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Terms of Service

Last Updated: March 15, 2026

1. Introduction

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the ResearchC website, platform, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

"ResearchC," "we," "us," or "our" refers to ResearchC and its operators.

These Terms operate together with the ResearchC Privacy Policy and the ResearchC Community Guidelines, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. The Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect personal information. The Community Guidelines describe expected user conduct on the platform.

By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to these Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the Community Guidelines. If you do not agree, you may not use the Service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to use ResearchC.

ResearchC is intended for individuals affiliated with academic or research institutions including students, researchers, professors, and research professionals.

You must register using a valid institutional email address. ResearchC may verify institutional affiliation and may suspend or terminate accounts that do not meet eligibility requirements.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

3. Purpose of the Platform

ResearchC is designed to facilitate research collaboration including:

  • discovering research collaborators
  • connecting with students, researchers, and professors
  • sharing research opportunities or research assistantship postings
  • participating in academic discussions

ResearchC is not intended for general social networking, dating, or unrelated personal activities.

4. Acceptable Use and Prohibited Conduct

Users must comply with the ResearchC Community Guidelines and may not engage in behavior that is unlawful, abusive, deceptive, or disruptive.

Prohibited conduct includes but is not limited to:

Harassment and abusive conduct

  • harassment, bullying, intimidation, or targeted personal attacks
  • discriminatory or hateful language
  • sexual harassment or unwanted advances
  • repeated unwanted contact after a user has asked you to stop

Threats and intimidation

  • threats of violence, hacking, or reputational harm
  • extortion, blackmail, or coercion
  • encouraging harassment campaigns

Privacy violations

  • publishing private personal information such as phone numbers, home addresses, government IDs, passwords, or financial details
  • non-consensual sharing of private images or recordings

Impersonation and fraud

  • impersonating another person, research group, or institution
  • misrepresenting academic affiliation or credentials
  • creating fake or misleading profiles

Spam and platform manipulation

  • unsolicited advertising or promotional messages
  • automated mass messaging
  • scams, phishing, or fraudulent opportunity postings

Misuse of research content

  • plagiarism or presenting another user's research as your own
  • unauthorized use or redistribution of research proposals or materials shared through the Service
  • exploiting research connections for non-academic purposes

Illegal activities

  • using the platform to conduct illegal transactions or activities
  • distributing illegal content

Violations of these rules may result in enforcement actions as described below.

5. Disruption of Service and Security Violations

Users may not interfere with or attempt to compromise the operation of the Service.

Examples of prohibited actions include:

  • distributing malware, viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, or spyware
  • denial-of-service (DoS) or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks
  • intentionally overloading or flooding platform systems
  • automated scraping or large-scale data harvesting
  • brute force login attempts or credential-stuffing attacks
  • probing or scanning systems for vulnerabilities
  • exploiting bugs or security weaknesses
  • bypassing rate limits, authentication safeguards, or access controls

Any activity that attempts to disrupt platform infrastructure or compromise user security may result in immediate suspension or termination and may be referred to law enforcement authorities.

6. Reverse Engineering and Platform Imitation

The technology underlying ResearchC, including its matching systems, recommendation algorithms, software architecture, and platform design, constitutes proprietary intellectual property.

Users may not:

  • reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Service
  • extract or infer proprietary algorithms or models
  • copy, replicate, or imitate platform features, matching logic, or interface designs
  • scrape platform data for purposes of building a competing service
  • use platform data to train or benchmark competing algorithms

Unauthorized use of ResearchC technology may result in legal action including claims for damages and injunctive relief.

7. User Content

Users may submit content including profiles, research interests, messages, and research postings.

Users retain ownership of their content. However, by submitting content to the Service, you grant ResearchC a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute such content solely for the purposes of operating and improving the Service.

Users are responsible for ensuring their content does not violate the law or infringe third-party rights.

8. Reporting and Enforcement

Users may report misconduct through reporting tools available within the Service.

ResearchC may review reports and take enforcement actions including:

  • warnings
  • content removal
  • feature restrictions
  • temporary suspension
  • permanent account termination

Reports and investigations may involve processing personal information as described in the Privacy Policy.

9. Platform Liability Protections

ResearchC provides a platform for user-generated content and interactions. Under applicable law, including Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act where applicable, ResearchC is not liable for content created or shared by users.

ResearchC does not guarantee the accuracy, reliability, or legitimacy of user profiles, research opportunities, or collaborations.

10. Privacy

ResearchC collects and processes personal data as described in the ResearchC Privacy Policy.

The Privacy Policy explains:

  • what data we collect
  • how data is used and stored
  • how data may be shared with infrastructure providers
  • your privacy rights under laws such as GDPR and CCPA

By using the Service, you consent to the processing of information described in the Privacy Policy.

11. Disclaimers

The Service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE." ResearchC makes no guarantees regarding:

  • successful research collaborations
  • research assistantship placements
  • mentorship opportunities
  • academic outcomes

12. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, ResearchC shall not be liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from use of the Service.

This includes damages resulting from user interactions, disputes, failed collaborations, or inaccurate information shared by users.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States.

Any disputes arising from these Terms shall be resolved in courts located in California unless otherwise required by law.

14. Changes to These Terms

ResearchC may update these Terms from time to time. Updated versions will be posted with a revised "Last Updated" date.

Continued use of the Service constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

15. Contact

For questions regarding these Terms:

ResearchC
Email: support@researchc.app