Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of These Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern access to and use of ZotList.com and any related applications or services (collectively, the "Service"), operated by ZotList ("ZotList," "we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account, posting a listing, purchasing a plan, or otherwise using the Service, you ("you" or "User") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

These Terms may be updated as described in Section 17.

2. Description of the Service

ZotList is an online directory and advertising platform serving the University of California, Irvine ("UCI") student community and the businesses, property managers, and organizations that wish to reach that community. The Service includes, without limitation, category listings (Housing, Food & Deals, Services, Health & Fitness, and similar categories), user-generated posts (such as sublets, items for sale, and roommate listings), and paid advertising placements for businesses.

3. Eligibility and Account Verification

3.1 Student Accounts. Student accounts are available at no charge to individuals who verify a currently active @uci.edu email address. Verification exists to confirm current UCI student status and to reduce fraudulent or automated accounts. You agree to provide accurate information during verification and not to circumvent, spoof, or share access to the verification process.

3.2 Business and Organization Accounts. Businesses, property managers, landlords, and other organizations advertising to the ZotList audience must register a business account and select a paid plan. There is no free tier for business or advertiser accounts, and no trial period, except where ZotList expressly grants a time-limited promotional arrangement in writing at its sole discretion.

3.3 Age and Capacity. You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, and capable of forming a binding contract to use the Service. If you are using the Service on behalf of a business or organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

4. Free Student Use; Paid Business Use

Personal listings posted by verified students (for example, sublets, items for sale, and roommate posts) are free, with no fee charged to the student for posting or using the Service in that capacity, for as long as ZotList continues to offer this core value proposition. This free-for-students structure is a feature of the Service, not a guaranteed or contractual entitlement in perpetuity, and ZotList reserves the right to modify it prospectively with notice as described in Section 17.

All business, property, and organizational advertising on ZotList is paid. Current standard plans and any custom or portfolio/anchor-tenant pricing are described on the Service or in a separate order form or partnership agreement, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference for that account.

4.3 Anti-Circumvention and Liquidated Damages. Student Accounts and personal student listings are strictly reserved for individual, non-commercial use by active students. You expressly agree not to use, or permit any third party to use, a Student Account to list, advertise, or promote commercial real estate, corporate housing, third-party property management services, or any commercial business entities or services ("Commercial Content").

If ZotList determines, in its sole discretion, that you have posted Commercial Content via a Student Account or otherwise circumvented our commercial listing fees, you agree that ZotList has suffered damages including lost advertising revenue and the operational cost of detecting and remediating the circumvention. Consequently, in addition to account termination, you agree to pay ZotList liquidated damages — and not as a penalty — in an amount equal to the sum of: (a) the highest retroactive commercial advertising tier rate for the entire duration the unauthorized content was live, plus (b) the actual documented administrative and investigative costs incurred by ZotList to detect and remediate the circumvention, with the combined total under this Section 4.3 capped at $500.00 per unauthorized listing. ZotList reserves the right to charge any payment method on file or pursue collection for such amounts.

5. User Accounts and Responsibilities

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.
• You agree to provide accurate, current information and to update it as needed.
• You may not create an account for anyone other than yourself, or on behalf of a business you are not authorized to represent.
• ZotList may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, as described in Section 12.

6. User-Generated Content and Listings

6.1 Your Content. "User Content" means any listing, post, image, message, review, or other material you submit to the Service. You retain ownership of your User Content.

6.2 License to ZotList. By posting User Content, you grant ZotList a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute that content solely for the purpose of operating, promoting, and improving the Service (for example, displaying your listing to other users, or featuring an anonymized or aggregated version in marketing).

6.3 Your Responsibility for Content. You are solely responsible for the accuracy, legality, and appropriateness of your User Content. ZotList does not pre-screen all User Content and does not guarantee the accuracy of any listing, including housing, roommate, or for-sale listings. Use caution, verify independently, and follow the safety practices described in our Trust & Safety resources when transacting with other users.

6.4 Prohibited Content. You may not post content that is fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, discriminatory, defamatory, infringing, or that violates the rights of a third party, including fair housing laws in listings related to housing or roommates. ZotList may remove any content that violates these Terms or that it believes, in its discretion, poses a risk to users.

6.5 Reporting and Takedown. Users may report suspected scam, fraudulent, or policy-violating listings through the Service. ZotList will review reports and may remove content, suspend accounts, or take other action it deems appropriate, but does not guarantee any particular investigation outcome or timeline.

6.6 Fair Housing Act Compliance and Indemnity. You acknowledge and agree that ZotList is a passive interactive computer service provider under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230) and does not pre-screen, author, or control user-generated housing or roommate listings.

If you post housing, sublets, or roommate listings, you represent and warrant that your content complies fully with the Federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.) and all applicable California state housing and non-discrimination laws. You are solely responsible for ensuring your listings do not state an unlawful discriminatory preference based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, disability, or other protected characteristics. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ZotList from any and all claims, regulatory investigations, fines, or legal expenses arising directly or indirectly from your failure to comply with housing and anti-discrimination laws.

7. Business and Advertiser Terms

• Standard plans are billed month-to-month and may be cancelled at any time effective at the end of the then-current billing period, unless otherwise stated in a signed order form.
• Portfolio, anchor-tenant, or other custom arrangements are governed by their applicable signed order form or partnership agreement, which will control over these Terms in the event of a direct conflict for that account.
• ZotList reserves the right to reject, pause, or remove any advertisement or placement that violates these Terms, applicable law, or that ZotList reasonably believes could harm the Service's reputation or its users.
• Fees are exclusive of applicable taxes unless stated otherwise.

8. Prohibited Conduct

In addition to the content restrictions in Section 6, you agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable local, state, or federal law;
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity, including UCI;
• Scrape, harvest, or collect data from the Service using automated means without prior written consent;
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service;
• Attempt to circumvent the @uci.edu verification process or use it to obtain student-tier access without bona fide current UCI student status;
• Use the Service to send unsolicited advertising outside of a paid placement purchased through ZotList.

9. No Affiliation with UC Irvine

9.1 Independent Platform. ZotList is an independently owned and operated service. ZotList is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the University of California, Irvine or The Regents of the University of California. Any references to "UCI," "Zot," or similar UCI-associated terms are used solely to describe the community the Service serves and not to imply institutional affiliation or endorsement.

9.2 Nominative Fair Use and University Marks. Any reference on the Service to the "University of California, Irvine," "UCI," or related community terms is entirely nominative and descriptive, used solely to identify the geographical and community market served by this independent platform.

Users are strictly prohibited from uploading, posting, or utilizing any official university logos, copyrighted graphics, university seals, or registered trademarked imagery owned by The Regents of the University of California within their listings or profile materials. Any user content that creates a false impression of official university sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement will be removed immediately, and the executing user account will be subject to permanent termination.

10. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its design, text, graphics, logos, and software (excluding User Content and third-party trademarks referenced under fair use), is owned by ZotList or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from the Service except as expressly permitted.

11. Third-Party Links and Services

The Service may contain links to third-party websites, payment processors, or services that ZotList does not control. ZotList is not responsible for the content, policies, or practices of any third party.

12. Termination

ZotList may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, for conduct that violates these Terms, poses a risk to other users, or for any other reason at ZotList's reasonable discretion. You may stop using the Service and, where applicable, request account deletion at any time. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 10, 11, 13, and 14) will survive.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. ZOTLIST DOES NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY USER CONTENT, INCLUDING LISTINGS.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ZOTLIST AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE OR ANY TRANSACTION OR INTERACTION WITH ANOTHER USER, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ZOTLIST'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO ZOTLIST IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

This limitation of liability does not apply to, and ZotList's liability is not limited with respect to, damages arising from ZotList's gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud, to the extent such limitation is prohibited by applicable law.

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless ZotList and its officers, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Service, your User Content, or your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

16. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

Binding Arbitration; Class Action Waiver. Except for claims that qualify for small claims court, you and ZotList agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by a recognized arbitration provider (e.g., AAA or JAMS) under its consumer arbitration rules then in effect, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual action in small claims court. YOU AND ZOTLIST EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, CLASS ARBITRATION, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. If this class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim (and only that claim) will proceed in the state or federal courts located in Orange County, California, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction there.

17. Changes to These Terms

ZotList may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be indicated by updating the "Last Updated" date above and, where appropriate, by additional notice (such as an in-app or email notice). Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be directed to:

ZotList
Email: hello@zotlist.com
Website: ZotList.com