Terms of Service
Welcome to 5S Ethos. These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and 5S Ethos and govern your use of our website, app, directory, and community boards (together, the "Platform"). Please read them carefully.
1. Acceptance of these Terms
By accessing or using the Platform — including by creating an account, browsing the directory, or posting to any community board — you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use the Platform.
2. What 5S Ethos is
5S Ethos is a local-economy directory and a set of community boards that help neighbors find local businesses and support one another. The community boards include a swap/barter board, a mutual-aid "Buy-Nothing" board for giving and receiving freely, and a "who needs help this week" support board.
We are a platform and host. We provide the space where neighbors connect, but we are not a party to any transaction, exchange, gift, or arrangement made between users. We do not buy, sell, broker, deliver, or guarantee anything offered, requested, or exchanged on the Platform.
3. Your account
- You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when you create your account and keep it up to date.
- You are responsible for keeping your password secure and for all activity that occurs under your account.
- One account per person. You may not create or maintain multiple accounts, or create an account on behalf of someone else without authorization.
- You must be at least 13 years old to use the Platform. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may use the Platform only with the involvement of a parent or guardian.
- Notify us promptly at dev@launchindustries.biz if you believe your account has been used without your permission.
4. Community rules & acceptable use
5S Ethos is a mutual-aid, anti-extraction community. The boards exist for neighbors to help one another, not to be mined for profit. Post in good faith, and do not use the Platform to:
- Send spam, or post commercial solicitation or advertising on the community boards.
- Run scams, or sell items or services on boards meant for free giving or mutual aid (for example, charging for something offered on the Buy-Nothing or support boards).
- Harass, threaten, bully, or target others, or post hateful content directed at a person or group.
- Post content that is illegal, infringes someone's intellectual property, or that you do not have the right to share.
- Impersonate any person, business, or organization, or misrepresent your affiliation with one.
- Scrape, crawl, or use bots or other automated means to access, harvest, or abuse the Platform or its data.
- Post other people's private or personal information without their consent.
We may investigate and take action on any conduct we believe violates these rules, including removing content and suspending accounts.
5. User content
You keep ownership of the content you post, including listings, messages, photos, and board posts ("User Content"). By posting User Content, you grant 5S Ethos a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, display, reproduce, and distribute that content as needed to operate and provide the Platform.
You are responsible for your User Content and represent that you have the rights necessary to post it and to grant this license. We may, but are not obligated to, review, moderate, remove, or restrict any content, listing, or account that we believe violates these Terms or the community rules, or that may harm the Platform or its users.
6. Directory listings & claims
Some directory listings are created by 5S Ethos and may be drawn from public sources or compiled directory data; these listings may be incomplete or out of date. "Claiming" a listing is a request to manage and control that listing, and is subject to our review and verification. By claiming a listing, you represent that you are authorized to act on behalf of that business or organization. We may approve, deny, or revoke a claim, and may ask for additional information before doing so.
7. Exchanges between users
Swaps, gifts, barter, and offers or requests for help are arranged directly between users, and you take part in them at your own risk. 5S Ethos does not verify the identity of users, vet the quality, safety, legality, or value of any goods or services, or guarantee that any exchange will take place or be completed as described.
Use good judgment. Communicate carefully, meet in safe public places where appropriate, and do not share more personal information than you are comfortable sharing. Any dispute arising from an exchange is between the users involved.
8. Optional Box integration
The Platform offers an optional integration with Box. If you choose to connect a Box account, your use of that integration is also subject to our Box Integration Security & Data Use page, which describes how we access and handle Box data. Your use of Box itself remains governed by Box's own terms and policies, and you are responsible for complying with them.
9. Third-party services
The Platform relies on third-party service providers, including infrastructure and hosting providers such as Supabase and Vercel. We do not control these providers, and we do not guarantee their availability, performance, or continued operation. Their services are subject to their own terms and policies.
10. Fees
The Platform is currently free to use [adjust if pricing is introduced]. No payments are processed through 5S Ethos. If we introduce paid features in the future, we will provide notice and the applicable terms before you are charged.
11. Disclaimers
The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement, to the fullest extent permitted by law. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of directory listings or of any User Content, and we do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.
12. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, 5S Ethos and its operators, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss arising from disputes or exchanges between users, your use of (or inability to use) the Platform, or any User Content. To the extent any liability is not excluded, our total liability to you is limited to [liability cap as permitted by law]. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these may not apply to you.
13. Termination
You may stop using the Platform at any time, and you may delete your account whenever you wish. We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account or access to the Platform if you violate these Terms or the community rules, or if we reasonably believe doing so is necessary to protect the Platform or its users. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including content licenses already granted, disclaimers, and limitations of liability — will continue to apply.
14. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Platform after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.
15. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of [Governing Jurisdiction, e.g. Washington, USA], without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You agree that any disputes will be resolved in the courts located in that jurisdiction, except where applicable law provides otherwise.
16. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at dev@launchindustries.biz.
Monica Colgan