1. Welcome to TipSmack!

Welcome to TipSmack. By using this website (the “Site”) and services (together with the Site, the “Services”) offered by TipSmack(“TipSmack,” “we,” or “us”), you’re agreeing to these legally binding rules (the “Terms”).

You’re also agreeing to The Rules of TipSmack (our Acceptible Use Policy, or AUP).

We may change these terms from time to time. If we do, we’ll let you know about any material changes, either by notifying you on the Site or by sending you an email. New versions of the terms will never apply retroactively — we’ll tell you the exact date they go into effect. If you keep using TipSmack after a change, that means you accept the new terms.

2. Creating an Account

When you create an account, the information you give us has to be accurate and complete. Don’t impersonate anyone else or choose names that are offensive or that violate anyone’s rights. If you don’t follow these rules, we may cancel your account.

You must have a PayPal account to receive money from TipSmack, so be sure that this field is accurate in your account settings.

You’re responsible for all the activity on your account, and for keeping your password confidential. If you find out that someone’s used your account without your permission, you should report it to info@tipsmack.com.

3. Never do these things

TipSmack is trying to help the world, not hurt it. Don’t do any of these things on the Site:

• Don’t break the law. Don’t take any action that infringes or violates other people’s rights, violates the law, or breaches any contract or legal duty you have toward anyone.
• Don’t lie to people. Don’t post information you know is false, misleading, or inaccurate. Don’t do anything deceptive or fraudulent.
• You cannot promise rewards as a pre-condition to donations. TipSmack patrons are sending non-binding donations to support the underlying work of the page owner, in general.You can never create a call-to-action that says something like, “If you send me “x,” you will receive “y.”
• Don’t victimize anyone. Don’t do anything threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, tortious, obscene, profane, or invasive of another person’s privacy.
• Don’t spam.Don’t distribute unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional material, or any junk mail, spam, or chain letters. Don’t run mail lists, listservs, or any kind of auto-responder or spam on or through the Site.
• Don’t harm anyone’s computer.Don’t distribute software viruses, or anything else (code, films, programs) designed to interfere with the proper function of any software, hardware, or equipment on the Site (whether it belongs to TipSmack or another party).
• Don’t abuse other users’ personal information.When you use TipSmack, you may receive information about other users, including things like their names and email addresses. They are giving you this information because they want a little recognition for their support. Don’t abuse it.
• Don’t try to interfere with the proper workings of the Services.
• Don’t bypass any measures we’ve put in place to secure the Services.
• Don’t try to damage or get unauthorized access to any system, data, password, or other information, whether it belongs to TipSmack or another party.
• Don’t take any action that imposes an unreasonable load on our infrastructure, or on our third-party providers. (We reserve the right to determine what’s reasonable.)
• Don’t use any kind of software or device (whether it’s manual or automated) to “crawl” or “spider” any part of the Site.
• Don’t take apart or reverse engineer any aspect of TipSmack in an effort to access things like source code, underlying ideas, or algorithms.

4. How TipSmack Donation Pages Work

TipSmack is a crowdfunding platform where patrons of any artist, blogger, or internet content creator, in general, can quickly and securely send donations (“Tips”) to the TipSmack Donation Page’s Owner. The goal is to support their underlying work and/or mission, and hopefully provide them with additional monetary resources to further that work.

TipSmack Donation Pages are found via a single link, which is tied to the owner’s TipSmack account. This link can be shared as often and in as many places as the owner desires, as long as all use conforms to our Acceptable Use Policy.

5. How Donations (“Tips”) Are Sent & Received

These are the terms that apply when you’re the patron, sending Tips to TipSmack Donation Page owners:

• All transactions flagged for potential fraud or misuse by PayPal_Braintree will be put on hold and investigated prior to clearing.
• Multiple transactions, unusually large transactions, and any other suspicious activity may cause a delay while we investigate it for potential illicit behavior. This is to protect, not punish, good people!
• Minimum Tip amount is $1
• All Tips are final

These are the terms that apply when you’re the TipSmack Donation Page Owner, collecting Tips that were sent to you by Patrons:

• Lump sum payments are dispersed to you via the PayPal address noted on your account, Fridays between 12pm-5pm, cst.
• You cannot refund individual tips from within those lump sums.
• We’ll charge our fees before putting funds in your account.
• Our fees are all clearly stated on our How It Works page.

6. Stuff We Don’t Do and Aren’t Responsible For

TipSmack isn’t liable for any damages or losses related to your use of the Services. We don’t become involved in disputes between users, or between users and any third party relating to the use of the Services. We don’t oversee the performance of every individual TipSmack Donation Page, and we don’t endorse any content users submit to the Site. When you use the Services, you release TipSmack from claims, damages, and demands of every kind — known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed — arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and the Services. All content you access through the Services is at your own risk. You’re solely responsible for any resulting damage or loss to any party.

7. Our Fees

TipSmack provides two options for TipSmack Donation Page Owners.

1) TipSmack Basic has no upfront costs. TipSmack retains 10% + .30 cents per donation/Tip. 2) TipSmack Pro is $49 per month and reduces costs to 2.9% + .30 cents per donation/Tip. There is no long-term contract and this plan can be canceled (it will default to TipSmack Basic, which has no upfront cost) within your account. You can always reach out to us (info@tipsmack.com) too, if you need help.

TipSmack does not charge users, acting as patrons to send donations, any additional fees. All fees come out of the donation after they have sent it.

8. Other Websites

TipSmack may contain links to other websites. (For instance, project pages, user profiles, and comments may link to other sites.) When you access third-party websites, you do so at your own risk. We don’t control or endorse those sites.

TipSmack partners with other companies (such as PayPal, for payment processing). Any money sent or received via TipSmack’s platform also binds you to PayPal’s Terms of Service.

9. Copyright Issues

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act lays out a system of legal requirements for dealing with allegations of copyright infringement. TipSmack complies with the DMCA, and we respond to notices of alleged infringement if they comply with the law and the requirements set forth in our Copyright Policy. We reserve the right to delete or disable content alleged to be infringing, and to terminate accounts for repeat infringers. (We do this when appropriate and at our sole discretion.)

The #1 Rule of our Acceptable Use Policy also relates to this, since we take it so seriously. Please report any possible violations of this rule to info@tipsmack.com.

10. Deleting your account

You can terminate your account at any time through your account settings. Please reach out to us for help, info@tipsmack.com.

11. Our Rights

TipSmack reserves these rights:

• We can make changes to the TipSmack Site and Services without notice or liability.
• We have the right to decide who’s eligible to use TipSmack. We can cancel accounts or decline to offer our Services. (Especially if you’re abusing them.) We can change our eligibility criteria at any time. If these things are prohibited by law where you live, then we revoke your right to use TipSmack in that jurisdiction.
• We have the right to cancel any pledge to any project, at any time and for any reason.
• We have the right to reject, cancel, interrupt, remove, or suspend any project at any time and for any reason.
• TipSmack is not liable for any damages as a result of any of these actions, and it is our policy not to comment on the reasons for any such action.

12. Warranty Disclaimer

You use our Services solely at your own risk. They are provided to you “as is” and “as available” and without warranty of any kind, express or implied.

TIPSMACK SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY WARRANTIES IMPLIED BY ANY COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, OR USAGE OF TRADE. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION (ORAL OR WRITTEN) OBTAINED BY YOU FROM TIPSMACK SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY.

13. Indemnification

If you do something that gets us sued, or break any of the promises you make in this agreement, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless from all liabilities, claims, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and other legal costs) that arise from or relate to your use or misuse of TipSmack. We reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to this indemnification clause, in which case you agree that you’ll cooperate and help us in asserting any defenses.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, in no event will TipSmack, its directors, employees, partners, suppliers, or content providers be liable for any indirect, incidental, punitive, consequential, special, or exemplary damages of any kind, including but not limited to damages (i) resulting from your access to, use of, or inability to access or use the Services; (ii) for any lost profits, data loss, or cost of procurement or substitute goods or services; or (iii) for any conduct of content of any third party on the Site. In no event shall TipSmack's liability for direct damages be in excess of (in the aggregate) one hundred U.S. dollars ($100.00).

15. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law

We’re located in New York, and any disputes with us have to be handled in New York under New York State law.

We at TipSmack encourage you to contact us if you’re having an issue, before resorting to the courts. In the unfortunate situation where legal action does arise, these Terms (and all other rules, policies, or guidelines incorporated by reference) will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York and the United States, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law, and without application of the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act or the United Nations Convention of Controls for International Sale of Goods. You agree that TipSmack and its Services are deemed a passive website that does not give rise to jurisdiction over TipSmack or its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, assigns, employees, agents, directors, officers, or shareholders, either specific or general, in any jurisdiction other than the State of New York. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these Terms, or your use or non-use of TipSmack, shall be filed only in the state or federal courts located in New York County in the State of New York, and you hereby consent and submit to the personal jurisdiction of these courts for the purposes of litigating any such action. You hereby irrevocably waive any right you may have to trial by jury in any dispute, action, or proceeding.

16. The Rest

These Terms and the other material referenced in them are the entire agreement between you and TipSmack with respect to the Services. They supersede all other communications and proposals (whether oral, written, or electronic) between you and TipSmack with respect to the Services and govern our future relationship. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid under the law, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that the Terms otherwise will remain in full force and effect and enforceable. The failure of either you or TipSmackto exercise any right provided for in these Terms in any way won’t be deemed a waiver of any other rights.

These Terms are personal to you. You can’t assign them, transfer them, or sublicense them unless you get TipSmacks’s prior written consent. TipSmack has the right to assign, transfer, or delegate any of its rights and obligations under these Terms without your consent. TipSmack will provide you notice via email, written notice, or by conspicuously posting the notice on our Site.