Terms of Service

1. Agreement

These terms cover thehumanmined.com and everything on it ("the site"), published by The Human, Mined ("the publication", "we"). By using the site you agree to these terms and to the Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. You must be at least 16, or have a parent's or guardian's permission, to send a message, subscribe, or vote in a poll.

2. What the essays are, and are not

The essays are personal reflections: one writer examining what they believe and why. They are opinion and commentary, written for general interest and discussion. They are not financial, investment, tax, legal, medical, psychological, or other professional advice, and reading them does not create any professional or advisory relationship. Do not act, or decline to act, on anything here without advice from a qualified professional who knows your situation.

The views expressed are the writer's own at the time of writing. They do not represent any employer, past or present, or any other organisation. Facts, figures, and examples are included in good faith but may be incomplete, simplified, or out of date, and the writer's views may change; that is part of the point of the publication.

3. Features made with AI assistance

Some features are produced with the help of artificial intelligence:

• Audio versions of the essays are read by an AI voice, not by a person.
• The "In short" summaries, the "Steelman the other side" sections, and the glossary definitions are drafted with AI assistance and labelled where they appear. The home page hook lines and the poll questions are drafted the same way.

Any line presented as a quotation from an essay is checked word for word against the essay. Even so, AI-assisted material can contain errors or miss nuance. The written essay is always the authoritative version; if anything else on the site differs from it, trust the essay.

4. Reading, sharing, and quoting

Everything here is free to read. You are welcome to share links, and to quote short passages with credit to The Human, Mined and a link back to the essay. Please do not republish whole essays, the audio, the images, or substantial parts of them without written permission.

The journal pages (PDF) are free to download and print for personal, non-commercial use, including in a classroom or discussion group. The quote cards are made to be shared, as long as the credit and site address on them stay visible and unaltered.

You may not copy the site's content in bulk, by scraping or other automated means, or use it to train or improve machine-learning or AI models, without written permission.

5. Who owns what

The essays, audio, images, journal pages, quote cards, glossary, and site design are owned by The Human, Mined or used with permission, and are protected by copyright and other laws. The fonts and icons belong to their makers and are used under their open licences. Quotations from other writers belong to them. Nothing in these terms transfers any ownership to you.

6. What you send

When you send a message, subscribe, or vote, you confirm that what you send is accurate, that it is yours to send, and that it is not unlawful, abusive, or infringing. Messages are read personally, but a reply is not guaranteed.

You keep ownership of what you write. You give the publication permission to read, store, and respond to it. Nothing you send will be published or quoted without your permission. Please do not send confidential information or unsolicited ideas you want protected; the publication cannot take on any obligation of confidentiality or compensation for them.

7. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• use the site for anything unlawful, or to harass, threaten, or impersonate anyone;
• send spam, or submit someone else's email address without their permission;
• interfere with the site, overload it, or try to get around its security, spam checks, or limits;
• try to manipulate polls, for example with automated or repeated votes;
• upload or send malicious code, or probe the site for weaknesses without permission.

The publication may block access, refuse messages, or remove votes that break these rules.

8. Subscriptions and other services

Subscriptions and comments are handled by Substack under Substack's own terms and privacy policy; you can unsubscribe at any time from any newsletter email. A copy of your email address is also kept on the publication's own list, as the Privacy Policy explains. The site links to other websites, including Substack and the glossary's further reading. Those sites have their own terms, and the publication is not responsible for their content or practices.

9. Copyright concerns

If you believe something on the site infringes your copyright, write to letters@thehumanmined.com with: the work you believe is infringed, where it appears on the site, your contact details, a statement that you believe in good faith the use is not authorised, and a statement that your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorised to act for the owner. Valid notices will be reviewed promptly and the material removed where appropriate.

10. No guarantees

The site and everything on it are provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. There is no promise that the site will always be available, secure, or free of errors, or that any information on it is correct or current.

11. Limits of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, The Human, Mined and the people behind it are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, income, or opportunity, arising from your use of the site, your reliance on anything it says, or your inability to use it, even if told such loss was possible. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to fifty US dollars (US$50). Some places do not allow certain limits, so some of these may not apply to you; your rights under consumer protection law are not affected.

12. Your responsibility

You agree to cover The Human, Mined against claims, losses, and reasonable costs that arise from your breaking these terms or the law, or from something you send, to the extent the law allows.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and of the state in which the publisher resides, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where the law of your home country gives you rights that cannot be waived. Before starting any formal dispute, please get in touch first; most things can be sorted out with a message.

14. The fine print

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies. Not enforcing a term is not a waiver of it. These terms and the Privacy Policy are the whole agreement about the site. The publication may transfer its rights under these terms, for example if the site changes hands. Access may be suspended or ended at any time.

15. Changes

These terms may change. The date at the top shows when they last did. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the new terms.

16. Questions

Questions about these terms are welcome through the contact form or at letters@thehumanmined.com.