Terms of service
The agreement, in plain words
What you can expect from Synopses, and what Synopses expects from you.
What Synopses is
- Synopses is a community library of long works — books, papers, articles, talks and reports — paired with plain-language synopses written by members.
- The aim is to spread ideas without needing to read ten pages. The Library holds full works; synopses are short readings of them in words anyone can follow.
Your account
- You need an account to write, comment or give stickers. Reading is open to everyone.
- Give accurate information, keep your sign-in details safe, and keep to one account per person.
- By creating an account you accept the community rules. Breaking them can lead to a warning, a mute, or a ban.
Your writing
- You keep the rights to what you write. Your synopses and comments are yours.
- You give Synopses permission to store, display and share what you publish, so the site can work.
- Do not post writing that is not yours to post. Full works may only be added when you have the right to make them available here — publicly accessible does not automatically mean freely redistributable.
- Every synopsis must credit the original author and link the source. A synopsis that misrepresents or plagiarises a work can be removed, and repeated violations can restrict the profile behind it.
Stickers and points
- Stickers are the only ranking currency. Each reader can give one sticker per synopsis, and you cannot sticker your own.
- Stickers become sticker points on your profile. They carry no monetary value and cannot be traded or transferred.
Moderation
- Every new full work and synopsis passes an automatic review before publication, and every report gets a reference number you can keep.
- The AI assistant writes a brief; a human moderator decides. Moderators can overrule the AI at any point, and nothing is decided by the AI alone.
- Moderators can remove content, warn, mute or ban accounts. Serious decisions are logged so they can be reviewed.
What is not welcome
- Advertising or self-promotion instead of knowledge.
- Misrepresenting someone else's work, or posting it without the right to do so.
- Attacking people rather than ideas.
- Anything else listed in the community rules.
Content and disclaimers
- Synopses reflect the perception of the person who wrote them, not an official reading. Views belong to their writers.
- Synopses are plain-language readings, not professional, legal or medical advice.
- Full works are shared by members who state they hold the right to share them. If you believe a work has been added without that right, report it and the moderators will look into it.
Changes and these terms
- Synopses will keep changing as the community grows. Material changes to these terms will be noted on this page.
- Continuing to use Synopses after a change means you accept it. If you disagree, you can stop using the site and ask for your account to be removed.
- Questions, notices and requests about these terms can go to support@synopses.one.
Also useful
The community rules set out what is welcome here in more detail. The guidelines explain how to write a synopsis that reads well.