Terms of Service

1. Agreement

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a contract between you and Daniel Leach (“we,” “us,” or “our”). They apply to the Netropolis website, city visualization, accounts, company profiles, and paid advertising services (together, the “Service”).

By creating an account, clicking to accept, checking a box, completing a purchase, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service and do not pay.

If you use the Service on behalf of a company or other organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization, and “you” includes that organization.

2. What Netropolis is — and is not

Netropolis is a competitive advertising marketplace visualized as an isometric city. Payments buy public advertising visibility and status placement on the city. Product names such as “Global Bid,” “Take Crown Tower,” and “Take Over Plot” describe those advertising products. They do not describe an auction of goods, a contest, or a game for money.

You are buying advertising services from us. You are not:

• buying real or virtual property, land, buildings, or an ownership interest in Netropolis;
• depositing funds into a wallet, gift card, stored-value account, or prepaid balance;
• paying an entry fee, player fee, or stake in exchange for a chance at a prize;
• participating in gambling, a lottery, a sweepstakes, fantasy sports, or any game of chance or skill with a monetary or material prize;
• participating in a bidding-fee auction, penny auction, or any format where you pay a fee for the right to bid on something else;
• making an investment, buying securities, or acquiring equity; or
• sending money to another company on the city. We do not pay out, split, or transmit your payment to other advertisers.

Crown Tower, Downtown ranks, district plots, building-level visuals, and achievements are public advertising displays. They have no cash value, cannot be redeemed, and are not prizes. There is no monetary prize for finishing a season at any rank, including rank #1.

How the city currently works is also summarized on our Rules page. If the Rules and these Terms conflict, these Terms control.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to create an account or use logged-in features. The Service is not directed to children under 13. You must not be prohibited from using payment services under applicable law (including sanctions and export-control rules).

If you pay, you represent that you are authorized to use that payment method. If you are under the age of majority where you live, a parent or guardian must authorize the purchase, and they are responsible for the charge. We may refuse, cancel, or refund a payment if we reasonably believe the payer lacks authority.

You represent that paid placements are advertising for a business, brand, product, or other commercial purpose, not a purchase of household consumer goods.

4. Accounts and companies

You must provide accurate registration information and keep it current. You can create or sign in to an account with email, Google, or X. You must confirm the email address on your account before you can manage a company or purchase advertising. Accounts created with Google or X are confirmed when that service shares a verified email. You are responsible for activity under your account. Notify us promptly if you believe your account has been used without authorization.

A company profile (name, logo, website URL, and related public identity) is advertising content you supply. You must have the rights to use that content. We may hide branding, suspend a company, or close an account if content is unlawful, misleading, infringing, or otherwise violates these Terms.

5. Advertising services you can buy

5.1 Seasonal advertising placement (“Global Bid” / Take Crown Tower)

A Global Bid checkout purchases an increase to your company’s public seasonal advertising total for the active season. We charge the increment you confirm, not your historical total. The current minimum increment is $5; we may change minimums prospectively. Whole-dollar amounts only.

After Stripe confirms payment, we add the increment to your seasonal total and recalculate the public Downtown rank display. Rank is ordered by seasonal advertising total (highest first), then by the time that total was reached, then by a stable company identifier. Rank can change immediately if another advertiser later pays more. Paid increments are not reduced during an active season.

Crown Tower is the Downtown rank #1 display slot. Nobody purchases the tower as a building. Holding #1 means your company currently has the highest seasonal advertising total, not that you own Crown Tower or have won a prize.

5.2 District plot advertising placement (Take Over Plot)

A plot takeover checkout purchases a separate advertising placement on a district plot. A successful placement lasts until a later successful paid placement on the same plot, or the end of the active season, whichever comes first. The lease end time is shown before you pay.

Unoccupied plots can be claimed at the then-current base price. Occupied plots require a configured increment over the current price. You may offer more than the required price. Prices are calculated on our servers at checkout.

If another company later pays the required takeover price, your placement ends and you are not refunded. That is how this advertising inventory is sold: a later advertiser can buy the same display. Confirmed plot payments also add to the same seasonal advertising total as Global Bid increments. Global Bid checkouts and plot checkouts remain separate purchases.

5.3 What you receive when payment is confirmed

You receive the advertising display described at checkout: an updated public seasonal total and rank display, and/or a time-limited plot placement, as applicable. Delivery occurs when our systems record a confirmed Stripe payment and apply the corresponding city state. Browser return from Stripe is not proof of payment; Stripe’s confirmation to us is.

We do not guarantee a lasting rank, a lasting plot, visitor traffic, clicks, sales, or any business outcome. Other advertisers can pay after you. Seasons end. Visuals, maps, and labels can change.

6. Prices, taxes, and Stripe Checkout

Prices are quoted and charged in United States dollars. The amount shown at checkout is the amount we intend to charge for that advertising purchase. You authorize us to charge that amount through Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates (“Stripe”).

We do not collect, store, or have access to your full payment card number. Card data is submitted to Stripe on Stripe-hosted Checkout. Stripe’s terms and privacy notice apply to Stripe’s processing. You must complete any authentication Stripe or your bank requires (including 3-D Secure).

Unless we state otherwise at checkout, prices do not include taxes. You are responsible for any taxes that apply to your purchase. If tax is later added to a checkout, it will be shown before you pay.

Each successful checkout is a completed sale of advertising services, not a deposit. We do not issue account credits, gift cards, or stored value that can be spent later.

7. Refund and cancellation policy

This Section 7 is the refund policy for Netropolis purchases. It is also published as our Refund Policy. It is intended to be fair, specific, and consistent with how the advertising is delivered. If the Refund Policy page and another part of these Terms conflict on refunds, the Refund Policy controls.

7.1 Refunds we give

We refund the charged amount, to the original payment method via Stripe, when:

• Stripe reports a successful payment but we cannot honor the advertised placement (for example, a plot reservation expires or conflicts so we cannot grant the plot);
• you were charged more than once for the same checkout because of a technical error; or
• we determine the charge was unauthorized on your Netropolis account.

If we refund because a plot reservation cannot be honored, we do not place your company on that plot. Duplicate or error charges are refunded in full for the extra amount.

7.2 Refunds we do not give

After the advertising display has been applied, we do not refund because:

• your Downtown rank later changes;
• another advertiser later takes the same plot or a higher rank;
• a season ends and totals reset;
• you change your mind, dislike the visuals, or did not get the traffic or sales you hoped for;
• an achievement was not awarded, or Influence (which is free and cosmetic) did not produce an effect you wanted; or
• we hide branding or suspend a company for violating the Terms of Service after the display was delivered.

You may cancel an unpaid Stripe Checkout session by not completing payment. Leaving Checkout without paying means no charge and no placement.

7.3 How to request a refund

Email [email protected] from the account email, with the approximate time of purchase, company name, and the Stripe receipt or last four digits of the payment method. We review eligible requests and, when we approve a refund, Stripe returns funds to the original payment method. Card refunds typically appear within 5–10 business days depending on your bank.

Ask us before opening a card dispute. If you dispute a charge that was correctly billed for delivered advertising, we will submit evidence to Stripe and the card network, including the Terms of Service, this Refund Policy, and the checkout disclosures.

8. Influence is not for sale

Authenticated users may receive a limited daily grant of “Influence.” Influence is a free spectator counter. It is not money, not purchasable, not transferable, and not convertible to cash, credits, or advertising placements. It must not change Global Bid totals, paid rank, plot leases, takeover prices, or any payment. We may change or end Influence at any time.

9. Acceptable use

You may not use the Service to:

• break the law or card-network rules, or use the Service for any business Stripe or our payment partners prohibit;
• advertise illegal products, scams, hate, or infringing content;
• misrepresent your identity, company, or authorization to pay;
• attempt to treat placements as property, stored value, or a prize;
• interfere with payments, rankings, leases, or other users’ accounts;
• scrape, overload, or reverse engineer the Service except as allowed by law; or
• use stolen, prepaid-in-violation, or otherwise unauthorized payment methods.

10. Your content; license

You retain ownership of your company name, logo, and website URL. You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, reproduce, and distribute that content on and in connection with the Service (including the city, profiles, share cards, and event history) for as long as it is associated with your company or required for archives, security, or legal records.

You represent that your content does not infringe others’ rights and is accurate enough not to mislead visitors about who is advertising.

11. Third-party sites

Company website links leave Netropolis. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content, products, or practices. Outbound clicks may be counted in aggregate as described in the Privacy Policy.

12. Service changes; seasons

We may change maps, visuals, rank landmarks, lease lengths, minimums, and features. Material changes to these Terms are addressed in Section 18. Ending a season archives that season’s advertising totals; a new season starts totals at zero. Archived ranks remain historical displays, not prizes or redeemable balances.

We may suspend the Service for maintenance, security, or legal reasons. Planned downtime does not, by itself, create a refund for advertising already displayed.

13. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION, A PARTICULAR RANK OR PLOT DURATION, OR ANY BUSINESS RESULT FROM ADVERTISING.

14. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, OR DATA, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID US FOR ADVERTISING SERVICES IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM. THIS LIMIT DOES NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER LAW, OR TO OUR FRAUD OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT.

15. Indemnity

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Daniel Leach and anyone acting on our behalf from claims, damages, losses, and reasonable legal fees arising out of: your content; your use of the Service; your payments or disputes; or your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

16. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate access, hide branding, or refuse a checkout if you violate these Terms, if we are required to by law or by Stripe, or if we stop offering the Service. Sections that by their nature should survive (including payment already completed, refunds, licenses for archival display, disclaimers, liability limits, indemnity, and governing law) survive termination.

17. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect and use personal information, including information Stripe processes to complete your payment.

18. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. The effective date at the top will change. For a purchase, the Terms in effect when you complete that checkout apply to that purchase. Continued use of the Service after updated Terms are posted constitutes acceptance of the updates, except where the law requires additional notice or consent.

19. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the State of Georgia, United States of America, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Except where the law requires otherwise, exclusive venue for disputes is the state and federal courts located in Georgia, United States.

You and we waive any right to participate in a class, collective, or representative action to the extent that waiver is enforceable. Either party may still seek individual relief in small-claims court if the claim qualifies.

20. Miscellaneous

These Terms, the Privacy Policy, the Refund Policy, and the disclosures shown at checkout are the entire agreement for the Service. If a provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a reorganization, sale, or by operation of law. There are no third-party beneficiaries except as stated for indemnified people.

Daniel Leach, PO Box 2, Midville GA, 30441.

Questions: [email protected].