1. Who We Are & Acceptance
These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and BeBulbed Spark ("Spark," "we," "us," or "our") governing your access to and use of Spark's website, web application, and related services (collectively, the "Service"). Spark is operated independently of BeBulbed's corporate holding entity; these Terms are entered into solely with Spark, and no other BeBulbed entity is a party to, or liable under, this agreement. See Section 2 for who "Spark" refers to during our current Beta period.
By creating an account or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms. You must be at least 16 years old to use the Service. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization, and "you" refers to that organization as well as you individually.
2. Pre-Incorporation & Beta Notice
This Beta service is operated by BeBulbed Spark (ABN 79 434 618 910) pending formal ASIC company registration. Upon ASIC registration, all contracts, user terms, intellectual property licenses, and data controller obligations under these Terms will automatically assign to the newly registered proprietary limited company without requiring additional user notice or consent. References to "Spark," "we," "us," or "our" throughout these Terms refer to whichever of BeBulbed Spark (ABN 79 434 618 910, pre-incorporation) or the newly registered proprietary limited company (post-incorporation) is the operator of the Service at the relevant time.
3. The Service
Spark is a thinking network: a text-based discussion platform built around ideas evaluated on their merit, not on follower counts, likes, or other vanity metrics. The Service includes, among other things:
- A public feed where you can share and discuss ideas openly;
- Organization workspaces, for discussion scoped to a team or organization;
- Trusted Circles, a private, invite-only space for early-stage collaboration with hand-selected collaborators (see Section 6); and
- Peer-driven evaluation of contributions, without public popularity metrics (see Section 7).
We may add, change, or remove features of the Service at any time, consistent with Section 18.
4. Accounts
You must provide accurate information when creating your account and keep your credentials secure. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized use of your account. You may not create more than one account for yourself, or create an account for anyone other than yourself, without our permission.
5. Your Content & Our License
You retain ownership of the content you post to Spark ("Your Content"). The license you grant us to operate, display, and distribute Your Content depends on the visibility setting you choose when you post it:
- Public content is visible on Spark's public feed. You grant Spark a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, distribute, and promote this content in connection with operating and marketing the Service.
- Organization-only content is visible only within the organization workspace you posted it to. Our license is limited to what is necessary to operate that workspace - we will not display it outside that organization or use it to promote the Service.
- Trusted Circle content is visible only to you and the specific collaborators you invite. Our license here is limited solely to hosting and technically operating the Service for the benefit of you and your named collaborators. We will not display Trusted Circle content to anyone outside that circle, include it in aggregate analytics or public feed ranking, or use it to train any machine learning model.
If you change a post's visibility, or delete it, we will act on that change going forward; it does not retroactively undo any use that already occurred under a broader, previously applicable license (for example, if a public post was already viewed or discussed by others before you restricted it).
6. Trusted Circles
Trusted Circles let you invite specific individuals to collaborate on an idea before it's ready for a wider audience. You control who is invited, and only invited collaborators - plus you - can see that content. Spark will not expose Trusted Circle content outside the circle you define, and will not use it for public feed ranking, aggregate analytics, or marketing.
You are responsible for choosing your collaborators. While Spark restricts access at the platform level, we cannot control what an invited collaborator does with content after they have lawfully viewed it (for example, if they copy, screenshot, or otherwise share it outside the Service) - Spark is not responsible for a collaborator's own subsequent misuse of content you chose to share with them.
7. Merit & Peer Verification
Spark does not display public follower counts, like counts, or similar vanity metrics. Instead, contributions may be evaluated and verified by other users based on merit. Any evaluation, ranking, or "verified" designation reflects the independent judgment of the Spark community and is not a guarantee, endorsement, or warranty by Spark of the correctness, quality, or value of any contribution. Spark does not guarantee any particular evaluation outcome, and is not liable for reputational harm you believe resulted from how your contributions were evaluated by other users.
8. Organizations & Workspaces
Organization administrators can manage seats, membership, and workspace-level settings for their organization. When you join an organization's workspace, that organization's administrators may be able to access, moderate, or remove content posted within that workspace, and may retain access to workspace content after you leave the organization, consistent with the organization's own agreements with its members.
9. Plans & Fees
Spark offers Observer, Student, and Professional tiers on a self-serve basis, plus Department Licenses for universities, faculties, and organisations. Current plan features and pricing are described on Spark's Pricing page, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference and may be updated from time to time. All prices are listed in Australian dollars (AUD) unless stated otherwise. If you subscribe to a paid self-serve plan, additional billing terms (including renewal, cancellation, and refund terms) will be presented to you at the time of purchase and are incorporated into these Terms. Department Licenses are not available for self-serve purchase - they are provisioned directly by our team under a separate order form or agreement, which governs billing, seat allocation, and renewal terms for that license.
10. Acceptable Use
Your use of the Service is also governed by Spark's Acceptable Use Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. A violation of the Acceptable Use Policy is a violation of these Terms.
10A. Zero Tolerance
Spark has a zero-tolerance policy for objectionable content and abusive users. This includes, without limitation, hate speech, harassment or bullying, sexual or pornographic content, threats, and other material that violates our Acceptable Use Policy. You may report content or users in the product. You may block other users. We review reports and take appropriate action within 24 hours of receipt, including by removing the content and, where the violation is serious or repeated, suspending or terminating the account of the user who provided it, including immediately where abuse is ongoing. There is no right to remain on the Service after a serious or repeated violation.
11. Content Removal & Enforcement
We may remove content, restrict features, or suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or our Acceptable Use Policy. Where practical, we will provide notice of enforcement action and a way to appeal; some violations (for example, illegal content or active abuse) may warrant immediate action without prior notice. Spark has a zero-tolerance policy for objectionable content and abusive users, reviewed and actioned within 24 hours of receipt as described in Section 10A above. This includes, without limitation, hate speech, harassment or bullying, sexual or pornographic content, threats, and other material that violates our Acceptable Use Policy. You may report content or users in the product. You may block other users. There is no right to remain on the Service after a serious or repeated violation.
12. Data on Termination
If you delete your account, we will remove your profile and disassociate your identity from your past contributions. Where your contributions are part of an ongoing discussion that others have built upon, the underlying discussion thread may be retained in an anonymized form so that the surrounding conversation remains coherent for other participants - your authorship attribution is removed, but the discussion structure itself is not deleted out from under other users. Full mechanics are described in our Privacy Policy.
13. Our Intellectual Property
Spark and its licensors own all rights in the Service itself, including its software, design, and branding (including "BeBulbed Spark," "Discussed, Not Scrolled," and associated marks), apart from Your Content. These Terms do not grant you any right to use Spark's brand assets except as expressly permitted.
14. Australian Consumer Law
If you are a "consumer" within the meaning of the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) ("ACL"), certain statutory guarantees apply to our supply of the Service to you - including guarantees that the Service will be supplied with due care and skill and will be reasonably fit for any purpose you made known to us. Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies those non-excludable consumer guarantees, or any other right or remedy conferred on you under the ACL or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted, or modified. Where our liability for failing to comply with a consumer guarantee cannot be excluded but can be limited under the ACL, our liability is limited, at our option, to re-supplying the Service or paying the cost of having the Service re-supplied. Any provision of these Terms found to be an unfair contract term under the ACL or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) is void, without affecting the enforceability of the remainder of these Terms.
15. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability
Subject to Section 14, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Subject to Section 14, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, Spark's total liability arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid Spark in the twelve months preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred Australian dollars (AUD $100). This limitation applies solely to BeBulbed Spark and does not create or extend any liability to or from BeBulbed's corporate holding entity or any other BeBulbed venture.
16. Indemnification
To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold Spark harmless from any claims, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal costs) arising from Your Content, your violation of these Terms, or your misuse of the Service.
17. Governing Law & Disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of South Australia and the Commonwealth of Australia. You and Spark each submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of South Australia and the Federal Court of Australia in respect of any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service. Nothing in these Terms requires you to arbitrate or litigate outside Australia.
If you are a consumer located outside Australia, mandatory consumer-protection provisions of your own country or state of residence that cannot lawfully be waived by contract continue to apply notwithstanding this section, and you may retain the right to bring proceedings in your home jurisdiction's courts where local law requires it - see the applicable page in our Regional Disclosures hub for jurisdiction-specific detail.
18. Changes to the Service or Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by an updated "Last updated" date, and where changes are significant, we will provide additional notice (such as an in-product banner or email) before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
19. General Provisions
These Terms, together with the Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Spark regarding the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign these Terms as described in Section 2, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets involving Spark.
20. Contact
Questions about these Terms may be directed to legal@spark.bebulbed.com. This address is specific to Spark and is separate from BeBulbed's own legal contact.