Terms of Service

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. By signing up, you confirm you meet this requirement and that any information you provide is accurate. The Kids section lists children's books for adult readers; it doesn't change the age requirement for accounts.

2. Your Account

You're responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately at abigailjtepper@gmail.com if you suspect unauthorized access.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in abusive behavior, or are inactive for an extended period.

3. User-Generated Content

You retain ownership of the reviews, ratings, slider answers, replies, and other content you submit ("User Content"). By posting User Content, you grant Lishma a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, distribute, and reproduce that content within the Service. This includes using your ratings and slider answers to calculate community averages and filters.

You agree not to post content that is:

• Defamatory, harassing, hateful, or discriminatory
• Sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate
• Infringing on someone else's copyright or intellectual property
• Spam, fraudulent, or misleading
• In violation of any applicable law

We want Lishma to be a place where people from across the Jewish community can disagree about books respectfully. Critical reviews are welcome; personal attacks are not.

Anonymous reviews. You can post reviews anonymously. This hides your name from other users, but it doesn't exempt you from these Terms. Anonymous reviews are still tied to your account, can be removed for violations, and your identity may be disclosed to administrators for moderation or to authorities when legally required.

Reactions and replies. Reactions (Totally Agree, Interesting Take, Disagree) are meant to express your view of a review, not to harass its author. Using them in a coordinated or abusive way may result in removal.

Flagging and moderation. Any user can flag content they believe violates these Terms. Administrators review flagged content and may remove it, hide it, or suspend accounts. We reserve the right to remove any content and to suspend accounts that violate these standards, at our discretion.

4. Book Data and Third-Party Content

Book metadata, cover images, and related information displayed on the Service may be sourced from third parties (e.g., Google Books, Open Library, Sefaria, publisher websites). Reader-insight sliders and community ratings reflect the opinions of individual users, not Lishma's, and we don't verify them. This data is provided for informational purposes; we don't guarantee its accuracy and don't claim ownership over third-party copyrighted material such as book covers.

5. Copyright / DMCA

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice to abigailjtepper@gmail.com including: (1) identification of the copyrighted work, (2) the material you believe infringes it and its location on the Service, (3) your contact information, and (4) a statement of good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized. We will investigate and remove infringing content where appropriate.

6. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose
• Attempt to access other users' accounts or data without authorization
• Scrape, reverse-engineer, or misuse the Service's data or infrastructure
• Upload malicious code or interfere with the Service's operation
• Impersonate another person or entity

7. Disclaimers

Lishma is a book-tracking and discovery tool. It is not a source of halachic or religious rulings, and nothing on the Service, including book descriptions, tags (such as halacha or holiday categories), reviews, or quotes, should be treated as halachic guidance. Please consult a qualified rabbi for halachic questions.

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We don't guarantee the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that book data will always be accurate or complete.

8. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Lishma and its operators are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us in the past 12 months (which, for a free service, is $0).

9. Termination

You may delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, without prior notice in cases of serious or repeated violations.

10. Changes to the Service or Terms

We may modify or discontinue features of the Service at any time. We may also update these Terms; material changes will be communicated via email or in-app notice. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

11. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts located in New York.

12. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at abigailjtepper@gmail.com.