Last updated: May 29, 2026
These Discourse ID User Terms (“User Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Civilized Discourse Construction Kit, Inc. (“CDCK,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). They apply whenever you use your Discourse ID to interact with Discourse services in connection with any site that uses Discourse software or Discourse ID for authentication (each, a “Site”), including when you: (a) access Free sites as a user; (b) access other sites hosted by us that use Discourse ID as a login method; (c) access sites not hosted by us that use Discourse ID as a login method; and (d) create or manage sites on the Free, Starter, Pro, or Business plans hosted by us.
Each Site is operated by an independent organization or individual (the “Operator”), in some cases, under a separate agreement with CDCK, in other cases the Site may be operated independently. The Operator, not CDCK, controls the Site’s content, membership, community rules, and moderation. These User Terms govern your relationship with CDCK as the provider of Discourse ID, Discourse software, and related services, including hosting where applicable. Your use of a specific Site may also be subject to the Operator’s own terms, guidelines, and policies.
By creating a Discourse ID, or by using your Discourse ID to access or use any Site, you agree to these User Terms. If you do not agree, you must not create a Discourse ID or use your Discourse ID to access or use any Site.
These User Terms apply only to your creation and use of a Discourse ID and do not govern access to Sites where you do not use a Discourse ID.
1. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is higher) to create a Discourse ID or use your Discourse ID to access or use a Site. If you are under this age, you may not create a Discourse ID or use a Discourse ID to access or use any Site.
2. Your Account
If you create an account on a Site, you agree to:
- Provide accurate and complete registration information.
- Keep your login credentials secure and confidential.
- Accept responsibility for all activity under your account.
3. Acceptable Use
When using any Site, you agree not to:
- Break any applicable law or regulation.
- Infringe any third party’s intellectual property, privacy, or other rights.
- Post or transmit content that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or obscene.
- Post or distribute child sexual abuse material, or any content that sexualizes or exploits minors.
- Engage in spam, phishing, fraud, or social engineering.
- Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
- Interfere with or disrupt the operation of any Site or CDCK’s infrastructure, including by introducing viruses, malware, or other harmful code.
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any Site, account, or system.
- Scrape, crawl, or use automated means to access a Site in ways that exceed normal use or violate robots.txt, without prior written permission from CDCK.
- Circumvent or attempt to circumvent any security, access control, rate-limiting, or content moderation measures.
Operators may impose additional rules for their Sites. You are responsible for reviewing and following any Operator-posted guidelines. Where an Operator’s rules are more restrictive than these User Terms, the Operator’s rules apply to that Site.
4. Content
Your Content
You retain ownership of any content you post to a Site (“Your Content”).
How CDCK Handles Your Content
CDCK will not access, use, or disclose Your Content except:
- as needed to host, operate, and deliver this site to you and other users
- to monitor content for platform security, abuse prevention, and detection of potentially unlawful material
- to respond to requests for technical support from the Operator
- as required by law
Deletion of Your Content
- If you delete Your Content through a Site’s interface, it will no longer be visible to other users. However, deleted content may be retained by a Site and remain accessible to the Operator’s administrators, who may restore it at their discretion. Permanent deletion of Your Content is subject to the Operator’s site configuration and policies.
- If the Operator’s site is terminated, CDCK will delete all data associated with that site, including Your Content, in accordance with CDCK’s obligations to the Operator under their separate agreement.
Your Responsibility
You represent that you have all necessary rights to post Your Content and that Your Content does not violate these User Terms or applicable law.
Content Moderation
The Operator is responsible for moderating content on its Site. CDCK may also use automated tools, including machine learning models, to analyze content on Sites for purposes of security, abuse prevention, and detection of potentially unlawful material. CDCK reserves the right, but has no obligation, to remove or restrict access to any content that violates these User Terms or applicable law.
5. Privacy and Data
CDCK processes personal data as necessary to provide and secure the platform. CDCK’s Privacy Policy, available at discourse.org/privacy, describes how CDCK collects, uses, and protects your data in its role as a platform provider.
The Operator may separately collect and process your data in its role as the controller of its Site. The Operator is responsible for providing you with any privacy notices required by applicable law. Questions about how a specific Site handles your data should be directed to that Site’s Operator.
6. Platform Provided “As Is”
CDCK provides the platform on an “as is” basis. CDCK disclaims any warranties the law might otherwise imply, like warranties of merchantability, fitness for any particular purpose, title, or noninfringement.
CDCK does not warrant that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components. CDCK does not endorse and is not responsible for any content posted by Operators or users on any Site.
7. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, CDCK’s total liability to you for all claims arising from or related to these User Terms or your use of any Site will not exceed fifty U.S. dollars (US $50). CDCK will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or loss of data, revenue, or profits.
8. CDCK’s Rights
CDCK reserves the right to:
- Suspend or terminate your access to any Site if you violate these User Terms.
- Remove or restrict access to content that violates these User Terms or applicable law.
- Modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the platform at any time.
- Cooperate with law enforcement or authorized third parties in the investigation of suspected illegal activity.
- Suspend or terminate your Discourse ID account.
9. Changes to These Terms
CDCK may update these User Terms from time to time. The current version will always be available at discourse.org/user-terms. Material changes will be communicated through the platform or by other reasonable means. Your continued use of any Site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated User Terms.
10. General
Governing Law. These User Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
Disputes. Any disputes arising from these User Terms will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in San Francisco, California. You consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of those courts.
Severability. If any provision of these User Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.
Entire Agreement. These User Terms, together with CDCK’s Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and CDCK regarding your use of the platform as an end user. They do not affect any separate agreement between the Operator and CDCK.