Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to RateMySupervisor. By accessing or using our website (https://www.ratemysupervisor.net), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use our services.

These Terms apply to all visitors, users, and others who access or use our services.

2. Description of Service

RateMySupervisor is a community-driven platform that allows users to search for academic supervisors and share their personal experiences.

Important Notice: We act as an "interactive computer service" provider under the Communications Decency Act (47 U.S.C. § 230). We provide the platform for distribution of content, but we are not the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider (i.e., our users).

3. User Accounts

3.1 Registration

To submit reviews, you must create an account. You agree to provide accurate registration information and maintain the security of your credentials.

3.2 Age Requirement

You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) to use our services. If you are under 18, you may not create an account or submit reviews.

4. User Conduct and Content

4.1 Review Guidelines

You agree that any review, rating, or comment you post:

• Reflects your actual, first-hand experience.
• Is not defamatory, libelous, or legally actionable.
• Does not contain private personal information (doxxing) such as home addresses or private phone numbers.
• Is not written by the supervisor themselves (self-review) or by a competitor with malicious intent.

4.2 Prohibited Content & Activities

You may NOT:

• Post content that is false, misleading, harassing, hate speech, or sexually explicit.
• Use automated scripts, bots, or scrapers to access the service or collect data (this protects our system and AdSense integrity).
• Attempt to manipulate ratings through fake accounts.

4.3 Content Ownership and License

You retain ownership of the content you submit. However, by posting content on RateMySupervisor, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, and transferable license to use, reproduce, display, distribute, and modify such content.

Note: This means that once a review is posted, you do not have the absolute right to demand its removal, although we may consider removal requests at our discretion or for legal reasons.

5. Content Moderation

We reserve the right (but have no obligation) to monitor, review, remove, or edit content at our sole discretion. The fact that we may remove some content does not create a duty to monitor all content.

6. Intellectual Property

All platform design, code, logos, and proprietary features are the property of RateMySupervisor. You may not copy or mirror our website structure without written permission.

7. Privacy and Data Practices

Your use of the site is governed by our Privacy Policy. By using the site, you consent to the collection and use of information as detailed therein, including:

• IP-based region detection: We identify your approximate country of origin to display region-appropriate content, language, and affiliate recommendations. We do not store your raw IP address.
• Cookies and session data: We use cookies for authentication and session management, and sessionStorage for in-session content preferences. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
• Advertising partners: We work with advertising networks (including Google AdSense and potentially Mediavine/Journey) that may collect data to serve relevant ads. You may opt out of personalized advertising as described in our Privacy Policy.

7a. Affiliate Links Disclosure

Some links on RateMySupervisor are affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and complete a purchase or subscription, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• NordVPN: We are an affiliate of NordVPN. Clicking a NordVPN link routes through an affiliate tracking URL. The commission we receive does not affect the price you pay, and we only recommend NordVPN as a tool genuinely useful for researchers (e.g., securing connections on public networks, accessing academic resources).
• Amazon Associates: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Qualifying purchases made after clicking our links may earn us a referral fee.

Affiliate relationships do not influence our academic content, review integrity, or supervisor ratings. Our editorial decisions are independent.

8. Disclaimers (Section 230 Protection)

8.1 No Warranty

The service is provided on an "AS IS" basis. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any reviews.

8.2 User Opinions vs. Facts

Reviews posted on this site represent the opinions of individual users, not facts verified by RateMySupervisor. We are not liable for any reputational damage, loss of employment, or other damages resulting from user-generated content.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, RateMySupervisor shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the service or exposure to user content.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless RateMySupervisor, its operators, and affiliates from any claims, legal fees, or damages arising from content you submit or your violation of these Terms.

11. Copyright Infringement (DMCA)

If you believe content infringes your copyright, please notify us pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Send a notice to [email protected] including:

1. Identification of the copyrighted work.
2. Identification of the infringing material (URL).
3. Your contact info and a statement under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate.

12. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States, without regard to conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising from these Terms shall be resolved through binding arbitration or in a court of competent jurisdiction in the United States.

13. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms periodically. Continued use of the services after changes indicates acceptance of the new Terms.

14. Contact Us

For legal inquiries or questions about these Terms, please contact:
📧 [email protected]