Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) govern your access to and use of services operated by Watchdog Systems (“Watchdog”, “we”, “us” or “our”). By accessing or using a Watchdog service, you agree to follow these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the services.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information and forms part of the information you should read before using our services. Additional rules may apply to a particular feature, community, vacancy or role; where they conflict with these Terms, the more specific rules will apply to that feature or activity.

These Terms apply to the Watchdog Systems website, Discord-related services and bots, user accounts, dashboards, staff portals, recruitment and application systems, support and data-request tools, and any other Watchdog-operated service that links to these Terms.

Some services may be experimental, restricted to invited users, or provided only to participating communities. Access to one service does not create a right to access every Watchdog service.

• You must meet the minimum age and other eligibility requirements imposed by Discord and any other platform used to access the services.
• You must be legally capable of agreeing to these Terms, or have any permission required from a parent, guardian or other authorised person.
• You must satisfy any additional eligibility, location, experience, safeguarding or role requirements stated for a particular service, vacancy or staff system.

We may ask for reasonable information to confirm eligibility. You must not use the services if applicable law or platform rules prohibit you from doing so.

Discord sign-in

Watchdog may use Discord to authenticate you and determine access to certain services. We do not receive your Discord password. You are responsible for keeping your Discord account and connected devices secure and for activity carried out through your authenticated account.

Accurate use of your identity

Information you provide must be accurate, current and not misleading. You must not impersonate another person, misrepresent your authority or role, share access credentials, or use another person’s account without permission. Tell us promptly through the available support channel if you believe your account has been compromised.

We may restrict, suspend or review an account where we reasonably suspect misuse, unauthorised access, false information or a security risk.

You must use Watchdog services responsibly and lawfully. You must not:

• abuse, harass, intimidate, threaten or deliberately endanger another person
• bypass or attempt to bypass permissions, access controls, rate limits or security measures
• find, test, exploit, retain or disclose bugs or vulnerabilities except through an explicitly authorised security process
• interfere with or disrupt the website, bots, databases, networks or other infrastructure
• access or attempt to access accounts, data, systems or areas for which you do not have permission
• scrape, crawl, copy or automate access in a way that is abusive, excessive or contrary to stated instructions
• upload, send or link to malware, malicious code, harmful files or material intended to compromise a person or system
• spam or abuse ticket, application, data subject access request, support, appeal or escalation systems
• submit fraudulent, fabricated or intentionally misleading information, evidence, reports or applications
• use a Watchdog service for unlawful purposes or to help another person act unlawfully

Reasonable, good-faith mistakes will be considered in context. This section does not prevent lawful reporting, criticism, complaints or the exercise of legal rights.

Discord features rely partly on systems operated by Discord. Watchdog is not responsible for Discord outages, account actions, API changes, feature removals or other events outside our reasonable control. Bot functionality, commands and required server permissions may change as services develop or platform requirements change.

When using Watchdog through Discord, you must also comply with Discord’s own terms, policies and Community Guidelines. Discord is an independent third party and is not controlled by Watchdog.

Staff dashboards, case tools and internal systems are permission-based and may be used only for authorised Watchdog duties. You must not try to access functions, records or systems beyond your assigned access.

• Keep internal information confidential and disclose it only where authorised and necessary for your role.
• Follow applicable staff, security, safeguarding, evidence-handling and community procedures.
• Do not export, retain or use internal data for personal purposes or after your access is no longer required.

Access may be changed or revoked immediately when responsibilities or roles change, when a relationship with Watchdog ends, or where this is reasonably required for security, confidentiality or operational reasons.

Submitting an application does not guarantee an interview, appointment, volunteer role, contract or employment. Application information must be truthful, complete and kept reasonably up to date. We may verify relevant information where lawful and appropriate.

Watchdog may amend, pause, close or withdraw a vacancy or recruitment process at any time. Vacancies should state whether an opportunity is voluntary or paid. If a paid opportunity is offered, separate employment, worker or contractor terms may apply and will take precedence for that working relationship.

Support, report, appeal and case-enquiry systems must be used for their intended purposes. You must not spam them, knowingly submit false reports, manipulate evidence, misuse urgent or escalation channels, or repeatedly reopen matters without a reasonable basis.

We may prioritise, combine, close or decline requests where reasonably necessary to operate the service safely and efficiently. Ticket and case records may be retained for operational, legal, safety, dispute resolution, security or audit purposes in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

We process personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. It explains the types of information we may process, why we use it, how it may be shared or retained, and the rights that may apply.

Privacy and data-related requests are governed by the Privacy Policy and applicable data protection law. Nothing in these Terms limits any data protection right that cannot lawfully be limited.

The Watchdog name, branding, website design, code, written content, graphics, documentation and other original materials are owned by Watchdog or its licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

Except where law permits or we give written permission, you must not copy, reproduce, modify, redistribute, sell, license or commercially exploit protected Watchdog material. Any limited permission to use a service does not transfer ownership of that material. Third-party names, logos and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.

You retain any rights you hold in content that you submit, such as application answers, reports, messages, evidence or attachments. You give Watchdog a limited, non-exclusive permission to receive, host, store, reproduce, review, process and display that content only as reasonably necessary to provide, secure and administer the service or address the purpose for which it was submitted.

You must have the right to submit the content and must not provide material that unlawfully infringes another person’s rights. Do not submit irrelevant confidential, sensitive or private material.

We may change, update, restrict, suspend or discontinue all or part of a service. Planned maintenance, emergency work, security incidents, third-party failures and outages may affect availability. Where practical, we may give notice of significant planned changes, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or permanent access.

We may restrict, suspend or remove access where we reasonably believe you have breached these Terms, misused a service, created a security or safety risk, acted unlawfully, or no longer meet an access requirement. We may also act where a service or relationship ends or access is no longer operationally appropriate.

Access to staff and internal systems may be removed immediately where necessary to protect users, confidential information, evidence or infrastructure. Where appropriate, we may explain the action or offer a review process, but we may withhold details where disclosure would create a security, legal or safety risk.

You must report suspected security vulnerabilities responsibly through the available Watchdog support channel and allow reasonable time for investigation. You must not test, scan, probe, exploit or publicly disclose a vulnerability without explicit prior permission.

Serious abuse, credible threats or unlawful access may be reported to Discord, relevant infrastructure providers, affected organisations or public authorities where appropriate and legally permitted.

Watchdog services may depend on or link to Discord and other third-party websites, platforms or providers. Their content, availability, security and terms are controlled by those third parties. Watchdog is not responsible for third-party services or for loss caused solely by their acts or omissions, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

To the extent permitted by law, Watchdog services and information are provided on an “as available” basis. We take reasonable care in operating our services, but do not promise that they will always be available, error-free, complete, secure or suitable for every purpose.

Watchdog decisions, reports and community tools do not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for professional advice or an authority’s decision where either is required.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any mandatory consumer right or statutory duty.

Subject to that, Watchdog will not be liable for losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when you agreed to these Terms, losses caused by events outside our reasonable control, or business losses arising from personal or non-commercial use. Any other limitation will apply only to the extent it is fair, proportionate and permitted by law.

You are responsible for your use of the services. Where legally applicable, you may be responsible for reasonable losses, costs or claims directly caused by your deliberate or unlawful misuse of a service or a serious breach of these Terms. This does not require you to compensate Watchdog for losses caused by our own acts, omissions or negligence, or for matters for which liability cannot lawfully be transferred.

We may update these Terms to reflect changes to our services, operations, security practices or legal obligations. The latest version will be published at /terms, with the “Last updated” date changed accordingly. We may communicate material changes through the website, Discord or another appropriate channel.

If you continue to use the services after updated Terms take effect, you accept the revised Terms. Changes do not retrospectively remove rights or obligations where doing so would be unlawful.

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction over disputes relating to these Terms, subject to any mandatory consumer rights that allow you to bring proceedings in another part of the United Kingdom or another jurisdiction.

For questions about these Terms, privacy matters or your information, use Watchdog’s existing privacy and data-request support channel. Please include enough detail for us to understand and route your enquiry, but do not send passwords or unnecessary sensitive information.