Terms and Conditions

1. Accepting these Terms

By using the site or creating an account you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle personal information. If you do not agree, do not use the site. If you use the site for a company or other organisation, you agree on its behalf and confirm you have authority to do so.

2. Who can use the site

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account, and at least 16 if you live in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may use the site only with the involvement of a parent or guardian who agrees to these Terms. You may not use the site if we have previously banned you, or if the law forbids you from doing so.

3. Your account

• Give accurate information and keep it up to date. One person per personal account.
• You can sign up with email and password, or with LinkedIn or Google. You are responsible for keeping your password and your sign-in accounts secure, and for everything that happens under your account.
• Tell us straight away if you think someone else has accessed your account.
• Your handle must not impersonate someone else or infringe anyone's trademark. We may reclaim or change a handle that does.
• Company pages can be claimed only by people authorised to represent that company. We may ask for proof, and we may refuse or revoke a claim.
• You can stop using the site at any time. To close your account, contact us.

4. Community guidelines and acceptable use

Bots n' Beans is a place for people who build, buy, study and care about robots. Keep it useful and civil. You agree not to:

• Harass, threaten, bully, stalk, dox or intimidate anyone, or post hate speech or content that attacks people for who they are.
• Post spam, chain messages, unsolicited ads or repetitive self-promotion, or use messaging or connection requests for bulk outreach.
• Post anything illegal, or that promotes illegal activity, violence, self-harm, or the exploitation of children. Sexual content is not allowed.
• Post content you do not have the right to share, including other people's copyrighted work, trademarks, trade secrets or confidential information.
• Share someone else's private information (address, phone, private messages, ID documents) without their permission.
• Impersonate any person, company or organisation, or misrepresent your affiliation, job, or the products you sell.
• Post false or misleading information, fake reviews or ratings, or undisclosed paid promotion (see section 10).
• Upload malware, or try to probe, scan, break or bypass the site's security, rate limits or access controls.
• Scrape, crawl, harvest or bulk-download the site, its member profiles or contact details, or use them to build a competing database or to train AI models, except as allowed by our robots.txt for search engines or with our written permission.
• Access the site with automated tools that do not identify themselves, or in a way that overloads it.
• Buy, sell or transfer accounts, or create accounts to evade a suspension.
• Use the site to break any law, including export control, sanctions, consumer protection and anti-spam laws.

5. Your content

You own your content. Posts, comments, photos, profile information, messages, reviews and other material you submit ("your content") remain yours.

The licence you give us. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable and sublicensable licence to host, store, copy, display, reproduce, adapt (for example, resize or crop images, or format text), publish and distribute your content, in order to operate, improve and promote the site. This includes showing your public posts to logged-out visitors and search engines, and sharing links and previews of public posts on our own social media channels. The licence ends when you delete the content or your account, except for copies others have already shared, content you posted in shared spaces such as conversations with other people, reasonable backup retention, and where we must keep it by law.

Your promises. You confirm that you have the rights needed to post your content and grant this licence, that your content follows these Terms, and that it does not violate anyone's rights or any law.

Business card scans. If you scan a business card, it must be your own card, or one you are allowed to use.

6. Moderation, removal and termination

We are not obliged to monitor content, but we may review, refuse, edit for formatting, hide or remove any content, and restrict, suspend or close any account, at any time, if we believe it breaks these Terms, creates risk or legal exposure for us or others, or at our discretion to protect the community. Where practical and lawful, we will tell you why.

You can block members and report direct-message conversations on the site. To report a post, comment or profile, use the contact form. If you think we removed your content or restricted your account by mistake, contact us and we will take another look.

Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including content licences for already-shared content, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnity and dispute terms) survive.

7. Copyright complaints (DMCA)

We respect intellectual property rights and respond to notices of alleged infringement under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If you believe content on the site infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our designated agent that includes:

• your physical or electronic signature;
• identification of the copyrighted work you say is infringed;
• identification of the material you want removed and where it is on the site (URL);
• your name, address, telephone number and email address;
• a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
• a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act for the owner.

Designated agent: Peter Kappes, 141 N. Palmetto Ave #201, Emmett, Idaho 83616, USA; peter@botsnbeans.com.

Counter-notice. If your content was removed and you believe that was a mistake or misidentification, you may send our agent a counter-notice with your signature, identification of the removed material and where it appeared, a statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief it was removed by mistake or misidentification, and your name, address and phone number with consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court for your district (or, outside the US, any district where we may be found) and to accept service from the person who sent the original notice. We may restore the material in 10 to 14 business days unless the complainant tells us they have filed a court action.

Repeat infringers. We will close the accounts of users who repeatedly infringe copyright, in appropriate circumstances.

Knowingly false notices or counter-notices can create liability for damages under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).

8. Our content and trademarks

Except for your content and third-party material, the site and its content, design, text, graphics, logos (including the Bots n' Beans name and the Brewster mascot), and software are owned by us or our licensors and protected by law. You may view and share links to the site for personal, non-commercial use. You may not copy, republish or commercially use our content without permission.

Company names, product names, logos, photos, videos and trademarks of robot makers and other businesses belong to their owners. Their use on the site is to identify and describe their products and does not imply endorsement. Owners who want something corrected or removed can contact us.

9. Third-party sites, content and services

The site links to and embeds content from other companies, including sellers, employers, event organisers, YouTube, Vimeo, podcast hosts, LinkedIn and X. Shop, apply and ticket buttons take you off the site. Those companies are responsible for their own sites, products, prices, jobs, events and policies, and your dealings with them are between you and them. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party content or services.

Posts from public LinkedIn and X accounts may be shown in the community, labelled with their source. The original author owns them; engagement numbers shown may be copied from the source at a point in time.

10. Affiliate links, sponsors and disclosures

We earn money from some links. Bots n' Beans participates in affiliate programs, including through the Awin and Impact networks. When you click an affiliate or "Shop" link and buy something, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Sponsors pay for placements marked "Sponsored". Affiliate and sponsored links carry a "sponsored" attribute and are labelled on the page.

Commissions and sponsorships do not buy positive coverage. Rankings, comparisons and editorial content reflect our own judgement. Prices, availability, coupon codes and specifications come from sellers and can change or be wrong; check the seller's site before you buy.

If you post about products you have a connection to (you work for, are paid by, or received something free from the maker or seller), you must clearly disclose that connection in the post, in line with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Endorsement Guides.

11. Jobs, events, companies and product listings

Jobs. Job listings come from employers' own public job boards or are written as a briefing labelled as one. We are not the employer, recruiter or agent, and a listing is not an offer of employment. Apply on the employer's site. We do not verify every listing and cannot guarantee it is accurate, current or still open. Never send money or sensitive personal documents to anyone in response to a job listing; report suspicious listings to us.

Events. Event dates, locations and details are provided for information and can change. Check with the organiser. Marking yourself as attending is not a ticket or registration with the organiser.

Companies and products. The directory, comparison, shop and deals pages are information, not a recommendation or warranty. We do not sell the robots listed unless a page clearly says so; the seller is responsible for the sale, delivery, warranty and safety of its products. Request forms (such as humanoid purchase, lease or pre-order requests and shop order requests) are expressions of interest, not binding orders, until confirmed in writing by the seller.

Robots can be dangerous. Follow manufacturers' instructions and applicable safety rules. Nothing on the site is professional, engineering, legal, financial or safety advice.

12. AI features

Some features use artificial intelligence, such as reading the text on a business card you photograph. AI output can be incomplete or wrong. Review it before you save or rely on it; you are responsible for the information you submit. Do not upload images of other people's cards or documents you are not allowed to share. How we process the images is described in our Privacy Policy.

13. Messaging and email

Direct messages are for genuine one-to-one conversations. They are limited in number and length to prevent spam. Do not use them for bulk marketing, recruiting spam or harassment. Messages to a company are read by that company's managers. We may act on reported conversations.

By creating an account you agree to receive service emails (such as email confirmation, password resets, and notices of messages and connection requests). You can turn off network email alerts in your settings. Job alerts and newsletters are sent only if you sign up, and every one can be unsubscribed from.

14. Feedback

If you send us ideas, suggestions or feedback, we may use them without any obligation to you.

15. Changes to the site

The site is provided free of charge and is always changing. We may add, change, suspend or stop any feature or the whole site at any time, with or without notice.

16. Disclaimers

THE SITE AND ALL CONTENT, LISTINGS AND FEATURES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, AND UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION. WE DO NOT WARRANT CONTENT POSTED BY MEMBERS OR THIRD PARTIES, OR THE PRODUCTS, JOBS OR EVENTS OF THIRD PARTIES. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain disclaimers, so some of these may not apply to you.

17. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PETER KAPPES, DOING BUSINESS AS BOTS N' BEANS AND ITS OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SITE OR THESE TERMS, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATED TO THE SITE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF US $100 OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, such as liability for fraud, gross negligence or wilful misconduct, or, where applicable, for death or personal injury caused by negligence. If you are a consumer in the EEA or UK, you keep the mandatory rights your local law gives you.

18. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you will defend, indemnify and hold harmless us and our owners, employees, contractors and agents from any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your content, your use of the site, or your breach of these Terms or of anyone's rights.

19. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Idaho, USA, and applicable U.S. federal law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.

Talk to us first. Before filing a claim, please contact us at peter@botsnbeans.com and try to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

Courts. If we cannot resolve it, any claim must be brought in the state courts located in Ada County, Idaho, or the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, and you and we consent to their jurisdiction. Either of us may instead bring an individual claim in small-claims court if it qualifies. If you are a consumer in the EEA or UK, you may also bring proceedings in the courts where you live, and the mandatory consumer protections of your country still apply.

Any claim must be brought within one year after it arises, unless the law requires a longer period.

20. General

These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us about the site. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms; we may transfer ours in connection with a merger, sale or reorganisation. There are no third-party beneficiaries.

21. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. We will change the effective date at the top and, for material changes, tell signed-in members on the site or by email before they take effect. If you keep using the site after changes take effect, you accept the new Terms. If you do not agree, stop using the site and close your account.

22. Contact

Peter Kappes, doing business as Bots n' Beans, 141 N. Palmetto Ave #201, Emmett, Idaho 83616, USA. Email: peter@botsnbeans.com. Or use the contact form.