Terms of Use

Updated: 2022-05-09

These Terms of Use tell the rules for using SooSL. (We wrote them in simple English. That makes them easier to understand, especially if you don't read English well.) If you want to use SooSL, you must agree to follow these rules. If you don’t agree to follow these rules, you must not use SooSL.

See also our License and Privacy Policy.

What is SooSL?

SooSL is software for deaf people. Hearing people can use it too, to learn a sign language. 

SooSL is really two programs that work together: SooSL Web and SooSL Desktop. SIL International developed SooSL. SIL's headquarters is 7500 W. Camp Wisdom Road, Dallas TX 75236, USA; https://www.sil.org.  SIL is an international organization that helps deaf people use their sign languages better. (It also does many other things.)

How does SIL help deaf people? One way is by making SooSL. With SooSL, deaf people can:

• Create dictionaries about sign languages with SooSL Desktop on their computer. 
• Publish SooSL dictionaries with SooSL Web. 
• Some dictionaries available in SooSL Web are public. Everyone can see them.
• Other dictionaries are private. Only some people can see them. (The people who created them decide who can see them.)

What do special words mean in these Terms of Use?

When we say “we”, “us” or “our”, we mean SIL International. Sometimes we just say “SIL”.

When we say “SooSL”, we mean all these things:

• The SooSL website (https://soosl.net). This includes any URLs that it may redirect to, including SooSL Web (https://web.soosl.net)
• The SooSL Desktop software that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux computers. (You can download it from the SooSL website.)

When we say “you” or “your”, we mean anyone who uses SooSL. Some users only read dictionaries; other users create them.

When we say “dictionary creators” or “creators”, we mean people who use SooSL Desktop to make sign language dictionaries.

Who owns and controls SooSL? Who owns and controls the dictionaries in SooSL?

SooSL itself is the intellectual property of SIL International. SIL is responsible for making and maintaining SooSL.

People use SooSL Desktop to create sign language dictionaries. Those dictionaries are the intellectual property of the dictionary creators. If they want, the creators can give permission to SIL to display their dictionaries in SooSL Web. The creators decide who is allowed to see their dictionaries. The creators are responsible for the information in their dictionaries. 

If you want to read a dictionary on SooSL Web, what rules must you follow?

• You may read any public dictionary on the SooSL website. 
• You may download a copy of a dictionary to your computer only if there is a link that says “download”. If there is no “download” link, you must not keep copies of the dictionary, or any part of the dictionary, on your own computer. (Exception: Browsers make temporary copies of web pages so the web pages work faster. We permit these copies. You must not keep permanent copies.)
• You must not publish information from a dictionary on another website, in a book, or in any other form. If you want to do this, you must get permission from the dictionary’s creator.
• If you want to read private dictionaries, you must create an account with SooSL Web, and tell us your real name and email address. If the person who made the dictionary (the owner) gives you permission, we will let you read it. The owner will be able to see your username, real name, and email address.
• You must keep your username and password private. You must not share it with other people.
• You must agree that if you let someone else use your username and password, and that person damages SooSL, you are responsible for that damage.
• If you think someone is using your username and password without your permission, you must tell us so that we can change your username and password.
• The SooSL website and the dictionaries on it may not always be available. You must not expect them to always be available. 
• You must not try to access any parts of the website that you have not been given access to.
• If you tell us personal information about yourself, you must agree to our privacy policy.

If we don’t think you are following these rules, we may cancel your username and password. This will block you from seeing any private dictionaries. We may also block you from using the whole website.

If you publish a dictionary in SooSL Web, what additional rules must you follow?

• You must tell us your real name, email address, and other contact information.
• You must agree to let SIL publish the dictionary in SooSL Web. You must agree that a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) will control how people use your dictionary.
• You must tell us whether you want anyone to see the dictionary (“public”) or only certain people ("private"). If you want the dictionary to be private, you must tell us the names and email addresses of people who you will allow to see it. 
• You must tell us who you will allow to download your entire dictionary (if anyone).
• You must tell us who you will allow to upload a new version of your dictionary.
• You must not charge us any money for publishing your dictionary.
• We may need to charge you for our costs in hosting your dictionary. This depends on the size of the dictionary and how much people use it. We will discuss this with you if your dictionary is large or if many people will use it.
• You must not use this website to make money (no commercial use).
• You must not include anything in your dictionary that will harm the SooSL website or harm other users.
• You must not do anything that will stop other people from using the SooSL website or make it hard to use.
• You must not include anything in your dictionary that is illegal.
• You must not include anything in your dictionary that is not your intellectual property.

If we don’t think you are following these rules, we may remove your dictionary from SooSL Web.

If you decide to remove your dictionary from SooSL Web, please notify us (see our contact information), and we will remove it as soon as possible.

What may we do with SooSL? What don’t we promise?

We may change SooSL at any time. We do not promise to keep SooSL always the same. We do not need to tell you before we make a change.

If you download SooSL Desktop to your computer, you may continue using it, even after we make a newer version available. However, we do not promise that your existing version will continue to work. If it stops working, we will sometimes try to make it work again. However, we do not promise to fix it. You may have to start using the newest version.

We try to make SooSL work well, without bugs or malware. However, we do not promise these things. We will not pay you or promise to fix things if SooSL does not work correctly, if it becomes infected with malware, or if it damages your computer or your data.

We do not promise to publish every dictionary that creators want to publish. We will make the decision whether to publish a dictionary. We may remove a dictionary from the SooSL website at any time for any reason. If a dictionary is heavily used, we may need to charge you to cover the cost of publishing your dictionary.

We do not promise that the SooSL website will always be available. This includes SooSL Web. There may be times when the SooSL website is not available to you or to other people. We will try to fix it as soon as we can. However, if we can't fix it, we do not owe anyone any money or any service.

We do not promise that information in SooSL, or any of the dictionaries in SooSL, is accurate, complete, up-to-date, ethical, legal or suitable for all audiences. However, if you tell us about information that you think should be changed, we will consider your request seriously. If your request is about one of the dictionaries in SooSL, we will send your request to its creator and they will decide whether to change it.

How does SooSL help and protect children?

We want people of all ages to use SooSL. SooSL won’t hurt children. In fact, we believe it is good for children to learn a sign language. SooSL can help them learn it. 

However, there are some potential problems. Some SooSL dictionaries may contain information about some signs that some parents do not want their children to see. Or, children may send their personal information to us. 

If you are under the age of 18, you need to ask your parents or legal guardians if it is OK to use SooSL. If you don’t have their permission, don’t use SooSL.

Parents and legal guardians should watch their children when they are using SooSL. They must make sure children use SooSL safely. They must make sure that children follow these terms of use.

Maybe you think someone under age 18 has sent personal information to us. If it is information that we should not know, please contact us and we will delete it.

What happens when we change these terms of use?

We may sometimes change these terms of use. We have the right to do so. We don’t have to ask you first. When we change them, we will change the date at the beginning of the terms of use. If you want, check this date any time to see if it has changed. We may also tell you about the change in other ways, but we only promise one thing: to change the date above when we change the terms of use. 

When we change the terms of use, we will start following them immediately. If you continue to use SooSL after the changes, what happens? It means you agree to the changes. If you don’t agree, you must stop using SooSL.

How can you contact us?

You can contact us in English, Spanish, French, or Romanian. Or, you can send us a video in ASL or International Sign.

What are the special legal rules?

We have to say some things in this document using technical legal language. We are sorry that it is harder to understand. If you don’t understand it, ask us, and we will try to explain. 

Limitation of liability

In no event shall SIL nor any of its officers, directors and employees, be held liable for anything arising out of or in any way connected with your use of this Website. SIL, including its officers, directors and employees shall not be held liable for any indirect, consequential or special liability arising out of or in any way related to your use of this Website.

Indemnification

You hereby indemnify to the fullest extent SIL from and against any and/or all liabilities, costs, demands, causes of action, damages and expenses arising in any way related to your breach of any of the provisions of these Terms.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid under any applicable law, such provisions shall be deleted without affecting the remaining provisions herein.

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