Agreement to Terms
By accessing and using Stone Soup (stonesoup.us), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use our website.
Description of Service
Stone Soup is a free, educational website offering interactive stories designed to build vocabulary through engaging narratives. The stories reimagine the classic folktale "Stone Soup" with characters named for uncommon English words.
Intellectual Property
All original content on Stone Soup, including but not limited to text, stories, character names, illustrations, and digital presentation, is the property of Steven D. Mikel and is protected by copyright law.
The underlying folktale of "Stone Soup" is in the public domain. Our original adaptations, characters, and presentation are protected works.
You may:
- Read and enjoy the stories for personal, non-commercial use
- Share links to our website with others
- Use the stories in educational settings (classrooms, homeschool, reading groups)
You may not:
- Copy, reproduce, or distribute our content without permission
- Use our content for commercial purposes
- Create derivative works based on our characters or stories
- Remove or alter any copyright notices
User Submissions
When you submit a story or message through our contact form, you grant us permission to:
- Read and respond to your message
- If you opt in, publish your story on our Ripples page using your first name or anonymously
- Edit submissions for length, clarity, or appropriateness
You retain ownership of your original submissions but grant us a non-exclusive license to display them on our website.
Acceptable Use
You agree not to:
- Use the website for any unlawful purpose
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems
- Interfere with the proper functioning of the website
- Submit false, misleading, or harmful content
- Use automated systems to access or scrape our content
Disclaimer of Warranties
Stone Soup is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not guarantee that the website will be error-free, secure, or continuously available.
Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Stone Soup and its creator shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the website.
Changes to Terms
We reserve the right to modify these Terms of Service at any time. Changes will be effective immediately upon posting. Your continued use of the website constitutes acceptance of the modified terms.
Governing Law
These Terms of Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.
Contact
If you have questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us through our contact form.
The wonder was never in the stones...