Terms & Conditions

Last Updated: November 28, 2025

1. Who I Am and What These Terms Cover

1.1 Owner. This website, adamszokol.com (the “Site”), is owned and operated by Adam Szokol (“I,” “me,” “my”).

1.2 Scope. These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”) govern:

Your access to and use of the Site and all content published on it (blog posts, documentation, portfolios, etc.).
Your use of user accounts, including registration, login, profiles, and comment features.
Your purchases of digital products, support payments, and subscriptions offered through the Site.
Your use of any APIs, plugins, or tools that I make available through or in connection with the Site (collectively, “Digital Products”).
Your initial contact with me for custom website development, hosting assistance, and ongoing maintenance services (collectively, “Client Projects”), to the extent those interactions happen through this Site. Actual Client Projects are governed primarily by separate written agreements or statements of work; these Terms fill gaps where no separate agreement exists.

1.3 Acceptance and electronic agreement. By accessing or using the Site in any way—including visiting pages, creating an account, posting comments, subscribing, purchasing a Digital Product, or submitting a contact or order form—you agree to be bound by these Terms, together with my Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, which are incorporated by reference.

1.4 Electronic signatures under Nevada law. Under U.S. law and Nevada’s Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (NRS Chapter 719), contracts and signatures cannot be denied legal effect solely because they are in electronic form. By using the Site and clicking acceptance or “Submit” buttons, you consent to transact electronically and agree that such actions constitute your electronic signature to these Terms and any additional online terms presented to you.

1.5 Eligibility. You must be at least 13 years old to use interactive features (accounts, comments, purchases) on this Site. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may only use such features under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who accepts these Terms on your behalf.

2. Overview of Services

2.1 Public content and community. The Site provides blog posts, technical notes, opinion pieces, and other content related to code, privacy, public life, and related topics. Visitors can usually read content without registering. Registered users may be able to comment, subscribe, or save preferences.

2.2 Accounts and subscriptions. You may create an account to:

Comment and participate in discussions.
Manage newsletter and paid support subscriptions.
Access Digital Products or member‑only materials, if offered.

2.3 Digital Products and APIs. From time to time, I may sell or distribute:

WordPress plugins and related tools.
Access tokens, keys, or endpoints for APIs that I operate.
Other downloadable or hosted software, configuration files, or documentation.

Each Digital Product may be subject to additional license terms shown at purchase or in its documentation. If there is a conflict, those specific terms control for that product.

2.4 Support payments and paid subscriptions. You may support my work through one‑time payments or recurring subscriptions (for example, a “Support the Mission” plan). These are processed via Stripe, Inc. using Automattic / WordPress.com integrations and may use Jetpack features. Support payments are voluntary; they do not create an employment, partnership, or charitable relationship.

2.5 Client Projects (custom websites and maintenance).

I may accept orders for custom WordPress sites, privacy‑focused setups (including Tor/.onion services), automations, or long‑term maintenance.
These projects are normally governed by a separate written agreement or statement of work (SOW) that sets out deliverables, timelines, fees, revision limits, intellectual‑property ownership, and service‑level expectations.
If there is a conflict between these Terms and a signed client agreement, the signed agreement prevails for that project. These Terms still govern your general use of this Site and my general online tools.

3. Accounts, Security, and User Responsibilities

3.1 Account creation. When you register, you must provide accurate, current information and keep it updated. Some account functions are managed through WordPress.com/Automattic; their own terms and policies also apply.

3.2 Security of credentials. You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity under your account. If you suspect unauthorized access, change your password immediately and notify me.

3.3 Closing your account. You may close your account at any time using available tools or by contacting me. I and Automattic may retain certain data (for example, logs, transaction records, and backups) as described in my Privacy Policy and applicable law.

3.4 Suspension and termination. I may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account or access to the Site (with or without notice) if:

You violate these Terms or other published policies.
I receive credible complaints about abusive, illegal, or harmful behavior.
Your payment method fails for a subscription and you do not correct it within a reasonable time.
I decide to discontinue the Site or certain features.

If I terminate your account for serious breach, you are not entitled to refunds except where required by law.

4. User Content and Community Standards

4.1 User Content. “User Content” means comments, posts, links, code snippets, files, or any other materials you submit to or display on the Site.

4.2 Rights you grant. By posting User Content, you grant me a worldwide, non‑exclusive, royalty‑free license to host, reproduce, display, archive, and distribute that content on and in connection with this Site (including backups, content feeds, and search results) for as long as the content is hosted here. This license is needed so the Site can technically display and back up your contributions.

4.3 Your responsibilities and warranties. You represent and warrant that:

You own or have appropriate rights to the User Content you submit.
Your User Content does not infringe any third‑party rights (including copyright, privacy, publicity, or trade‑secret rights).
Your User Content complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.

4.4 Prohibited content. You must not submit User Content that:

Is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, threatening, or hateful.
Promotes violence, self‑harm, terrorism, or criminal activity.
Involves child sexual abuse material, non‑consensual explicit imagery, or exploitation.
Contains malicious code, links to malware, or attempts to phish or defraud others.
Violates others’ intellectual‑property rights.
Is spam, bulk advertising, or automated promotional content.

4.5 Moderation. I may, but do not have to, review or moderate User Content. I reserve the right to edit, hide, or remove any User Content at my discretion and to block or restrict users whose behavior harms the Site or others. I also rely on tools such as Akismet (by Automattic) to filter spam and malicious comments.

5. Orders, Payments, and Subscriptions

5.1 Payment processing. All payments and subscriptions made through the Site are processed via Stripe, Inc. using WordPress.com/Automattic tools (such as the Payments or Donations features).

Stripe is responsible for securely handling card data and payment instruments.
I do not store full card numbers or CVV codes on my servers.

5.2 Prices and taxes. Prices for support plans, Digital Products, and services are displayed at the point of purchase. Unless stated otherwise, prices are in U.S. dollars and may be subject to applicable taxes, which will be calculated at checkout. I may change prices at any time for future purchases or renewal periods.

5.3 Subscriptions and renewals.

If you purchase a recurring subscription, your payment method will be charged automatically at each renewal interval until you cancel.
You can usually cancel via your account settings, WordPress.com account, or by contacting me at least a reasonable time before the next renewal date.
Cancellation stops future charges but does not automatically entitle you to a refund of previous charges, except where required by law.

5.4 Refunds and chargebacks.

Unless explicitly stated otherwise on a product or plan page, all digital sales, support payments, and subscriptions are non‑refundable to the fullest extent permitted by law.

If you initiate a chargeback or payment dispute that I reasonably believe is unjustified, I may suspend your access to paid features or Digital Products until the dispute is resolved.

5.5 Custom client invoices. For Client Projects, payment terms (deposits, milestones, hourly rates, late‑payment consequences) will be stated in the project proposal or contract. If no specific payment terms are agreed, invoices are due within 14 calendar days of issue and may accrue late fees or interest in line with Nevada law.

6. Digital Products and API Usage

6.1 Licenses. When you purchase or download a Digital Product (plugin, script, API key, etc.), you receive a license to use it—not ownership of the underlying intellectual property. The specific license (for example, GPL for WordPress plugins or a custom API license) is set out on the product page or in its documentation.

6.2 Permitted use. Unless a more permissive open‑source license applies, you may not:

Resell, sublicense, or re‑license Digital Products to third parties without my written consent.
Remove or obscure copyright notices or license text.
Reverse‑engineer, decompile, or attempt to discover source code of any non‑open‑source API or tool, except as allowed by law that overrides these terms.

6.3 API limits and fair use. API access (if provided) may be subject to:

Rate limits, quotas, or concurrency limits.
Usage categories (for example, non‑commercial experimentation vs. production use).
Technical or geographic restrictions.

I may monitor usage (via logs and metrics) to maintain service quality and security and may throttle or revoke access if your use exceeds reasonable limits, harms service quality, or violates these Terms.

6.4 No guaranteed uptime. I aim for high availability but do not guarantee any specific uptime, performance level, or response time for Digital Products or APIs unless expressly stated in a separate Service Level Agreement (SLA).

7. Client Projects (Custom Websites and Maintenance)

7.1 Separate written agreements. For custom development, design, consulting, or maintenance work, I will usually present a separate proposal and/or contract. That document will define the scope, deliverables, schedule, fees, acceptance criteria, and IP ownership. These Terms apply only to the extent the written agreement does not address a specific issue.

7.2 Client responsibilities. For any Client Project, you are generally responsible for:

Providing accurate and timely information, content, and feedback.
Ensuring you have rights to all materials (text, images, videos, trademarks, etc.) you supply.
Maintaining and paying for third‑party hosting, domains, or SaaS accounts (for example, Namecheap hosting, email providers, or payment gateways), unless my proposal explicitly includes those services.

7.3 Websites as living systems. Modern websites depend on third‑party platforms (WordPress core, themes, plugins, hosting providers, DNS, CDNs, external APIs, etc.). I cannot guarantee that a site will remain error‑free or compatible with all future updates, browsers, devices, or third‑party changes. I will act reasonably within the scope of any maintenance agreement, but long‑term stability often requires ongoing work, updates, and testing.

7.4 No guaranteed business results. I cannot guarantee any particular level of traffic, revenue, search‑engine ranking, or conversion rate for a site I build or maintain. Any examples or statements about potential results are illustrative only and not promises.

8. Intellectual Property

8.1 My content. Unless otherwise noted, the text, design, graphics, logos, code snippets, and other original content on this Site are my property or used under license. You may view them for personal, non‑commercial use. Any other use requires my prior written permission or the permission of the relevant rights holder.

8.2 Open‑source components. Many tools and plugins I build are based on or released under open‑source licenses (for example, the GNU General Public License for WordPress plugins). In such cases, the applicable license terms (GPL or similar) govern your rights to copy, modify, and redistribute that code.

8.3 Client deliverables. Ownership of deliverables in Client Projects (for example, custom themes, logos, copywriting) will be defined in your individual contract. Where a contract is silent, I generally retain ownership of underlying code and grant you a license to use it on your own sites, while you own your original content (text, images, etc.) that you supplied or paid me to create.

8.4 Trademarks. All trademarks, logos, and service marks displayed on the Site are the property of their respective owners. Nothing in these Terms grants you any rights to use third‑party marks without permission.

9. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

9.1 No warranties. To the fullest extent allowed by Nevada law and any other applicable law, the Site, its content, Digital Products, APIs, and services are provided “as is” and “as available,” without any warranties of any kind—express, implied, or statutory—including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non‑infringement, and quiet enjoyment.

9.2 Third‑party services. I am not responsible for the acts, omissions, or outages of third‑party providers such as Automattic/WordPress.com, Namecheap, Stripe, Google, Meta, X, or others that I rely on, or for sites or services you access through links or embeds from this Site.

9.3 Limitation of liability. To the maximum extent permitted by law, I will not be liable for:

Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages; or
Any loss of profits, revenue, business, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses; arising from or related to your use of (or inability to use) the Site, Digital Products, APIs, or services—even if I have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

If, despite these Terms, I am found liable for any claim, my total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising out of or related to your use of the Site, Digital Products, or services will be limited to the greater of:

USD $100, or
The total amount you paid to me through the Site in the six (6) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

9.4 Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold me harmless from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to:

Your use of the Site, Digital Products, or APIs;
Your violation of these Terms or any applicable law; or
Your infringement or alleged infringement of any third‑party rights.

10. Governing Law, Disputes, and Time Limits

10.1 Governing law. These Terms and any disputes related to them or your use of the Site are governed by the laws of the State of Nevada, United States of America, without regard to conflicts‑of‑law principles.

10.2 Jurisdiction and venue. You and I agree that the state and federal courts located in Clark County, Nevada will have exclusive jurisdiction and venue over any legal action arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Site, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

10.3 Limitation period. To the fullest extent permitted by Nevada law, any claim or cause of action you may have arising out of or relating to the Site, Digital Products, or these Terms must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arises, or it will be permanently barred, unless a longer period is required by law.

11. Changes, Severability, and Entire Agreement

11.1 Changes to these Terms. I may modify these Terms at any time. When I do, I will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page and may provide additional notice (for example, a banner or email to registered users). Your continued use of the Site after the effective date of the revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of them. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Site.

11.2 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

11.3 No waiver. My failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be deemed a waiver of that right or provision.

11.4 Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and any additional product‑specific or project‑specific agreements you enter into with me, constitute the entire agreement between you and me regarding your use of the Site, Digital Products, and related services.

12. Contact Information and Legal Notices

For questions about these Terms or to send general correspondence, you can contact me at:

General contact (email)
Adam Szokol
Email: adam@adamszokol.com

General mailing address
Adam Szokol
732 S 6th St, Suite 5901
Las Vegas, NV 89101
United States of America

Legal notices and service of process only

Adam Szokol
c/o Incorp Services, Inc.
9107 West Russell Road, Suite 100
Las Vegas, NV 89148‑1233
United States of America

Incorp Services, Inc. is authorized to receive legal correspondence and service of process on my behalf at this address.