Terms of use

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your use of stephansmith.me, the Low Code CTO newsletter, members.stephansmith.me (“Members”), and related paid subscription packages and services offered by Stephan Smith (“I,” “me,” “we”).

By using the site, subscribing, creating or using a Members account, or purchasing a paid package, you agree to these Terms and to the Privacy Policy.

This page is a policy statement for transparency. It is not legal advice. If anything here conflicts with applicable law, the law controls. Before paid checkout goes live at scale, these Terms should be reviewed by counsel.

Who we are

Provider: Stephan Smith, operating as Low Code CTO
Postal address: 55 Court Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02108, USA
Email: stephan@stephansmith.me

Services covered

Free: public site content; the newsletter; and free subscriber features described on Members (for example tool-based code review for vibe-coding workflows), when offered.

Paid packages: subscription tiers listed on Members (such as monthly, annual, or founding member), which may include a private calendar for live check-ins, weekly progress reviews, and related “on your shoulder” support while you build with AI tools and connectors.

Paid packages are not full-time employment, not a law firm or accounting firm engagement, and not a guarantee of business, technical, or financial outcomes. Scope is as described at purchase and in Members; anything beyond that requires a separate written agreement.

Accounts

Members accounts are for newsletter subscribers. You should sign in with an email that matches your subscription record. Sign-in may use email magic link, password, and/or Google Sign-In (identity only—not access to your Google Calendar through Members).

You are responsible for keeping access to your email and account secure. We may suspend or terminate access for abuse, fraud, shared-account misuse, or violation of these Terms.

Subscriptions and billing

Paid prices, billing intervals, and what’s included are shown at checkout and on the Members upgrade pages. Subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel, unless a one-time or founding arrangement says otherwise.

Cancellation: you may cancel anytime (effective at the end of the current paid period unless stated otherwise at checkout).

Refunds: except where required by law, fees are non-refundable and we do not provide prorated refunds for unused time after cancellation. If a payment provider (for example Stripe) or applicable consumer law requires a different result, that requirement controls.

Payment processing is handled by third-party processors. Their terms and privacy policies also apply to the payment step.

Service limits

Scheduling for live check-ins may use BookTime or other calendar tools we designate. Availability is best-effort and subject to capacity; we do not promise a formal SLA unless we agree to one in writing.

Tool integrations (for example MCP connectors in Cursor, Claude, or ChatGPT) depend on those vendors and on your configuration. Features may change as products evolve. Services are provided as available.

Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Use the services for unlawful, harmful, or fraudulent purposes
• Resell, sublicense, or share paid access in a way that circumvents package limits
• Abuse, overload, or attempt to bypass security or rate limits on the site or Members
• Scrape or harvest subscriber or account data without permission

Intellectual property

Site content, branding, and materials I publish remain mine (or my licensors’). You keep ownership of your own code and materials. If you send feedback or suggestions, you grant me a non-exclusive license to use them to improve the services without obligation to you.

Disclaimers

Editorial and educational content is perspective, not bespoke advice for your situation. See the Disclaimer.

THE SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Stephan Smith / Low Code CTO will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, or goodwill, arising from your use of the site, newsletter, Members, or paid packages.

Our total liability for any claim relating to the services will not exceed the amounts you paid us for the paid package giving rise to the claim in the twelve (12) months before the claim (or, if you only use free services, fifty U.S. dollars), except where liability cannot be limited under applicable law.

Changes

I may update these Terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date will change when I do. For material changes that affect paid members, I will provide notice by email and/or a notice in Members when practical. Continued use after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA, without regard to conflict of law rules. Courts in Massachusetts have exclusive jurisdiction, except where consumer law requires otherwise.

Contact

Questions about these Terms: info@stephansmith.me