Society of Open Systems

Section 1

Acceptance of Terms

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of all products, pages, dispatches, and software tools operated by or on behalf of the Society of Open Systems ("Society", "we", "us"). "You" means the individual or organisation accessing our services.

These Terms are supplemented by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference. In the event of a conflict, these Terms prevail for conduct provisions; the Privacy Policy prevails for data handling provisions.

Section 2

Sovereign Open Platform Declaration

The Society of Open Systems is a sovereign collective. We operate beyond the boundaries of any single nation-state's regulatory capture. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or answerable to any government, intergovernmental body, or private corporation. We operate in the open, for the commons.

This declaration does not exempt us from honouring applicable laws where they protect persons. Wherever a law protects an individual's fundamental rights, we comply.

Section 3

Software Licence

Unless otherwise stated in a specific application's repository, all Society software is published under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0). This means:

1. You may use, copy, distribute, and modify the software freely.
2. Any modifications you deploy publicly must be made available under the same AGPL-3.0 terms.
3. You may not incorporate Society software into a proprietary closed-source product without explicit written permission.
4. Attribution to the Society of Open Systems must be retained in any derivative work.

The content of Dispatches (articles, field notes) is published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) unless a specific dispatch states otherwise. You may reproduce and adapt it with attribution.

Section 4

No Warranty — "As Is" Provision

This provision applies universally. We do not warrant that the software will be error-free, uninterrupted, secure, or compatible with your hardware or operating environment.

For clinical and health applications (including MedNode and any other health-related tools): these tools are decision-support aids only. They do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any clinical decision made using our tools remains the sole professional and legal responsibility of the qualified health practitioner making that decision. The Society of Open Systems bears no clinical liability.

Section 5

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permissible by applicable law, the Society of Open Systems, its contributors, maintainers, and associated sponsor nodes shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to the use of, or inability to use, any of our tools or content.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law. Where mandatory consumer protection laws apply (e.g., EU Consumer Rights Directive, UK Consumer Rights Act 2015), those statutory rights remain unaffected.

Section 6

Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

1. Use Society tools or platforms for any unlawful purpose, including but not limited to fraud, harassment, or the facilitation of violence.
2. Attempt to circumvent, reverse-engineer, or subvert the security or access controls of any Society service.
3. Introduce malware, viruses, or disruptive code into any Society service or any community using our tools.
4. Misrepresent affiliation with the Society of Open Systems or impersonate any contributor or sponsor node.
5. Use our tools to build surveillance systems, automated exploitation tools, or instruments of mass data collection without explicit consent of the persons being monitored.
6. Use our platforms to publish, distribute, or link to content that is hateful, discriminatory, or that incites violence based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexuality, disability, or national origin.
7. Commercially exploit Society content or software in a manner that conflicts with the AGPL-3.0 licence terms stated in Section 3.

Section 7

Dispatch Submissions

By submitting a dispatch (article, field note, or app announcement) to the Society, you affirm that:

1. You are the original author of the submitted content, or hold sufficient rights to grant publication.
2. The content does not infringe any third-party copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property right.
3. The content does not contain personal data of third parties without their informed consent.
4. You grant the Society a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to publish, distribute, and adapt the content under CC BY 4.0.
5. The content adheres to the privacy-first ethos of the Society and does not advocate for mass surveillance or centralised data extraction.

The Society reserves the right to decline publication of any submission at its sole discretion and without obligation to state reasons.

Section 8

Ethical Sponsor Nodes

Sponsor nodes are organisations or individuals who financially or materially support the Society's infrastructure. Sponsorship is called "ethical" because we apply the following binding criteria to every sponsor relationship:

1. Sponsors may not direct, alter, or censor editorial or dispatch content.
2. Sponsors may not require the Society to collect, share, or sell user data as a condition of sponsorship.
3. Sponsors may not hold any equity, governance, or veto rights over the Society's operations.
4. Sponsor links are clearly identified as such. There is no paid-for editorial placement disguised as organic content.
5. Sponsors must operate in a manner consistent with the Society's values of openness, privacy, and community benefit. The Society may terminate a sponsor relationship at any time if these conditions are breached.

Sponsor node content is provided by the sponsor. The Society does not endorse any product, service, or claim made by a sponsor beyond the fact that they have met our entry criteria. Sponsor links open in new tabs and are governed by the sponsor's own terms and privacy policies.

Section 9

Governing Principles & Dispute Resolution

As a decentralised sovereign collective, the Society does not submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of any single nation-state's courts. Disputes arising from the use of Society tools shall first be attempted to be resolved through direct communication with the Society at oponsystems@icloud.com.

Where mandatory consumer or employment protections apply under the law of your country of residence (notably EU Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution, and equivalent provisions in African jurisdictions), those protections remain in effect and are not waived by these Terms.

For EU and UK residents: nothing in these Terms removes your right to bring a claim before your national courts or your country's supervisory authority (e.g., a data protection authority under GDPR). For Nigerian residents: nothing in these Terms removes your rights under the NDPA 2023 or NDPR 2019. For South African residents: nothing in these Terms removes your rights under POPIA 2013. For Kenyan residents: nothing in these Terms removes your rights under the Data Protection Act 2019.

Section 10

Amendments

We reserve the right to update these Terms. Material changes will be announced via a Dispatch and reflected in an updated effective date at the top of this page. Continued use of our services after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

For questions, concerns, or to exercise any right: oponsystems@icloud.com