Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Apotentia LLC ("we," "us," "our," or "Gecker") governing your access to and use of the Gecker platform, including our website, mobile applications, and all related services (collectively, the "Service").

By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify users of material changes via email or through a notice on the Service. Your continued use of the Service after such modifications constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

Age Requirements: You must be at least 13 years of age to use the Service. Users under 18 years of age may only access age-appropriate content. Access to content marked as NSFW (Not Safe For Work) or adult content requires users to be at least 18 years of age.

Invite-Only Access: During our closed beta period, access to the Service is invite-only. You may only create an account if you have received a valid invitation from an existing user or from Gecker administration.

Account Accuracy: You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to update such information as necessary to maintain its accuracy.

One Account Per Person: You may only create and maintain one account. Creating multiple accounts to evade bans, manipulate content, or engage in prohibited conduct is strictly forbidden and may result in permanent suspension of all associated accounts.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account. You agree to:

• Use a strong, unique password for your account
• Not share your account credentials with any third party
• Immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your account
• Log out from your account at the end of each session

We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to maintain account security. You are solely responsible for all activities conducted through your account, whether authorized by you or not.

4.1 Community Organization

Gecker uses a unique organizational structure based on natural metaphors:

Trees

Trees are public communities where users gather around shared interests (similar to subreddits). Any user can create a Tree, and Tree creators become moderators with authority to manage content and members within their Tree. Posts can be shared to multiple Trees simultaneously (up to 40 Trees per post). Trees are free to subscribe to and participate in.

Yards

Your Yard is your personal Tree - a feed showing all posts you've created. Every user has exactly one Yard. Your Yard serves as your personal profile feed and can include content you've marked as friends-only. When you post to multiple Trees, those posts also appear in your Yard.

Gardens

Gardens are verified business communities that require admin approval before creation. Gardens are subject to stricter advertising rules and must clearly identify themselves as business entities. Gardens have access to advanced analytics and metrics not available to standard Trees.

Forests

Forests are custom combinations of multiple Trees that you create to organize your feed. You can combine any Trees you subscribe to into a Forest and give it a custom name. Standard Forests include "Friends" (posts from users you've friended), "Followers" (posts from users following you), and "Following" (posts from users you follow).

Arboreta

Arboreta work like Forests but combine multiple Gardens instead of Trees. They allow you to create custom feeds from business content sources.

Dens

Dens are private group messaging spaces for 2-100 members. Dens are invite-only and function as private communities. A single-member Den is called a "Notebook" and serves as your private space for personal notes and content organization.

4.2 Ad-Free Philosophy

Gecker is committed to being ad-free forever. We will never:

• Display advertisements of any kind
• Sell, share, or monetize your personal data
• Use algorithmic manipulation to maximize engagement
• Track you across other websites or apps
• Share your information with advertisers or data brokers

4.3 Community-Driven Moderation

Gecker uses democratic, community-driven moderation. Content moderation is a shared responsibility between users, Tree moderators, and platform administrators. Users can report problematic content, and our automated systems respond based on community consensus (see Section 7 for details on our moderation system).

4.4 Organic Discovery

Gecker does not use algorithmic content suggestions or recommendations. Discovery is entirely user-driven through browsing Trees, following links, and exploring content shared by other users. Your feed shows only content from Trees, Forests, or users you've explicitly chosen to follow.

5.1 Your Content

You retain full ownership and copyright of all content you create, post, or share on the Service ("Your Content"). This includes but is not limited to posts, comments, profiles, and any other user-generated content.

By posting Your Content on the Service, you grant Gecker a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform Your Content in connection with the Service. This license is solely for the purpose of operating, developing, providing, and improving the Service.

Content Warranty and Indemnification: By posting Your Content, you represent and warrant that:

• You own all rights to Your Content or have obtained all necessary licenses and permissions
• Your Content does not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, or trade secrets
• You have the legal right to grant the licenses described above

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Gecker and Apotentia LLC from any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from any third-party claims that Your Content infringes or violates any intellectual property rights or other rights. This indemnification applies regardless of whether Gecker knew or should have known about the potential infringement.

5.2 Our Platform

The Service, including its original content, features, functionality, and the "Gecker" name and logo, are owned by Apotentia LLC and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property laws.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our Service without our prior written permission. You may not reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code of the Service.

5.3 DMCA Compliance

We respect the intellectual property rights of others and expect our users to do the same. If you believe that content on our Service infringes your copyright, please contact us at dmca@gecker.com for information on how to submit a takedown notice.

You agree not to engage in any of the following prohibited activities:

• Violating any local, state, national, or international law or regulation
• Posting content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, or invasive of another's privacy
• Posting or sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or content that exploits or endangers minors
• Engaging in harassment, bullying, doxxing, or targeted abuse of other users
• Impersonating any person or entity, or falsely representing your affiliation with any person or entity
• Manipulating the Service through spam, vote manipulation, or artificial engagement
• Attempting to gain unauthorized access to the Service, user accounts, or computer systems
• Transmitting viruses, malware, or any other malicious code
• Collecting or harvesting user data without consent
• Using automated systems (bots, scrapers) without our express written permission
• Circumventing any technical limitations, rate limits, or security measures
• Creating multiple accounts to evade bans or manipulate the Service
• Selling, trading, or transferring your account to another person
• Posting advertisements or commercial content (the platform is ad-free)

For a complete description of prohibited content and conduct, please review our Content Policy.

Gecker employs a community-driven moderation system. Users can report content that violates our Content Policy. Reported content may be subject to the following actions:

• Auto-Hide: Content reported by 50% or more of unique viewers is automatically hidden from view
• Shadow Ban: Content reported by 70% or more of viewers, or content that has been auto-hidden 5+ times in 24 hours, results in a shadow ban where the content is only visible to the author
• Account Suspension: Progressive bans of increasing duration (1 hour, 3 hours, 24 hours, 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, permanent)

Tree moderators have additional tools to manage content within their communities, including the ability to remove posts, ban users from specific trees, and set custom rules.

We reserve the right to remove content, suspend or terminate accounts, and take any other action we deem necessary to maintain the safety and integrity of the Service, even if such content does not explicitly violate these Terms.

Soft Deletion: When you delete content or deactivate your account, the content is "soft deleted" - it is removed from public view but retained in our systems for a period of one (1) year for safety, security, and legal compliance purposes.

Soft-deleted content maintains audit fields including deletion timestamp and the user who performed the deletion. This allows us to investigate abuse, respond to legal requests, and maintain platform integrity.

Permanent Deletion: After the one-year retention period, soft-deleted content is permanently removed from our systems. You may also request immediate permanent deletion by contacting us at privacy@gecker.com, subject to legal and safety review.

Exceptions: We may retain certain data indefinitely if required by law, necessary for legal proceedings, or to enforce these Terms (e.g., records of users permanently banned for CSAM).

Gecker is an ad-free platform sustained entirely by voluntary donations from our community. Users may choose to donate to support the platform and receive cosmetic recognition through sponsor tier indicators.

Cosmetic Recognition Only: Donations provide purely cosmetic recognition in the form of profile badges, icons, and tier indicators that display your donation level to other users. Donations do not grant any functional benefits, special features, enhanced functionality, access to exclusive content, or any other privileges beyond cosmetic display. All platform features and functionality are equally available to all users regardless of donation status. Donations are voluntary contributions to support platform sustainability and do not constitute purchases of goods or services.

No Refunds: All donations are final and non-refundable. Donations are voluntary contributions to support the platform and are not purchases of goods or services. Sponsor tier recognition is a token of appreciation, not a purchased product or service.

Sponsor Tiers: Donors receive sponsor tier status (Supporter, Heart, Club, Diamond, Spade, or Founder) based on their annual donation amount. Tier recognition includes cosmetic profile badges and public display of donor status. Tier status expires one year after donation, except for Founder tier which is permanent. These tiers provide no functional advantage or special access.

Revocation: We reserve the right to revoke sponsor tier cosmetic recognition if a user violates these Terms, even if donations were made in good faith. Banned users forfeit all sponsor tier display benefits, though donations remain non-refundable.

The Service may contain links to third-party websites, services, or resources that are not owned or controlled by Gecker. We use the following third-party services:

• SendGrid: Email delivery service for account verification and notifications
• PayPal: Payment processing for donations

We do not endorse or assume responsibility for any third-party sites, content, products, or services. You acknowledge and agree that we shall not be liable for any damage or loss caused by your use of any third-party services.

Your use of third-party services is subject to their respective terms of service and privacy policies. We encourage you to review these policies before providing any personal information to third parties.

11.1 No Warranty

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free. We do not warrant that the results obtained from the use of the Service will be accurate or reliable. We do not warrant that defects will be corrected.

11.2 User Content Disclaimer

You acknowledge that we do not pre-screen or approve user-generated content and that you may be exposed to content that is inaccurate, offensive, indecent, or objectionable. You use the Service at your own risk. We are not responsible for user content or the conduct of any user.

11.3 Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL GECKER, ITS AFFILIATES, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.

Our total liability to you for all claims arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Service shall not exceed the greater of $100 or the amount you have paid to us in the past twelve months.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Apotentia LLC, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from:

• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any law or the rights of a third party
• Your use of the Service
• Your Content posted on the Service

Informal Resolution: Before filing a formal claim, you agree to first contact us at legal@gecker.com to attempt to resolve any dispute informally. We will attempt to resolve the dispute informally within 60 days.

Binding Arbitration: If we cannot resolve the dispute informally, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA).

Arbitration will be conducted in the Commonwealth of Virginia or another mutually agreeable location. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding, and judgment may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

CLASS ACTION WAIVER: YOU AGREE THAT ANY ARBITRATION OR PROCEEDING SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE DISPUTE BETWEEN YOU AND GECKER INDIVIDUALLY. YOU WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION.

Exceptions: Either party may seek equitable relief (such as injunctive relief) in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent irreparable harm. Small claims court proceedings are also exempt from arbitration requirements.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

To the extent arbitration does not apply, you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Virginia for resolution of any disputes.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account and access to the Service at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, for any reason including but not limited to:

• Violation of these Terms or our Content Policy
• Fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity
• At our sole discretion for operational or legal reasons

Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease. You may terminate your account at any time by contacting support@gecker.com or using the account deletion feature.

Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including but not limited to intellectual property provisions, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and dispute resolution provisions.

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable while preserving its intent.

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Content Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Gecker regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights. No waiver of any provision shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver.

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us: