Terms and rules

BlackSpigot Terms of Service

Updated 12 October 2026 · Version 2026-10-12.2

These terms govern BlackSpigot accounts, community services and Ultra purchases. “We,” “us” and “our” mean the operator of BlackSpigot. Your accepted order summary forms part of your agreement. Mandatory rights under applicable law continue to apply.

1. Accounts and acceptance

You must be at least 13 years old to register. Paid purchases must be made by someone with legal capacity to enter the agreement and authority to use the selected payment method. Provide accurate information, protect your account and promptly report suspected unauthorized access.

By completing your purchase of the Ultra rank sections 2 and 3 come into effect, you accept these terms and affirmatively opt in to the regular subscription and additional-fee schedule expressly included in your purchase. Completing that purchase is the authorization described in section 3.

2. Ultra subscription and billing authorization

The current standard Ultra subscription is US$12.99 every 30 days. A 30-day period is not a calendar month.

By accepting a recurring Ultra purchase, you agree to section 3, including its additional-fee triggers and limits, and authorize BlackSpigot, through Stripe, to charge your selected payment method for the subscription amount shown at checkout and the additional US$12.99 fees described in section 3 when its qualifying conditions are met. Your subscription renews at the disclosed interval until you cancel. Additional fees are limited to one per rolling 24 hours, and all subscription payments, additional fees and applicable taxes remain subject to the US$500 total ceiling in any rolling 12 months. Fees apply as described in section 3.

3. Additional US$12.99 fees authorized by your rank purchase and US$500 annual total ceiling

Reasons an extra US$12.99 fee may apply

The following reasons are subject to the purchase authorization, frequency limits and annual ceiling in this section.

• Weekly activity. At least one successful login to your account during the activity period. This is a charge for account activity under the schedule authorized by your disclosed rank purchase, not an allegation of abuse. An unsuccessful login attempt or an existing session remaining open does not qualify. No activity fee applies to a period without a successful login.
• Automated downloading. Using a bot, script or unattended automated process to retrieve one or more files without manually initiating each download, unless we have expressly permitted that automation. Ordinary browser functions and assistive technology used to carry out a person's individual download instructions do not qualify. Manual download volume alone is not this violation.
• Account circumvention. Controlling or using two or more accounts to evade a disclosed access or download restriction, a paid-access requirement or a suspension. A shared IP address or the existence of multiple accounts alone does not establish circumvention.
• Discord spam or targeted misconduct. Sending further substantially duplicate unsolicited messages in our Discord server after an individualized written warning identifies the spam and instructs you to stop; making a credible threat of violence; or continuing unwanted messages directed at a person after a written warning identifies the harassment and instructs you to stop. Disagreement, discourtesy, an honest negative review, a good-faith complaint, a billing dispute or a report to an authority is not a chargeable event.
• Overdue authorized renewal. A renewal payment that you validly authorized remains unpaid after its disclosed due date and time. No additional contractual grace period applies, but any grace period or restriction required by law must be honored. We may assess a late-payment fee only once for the same unpaid renewal after it first becomes overdue. Further days of nonpayment or payment retries do not create new late fees. Timely cancellation, withdrawal of renewal authorization before the renewal became due, or choosing not to make an optional renewal does not itself create an overdue renewal. No late fee applies to a payment failure caused by our error.

Purchasing the rank is your opt-in. By completing your purchase of the Ultra rank, you expressly opt in to the additional-fee schedule in this section. A link to these terms is disclosure, completing a purchase is your affirmative opt-in; these terms do not require a second opt-in after that purchase.

US$12.99 per qualifying fee; at most one per day. We may assess an additional fee only for a qualifying event listed below. We may assess no more than one additional US$12.99 fee in any rolling 24-hour period, and may collect no more than one additional fee in any rolling 24-hour period, across all categories combined. Separate qualifying events can therefore produce additional fees on successive days or more than once in a week, subject to notice, the weekly activity limit and the US$500 annual total ceiling. Multiple triggers for the same event do not create multiple fees. There is no automatic daily charge, no compounding and no accumulation of waived fees for later collection. Collection may occur after a qualifying event, including outside the ordinary subscription renewal schedule, after any notice and waiting period required by applicable law or payment-network rules.

Separate limit for weekly activity. An activity period is seven consecutive days (168 hours), starting at the activation time for this schedule stated in your purchase confirmation and continuing in consecutive periods. At the end of a completed activity period, we may assess one activity fee if a qualifying login occurred in that period. There can be no more than one activity fee per activity period. Daily login frequency cannot create daily activity fees. Misconduct and overdue-renewal fees have the separate triggers below and remain subject to the combined daily limit.

Bounded discretion and evidence. We may decide whether to assess or waive a fee for a documented qualifying event. No misconduct or late-payment fee will be imposed unless its basis and amount are lawful. Before offering such a fee as agreed compensation for breach, we must be able to substantiate a reasonable estimate of anticipated loss and any legally required difficulty in determining that loss.

US$500 total annual ceiling. For purchases accepted under this version, the total of regular subscription payments, additional fees and any applicable taxes collected by BlackSpigot must not exceed US$500 in any rolling 12-month period. We must check that limit before every collection across all payment methods associated with the same Ultra account. We may collect an additional fee only if the full US$12.99 and any applicable tax fit within the remaining limit; we will not split a fee, move it to another account or defer a disallowed assessment to evade the ceiling. An amount collected above the ceiling must be refunded. The ceiling is a maximum, not a prepaid balance, minimum commitment or independent authorization to collect US$500.

Revoking this additional-fee authorization. You may revoke the additional-fee authorization at any time through our contact page, without canceling the ordinary Ultra subscription. The request can be completed entirely online; no phone call or in-person visit is required. On receipt, revocation stops future debits under this schedule, including pending assessments, and no further additional fees accrue under it. Cancellation or termination of the associated paid subscription, or expiration of paid rank access, also ends this authorization.

4. Cancellation, failed payments and refunds

Cancel future renewals using the cancellation control in Account upgrades. If you cannot access that control, contact us for help. Cancel before the next scheduled renewal to prevent it. Cancellation does not itself reverse a payment already processed. Your bank's applicable stop-payment and authorization-revocation rights remain available.

A failed payment may interrupt paid access. A retry may collect only the same unpaid, authorized amount, subject to applicable law and payment-network rules. A late-payment fee requires the express advance authorization and qualifying overdue renewal described in section 3, and remains subject to its notice, frequency and annual total limits. A Stripe failure alert alone does not authorize a separate debit. Cancellation or withdrawal of authorization must not be bypassed by using another payment method. Revocation of the additional-fee authorization is separate from cancellation of ordinary subscription renewals.

Contact us about a billing error, duplicate payment, unauthorized charge or refund request. We will investigate and correct amounts improperly collected by us. Except where applicable law or your accepted offer requires otherwise, a completed subscription period or cancellation does not automatically entitle you to a refund. Statutory withdrawal, refund and service-quality rights remain available. You may contact your bank or an appropriate authority without first obtaining our permission.

You may request an itemized explanation and a copy of the agreement relied on for a disputed charge through our contact page. Include the transaction date and amount, but do not send full card details. Raising a good-faith billing concern does not waive statutory remedies, bank dispute rights or the right to report suspected misconduct. Our investigation or refund process does not extend a bank's dispute deadline or require you to let that deadline expire.

5. Content and acceptable use

You are responsible for material you submit and must have the rights needed to share it. Do not use the service for unlawful activity, infringement, malware, threats, harassment, unauthorized access or conduct that materially disrupts others. Ultra does not grant ownership of third-party material or permissions its rights holder has not granted.

You retain ownership of your submissions and grant us a nonexclusive license to host, reproduce, format and display them as reasonably needed to operate the service. Public submissions may be reviewed by moderators and should not contain confidential information. Third-party submissions do not necessarily represent our views.

Automated downloading, account circumvention, Discord spam, threats and harassment as defined in section 3 are prohibited conduct. Ordinary weekly logins are permitted and constitute a chargeable activity only under the activity-fee schedule expressly authorized by your purchase as described in section 3. We may remove content or restrict access where reasonably necessary to address a material breach, security issue or legal requirement. Where practicable, we will explain the reason and allow you to contact us about the decision. Moderation does not itself establish a debt or authorize a debit; an associated additional fee remains subject to section 3. Mandatory refund rights remain available. If we permanently terminate your paid subscription, future renewals and the additional-fee authorization must stop.

6. Availability and limits of liability

Maintenance, faults and events beyond our reasonable control may interrupt availability. We do not promise uninterrupted service or that every third-party submission is accurate, safe or suitable for a particular purpose. These statements do not override express purchase commitments or warranties and guarantees required by law.

7. Privacy, changes and applicable rights

Our Privacy Policy explains our handling of personal information. Using Stripe does not expand the scope of your payment authorization to BlackSpigot.

We will give reasonable advance notice of material changes and any longer notice required by law, in a form you can retain, together with information on how to cancel. New or increased fees, a different billing frequency and broader payment authorization require clear disclosure and your affirmative agreement before they apply. Publishing revised terms does not retroactively authorize payments or expand an existing subscriber's billing authorization. Where Tennessee law applies and an automatic renewal will occur more than 60 days after affirmative consent was obtained, we must provide clear notice of when the charge will occur. Required notices or renewed consent under other applicable laws remain necessary.

These terms do not convert an unapproved debit into an authorized payment, excuse misleading billing statements or exempt either party from applicable law. They remain subject to mandatory consumer protections. No provision prevents a report to an authority or waives a right that cannot lawfully be waived. If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining terms continue only to the extent lawful. For questions, billing help or account closure, contact us.

8. Checkout disclosures and informed payment authorization

Supplement added 11 October 2026 - identifier 2026-10-11.7. Sections 8 through 13 add billing safeguards to sections 1 through 7.

Before obtaining your billing information, we must clearly and conspicuously disclose the legal merchant's identity, the Ultra benefits being purchased, the price and currency, the US$12.99 subscription every 30 days, any discount or applicable tax, and when a promotion ends. For a purchase that includes section 3, the notice must also disclose the additional US$12.99 fee, each qualifying trigger, the separate weekly activity limit, the combined rolling 24-hour limit, the US$500 rolling 12-month total ceiling including taxes, and how to cancel or revoke authorization. The notice must make clear that an ordinary successful login can qualify for an additional weekly activity fee. Material billing information must be prominent at the purchase control, readable on the device used, and available before payment details are submitted.

The terms link provides access to the complete agreement and supplements these direct billing disclosures. Completing the purchase supplies payment authorization only when the applicable charges have been disclosed and you affirmatively agree to them. We must obtain any separate consent or authentication required by applicable law or payment-network rules. A valid advance authorization can cover the specified future payments without a new purchase decision for every charge. Silence, an existing account or possession of a saved payment method does not independently authorize additional charges.

9. Saved payment methods, agreement records and confirmations

With your permission, we may use Stripe to retain a payment method for the specific subscription and additional-fee payments you authorize, including payments made when you are not actively using the site. We may use it only for those purposes, amounts, triggers and frequencies. Permission for these payments does not automatically permit unrelated purchases or other uses of saved details. We must obtain any additional permission required for those uses and complete required bank authentication rather than bypass it.

We must retain evidence of the payment disclosures shown, the accepted agreement and supplement, the amount or calculation method, currency, frequency, your affirmative action and its time, and subsequent changes or revocation. A successful payment alone does not prove informed authorization. We must provide a confirmation and an accessible copy of the accepted billing agreement, including cancellation instructions, and receipts identifying each collected amount. We must provide relevant authorization records to you and, where required, Stripe or a payment-network participant on request, subject to lawful identity verification and protection of unrelated personal information.

10. Verification and collection of additional fees

Before assessing or collecting a section 3 fee, we must verify the particular qualifying event or completed activity period against appropriate account, download, message or payment records. An automated alert alone is not proof. The same event cannot be relabeled to collect repeated fees, and continued nonpayment of the same renewal cannot generate further late fees. Discretion to assess or waive a fee does not authorize new triggers, increased amounts or exceptions to the frequency limits or annual ceiling.

Misconduct and late-payment charges must satisfy section 3's requirements for a lawful basis and amount, including a substantiated estimate of anticipated loss where applicable. Customer acceptance and the stated US$12.99 amount do not by themselves establish that a charge is lawful. We must not use these charges as unlawful penalties or submit them through Stripe where the transaction type is not permitted.

Before collecting an additional fee, we must provide an itemized notice identifying its reason, event date or activity period, amount including any tax, intended collection date and how to raise an error or revoke future authorization. Collection must respect all applicable notice and waiting periods. We must recheck authorization, cancellation status, frequency limits and the remaining annual allowance before collection. An invoice or receipt cannot expand the payment authority originally given.

11. Cancellation, revocation, refunds and disputes

We must provide a simple, accessible online method to cancel recurring billing and revoke additional-fee authorization, with any further cancellation methods required by law. We must not obstruct a valid request with an unnecessary telephone call, additional purchase or retention process. We must acknowledge the request and its effective date and stop the affected debits, including pending additional-fee assessments as provided in section 3. There is no fee for cancellation or revocation. Revoking only the additional-fee authorization leaves the ordinary subscription unchanged unless you also cancel it.

We must promptly investigate reported billing errors and refund amounts collected without valid authorization, in error or above the applicable limit, using the method and timing required by law and payment-network rules. We may not debit a revoked authorization to collect a previously asserted amount; any lawful claim must be addressed separately. You need not abandon a bank dispute, statutory remedy or report to an authority to request help or a refund. These procedures do not shorten or extend any bank dispute deadline.

12. Digital delivery, customer support and payment security

Ultra is digital account access, so no physical shipment or return is involved. We must identify the included benefits, activation timing and any access restrictions before purchase and provide what the accepted offer promises. If we cannot supply the purchased access, we must notify you and provide any refund or other remedy required by the accepted offer or applicable law. Trial and promotional conditions, including later pricing, must be disclosed before enrollment.

For purchase, access, cancellation or billing assistance, use our contact page. We must also make a direct customer-service contact method available before purchase, identify the legal business taking payment, and provide any business address or other merchant information required by applicable law or payment-network rules. Payment confirmations and statement descriptions must accurately identify the transaction and merchant.

Payment collection must use secure HTTPS connections and comply with the PCI requirements applicable to our integration. We must not retain card security codes after authorization. We must protect payment-related and authorization records, limit access to those who need it, and retain personal information only for lawful business, security and recordkeeping purposes consistent with our Privacy Policy. Using Stripe does not transfer our own security and privacy responsibilities to you or eliminate them.

13. Processor requirements and the scope of these safeguards

We must process only legitimate transactions supported by the underlying goods or services and the payment authority actually obtained. We must not process prohibited activities or transactions that infringe another party's rights, misrepresent our business or transactions to Stripe, or operate a restricted business through Stripe without any required prior written approval. We must comply with the Stripe Services Agreement, applicable payment-method rules and law. Use of Stripe or publication of these terms does not represent Stripe's endorsement or approval of any fee or business activity.

These safeguards must be implemented in our actual disclosures and billing practices. Where payment permission described elsewhere would exceed the scope permitted by the disclosures, your authorization, applicable law or binding processor rules, the narrower permitted scope applies. This supplement does not add charges, increase authorization or retrospectively replace an earlier customer's accepted agreement. Although only the current terms are published on this page, we must preserve earlier accepted agreements privately for required records and provide the relevant agreement on request.