Terms of Use/Waiver/Privacy/Policy

Seriously, tho, there are some things that need to be pointed out about puzzlemaze.org. And there is a Terms of Use/Waiver to agree to:

General

Some content on puzzlemaze.org may explicitly or implicitly, encrypted, hidden, or otherwise, describe locations of places in the real world if interpreted in a certain way ("simulated treasure hunting", "outdoor puzzle hunting", "actual treasure hunting", "armchair treasure hunting", and so forth). The most obvious, but not only examples, are explicit letterbox clues and maps.

YOU USE PUZZLEMAZE.ORG AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU INTERPRET THE CONTENT ON PUZZLEMAZE.ORG AT YOUR OWN RISK. IF YOU LOOK FOR PLACES IN THE REAL WORLD BASED ON ANY CONTENT ON PUZZLEMAZE.ORG, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. THERE IS NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, ON ANY CONTENT ON PUZZLEMAZE.ORG

While it is intended that there is a safe, legal, trespass-free route to all of the locations described on puzzlemaze.org at the time of writing, there can be no assurance that there was at the time of writing or is at the time of reading, and there can be no assurance that, even if there is, that the encrypted writing will be interpreted properly (or was designed/created properly) to find such a route.

Possession of a clue, map, or otherwise encrypted or unencrypted descriptions of locations in the real world, or the existence thereof on puzzlemaze.org, does not imply rights of access to particular lands and route choices, or the safety thereof, including the location of a box, map, or described location itself. Always observe current local regulations, signs, property rights, and customs; you are responsible for your actions. Clues and other content are not intended to be taken literally or to suggest route choices; route choices (and the choice to proceed at all), are your choice. For example, use common sense -- if you think a clue says go "that way", but "that way" does not look safe or legal, don't do it. For example, ask permission before going on any property. There are other possibilities beyond the examples and descriptions listed here.

PUZZLES, CLUES, AND OTHER CONTENT ONLY EVER DESCRIBE LOCATIONS, NOT DIRECTIONS.

Simulated treasure hunting, actual treasure hunting, armchair treasure hunting, outdoor puzzle hunting, letterboxing, etc., like any outdoor pastimes, all carry the risk of various unforeseen and foreseen hazards. puzzlemaze.org/Randy Hall follows a policy of not knowingly describing locations or placing boxes in areas that will create an unsafe situation for the user of the content.

However, as conditions may vary, it is the responsibility of the user of the content to become thoroughly familiar with the conditions in the area to be searched, to adequately prepare for those conditions, and to conduct oneself safely and responsibly with respect to those conditions and with respect to his or her personal abilities and limitations. puzzlemaze.org/Randy Hall assume no liability for events which may occur related directly or indirectly to one's searching for a treasure, letterbox, or other location described on puzzlemaze.org

Do not let children hunt for locations described on puzzlemaze.org unsupervised. Children, do not look for locations described on puzzlemaze.org without the supervision of an adult who has read and agreed to this Terms of Use/Waiver.

Uploading Content/Offensive Content

In some instances, puzzlemaze.org lets users upload or post content. All such content must be "G rated", as the term is generally understood. No sexual, racial, hateful, bigoted, religious, political, or "spam" content is permitted to be uploaded.

Any such content will be removed as soon as reasonably practical after is is detected.

HOWEVER, BY NATURE OF WHAT THE INTERNET IS, AND THE WAY IT WORKS, SOME CONTENT THAT VIOLATES THIS POLICY (OR OTHERWISE OFFENDS YOU, EVEN IF IT DOES ADHERE TO THIS POLICY), MAY APPEAR ON PUZZLEMAZE.ORG FROM TIME TO TIME FOR BRIEF PERIODS, FOR WHATEVER REASON. YOU UNDERSTAND THIS, THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP A SITE 100% FREE OF OFFENSIVE CONTENT, AND AGREE NOT TO HOLD RANDY HALL/PUZZLEMAZE.ORG RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.

Special Risks for Certain Puzzles

Some, if not most, puzzles on puzzlemaze.org may be hard. Hard puzzles pose certain additional risks. These risks include, but are not limited to --

BODILY AND PERSONAL INJURY, PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND SO FORTH, DUE TO CAUSES SUCH AS BANGING ONE'S HEAD AGAINST THE WALL OR KEYBOARD, THROWING COFFEE MUGS AT EXPENSIVE COMPUTER MONITORS, INTENSE FRUSTRATION, INSOMNIA, MISSED WORK, AND SO FORTH. YOU UNDERSTAND THIS, AND AGREE NOT TO HOLD RANDY HALL/PUZZLEMAZE.ORG RESPONSIBLE.

Agreement

By reading/viewing/using any content on puzzlemaze.org, you acknowledge the above conditions, and accept responsibility for your own actions, and agree to hold non-liable puzzlemaze.org/Randy Hall, and further, agree to provide this disclaimer to any person with whom you share content from puzzlemaze.org.

Yikes.

Privacy Policy

So, what are people doing that they are so worked up about privacy over, and why aren't I having any of that fun?

Anyway, puzzlemaze.org pretty much logs everything you do on the site. It logs your IP address, uses cookies, and logs pretty much everything you type in. Otherwise, the permission/scoring architecture to unlock and score puzzles wouldn't work. Duh.

Puzzlemaster(s) or admin(s) may look at this stuff. It may get backed up. The server may get hacked, and it may get uploaded to a server in Romania, for all I know. Never type in or upload anything on the internet that you don't want your mother to see.

That said, I/puzzlemaze.org doesn't care about any of this stuff, except as is needed for the smooth operation of the games, the architecture, and the site. puzzlemaze.org will not intentionally or knowingly share it with anyone. There is also a process that purges it periodically.

Finally, certain parts of puzzlemaze.org allow you to buy content. All such transactions are handled off-line by Paypal. No personal details other than e-mail address and last name are logged on puzzlemaze.org, and that is solely for debugging and support purposes. For any such purchases, puzzlemaze.org/Randy Hall's liability is limited to a refund of the purchase price, or fulfillment of the content being purchased, at our option.

By purchasing any content on puzzlemaze.org, you agree to the terms of the previous paragraph.

Copyright

The contents on puzzlemaze.org are copyrighted. Alot of hard work goes into it. Don't take my puzzles, clues, photos, or other writing, and put them on another site, server, database, book, etc. without my permission. One major letterboxing/geocaching website operator put them in his database without my asking, and that simply wasn't polite. A minor magazine did also. Who knows who else has? (but we've got scripts now :))

While it is nice to be so flattered, it is nicer to respect my work. While I don't expect to make a dime off of it after considering the cost of creating content, running the server ad-free, and so forth, if you want something, pay me for it. I take paypal. Don't be an asshole.

And besides, what looks like a clue may only be part of a clue, misdirection, etc., and doing so will be misleading and incorrect. puzzlemaze.org is a logical and harmonious whole, and stealing pieces of it simply doesn't make sense.

Oh my. Time to go write some puzzles now. Maybe I just did. :)