1. Parties and acceptance
These Terms are a legally binding agreement between you (“you” or “User”) and Agniva Ganguly, doing business as Knivier (“Knivier”, “we”, “us”, or “our”).
If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not download, install, access, or use the Software or Services. If you use the Software or Services on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization, and “you” includes that organization.
You represent that you have legal capacity to enter this agreement. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may use the Software or Services only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms. Data-collective programs may impose a higher minimum age; that program’s notices control where stricter.
2. Definitions
- Software means all Knivier-branded applications, libraries, kernels, engines, tools, firmware, source code, object code, documentation, and related materials, whether open source or closed source, including without limitation Activerse, Activerse Ultra, and Popcorn.
- Services means websites, hosted programs, accounts, APIs, and other online offerings operated by Knivier, including data-collective programs such as RNSocial.
- Open Source Software means Software distributed with source code under a public license stated in the applicable repository or package.
- Closed Source Software means Software for which Knivier has not published the source code, or has published it only under terms that do not permit unrestricted inspection, including Activerse Ultra while it remains closed source.
- Data-Collective Program means a Service that stores or processes user-supplied account, profile, message, or similar personal data, including RNSocial and any successor.
- Project License means the license file or notice shipped with a particular Software project (for example, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
3. Scope and precedence
These Terms apply to all Knivier Software and Services unless a specific Project License or written agreement says otherwise for a defined topic.
If a Project License governs redistribution of particular Open Source Software, that Project License controls redistribution of that Software. These Terms control your use of Knivier websites and Services, the SSP, acceptable use, disclaimers, limitation of liability, and indemnification, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
If you have a separate written agreement signed by Knivier, that agreement controls only to the extent of a direct conflict.
4. Terms of Software/Services
The following terms are core conditions of use.
4.1 As-is software; no warranties
All Software and Services are provided as is and as available, without any warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. This includes, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, quiet enjoyment, accuracy, and non-infringement, and any warranties arising from course of dealing or usage of trade.
Knivier does not warrant that the Software or Services will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, error-free, or free of harmful components, or that defects will be corrected.
4.2 Open-source liability is yours
All liability arising from Open Source Software falls to the User. This includes, without limitation, Activerse, Popcorn, and Activerse Ultra (whether offered as open source or closed source). You, not Knivier, are solely responsible for your decision to use, compile, modify, configure, deploy, distribute, or rely on that Software, including any damage to hardware, loss of data, security incidents, legal claims, downtime, or other harm.
4.3 Data-collective programs and credentials
Data-Collective Programs, such as RNSocial, are operated with a reasonable expectation of data protection. That expectation is not a guarantee of absolute security. It is up to you to set and maintain strong credentials, to keep them confidential, to use available account-protection features, and to take action promptly if you believe your account is compromised.
Knivier is not responsible for unauthorized access that results from weak, reused, shared, or disclosed credentials, or from your failure to secure devices, email, or recovery methods under your control.
4.4 Redistribution must retain the original license
All Open Source Software developed by Knivier must retain its original Project License if redistributed, whether modified or unmodified, together with proper attribution as required by that license and by these Terms. You may not strip copyright notices, license texts, attribution, or required share-alike conditions. If the Project License is CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 or another listed license, you must comply with that license in full.
4.5 Closed-source restrictions
You shall not jailbreak, exploit, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, probe, bypass, or backdoor Closed Source Software, or any related Service, in a manner intended to obtain unauthorized access or to give any user unfair privileges, except to the limited extent such a restriction is prohibited by applicable law (for example, certain interoperability rights). Circumvention of technical protection measures, privilege escalation, and unauthorized modification of access controls are forbidden.
5. Seamless Standard Promise
Subject to these Terms, Knivier makes the following operational commitments. The SSP does not create warranties beyond this Section 5, does not restore any warranty disclaimed in Section 4 or Section 9, and does not expand liability beyond Section 10.
5.1 Data-breach lockout and notice
In the event of a data breach on a Data-Collective Program, Knivier will, as soon as reasonably practicable after becoming aware of the incident, lock out affected users and notify them using contact information on file. Knivier’s operational goal is to do so immediately and at once. Notice may be sent by email or in-product message. You are responsible for keeping a current, reachable contact address.
Lockout is a protective measure. Knivier is not liable for interruption of access during an investigation, for delayed notice caused by inaccurate contact details, or for harm caused by the underlying incident except as required by non-waivable law.
5.2 Unexpected behavior
If Software or a Service is not behaving as expected, email bugs@knivier.com for a resolve, unless a particular Software or Service states otherwise. Reports should include enough detail to reproduce the issue. Knivier may investigate in good faith but has no obligation to provide a fix, workaround, or timeline unless a separate written agreement says so.
5.3 Closed-source data in transit and access
On Closed Source Software and related hosted Services, user data is encrypted in transit. Knivier moderators and administrators shall not view, nor attempt to view, that user content unless a legally defined search warrant or comparable compulsory legal process has been issued. Direct all such legal process to legal@knivier.com.
This promise does not prohibit automated processing required to operate the Service (for example, encrypted transport, storage, routing, or non-content diagnostics) and does not require Knivier to resist valid legal process. Knivier may disclose information when required by law.
5.4 General enquiries
For general enquiries, contact enquiry@knivier.com.
6. Accounts, credentials, and user content
You are responsible for all activity under your accounts and for content you submit. You grant Knivier a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive license to host, store, transmit, and display that content solely to operate the applicable Service.
You represent that you have the rights needed to submit that content and that it does not infringe others’ rights or violate law. Knivier may remove content or suspend accounts that appear to violate these Terms, and has no duty to pre-screen content.
You should maintain your own backups. Knivier is not a backup service and is not responsible for lost, corrupted, or irretrievable data.
7. Acceptable use
You shall not, and shall not attempt to:
- use the Software or Services for any unlawful purpose, or to harm persons, property, or systems;
- interfere with, overload, or disrupt Knivier or third-party infrastructure;
- introduce malware, or use the Software to develop or distribute malware, except legitimate defensive security research conducted on systems you own or are authorized to test, and never against Knivier Services without prior written permission;
- misrepresent your identity, scrape in an abusive manner, or bypass rate limits or access controls;
- use Closed Source Software to obtain unfair privileges for yourself or others;
- remove or obscure Knivier branding, copyright notices, or license notices required by a Project License;
- use the Software or Services in any high-risk environment where failure could cause death, personal injury, or severe environmental or physical damage (including medical, aviation, nuclear, or emergency-control systems). The Software and Services are not designed for such use.
8. Intellectual property
Except for rights expressly granted by a Project License or these Terms, Knivier and its licensors retain all right, title, and interest in the Software, Services, names, logos, and documentation. No implied licenses are granted.
Feedback you send (including bug reports) may be used by Knivier without restriction or compensation. You assign to Knivier any intellectual-property rights in such feedback to the extent permitted by law; if assignment is not permitted, you grant Knivier a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use it.
Knivier respects copyright. Alleged infringement notices may be sent to legal@knivier.com.
9. Disclaimers of warranties
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Knivier disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including those listed in Section 4.1. Documentation, marketing pages, version notes, wikis, and oral or written statements are informational only and do not create warranties.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties. In those jurisdictions, disclaimers apply to the fullest extent permitted, and any non-excludable warranty is limited in duration to the shorter of thirty (30) days or the minimum period required by law.
10. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Knivier, and its officers, contractors, and licensors, shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business interruption, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
Knivier’s total liability for all claims arising out of or relating to the Software, Services, or these Terms shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts you paid to Knivier, if any, for the specific Software or Service giving rise to the claim during the twelve (12) months before the claim, or (b) zero U.S. dollars (US$0.00). If you obtained the Software or Service at no charge, Knivier’s maximum liability is US$0.00.
These limits apply to all theories of liability (contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, statute, or otherwise) and are an essential basis of the bargain. Knivier would not provide free or low-cost Software and Services without them. They apply even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by Knivier’s proven negligence where such exclusion is forbidden.
11. Indemnification
You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Knivier and its officers, contractors, and licensors from and against any claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use, misuse, modification, or redistribution of the Software or Services; (b) your content; (c) your violation of these Terms, a Project License, or law; (d) your infringement of a third party’s rights; or (e) any jailbreak, exploit, unauthorized access, or unfair-privilege activity you perform or enable.
12. No duty of support; experimental software
Unless a separate paid or written support agreement exists, Knivier has no obligation to provide support, updates, security patches, or continued availability. Software may be withdrawn, discontinued, or left unmaintained at any time.
Pre-release, teaser, beta, and experimental Software, including Activerse Ultra while in development, may be unstable, incomplete, or inaccurate. You use it at your sole risk.
13. Third-party materials and dependencies
The Software and Services may include or link to third-party libraries, fonts, tools, hosting, analytics, or other materials. Those items are governed by their own terms. Knivier is not responsible for third-party content, availability, security, or licenses, and makes no warranty regarding them.
You are responsible for complying with third-party licenses when you build, ship, or run Software that incorporates those materials.
14. Termination
You may stop using the Software and Services at any time. Knivier may suspend or terminate access, accounts, or licenses (other than irrevocable rights granted by an applicable Open Source Project License) immediately if you breach these Terms, if required by law, or if continued operation is impracticable.
Open Source licenses already granted under a Project License survive according to that license. Sections that by their nature should survive (including 4, 7-13, 16, and 17) survive termination.
15. Changes to the Terms or SSP
Knivier may update these Terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date will change when we do. Continued use after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Software and Services.
For material changes to a Data-Collective Program, Knivier will attempt to provide additional notice using contact information on file where reasonably practicable.
16. Governing law, venue, and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except that Open Source Project Licenses are governed by their own choice-of-law clauses if they have one.
Before filing a claim, you agree to try to resolve the dispute informally by emailing enquiry@knivier.com (or legal@knivier.com for legal process) and allowing thirty (30) days for a response.
Subject to any non-waivable consumer rights, exclusive venue for disputes arising out of these Terms or the Software or Services lies in the state courts of Washtenaw County, Michigan, or the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there.
To the extent permitted by law, you may bring claims only in your individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding.
17. General provisions
- Entire agreement. These Terms, the SSP, and any applicable Project License are the entire agreement between you and Knivier regarding the Software and Services, and supersede prior oral or written terms on the same subject, except a signed writing that expressly says otherwise.
- Severability. If a provision is held unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed, and the remaining provisions remain in effect.
- No waiver. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Waivers must be in writing.
- Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without Knivier’s prior written consent. Knivier may assign them in connection with a reorganization, transfer of assets, or operation of law.
- Force majeure. Knivier is not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond reasonable control, including outages, internet failures, labor disputes, natural disasters, war, terrorism, epidemics, or government action.
- Export and sanctions. You shall not use or export the Software in violation of United States export-control or sanctions laws, or the laws of your jurisdiction.
- No professional advice. The Software, documentation, and websites are not legal, medical, financial, or other professional advice.
- Relationship. These Terms do not create a partnership, employment, or agency relationship.
- Headings. Headings are for convenience only.
- Language. The controlling language of these Terms is English.
- Interpretation. “Including” means “including without limitation.”
18. Notices and contact
Mail is sorted by priority matching. Use the address that matches your request. Sending to the wrong inbox can delay a reply.
Please use caution when choosing an email address. Incoming mail is sorted by priority matching, so using the wrong address can delay a reply. Do not send bug reports to legal@, and do not send legal process to bugs@.
Further contact options are listed on the main contact section.