Terms of Service - CiteForge

Agreement to Terms

By accessing and using CiteForge, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use our service.

Service Description

CiteForge is a free, web-based citation generator that helps users create academic citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago formats. The service includes:

Citation format generation
Smart source detection (URL, DOI, ISBN)
Local bibliography management
Citation export functionality

Use of Service

Permitted Use

You may use CiteForge for:

Personal academic and research citation needs
Educational purposes
Professional citation management
Non-commercial use

Prohibited Use

You may NOT:

Use the service for any illegal purposes
Attempt to reverse engineer or copy the service
Overload or attempt to disrupt the service (DDoS, scraping, etc.)
Violate any applicable laws or regulations
Infringe on intellectual property rights of others

⚠️ Important Disclaimer

Citations are provided "as-is" for reference purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, CiteForge does not guarantee that generated citations are error-free or comply with all style guide variations. Always verify citations against official style guides (APA Manual, MLA Handbook, Chicago Manual of Style) before submission.

Accuracy & Responsibility

You are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all citations. CiteForge is a tool to assist with citation formatting, but:

We do not guarantee 100% accuracy of generated citations
Style guides have nuances and exceptions we may not capture
Metadata from external sources (URLs, DOIs, ISBNs) may be incomplete or incorrect
You must review and edit citations before use in academic work

CiteForge is not liable for:

Incorrect citations leading to academic penalties
Loss of data (citations are stored locally in your browser)
Service interruptions or downtime
Third-party API failures (Crossref, Open Library, etc.)

Intellectual Property

Your Content: You retain all rights to the citations and bibliographies you create using CiteForge. We do not claim ownership of your data.

Our Content: The CiteForge website, design, code, and branding are protected by copyright and intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, or distribute our code without permission.

Third-Party Services

CiteForge integrates with third-party APIs to fetch metadata:

Crossref - For DOI metadata
Open Library - For ISBN metadata
Ahrefs Web Analytics - For anonymous site analytics

These services have their own terms of service and privacy policies. We are not responsible for their performance, availability, or data practices.

Limitation of Liability

CiteForge is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law:

We disclaim all warranties, including merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose
We are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
Our total liability shall not exceed $0 (zero dollars)

Changes to Service

We reserve the right to:

Modify or discontinue the service at any time
Change these terms with notice
Update citation formatting rules as style guides evolve

Termination

We may terminate or suspend your access to CiteForge immediately, without prior notice, for conduct that violates these Terms or is harmful to other users or the service.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which CiteForge operates, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us through our About page or via email.

Remember: Always double-check your citations against official style guides before submitting academic work. CiteForge is a helpful tool, but you are ultimately responsible for citation accuracy.

By using CiteForge, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service.