The fine print
Terms of use
The terms on which the platform is offered to readers and columnists.
Last updated:
These terms govern your use of VeriTaus, whether you read it, comment on it or publish a column on it. They are written to be read. Please do so before you comment or publish; by using the site, you accept them.
1. The service
VeriTaus is a publishing platform for columns: signed, dated stories written by invited columnists and published under their own names. Readers can read every page free of charge without an account, follow columns through RSS feeds and respond to stories through reviewed comments. In these terms, “we” and “the VeriTaus team” mean the people who operate the platform, and “you” means anyone who uses it.
2. Columnist accounts
Columnist accounts are by invitation only; there is no public sign-up. If you are invited, you are responsible for the activity on your account and for keeping your sign-in details to yourself. Tell us through the contact page if you believe someone else has used your account.
3. Your content
Columnists keep ownership of everything they publish on VeriTaus, including text and images. By publishing, you grant us permission to host, store, display and distribute your content as part of the service, including on your column, on topic pages and through RSS feeds, and to make the technical copies needed to do so.
You are responsible for what you publish. You confirm that you have the right to publish it, that it does not infringe anyone else’s rights and that it follows the guidelines. You may ask us to remove individual stories or your whole column at any time; after removal we stop displaying them on the site, though copies already delivered through feeds may remain with the readers who received them.
4. Comments
Readers may comment on stories without an account. Each comment is your responsibility, not that of the columnist or of VeriTaus. Comments are reviewed before they appear and may be declined or removed at our discretion. By submitting a comment, you allow us to display it beneath the story with the name you entered.
5. Acceptable use
The guidelines form part of these terms and describe what may not be published. In addition, you agree not to interfere with the operation of the service, attempt to gain access to parts of it you are not authorised to use, or send automated traffic that degrades it for others.
6. Removal of content
We may remove any story, image or comment, and may close any column, that breaks these terms or the guidelines, or that we are required to remove. We will usually act on reports made through the contact page, but we are not obliged to review content before it is published, other than reader comments.
7. Links to other sites
Stories and columns may link to other websites, including columnists’ own. Those sites are not operated by us, and we are not responsible for their content or for how they handle your information.
8. The service is provided as is
VeriTaus is provided “as is” and “as available”. We do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted, error-free or suited to any particular purpose, and we do not guarantee that content published by columnists or readers is accurate or complete. Views expressed in a column are those of its writer.
9. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect or consequential loss, or for any loss of data, revenue or opportunity, arising from your use of VeriTaus or from content published on it by others. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
10. Changes to the service
We may change, suspend or discontinue all or part of the service at any time. Where we can reasonably do so, we will give columnists notice so that they can keep copies of their work.
11. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time. When we do, we will change the “last updated” date at the top of this page. Continuing to use VeriTaus after a change means you accept the updated terms.
12. Contact
Questions about these terms can be sent through the contact page. It is the only channel through which we can be reached.