessary to protect users, vendors, evidence integrity, security, legal compliance, or service operations. Where appropriate, Folkbench may provide notice and an opportunity to correct the issue.
You may stop using Folkbench at any time. Requests concerning account data remain subject to the Privacy Policy, legal retention duties, and the integrity of audit or publication records.
10. Disclaimers
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Folkbench is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Folkbench does not warrant uninterrupted operation, error-free data, a particular ranking, continued listing, or that a sampled result will match your environment.
Nothing in Folkbench is legal, financial, security, procurement, or investment advice.
11. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Folkbench and its affiliates will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunities arising from Folkbench.
Where liability cannot be excluded, aggregate liability arising from Folkbench will not exceed the greater of US$100 or the amount you paid specifically for the affected Folkbench service during the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim. Non-waivable rights remain unaffected.
12. Disputes and applicable law
Before filing a formal claim, please contact Folkbench with a description of the issue and requested resolution so the parties can attempt an informal resolution. These Terms are governed by the law applicable to the relationship, without overriding mandatory consumer protections or other non-waivable rights. A competent court will resolve disputes unless a separate signed agreement says otherwise.
13. Changes and contact
Folkbench may update these Terms as the service changes. The page will show the effective date, and material changes may receive additional notice where required. Continued use after updated Terms take effect constitutes acceptance to the extent permitted by law.
Questions about these Terms may be sent through the Folkbench contact page.
14. User content and feedback
You remain responsible for the legality, accuracy, confidentiality, and rights status of content, sources, feedback, and materials you submit. Do not submit personal data, secrets, or confidential material unless the relevant policy or signed agreement permits it.
The license in these Terms is limited to operating, securing, reviewing, translating, correcting, and publishing Folkbench content. It does not transfer ownership of your material or authorize unrelated advertising, sale, model training, or disclosure of raw private evidence.
15. Responsibility for your use
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you are responsible for claims, losses, and reasonable costs arising from your breach of these Terms, unauthorized testing, unlawful content, or infringement of another person’s rights. This provision does not require a consumer to indemnify Folkbench where applicable law prohibits that obligation.
16. Notices and general terms
Service notices may appear on Folkbench or be sent to the contact address associated with your account. Legal, privacy, security, correction, and abuse notices may be sent through the contact page or to [email protected]; include a safe case identifier and do not include credentials in an initial message.
These Terms, the policies they incorporate, and any signed agreement form the agreement for the relevant service. If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue; a waiver must be express; and provisions that should survive termination continue. Neither party may assign an agreement except as permitted by law or in a corporate transaction with appropriate safeguards. Neither party is liable for a delay caused by events beyond reasonable control.
17. Commercial features and no agency
The current Beta does not accept live wallet top-ups, paid placement, subscriptions, refunds, or public API keys. If Folkbench enables a paid feature, the applicable price, taxes, billing, cancellation, refund, and commercial terms will be presented before the transaction and will not be inferred from a directory listing.
Folkbench is an independent directory and evaluation service. These Terms do not create a partnership, employment, fiduciary, franchise, or agency relationship between you and Folkbench or between Folkbench and a listed provider.