Terms of Use

By using Bystance you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the service. We may update these terms from time to time. Your continued use after we announce changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

Bystance is a weekly game in which players are given a lens (a company or organisation) and a principle (a policy challenge), and invited to submit a short policy proposal from that perspective. Responses are synthesised and aggregated into propositions which other players can vote on.

Bystance is for civic entertainment and creative thinking. It is not a policy-making body and submissions do not constitute formal policy positions. Primers include a policy frame and a biography of the organisation or person nominated to use as a lens. These have been curated to provide context and perspective for each challenge.They have not been prepared in collaboration or with any support of the orgnaisation that has been nominated.

You must be 16 or older to use Bystance. By signing up you confirm that you meet this requirement.

You retain ownership of the words you write. By submitting a response, you grant Bystance a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display, aggregate, and publish that submission — in whole or in part — as part of the game, including in public results and insights.

You are responsible for what you submit. Submissions must not contain:

• Hate speech, harassment, or content targeting individuals
• Misinformation presented as fact
• Personal data of third parties
• Content that is unlawful or violates the rights of others

We reserve the right to remove submissions that violate these terms without notice.

Votes are anonymised and aggregated. The selection of submissions as propositions is at our discretion. Not all submissions will become propositions.

You agree not to:

• Use automated tools to submit responses or votes
• Attempt to manipulate results or gaming outcomes
• Impersonate another person or organisation
• Attempt to access or interfere with the underlying systems

The Bystance name, design, game format, and all original content produced by us are our intellectual property. You may not reproduce or repurpose them without permission.

We operate on a best-efforts basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted availability and may pause, modify, or discontinue the service at any time. We will try to give reasonable notice if we intend to shut down permanently.

Bystance is provided as-is. To the extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the service.

These terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of New South Wales.

Questions about these terms? DMs are open — find us on the platforms linked from the Bystance site.