These Terms of Service govern your use of Prism Writing LLC's website, applications, and related services. By accessing or using the Service, you agree to these Terms.
1. About the Service
Prism Writing LLC is a worker-owned cooperative media platform that provides free educational content, research articles, advanced search capabilities, newsletter subscriptions, and an interactive Knowledge Graph exploring history, politics, law, economics, and self-sufficiency.
Our mission is to make quality, fact-checked information accessible to everyone — free of charge, free of paywalls, and free of surveillance advertising. The platform is owned and governed democratically by the creators who build it.
2. Cooperative Structure & Creator Rights
As a worker-owned cooperative, Prism Writing operates under the following principles:
Creator Ownership: Creators retain full ownership of all original content they publish on the platform. The platform does not claim ownership of your work.
Fair Revenue Sharing: Revenue is distributed transparently — 70% to creators, 20% to platform operations, and 10% to a community growth fund that supports emerging creators.
Democratic Governance: Every verified creator has one vote on platform policies, feature priorities, and revenue allocation. Significant platform changes require cooperative member approval.
Data Portability: Creators may export all of their content, analytics, audience data, and account information at any time in standard, portable formats. You are never locked in.
Free Access Guarantee: All published content on Prism Writing is accessible to readers at no cost. The cooperative commits to never introducing paywalls, subscription-locked content, or pay-to-read models.
Anti-Surveillance Commitment: The platform will never sell user data, deploy behavioral tracking for advertising, or partner with data brokers. Revenue comes from community funding, not surveillance capitalism.
3. Accounts and Access
All content is freely accessible without an account.
If you create an account, you are responsible for the accuracy of information you provide and for maintaining the security of your credentials.
You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. Some features may require you to be 18 or older.
We may suspend or terminate access for violation of these Terms or misuse of the Service, subject to a transparent appeals process.
Account credentials must not be shared. Each individual must maintain their own account. Shared or organizational accounts are not permitted except for verified organizational creators approved through the cooperative membership process.
You may delete your account at any time. Upon deletion, your personal data will be removed within 30 days. Published content may remain on the platform unless you request full content removal prior to account deletion.
4. Acceptable Use
Do not use the Service to violate any law, infringe rights, or transmit harmful or unlawful content.
Do not interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
Do not scrape, harvest, or bulk-download content without permission.
Respect intellectual property and the privacy of others.
Do not post spam, hate speech, harassment, or content that violates community standards in comments or feedback.
Do not use automated tools (bots, scripts, or crawlers) to access the Service in ways that exceed normal usage patterns or that place undue load on our infrastructure.
Do not attempt to gain unauthorized access to other users' accounts, our internal systems, or non-public areas of the Service.
Do not impersonate other users, organizations, or public figures.
Do not engage in coordinated inauthentic behavior, including manipulation of engagement metrics, review bombing, or brigading.
5. Intellectual Property
The Service, including platform design, logos, the Knowledge Graph software, and editorial curation, is owned by Prism Writing LLC and is protected by intellectual property laws.
Creator content is owned by the creator. Prism Writing does not acquire ownership of articles, research, or other original works published by creators on the platform.
You may share links to content and quote brief excerpts with proper attribution for non-commercial, educational purposes.
6. User & Creator Content
When you submit comments, feedback, or other content:
You retain full ownership of your content at all times.
You grant Prism Writing LLC a non-exclusive, revocable license to display your contributions on the platform and in promotional materials. This license exists solely to operate the Service and ends when you remove your content.
You may remove your content at any time. Upon removal, the platform will cease displaying it within a reasonable timeframe.
You are responsible for ensuring you have the necessary rights to content you submit.
We reserve the right to remove content that violates these Terms or community standards. Removal decisions can be appealed through the governance process.
For published creator works specifically:
You retain the right to republish your work on other platforms simultaneously.
You may export your entire content archive at any time in portable formats (Markdown, JSON, PDF).
Revenue earned from your content will be distributed per the cooperative's transparent revenue-sharing formula (currently 70/30).
6A. User-Generated Content & Platform Liability
Prism Writing LLC operates as a platform provider, not a publisher, within the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230). Key provisions:
User Responsibility: Users and creators are solely responsible for the content they post. Prism Writing does not endorse, verify, or assume liability for user-generated content.
Good Faith Moderation: The platform uses a combination of automated scanning and human moderation to maintain community standards. However, we do not pre-screen all content before publication.
Right to Remove: We reserve the right to remove, restrict, or reclassify any content at our sole discretion, including content that may be technically legal but violates our Content Policy.
No Guarantee: While we take reasonable measures to prevent harmful content, we cannot guarantee that all objectionable material will be detected or removed promptly.
Reporting: Users may report content they believe violates our policies. Reports are reviewed by our moderation team within 48 hours.
6B. Content Rating & Mature Content
All content on the platform is classified using a three-tier maturity rating system:
GENERAL: Suitable for all audiences. No restrictions.
TEEN: May contain mild language, non-graphic violence, or discussion of sensitive topics. A content advisory is displayed.
MATURE (18+): May contain graphic descriptions, strong language, or discussion of adult themes. Access requires age verification (18+) and explicit opt-in via account settings.
Pornographic content is strictly prohibited on the platform regardless of rating. Graphic and mature content (including literary erotica, artistic nudity, and frank discussion of adult topics) is allowed with proper MATURE rating and age-gating, but content whose primary purpose is sexual gratification is not permitted. See our Content Policy for full details.
The platform may reclassify content ratings at any time based on automated analysis or moderator review. Creators who repeatedly misclassify their content may face account restrictions.
6C. DMCA & Copyright Takedown Process
Prism Writing LLC complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512). For full details, see our DMCA Policy.
Takedown Notices: Must include identification of the copyrighted work, the infringing URL, a good faith statement, and your signature per 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3).
Counter-Notifications: Users may submit counter-notifications per 17 U.S.C. § 512(g). Material will be restored after 10 business days if no court action is filed.
Repeat Infringer Policy: Accounts with three or more confirmed copyright violations will be terminated.
6D. COPPA Compliance
In compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA):
Users under 13 years of age are prohibited from creating accounts or using the Service.
If we become aware that a user is under 13, their account will be immediately deactivated and all associated data deleted.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
Age verification is required during account registration.
7. Verification & Editorial Standards
Prism Writing uses a multi-tier verification process for published content:
Content is reviewed through a combination of AI-assisted claim extraction and human editorial review.
Sources are rated on a 5-tier reliability scale, from peer-reviewed research (Tier 1) to unverified social media (Tier 4).
Verification badges on content indicate the level of fact-checking completed. These are editorial assessments, not guarantees of absolute truth.
Corrections are published openly and linked from the original content.
8. Educational Disclaimer
Content on Prism Writing is provided for educational and informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy and cite sources where possible:
Our content does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or professional advice.
We encourage readers to verify information and consult qualified professionals for specific situations.
Historical and political analysis reflects research and interpretation; readers should consider multiple perspectives.
9. Newsletter Subscriptions
When you subscribe to our newsletter:
You consent to receive email updates about new content, announcements, and editorial features.
Newsletter content may be segmented based on subscriber interests to provide relevant updates.
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in each email or by contacting us.
We do not sell or share newsletter subscriber information with third parties.
10. Analytics and Data Collection
We collect minimal, anonymized analytics data to improve content quality and user experience:
Reading time and engagement metrics help us understand which content resonates with readers.
Search queries inform future editorial direction and topic selection.
All analytics data is aggregated and anonymized. We do not create individual user profiles for advertising or sell any data to third parties.
You can limit tracking through browser privacy settings or by disabling JavaScript.
11. Privacy
Your use of the Service is subject to our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect and use information, including disclosures under Arizona law.
12. Community Funding & Donations
Prism Writing LLC is supported by community funding and voluntary donations. Donations are not required to access content and do not create any obligation beyond gratitude. All revenue distribution is public — see our financial transparency reports.
13. Content Monetization Terms
Prism Writing provides multiple revenue streams for creators. All monetization is governed by the following terms:
13.1 Revenue Sharing Model
The platform operates on a transparent 70/30 revenue split. 70% of all platform revenue is distributed to creators, and 30% supports platform operations, infrastructure, fact-checking, and the community growth fund. The exact allocation breakdown is published on our How It Works page and updated when changes occur.
13.2 Quality Multipliers
Revenue distribution is weighted by quality signals including citation analysis (1.0x-2.0x), depth score (1.0x-1.5x), verification boost (1.2x for fact-checked content), and engagement quality (weighted by completion rate, view duration, and scroll depth). These multipliers are combined multiplicatively and applied to your share of the revenue pool.
13.3 Payment Schedule
Earnings are calculated on a monthly basis and paid within the first 15 days of the following month.
The minimum payout threshold is $25 USD. If your monthly earnings fall below this threshold, they will roll over to the next month.
Payment methods include direct bank transfer (ACH), PayPal, and international wire transfer. Transaction fees for international transfers are borne by the platform.
Tax documentation (W-9 for US creators, W-8BEN for international creators) is required before your first payout.
13.4 Geographic Floor Guarantees
Creators who meet activity requirements (at least one published piece per month) are guaranteed a minimum earnings floor tied to their regional cost of living. If algorithmic earnings fall below the floor, the platform subsidizes the difference from the 30% platform share. Floor guarantee amounts are published on the How It Works page and reviewed quarterly by the cooperative.
13.5 Prohibited Monetization Practices
Artificially inflating engagement metrics through bots, paid clicks, or inauthentic behavior.
Publishing substantially similar content under multiple accounts to claim multiple shares of the revenue pool.
Re-publishing content generated entirely by AI without substantial human editorial contribution and disclosure.
Misleading readers with clickbait headlines that do not accurately represent the content.
14. Data Portability Rights
Prism Writing is committed to ensuring you are never locked into our platform. You have comprehensive data portability rights:
14.1 Content Export
You may export all of your published content at any time in standard formats including Markdown, JSON, HTML, and PDF.
Exports include all associated metadata: publication dates, tags, categories, verification status, and revision history.
Embedded media (images, videos, documents) are included in exports with their original file names and metadata.
Export requests are processed within 24 hours. Large archives may take up to 72 hours.
14.2 Analytics Data Export
Creators may export aggregate engagement analytics for their content, including view counts, read completion rates, geographic distribution (anonymized), referral sources, and engagement quality scores.
Analytics exports are available in CSV and JSON formats.
Historical analytics data is retained for the lifetime of your account and is available for export at any time.
14.3 Account Data Export
You may request a full export of all data associated with your account, including profile information, comment history, reading history (if tracked), saved content, notification preferences, and cooperative membership records.
Account data exports comply with GDPR Article 20 (right to data portability) regardless of your location.
Exports are provided in machine-readable JSON format.
14.4 Audience Data
Creators may export subscriber and follower lists in CSV format, including only information that subscribers have consented to share (display name, join date, notification preferences).
Email addresses of subscribers are not included in exports to protect subscriber privacy, unless the subscriber has explicitly opted into creator email sharing.
15. Appeal Processes
Prism Writing is committed to fair and transparent enforcement. All moderation decisions may be appealed through the following process:
15.1 Content Removal Appeals
If your content is removed for a Terms of Service or Content Policy violation, you will receive a notification explaining the specific policy that was violated and the nature of the violation.
You may submit an appeal within 30 days of the removal decision by responding to the notification or contacting appeals@prismwriting.com.
Appeals are reviewed by a moderation panel that includes at least one cooperative member who was not involved in the original decision.
You will receive a written response within 10 business days, including the reasoning behind the final decision.
If the appeal is successful, your content will be restored and any associated penalties will be reversed.
15.2 Account Suspension Appeals
Account suspensions include a detailed explanation and the expected duration of the suspension.
Temporary suspensions (up to 30 days) may be appealed through the standard appeals process.
Permanent suspensions may be appealed to the cooperative governance board. The board will review the case within 30 days and issue a binding decision.
During the appeal process for permanent suspensions, your content remains accessible but you cannot publish new content or interact with the platform.
15.3 Revenue Dispute Resolution
If you believe your revenue calculation is incorrect, you may submit a revenue dispute through your dashboard or by contacting revenue@prismwriting.com.
Revenue disputes are audited within 15 business days by the platform finance team.
If an error is confirmed, retroactive adjustments will be applied to the next payment cycle.
Systematic revenue disputes affecting multiple creators may be escalated to the cooperative board for review of the revenue-sharing algorithm.
15.4 Verification Status Appeals
Creators may appeal verification decisions (e.g., content marked as "Disputed") by providing additional sources or evidence.
Verification appeals are reviewed by the editorial team within 5 business days.
If new evidence supports the original claims, the verification status will be updated and the correction notice will reflect the appeal outcome.
16. Cooperative Membership Rights
Prism Writing is structured as a worker-owned cooperative. This section outlines the rights and responsibilities of cooperative membership:
16.1 Eligibility
Any verified creator who has published at least 5 articles on the platform and maintained an account in good standing for at least 90 days is eligible for cooperative membership.
Membership applications are reviewed by the membership committee within 14 days.
There are no membership fees or financial requirements to join the cooperative.
16.2 Voting Rights
Each cooperative member has exactly one vote, regardless of seniority, follower count, or revenue contribution.
Voting is conducted on governance proposals including: changes to the revenue-sharing formula, changes to content policies, election of board members, approval of annual budgets, and major platform feature decisions.
Proposals require a quorum of 25% of active members (members who have published content in the last 90 days) to be valid.
Standard proposals pass with a simple majority (50%+1). Changes to the cooperative charter, revenue splits, or fundamental platform principles require a two-thirds supermajority.
16.3 Governance Participation
Members may propose governance changes by submitting a proposal with support from at least 5 other members.
Proposals are published for a 14-day comment period before voting begins.
Voting periods last 7 days and are conducted electronically through the platform.
All governance proceedings, proposals, and vote results are published publicly on the Governance page.
16.4 Board Representation
The cooperative is governed by a board of 5-9 members elected annually by the cooperative membership.
Board seats are allocated to ensure diverse representation across content categories, geographic regions, and experience levels.
Board meetings are recorded and minutes are published within 7 days.
Any cooperative member may attend board meetings as an observer.
16.5 Resignation and Removal
Members may resign from the cooperative at any time without affecting their ability to use the platform as a creator.
Members who have not published content in 12 consecutive months are moved to inactive status and may not vote until they resume activity.
A member may be removed from the cooperative by a two-thirds vote of the board for serious violations of cooperative bylaws, subject to the appeals process described in Section 15.
17. API Usage Terms
Prism Writing provides public and authenticated APIs for developers. Use of our APIs is subject to the following terms:
17.1 Access and Authentication
Public API endpoints (e.g., article search, public statistics, Knowledge Graph queries) are available without authentication, subject to rate limits.
Authenticated API access requires an API key, which can be generated from your account dashboard.
API keys are personal and must not be shared, published, or embedded in client-side code.
We reserve the right to revoke API keys for violations of these terms or excessive usage.
17.2 Rate Limits
Public (unauthenticated): 60 requests per minute, 1,000 requests per day.
Authenticated (free tier): 300 requests per minute, 10,000 requests per day.
Authenticated (cooperative member): 1,000 requests per minute, 50,000 requests per day.
Rate limit headers are included in all API responses. Exceeding limits results in HTTP 429 responses with retry-after guidance.
17.3 Permitted Uses
Building applications that integrate Prism Writing content with proper attribution.
Academic and research applications that access the Knowledge Graph for data analysis.
Creating accessibility tools, browser extensions, or alternative interfaces for Prism Writing content.
Non-commercial projects that promote media literacy or fact-checking.
17.4 Prohibited Uses
Using API access to reproduce or mirror the entirety of Prism Writing content on another platform.
Training machine learning models on Prism Writing content without explicit written permission from the cooperative.
Using API access to harvest creator personal information, email addresses, or private analytics data.
Commercial applications that monetize Prism Writing content without a partnership agreement approved by the cooperative.
Any use that circumvents the platform's content rating or age-gating systems.
17.5 Attribution Requirements
Applications that display Prism Writing content via the API must include: (a) the author's name and a link to the original article, (b) the Prism Writing verification status badge where applicable, and (c) a notice indicating that the content originates from Prism Writing. Specific attribution guidelines are available in our API Documentation.
18. Third-Party Integration Terms
Prism Writing integrates with third-party services to enhance the user experience. These integrations are governed by the following terms:
18.1 Authentication Providers
Prism Writing supports authentication through Google, GitHub, and other OAuth2 providers. When you authenticate through a third-party provider, that provider's terms of service and privacy policy apply to the data they process.
We receive only the minimum information required for authentication (typically: display name, email address, and profile picture). We do not access your contacts, posts, or other data from the authentication provider.
You may disconnect third-party authentication at any time by setting a platform password and removing the linked account from your settings.
18.2 Payment Processors
Payments to creators are processed through third-party payment providers (currently Stripe). Your payment information is handled directly by these processors and is not stored on Prism Writing servers.
By setting up payment information, you agree to the payment processor's terms of service.
Prism Writing is not responsible for delays or errors caused by third-party payment processors.
18.3 Content Embeds and External Links
Articles may contain embedded content from third-party sources (YouTube videos, social media posts, interactive data visualizations). These embeds are subject to the third party's terms of service and may set cookies or track usage per their privacy policies.
External links in articles lead to websites outside of Prism Writing. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy, or privacy practices of linked websites.
The platform may provide warnings when users click external links to known unreliable or potentially harmful websites.
18.4 Analytics and Infrastructure
We use privacy-respecting infrastructure services including hosting providers and CDNs. These services process data as necessary to deliver the Service but do not receive personal user data for their own purposes.
We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any third-party tracking services that profile users across websites.
Our analytics are self-hosted and privacy-first. No data is shared with advertising networks.
19. Disclaimers
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available." To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee uninterrupted access or error-free content.
20. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Prism Writing LLC will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or exemplary damages, or for lost profits, data, or goodwill. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid to us for the Service in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or $100, whichever is greater.
21. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Prism Writing LLC and its members from claims arising out of your use of the Service, your submitted content, or your violation of these Terms.
22. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes shall be resolved in state or federal courts located in Pima County, Arizona.
23. Changes
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to registered users and indicated by updating the effective date above. Significant changes to creator rights or the cooperative structure require approval through the governance process. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.