Terms of Use - Helpful Places

By using or accessing our Website, you agree to comply with these Terms. These Terms contain disclaimers where you release any claims to damages from Us. If You do not agree to the Terms, You must not use the Website.

HELPFUL PLACES INC. ("Helpful Places", "Us", "We" or "Our") is a company whose aim is to improve trust and foster meaningful dialogue between businesses, institutions and the communities they serve ("Communities") by enabling transparency practices for data collected by digital technologies deployed in the built environment, and how that data is used and stored.

HELPFUL PLACES IS THE STEWARD of an open-source "system-to-people" communication standard for digital technology in the built environment, known as Digital Trust for Places and Routines ("DTPR" or the "DTPR Standard"), that seeks to enable agency for people in the real world.

THE DTPR STANDARD consists of a taxonomy of terms and associated icons, a design guide specifying their use as well as a digital channel prototype. The DTPR Standard is free for anyone to use, provided they comply with the terms of the open-source licenses that govern their use. The DTPR Standard is available at https://github.com/helpful-places/dtpr.

The following Terms govern and apply to your ("You" or "Your") use of Our website at helpfulplaces.com (the "Website").

1. CHANGES

We may change these Terms at any time without notice, so You should review these Terms regularly to stay aware of any changes or modifications. We reserve the right to restrict access to the Website from time to time for any reason.

2. AGE RESTRICTION

By using this Website, You promise that You are at least 15 years old, or old enough to agree to these Terms without your parent or guardian wherever you live. If You are not, You must not use the Website.

3. PRIVACY

Please review our Privacy Policy, which also governs Your use of Our Website.

By using Our Website, You consent to the collection, use, reproduction, hosting, transmission, and disclosure of any such information in compliance with Our Privacy Policy.

4. TRACKING AND ANALYTICS

Unlike most websites, the Helpful Places website does not collect any personal information about you for the purpose of tracking and analytics. Our website utilizes Plausible.io, a privacy-friendly and open-source alternative that does not use cookies or other tracking technology.

Does Helpful Places collect any other data?

We do monitor use of the Website and collect and compile aggregated statistics. We use this data to understand how visitors engage with our content and to improve our Website. This data cannot be used to identify individual visitors.

5. LICENSES, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARKS

The DTPR Standard:

The Icons, Design Guide and Taxonomy for DTPR are licensed by the Digital Transparency in the Public Realm contributors under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International ("CC BY 4.0"). Portions of the DTPR Icons incorporate elements of, or are derived from, the Material icons. The Material icons are available under the Apache License 2.0 ("Apache License 2.0"). The source code for the Digital Channel Prototype is licensed under Apache License 2.0.

Throughout these Terms, the "CC BY 4.0 license" and the "Apache License 2.0" are together called the "Open-Source Licenses", and The Icons, Design Guide, Taxonomy, Material Icons and Digital Channel Prototype licensed under the Open-Source Licenses are together called the "DTPR Materials".

The DTPR Standard is free for anyone to use in accordance with the terms of the Open-Source Licenses (including the sections about attribution). Our Website may reference or display the DTPR Standard in compliance with the Open-Source Licenses.

The Website:

Helpful Places hereby grants you a limited, non-exclusive, personal, non-transferable, non-sub-licensable and revocable right and license to (a) access the Website for informational purposes in accordance with these Terms; and (b) access, view and print any information and documentation made available on the Website, for your personal, non-commercial and informational use only. Helpful Places may terminate this license and terminate your access to the Website at any time for any reason whatsoever. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved solely for Helpful Places.

Helpful Places' name, its registered trademarks from time to time, its logo, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, images, and slogans are trademarks of Helpful Places or its affiliates or licensors. You must not use them without getting our permission in advance in writing.

You may only use the Website for Your personal and non-commercial use. You may not copy, download, share, modify, sell or display any of the material on Our Website (except for the DTPR Materials), in any way except for limited personal, lawful and non-commercial use.

6. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES

You may not try to circumvent or violate the security of this Website, in any way, including: (a) accessing content and data that is not intended for You; (b) attempting to breach or breaching the security and/or authentication measures which are not authorized; (c) restricting, disrupting or disabling service to users, hosts, servers, or networks; (d) illicitly reproducing TCP/IP packet header; (e) disrupting network services and otherwise disrupting the Website owner's ability to monitor the Website; (f) using any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access the Website for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website; (g) introducing any viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful; (h) attacking the Website via a denial-of-service attack, distributed denial-of-service attack, flooding, mailbombing, or crashing; and (i) otherwise attempting to interfere with the proper working of the Website.

Contact Form

When You submit information through our contact form, including your email address and message ("Contact Submissions"), You grant Us the right to use this information to respond to Your inquiry and communicate with You about Your questions or requests. You promise that the information You provide is accurate and that You have the right to provide it to Us.

When You sign up for our newsletter, You grant Us the right to use Your email address to send You updates about Helpful Places' work, projects, and other relevant information. You may unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time using the unsubscribe link included in every newsletter email or by contacting us at hello@helpfulplaces.com.

By submitting Contact Submissions or signing up for our newsletter, You promise that:

The information You provide is accurate and truthful;
Your submissions comply with these Terms and all applicable laws;
Your submissions do not violate any third-party rights or contain any unlawful, harmful, or offensive content.

8. ACCEPTABLE USES (SITE CONTENT AND USE STANDARDS)

You agree not to use the Website and the information accessible through it for any unlawful purposes. You agree not to take any action that might compromise the security of the Website or render the Website inaccessible to others or otherwise cause damage to the Website or its contents or Our general business. You agree not to use the Website for any purpose prohibited in these Terms and in any manner that might interfere with the rights of others. You further agree not to use or access the Website:

To harass, abuse, threaten or otherwise harm other people or entities or to encourage anyone else to do so;
To do anything which might restrict or harm anyone else's use of the Website;
To impersonate anyone or use their identity in any way;
To violate any intellectual property rights, including copying Our content;
To upload or otherwise disseminate any computer viruses or other malicious or harmful technology or to otherwise interfere with the working of this Website or to harm or damage anyone else or their property;
To perpetuate any unethical, immoral, or illegal activity, including fraud of any kind or attempting to unlawfully gather information about others;
To reverse engineer, or attempt to reverse engineer or disassemble, any code or software from or on the Website.

9. MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT

We may, without having to give you notice:

Remove or refuse to process any Contact Submissions or newsletter subscriptions for any reason or no reason as We may decide.
Take any action with respect to Your submissions that We believe is necessary or appropriate, including for violating Our site content standards or these Terms.
Take any legal action that might be appropriate or required of Us, including contacting law enforcement or any regulatory authority. We have the right to fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing Us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone submitting materials through the Website.
Terminate or suspend Your access to all or part of the Website for any or no reason, including for any violation of these Terms.

We will not be liable, and you release and indemnify us for any consequences of us taking any action or refraining from taking any action noted in this section.

10. DISCLAIMERS

The content on this Website is provided for general information purposes only. It is not intended to be advice for You to rely on. You must seek professional advice before taking, or refraining from, any action or inaction based on the content on this Website.

Although We make reasonable efforts to update the information on Our Website, We can't promise that the content on Our Website is always accurate, complete, or up to date. Your use of the Website is at Your own risk.

We make no promise that the Website will meet Your needs or that the Website will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.

THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS FOUND OR ATTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

We will not be liable for indirect, consequential, or special damages that result from Your use of or inability to use the Website. You agree that Your access to the Website may be affected by unanticipated or unscheduled downtime, for any reason. We are not responsible for the security of the Website. While it is very unlikely to occur, We are not responsible for any damage to data, software, computer, telecommunications or other equipment (including damage caused by virus transmission) that You may experience as a result of visiting this Website.

The owner of the Website is based in Ontario in Canada. This Website is not intended for use in any jurisdiction where its use is not permitted. If You access the Website from outside Canada, You do so at Your own risk and You are responsible for compliance with local laws of Your jurisdiction.

EXCEPT WHERE SUCH EXCLUSIONS ARE PROHIBITED BY LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE WILL THE COMPANY NOR ITS PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, CONTRACTORS, LICENSORS, LICENSEES, SUPPLIERS, OR SUCCESSORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING ANY INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, AND INCLUDING, LOSS OF REVENUE OR LOSS OF PROFITS.

12. INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify and hold Us harmless from and against any loss, cost, expense or damage arising out of any claim, suit, action or judgment brought against Us which relate to Your use or misuse of the Website, Your breach of the Terms or Your conduct or actions, all to the maximum extent permitted by law.

13. THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

For Your convenience, this Website may provide links or pointers to third-party sites. We make no representations about any other websites that may be accessed from this Website. If You choose to access any such sites, You do so at Your own risk. We have no control over the contents of any such third-party sites and accept no responsibility for such sites or for any loss or damage that may arise from Your use of them. You are subject to any terms and conditions of such third-party sites.

14. ACCESSIBILITY & MODIFICATIONS

We are always improving. As We grow, We will be building accessibility features into the Website to improve the experience for those of all ages and abilities, and at least to meet the standards set by the governments of Ontario and Canada. We are doing Our homework, but We are also always happy to receive Your comments or suggestions.

15. JURISDICTION

The Terms are governed by and shall be interpreted pursuant to the laws of Ontario and Canada as they apply, notwithstanding where you may be located or where you may live. If there is any dispute between Us and You, You agree that it will be resolved in the appropriate Ontario courts, or if We request it, by arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Act of Ontario. You waive any right to object to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to the venue of such courts.

16. COMPLETE AGREEMENT

The Terms constitute the whole legal agreement between You and Us and govern Your use of the Website and any of its content.

17. WAIVER

No failure to exercise, or delay in exercising, any right, remedy, power, or privilege arising from these Terms operates, or may be construed, as a waiver thereof; and no single or partial exercise of any right, remedy, power, or privilege hereunder precludes any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, remedy, power, or privilege.

18. SEVERABILITY

If any section of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any way, the court may interpret it or modify it to make such provision enforceable or, in the alternative, remove it without affecting the rest of the Terms. The remaining provisions of the Terms will continue to be valid and enforceable.

19. REPORTING AND CONTACT

This Website is operated by Helpful Places Inc., located in Toronto, Ontario.

All notices of copyright infringement claims should be sent to Us by e-mail at legalnotices@helpfulplaces.com.

Should you become aware of misuse of the Website including libelous or defamatory conduct, you must report it to Us by e-mail at legalnotices@helpfulplaces.com.

All other feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other communications relating to the Website should be directed to Us by e-mail at hello@helpfulplaces.com.