HLS

Terms of Service

Effective date: [TBD — set on real launch]
Draft — not yet reviewed by a lawyer
This is a working draft written to describe how HLS actually operates today. It has not been reviewed by a legal professional and should not be treated as final. Get it reviewed before real users rely on it.

1. Who we are

HLS ("we", "us") is an interactive-fiction platform operated by Paulo Henrique Nunes Sabatino, trading as El Plebo, of [registered/correspondence address — TBD, not a home address — see note below], reachable at [contact email — TBD, not yet set up]. These Terms govern your use of the HLS website and service (the "Service") at hls.dolla.gg and any related subdomains.

UK law generally requires an online trader to publish a geographic address, not just an email — this placeholder is intentional, not an oversight, pending a correspondence address that isn't a home address (registered office / mail-forwarding service, etc.).

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 16 years old to create an account — by creating one you confirm that you are. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you may only use the Service with the involvement of a parent or guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.

3. Accounts

You sign in with a Discord account through our authentication provider. You're responsible for activity on your account and for keeping your Discord credentials secure. One account per person — don't create accounts to evade a suspension or ban.

4. Creator content

Creators can write and publish interactive stories ("books"), upload character art, and set pricing for their chapters. You retain ownership of the content you create and upload. By publishing, you grant HLS a non-exclusive, worldwide license to host, store, display, and distribute that content to readers as part of operating the Service. You're responsible for having the rights to everything you upload — don't publish content that infringes someone else's copyright, trademark, or other rights.

If you unpublish a book, close your account, or ask us to remove your content, that stops new sales and removes it from the marketplace, but doesn't revoke the license already granted to readers who bought a chapter — a bought chapter stays in a buyer's library. A book with no purchases can be fully deleted on request; one with paying readers is archived instead, permanently unlisted but still playable by the readers who paid for it. You can request an export of your own content as a raw data file at any time, whether or not you're leaving the Service.

Some studio tools use AI (currently Anthropic's Claude) to help you write — for example, suggesting rewrites of a line of dialogue. These only run when you explicitly trigger them, only send the specific content needed for that action (never a whole book), and only ever return suggestions you choose whether to accept — nothing is generated or changed automatically.

You may not publish content that is illegal, that sexualizes minors, that constitutes harassment or hate speech targeted at real people, or that contains malware or attempts to exploit the Service. We can remove content or suspend accounts that violate this. Content review is currently manual and best-effort, not automated — any signed-in reader can report a chapter directly from the player for a Terms violation, and reports are reviewed by hand.

Sexually explicit (pornographic) content is not permitted anywhere on the Service. Books can range up to a "mature" rating — non-explicit intimacy, strong language, dark themes — but may not depict sex acts in explicit detail, in text or in art. Every published book must carry an accurate maturity rating chosen from our published rating categories; deliberately mis-rating a book is itself a violation of these Terms.

5. Virtual currency

The Service uses one in-app virtual currency, Gems, purchased with real money via Stripe. Your wallet tracks Gems by source — purchased (bought directly) and earned (from your own chapter sales, if you're a creator) — but both are the same currency. Gems:

  • have no monetary value and cannot be redeemed, exchanged, or cashed out for real money by readers;
  • are non-transferable between accounts;
  • earned Gems may be converted to purchased Gems, but not the reverse;
  • are forfeited if your account is closed or terminated for violating these Terms.

Gem purchases are processed by Stripe and are final and non-refundable, except where required by law or at our discretion (for example, a failed purchase that didn't deliver Gems). If Stripe processes a refund or chargeback on a purchase, the corresponding Gems are deducted from your balance, which may take it to zero if you've already spent them.

6. Creator earnings

When a reader buys your chapter, you earn a share of the price, credited to your own in-platform wallet as earned Gems (the exact revenue-share percentage is a current platform setting, not fixed by these Terms, and may change). Earned Gems can be converted to purchased Gems and spent within the Service like any other balance, at a conversion rate that is also a current platform setting and may change.

Cashing out earnings for real money is planned but not yet available. When it launches, it will be governed by its own separate terms, and is expected to require meeting eligibility criteria — such as a minimum holding period on newly-earned Gems before they're payable, and a minimum payout amount, with identity verification added once payouts move to self-service — before a creator can withdraw. Full requirements will be published when payout itself launches, not before this.

7. Purchases & payments

All payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number — Stripe handles that directly. Prices are shown in USD unless stated otherwise; applicable taxes may be added at checkout.

8. Termination

You can stop using the Service and request account deletion at any time by contacting us. We can suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms, and reserve the right to remove content or restrict access without prior notice where we reasonably believe it's necessary (for example, illegal content, active abuse of the Service, or a payment dispute).

9. Disclaimers & limitation of liability

The Service is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind. HLS is under active development and may have bugs, downtime, or data loss — we don't guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. To the maximum extent permitted by law, HLS isn't liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Service, and our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose.

10. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them. If you're located outside the UK, your local consumer-protection laws may still give you rights this clause can't override — this section sets the default, not a way to waive protections you're legally entitled to.

11. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll post the updated Terms here with a new effective date. Continuing to use the Service after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

12. Contact

Questions about these Terms: [contact email — TBD].