Terms of Service

Version 1.0 · Effective July 21, 2026

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Rhetoric Works (“Rhetoric Works,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) governing your access to and use of the Rhetoric Works website, applications, and services (collectively, the “Service”). By creating an account, clicking “I agree,” or using the Service, you accept these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Eligibility; Minors

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13; if we learn that we have, we will delete it. If you are under 18 (or the age of majority where you live), you may use the Service only if your parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf and supervises your use. By allowing a minor to use the Service, the parent or guardian agrees to these Terms for themselves and on behalf of the minor and accepts responsibility for the minor’s use.

2. The Service

Rhetoric Works provides analytics and organizational tools for competitive speech and debate, including synchronization and display of ballot and results data, derived statistics and visualizations, practice tools, and team-management features. Features may be added, changed, limited, suspended, or removed at any time, with or without notice. We do not promise that any feature will remain available, free, or unchanged.

3. Accounts and Security

You are responsible for your account credentials and for all activity under your account. Provide accurate information and keep it current. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized use. We may suspend, restrict, or terminate accounts at our sole discretion, including for violation of these Terms, suspected fraud or abuse, legal risk, or extended inactivity.

4. Third-Party Services; Tabroom

The Service can retrieve, at your direction, data associated with your own accounts on third-party services (including Tabroom.com, operated by the National Speech & Debate Association). Rhetoric Works is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Tabroom.com or the NSDA. Except where we expressly state a partnership in writing, Rhetoric Works is likewise not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any tournament, league, school, district, or program; any such stated partnership applies only to the named institution and only for its stated scope, and no other institution is affiliated with the Service by virtue of its students, coaches, or staff using it. You represent that you are authorized to access the data you direct the Service to retrieve, that the data pertains to you (or to persons who have authorized you), and that your use complies with the third party’s terms and applicable law. Credentials you provide for one-time retrieval are used transiently for that retrieval and are not written to our databases or logs. Third-party services may change or block access at any time; we are not responsible for their availability, accuracy, or conduct.

5. Your Content

“User Content” means data and material you submit to the Service, including synced or uploaded ballot data, judge commentary, files, text, images, recordings, team materials, and profile information. You retain your rights in User Content. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, process, analyze, adapt, display, and transmit User Content solely to operate, secure, improve, and provide the Service. You represent and warrant that you have all rights necessary to submit User Content — including content authored by third parties, such as judge feedback — and that it does not violate law or the rights of any person. We may remove or refuse any User Content at any time. We are not responsible for User Content and do not endorse it.

6. Camera, Microphone, and Practice Tools

Practice features (including the Delivery Lab) process audio and video locally in your browser to generate feedback. We do not store your practice audio, video, facial data, or any biometric identifier on our servers unless a feature expressly offers saving and you choose it. You are solely responsible for compliance with all laws applicable to any recording you make or analyze — including consent and recording laws in your jurisdiction and any rules of tournaments, schools, or organizations — and for obtaining any consents required from persons who appear in recordings.

7. Analytics, Scores, and AI Output

Statistics, scores, ratings, classifications, predictions, insights, and other outputs are estimates generated automatically, including through heuristic and AI methods. They may be incomplete, inaccurate, or wrong, and may differ from official results. They are provided for informational purposes only, are not advice, and are not a promise of any competitive, academic, or other outcome. Official results and records are those of the relevant tournament or organization. You are responsible for decisions you make in reliance on the Service.

8. Acceptable Use

You agree not to: (a) use the Service unlawfully or to violate the rights of others; (b) access another person’s data or account without authorization; (c) upload malicious code or interfere with the Service; (d) scrape, crawl, harvest, or bulk-extract data from the Service, or use the Service or its outputs to build a competing product or to train models without our written permission; (e) reverse engineer, decompile, or copy the Service except as law permits; (f) misrepresent your identity or affiliation, or impersonate any person; (g) harass, defame, or abuse others, or submit content that is unlawful, infringing, hateful, sexually explicit, or that exploits or endangers minors; (h) circumvent rate limits, access controls, or security measures; (i) resell or provide the Service to third parties except as expressly permitted. We may investigate and take any action we deem appropriate, including removal, suspension, and referral to authorities.

9. Teams, Coaches, and Visibility

Team features let designated moderators (e.g., coaches) view roster members’ data, assignments, submissions, and analytics as described in the product. By joining a team, you authorize that access. Moderators are responsible for their own compliance with school, district, league, and legal obligations (including obligations relating to student records). Profile visibility settings control public display of your card; content you make public may be viewed, shared, and cached by others.

10. School & Program Relationships

Rhetoric Works may from time to time enter into agreements with schools, districts, programs, leagues, or coaches (each an “Institutional Partner”) — for example, team licensing, pilots, sponsorships, or program-level deployments. Where such a written agreement exists: (a) that agreement governs the Institutional Partner’s use to the extent it conflicts with these Terms, and these Terms continue to govern each individual user’s use; (b) any affiliation, endorsement, or partnership exists only as, and to the extent, expressly stated in that agreement, and may be terminated as provided there; (c) the Institutional Partner is not our agent and we are not the Institutional Partner’s agent, and neither is responsible for the acts, omissions, policies, or obligations of the other; (d) if the Institutional Partner administers accounts or teams for its students, the Institutional Partner — not Rhetoric Works — is responsible for obtaining any consents and satisfying any student-records, parental-notification, or similar obligations that apply to it, and represents that it has authority to authorize the processing described in the product; and (e) no Institutional Partner may modify these Terms for any user, waive any user’s obligations, or bind us, except through our written agreement. The absence of an Institutional Partner agreement means no affiliation exists, regardless of usage, branding proximity, or the participation of any school’s students or staff.

11. Plans, Payments, and Trials

Some features may require payment. Prices, features, and availability may change at any time. Unless stated otherwise at purchase: fees are charged in advance, are non-refundable except where required by law, and subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled. Taxes are your responsibility. We may modify or discontinue paid features, in which case any legally required refund or credit is your exclusive remedy. Free tiers may be limited, changed, or withdrawn at any time.

12. Privacy

Our handling of personal information is described in our Privacy Notice (as posted within the Service). In summary: we store account information, synced ballot and results data, content you submit, and technical logs needed to operate and secure the Service; we do not sell personal information; and one-time retrieval credentials for third-party services are not stored. You consent to processing consistent with that notice and these Terms.

13. Intellectual Property; Feedback

The Service — including software, design, text, graphics, and compilations, excluding User Content — is owned by Rhetoric Works or its licensors and protected by law. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service for your personal, non-commercial use (or internal team use as designed). All rights not granted are reserved. If you send us feedback or suggestions, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free right to use them without restriction or compensation.

14. Copyright Complaints

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice compliant with 17 U.S.C. § 512 to our designated agent at the contact address below, including: identification of the work and the allegedly infringing material, your contact information, a statement of good-faith belief, a statement of accuracy under penalty of perjury, and your physical or electronic signature. We may remove content and may terminate repeat infringers.

15. Third-Party Links and Materials

The Service may link to or display third-party sites, services, or content. We do not control and are not responsible for them. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk and subject to their terms.

16. Termination

You may stop using the Service and may delete your synced data using in-product tools. We may suspend or terminate your access, or discontinue the Service, at any time, with or without cause or notice. Upon termination, your license ends; Sections 5 (license, for content already processed), 7, 12, and 16–22 survive. We may retain data as required by law or for legitimate business purposes for a reasonable period.

17. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTENT AND OUTPUTS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, OR UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION. WE DO NOT WARRANT ANY RESULT, RANKING, SCORE, OR OUTCOME. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN WARRANTY EXCLUSIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

18. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (A) RHETORIC WORKS AND ITS OWNERS, OPERATORS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS, AND SUPPLIERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OPPORTUNITIES (INCLUDING COMPETITIVE OUTCOMES), EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY; AND (B) OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF FIFTY U.S. DOLLARS (US $50) OR THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID US FOR THE SERVICE IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE. THESE LIMITS APPLY REGARDLESS OF LEGAL THEORY AND EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

19. Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by law, you (and, if you are a minor, your parent or guardian) agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Rhetoric Works and its owners, operators, employees, and contractors from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from or related to: your User Content; your use of the Service; your violation of these Terms, law, or the rights of any person; your access to third-party services through the Service; or recordings you make or analyze.

20. Dispute Resolution; Arbitration; Class Waiver

Please read this section carefully — it affects your rights. Before filing a claim, you agree to first contact us at the address below and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for 30 days. Except for (i) small-claims-court matters and (ii) claims for injunctive relief regarding intellectual property or unauthorized access, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, seated in Santa Clara County, California (or conducted remotely where the rules allow). You and Rhetoric Works each waive the right to a jury trial and to participate in a class, collective, consolidated, or representative action. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing us within 30 days of first accepting these Terms with the subject “Arbitration Opt-Out” and your account name. If the class waiver is found unenforceable as to a claim, that claim will proceed in court.

21. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to Section 19, exclusive venue for any court proceeding is the state or federal courts located in Santa Clara County, California, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

22. Changes to the Service or Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be indicated by a new version and effective date, and the Service may require you to accept the updated Terms to continue. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, stop using the Service.

23. General

These Terms (with any posted policies) are the entire agreement between you and Rhetoric Works regarding the Service and supersede prior agreements. If any provision is unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary or severed, and the rest remain in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or by operation of law. We are not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond our reasonable control. Notices to you may be provided within the Service or to your account email.

24. Contact

Rhetoric Works · rhetoric.works · Contact: the support address posted on the site.