Terms of Service

These terms apply when you use theblackindex.org, the site behind the black [index], and when you join as a member. Please read them. If you do not agree with them, please do not use the site or join.

Who we are

The site is run by The Black Index (“we” and “us”). You can reach us at support@theblackindex.org or through the support page.

Reading the site

Reading the site is free. Nothing on it is professional, legal, financial or medical advice. Every post explains where its numbers come from and links to the source. We work hard to get them right, but mistakes happen. If you find one, tell us and we will look into it. Survey figures carry margins of error, and we say so in each post.

Membership

These terms describe how membership works.

• Membership lets you post comments on the posts. Reading the site and reading the comments stay free for everyone.
• A membership costs $6 in US dollars for one year, paid once by card through Stripe.
• Your membership does not renew by itself. We may email you a reminder before it ends. To keep commenting after it ends, you can renew by paying again.
• Prices may change. A change never affects a membership you have already paid for.
• Membership is personal. Please do not share your sign in with anyone else.
• You must be at least 18 years old to join.

Refunds

If you join and change your mind, email us within 7 days of your payment and we will refund you in full. After that, payments are not refundable, except where the law requires it.

Your account

When you join we ask for a display name, an email address and a password. Give us accurate information and keep your password to yourself. You are responsible for what happens under your account. Tell us at once if you think someone else has used it.

Your display name is shown with your comments. Please do not use someone else’s name, or a name meant to mislead.

Comments and conduct

You own what you write. By posting a comment you give us permission to show it on the site and to keep it for as long as the site runs, unless you delete it.

• Be respectful. Disagree with the numbers, not with people.
• No threats, no harassment, and no sharing of other people’s private information.
• No spam, advertising or repeated posts.
• No illegal content, and nothing you do not have the right to post.
• No pretending to be someone else.

Comments that contain web links are held for review before they appear. You can edit a comment for ten minutes after you post it, and you can delete your own comments at any time. Use the Report link under any comment to tell us about a problem.

We can hide or delete any comment, and end any membership, if these rules are broken, with or without warning. If we end your membership because you seriously or repeatedly broke these rules, we will not refund the rest of your year.

Our content

The writing, charts and design, and the name and logo of the black [index], belong to us or to those who license them to us. You are welcome to link to any post and to quote short parts of it with credit and a link. Please ask before you republish a whole post or chart.

The data files offered under each chart are provided for convenience. The underlying numbers come from public sources that may have their own terms, so please check the source before you reuse them.

Payments and other services

Payments are handled by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number. Sign in, storage and email are provided by Amazon Web Services, and a check that keeps automated bots out of the join form is provided by Cloudflare. These companies have their own terms and privacy policies.

Availability and changes to the service

We do our best to keep the site running, but we cannot promise it will always be available or free of errors. We may change or stop parts of the site, including membership. If we ever end membership altogether, we will refund members for the unused part of their year.

Limits on our responsibility

To the extent the law allows, the site and its content are provided as they are, without promises of any kind. To the extent the law allows, we are not responsible for indirect or consequential losses, and our total responsibility to you for anything connected with the site or your membership is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the problem arose.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The date at the top shows the latest version. If a change matters, we will tell members by email. Using the site after a change means you accept the new terms.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of North Carolina. Any dispute about them will be heard in the courts located in Orange County, North Carolina, and you and we both agree to those courts.

Contact

Questions about these terms: support@theblackindex.org. Our privacy policy explains how we handle your information.