Terms of Service

LocalKS (the "Service") is a directory of Kansas businesses operated by LocalKS ("we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using the Service, or by creating an account, you agree to these Terms of Service (the "Terms") and to ourPrivacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet this requirement and that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

When you create an account, you agree to provide accurate and current information and to keep it up to date. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account and for keeping your login credentials secure. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized use of your account.

The Service lets you submit content such as reviews, ratings, tips, questions and answers, replies, photos, favorites, and business submissions ("User Content"). You retain ownership of your User Content. By submitting it, you grant LocalKS a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully paid-up, transferable, and sublicensable license to host, store, cache, reproduce, adapt, reformat, display, perform, publish, and distribute that User Content — in whole or in part, and in any media now known or later developed — for the purpose of operating, improving, and promoting the Service. For example, this license lets us show your review on a listing page, include your photo in a gallery, generate thumbnails, and feature excerpts in search results or on social media that links back to LocalKS.

This license continues for content you have made public even after you delete it, to the extent others have interacted with or shared it and for reasonable backup and legal-retention purposes; otherwise the license ends within a reasonable time after deletion.

LocalKS is a neutral venue and interactive computer service that hosts content provided by users and third parties. We are not the author or publisher of User Content, do not endorse it, and are not responsible or liable for any User Content or for any reliance on it. Opinions expressed in reviews are those of their authors alone.

You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to your User Content and that it does not violate these Terms or any law. You may not post content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, obscene, fraudulent, infringing, or that violates the rights of others. We may, but are not obligated to, review, moderate, orremove any content at any time for any reason.

Reviews, ratings, tips, and questions and answers you post must reflect your genuine, first-hand experience with the business. Be honest and be specific. You may not:

• post fake reviewsor reviews for a business you have never patronized;
• post paid or incentivized reviews — that is, reviews exchanged for money, discounts, free goods, or other compensation, whether the incentive comes from the business or anyone else;
• review your own business, or a competitor's business, to inflate or suppress ratings;
• coordinate, solicit, or buy reviews, or use multiple accounts, bots, or other means to manipulate ratings, votes, or rankings; or
• post content that is off-topic, misleading, or that you know to be false.

Reviews, tips, and answers are personal opinions and statements of the individuals who post them. You are solely responsible for your contributions and any liability arising from them, and you agree they reflect your honest, first-hand assessment. LocalKS does not adopt or endorse any review or other User Content, and we may remove, refuse, or down-rank content that violates these Terms.

LocalKS is a community resource that people of all ages may browse. You agree not to post, upload, or transmit content that is, and you agree not to:

Prohibited content includes:

• unlawful content, or content that infringes or violates the rights of others, including intellectual-property, privacy, and publicity rights;
• content that is vulgar, obscene, profane, or sexually explicit, including pornography or sexual content involving minors;
• hateful, harassing, threatening, bullying, or defamatory content, including content that attacks or demeans people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics;
• content that incites violence or self-harm, or that depicts or promotes illegal activity;
• fake, paid, or incentivized reviews, ratings, tips, or Q&A, and any content that does not reflect genuine first-hand experience or that is intended to manipulate ratings or rankings;
• spam, advertising, chain messages, malware, or fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading content; and
• personal or sensitive information about another person posted without their consent (doxxing).

Prohibited conduct includes:

• impersonating any person or business, or misrepresenting your affiliation with a person or business;
• creating multiple or fake accounts, or using bots or automation to post content, vote, or manipulate the Service;
• scraping, crawling, harvesting, or bulk-downloading data from the Service, except as expressly permitted by the applicable open-data license;
• interfering with, disrupting, overloading, rate-limit-evading, or attempting to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its systems; and
• using the Service in any way that could damage, disable, or impair it, or that violates any law.

To keep LocalKS safe, accurate, and welcoming, we may — but are not obligated to — review, monitor, and moderate User Content and activity on the Service. We are not the publisher of User Content, and our right to moderate does not make us responsible for it.

At our sole discretion, with or without notice, and to the extent permitted by law, we may:

• filter, blur, hide, label, edit, down-rank, or remove any content that we believe violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable;
• apply automated filters — including profanity and spam detection — that may block or flag content before or after it is posted;
• rate-limit or temporarily restrict posting, uploading, or other actions to prevent abuse;
• issue warnings, restrict features, orsuspend or permanently terminate any account that violates these Terms; and
• report unlawful content or conduct to law enforcement and cooperate with lawful requests.

We try to apply our rules fairly, but moderation decisions are ultimately at our discretion and we do not guarantee that any particular piece of content will be reviewed, kept, or removed. If you believe a moderation decision was made in error, you may contact us athello@localks.com.

Business listings are provided for general informational purposes only. Much of the underlying business data is sourced from publicOpenStreetMap data, © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL). We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency of any listing, and the inclusion of a business does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or affiliation. Always confirm details directly with the business before relying on them.

Some listing information is submitted by users or by businesses that claim a listing; we do not verify and are not responsible for the accuracy of any user- or business-submitted information. LocalKS is not a party to and is not responsible for any interaction, transaction, or dispute between you and any business or other user listed on or found through the Service. Any dealings with a business are solely between you and that business.

Claiming a listing

If you are an owner, employee, or authorized representative of a business, you may request to claim its listing. By submitting a claim you represent that you are authorized to act on behalf of that business. We may ask you to verify your connection to the business — for example by confirming an email address, answering a verification call or message, or providing supporting documentation — and we may approve, deny, revoke, or reassign a claim at our discretion. Claiming a listing lets you update certain details and respond to reviews, but it does not give you ownership of the listing page itself or control over genuine User Content posted by others.

Closed businesses

When a business permanently closes, we may mark its listing as closed and retain the page for historical reference, including past reviews, photos, and other public User Content. Closed-business pages are clearly labeled and are kept so the community has an accurate record of the places that once operated in Kansas. We may remove or merge listings, including duplicates, at our discretion.

Some listings may be promoted as paid placements. A business may pay to have its listing featured more prominently — for example, near the top of search results, on category pages, or alongside related listings. Sponsored placements are always clearly labeled as "Sponsored," "Promoted," or "Ad," so you can tell them apart from the regular, unpaid results.

Paying for a sponsored placement does not influence the genuine reviews, ratings, or other User Content shown on a listing, and it does not constitute an endorsement of the business by LocalKS. We determine which placements are available, how they are priced, and where they appear, and we may decline or remove any sponsored placement at our discretion.

The Service, including its design, branding, logos, text, and software, is owned by LocalKS or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws. Except for openly licensed map data (which remains subject to its own license) and your own User Content, you may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from the Service without our prior written permission.

We respect intellectual property rights and respond to clear notices of alleged copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our designated agent athello@localks.com that includes: (1) your physical or electronic signature; (2) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed; (3) identification of the material claimed to be infringing and its location on the Service; (4) your contact information; (5) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and (6) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf. We may remove allegedly infringing material and, in appropriate circumstances, terminate the accounts of repeat infringers. If you believe your material was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notice with the same contact agent.

The Service may contain links to, or data from, third parties, including OpenStreetMap map tiles and external websites. We do not control and are not responsible for the content, accuracy, policies, or practices of any third party. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk and subject to their terms.

The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement, and any warranty that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or that any information on it is accurate or complete.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, LocalKS and its operators, owners, and contributors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your use of (or inability to use) the Service.

In no event will our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the Service exceed the greater of one hundred U.S. dollars (US $100) or the amount you paid us, if any, in the twelve months before the claim arose. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless LocalKS and its operators, owners, and contributors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to your User Content, your use of the Service, or your violation of these Terms or applicable law.

In plain English: if there is a dispute we cannot resolve informally, it will be decided by an individual arbitrator rather than in court, and you agree not to bring or join a class action.

Before initiating arbitration, you agree to first contact us athello@localks.com with a written description of the dispute and to attempt to resolve it informally for at least 30 days. If we cannot resolve the dispute within that period, either party may initiate arbitration.

Except where prohibited by law, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by final and binding arbitration on an individual basis, rather than in court, in accordance with the rules of a recognized arbitration provider. You and LocalKS each waive any right to a jury trial and agree that claims may be brought only in an individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative action. This section does not prevent either party from seeking relief in a small-claims court for qualifying claims.

Arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, and will take place in Kansas or remotely at the arbitrator's discretion. If the class-action waiver in this section is found to be unenforceable or invalid as to a particular claim or request for relief, then that claim or request will be severed and decided by a court rather than an arbitrator, but the remainder of this arbitration agreement will continue in full force.

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by emailinghello@localks.com with your account email and a statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms or to protect the Service or other users. You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including content licenses, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and arbitration — will survive.

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service or any part of it, including any listing or feature, at any time and without notice or liability. We do not guarantee that the Service or any content will remain available.

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, that provision will be limited or severed to the minimum extent necessary and the remaining provisions will remain in full force. These Terms, together with thePrivacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and LocalKS regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Kansas, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the arbitration section above, any disputes not subject to arbitration will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Kansas.

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Service after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

Questions about these Terms? Email us athello@localks.comor use ourcontact form.