Terms of Service

1. Agreeing to these terms

Hometown Commons is a community directory and marketplace for homeschooling families. By creating an account, publishing anything, or using the site, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the site.

2. Who can use Hometown Commons

You must be 18 or older to create an account. Younger family members are welcome to read along, but the account, and responsibility for everything posted under it, belongs to an adult.

3. Your account

Keep your password to yourself, and tell us promptly if you think someone else has gotten into your account. You're responsible for activity under your account. We may suspend or close an account that violates these terms.

4. What you post

You keep ownership of everything you write and every photo you upload. By posting, you give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, store, and distribute that content on Hometown Commons and in the ordinary promotion of it — a shared link preview, for instance. That license ends when you delete the content, except for copies already cached or held in backups.

Post only what's yours to post: your own words, your own photos, or material you have permission to use. Don't post anything about someone else's child without that family's say-so.

5. What we ask you not to do

• Post anything unlawful, harassing, hateful, deceptive, or sexually explicit.
• Impersonate another person, family, or business.
• Publish someone's home address, phone number, or other private details without consent.
• Write reviews or place write-ups for a place you haven't actually been.
• Scrape, bulk-download, or resell the directory.
• Probe, overload, or interfere with the site's security or infrastructure.

6. Moderation

Submissions are reviewed before they go public, and we use automated screening alongside human review. We may edit, decline, remove, or unpublish anything at our discretion — usually because it's off-topic, unverifiable, or breaks the rules above. We aim to explain the reason when we ask for changes, but we don't guarantee any particular submission will be published.

7. Business listings and subscriptions

Claiming a listing means you represent the business and are authorized to speak for it. Paid tiers are billed through Stripe on a recurring subscription. Details:

• Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel.
• You can cancel any time from your business's manage page. Cancelling stops the next renewal; your paid features stay active through the end of the period you've already paid for.
• Fees are non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise. If something went genuinely wrong, write to us — we'd rather sort it out than stand on the policy.
• We may change subscription pricing with at least 30 days' notice before it affects your renewal.
• A paid tier buys placement and features. It does not buy an endorsement, a review, or protection from moderation.

8. The Trading Post

The Trading Post connects neighbors buying and selling used curriculum and gear. We are not a party to those transactions. We don't handle payment, don't inspect items, don't verify condition or ownership, and don't guarantee that any listing, buyer, or seller is what it appears to be. Arranging, paying for, and completing a sale is between the two of you.

Meet in public. Bring someone. Trust your gut. If a conversation turns wrong, report the chat — every thread has a report action, and blocking is one click.

9. Other people's sites and businesses

Listings and guides point at real places and real websites we don't control. A listing on Hometown Commons isn't a vetting, a safety certification, or an endorsement. Do your own homework before handing over money or dropping off a child.

10. The site is provided as-is

We work hard to keep Hometown Commons accurate and available, but we provide it "as is," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We don't promise the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that the content in it is complete or current.

11. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, Hometown Commons and its operators are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, or for lost profits or data, arising from your use of the site. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of $100 or the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim.

12. Ending things

You can delete your account at any time from your account settings; doing so removes your posts and listings. We may suspend or terminate access for violations of these terms. Sections 4, 10, 11, and 13 survive termination.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules.

14. Changes to these terms

We'll update this page when the terms change and move the "last updated" date. For material changes we'll give notice on the site or by email. Continuing to use Hometown Commons after a change means you accept it.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms: support@hometowncommons.com.

See also our privacy policy.