Terms of Service

Welcome. These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and Bill G. Wolcott ("I," "me," or "the Owner") for your use of billgwolcott.com (the "Site") and its AI features, including "Talk to Bill," "Ask Bill," the course "Trail Guide," and the site Help assistant (together, the "AI features"). By using the Site or the AI features, you agree to these Terms and to the Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use them.

1. You must be 18 or older

The Site and the AI features are for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to use them. By using them, you confirm that you are 18 or older. The Site discusses mature subjects, including abuse and its aftermath, and it is not designed for children.

2. What the AI features are, and are not

• They are offered as peer support and educational content, drawn from one survivor's experience. It is a supportive conversation, nothing more.
• They are not therapy, counseling, medical care, legal advice, or financial advice, and using them does not create any therapist-client, doctor-patient, attorney-client, or other professional relationship.
• They do not diagnose, treat, or prevent any condition.
• Some AI features, such as the course Trail Guide, are offered as a paid upgrade. Paying does not change their nature or these disclaimers.

3. Not for emergencies. Crisis and safety.

This is the safety approach, published here so you know what to expect. The AI features are built to take signs of crisis seriously. If a conversation suggests you may be thinking about hurting yourself or someone else, or that you are in danger, they are designed to slow down, tell you plainly that you matter, and point you to real human help and the resources above, rather than trying to act as a counselor. They are not monitored by a person in real time and cannot call for help on your behalf or contact emergency services for you. They are not a substitute for emergency services, a crisis line, or professional care.

4. AI output is not guaranteed

The AI features' responses are generated automatically and may be inaccurate, incomplete, out of date, or not right for your situation. The events in Bill's story are real, but the AI may phrase things imperfectly or get details wrong. Always use your own judgment, and do not rely on the AI features for important decisions about your health, safety, finances, or legal matters. Talk to a qualified professional for those.

5. About the persona and the story

The AI features are an AI representation built from Bill's life. Half-Raised is a novel based on real events; like many memoir-based works, some names, identifying details, and scenes have been changed or dramatized. Statements made by the AI features are AI-generated and may be fictionalized or imperfect, and should not be treated as statements of fact about any real third person.

I build the AI features with guardrails and instructions meant to keep them in bounds, including keeping the names of private individuals, especially family members, private, and keeping replies grounded in Bill's own story. Even so, AI can behave in ways that no one fully controls or predicts. I cannot guarantee it will always follow those rules, and it may occasionally say something inaccurate, off topic, or that it was built to avoid. If that happens, it is a limitation of the software, not a statement of fact about any real person. Please do not rely on anything the AI features say about a real individual, and if you see something wrong, tell me so I can address it.

6. The TRAIL Check course

The TRAIL Check is a self-guided reflection course based on Bill's experience. It is educational and supportive, not therapy or treatment, and it does not replace care from a qualified professional. Your answers are your own; keep your own safety in mind, work at your own pace, and seek professional help for anything beyond self-reflection. The optional Trail Guide inside the course is an AI feature, and everything in these Terms about the AI features applies to it.

7. Purchases, payments, and access

• Parts of the Site, such as certain chapters, collections, downloads, and AI upgrades, are available for purchase. Prices are shown at checkout.
• Payments are processed by a third-party payment processor. I do not receive or store your full card details.
• A purchase gives you a personal, non-transferable license to access that content for your own use. It does not transfer any ownership or copyright, and you may not resell, share, or redistribute it.
• Because digital content is delivered right away, purchases are generally final. If something is wrong with your order, contact me and I will try to make it right.
• A free or paid membership may unlock certain content while the membership is active. I may change what is included, and change prices, with notice going forward.

8. Accounts

If you create an account, you are responsible for keeping your login secure and for activity under your account. You may sign in with an email and password or with Google or Apple. You can delete your saved conversations at any time from your account, and you can ask me to close your account.

9. Your notes and content

The Site lets you write highlights, notes, and responses. You keep ownership of what you write, and you give me permission to store and display it as part of the Site. Some notes are public by design and will be visible to other readers along with the name on your account. By posting, you confirm the content is yours to share and is not unlawful, harassing, hateful, or a violation of someone else's privacy or rights. I may remove content that breaks these Terms.

10. Acceptable use

When using the Site or the AI features, you agree not to:

• Use them for anything unlawful, harmful, or abusive.
• Try to extract private details about Bill, his family, or any other real person.
• Attempt to break, overload, reverse engineer, or misuse the Site or the AI features, or bypass their limits or safety features.
• Rely on the AI features as your only source of support in a crisis.
• Submit another person's sensitive personal information.

11. Privacy

Your use of the Site and the AI features is also governed by the Privacy Policy, which explains what is collected and how it is handled, including that your messages are processed by third-party AI providers and are not protected by HIPAA or any professional confidentiality.

12. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SITE AND THE AI FEATURES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. I DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE AI FEATURES WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, UNINTERRUPTED, OR ERROR FREE. YOU USE THE SITE AND THE AI FEATURES AT YOUR OWN RISK.

13. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, Bill G. Wolcott WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE OR THE AI FEATURES, OR FROM ANY RELIANCE ON THEIR OUTPUT. NOTHING IN THESE TERMS LIMITS LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED UNDER LAW.

14. Indemnification

You agree to cover and hold me harmless from claims, losses, and reasonable costs arising out of your misuse of the Site or the AI features or your violation of these Terms.

15. Changes

I may update the Site, the AI features, or these Terms. When I change the Terms, I will update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated Terms.

16. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute will be handled in the state or federal courts located in California, unless the law gives you a non-waivable right to do otherwise.

17. General

If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies. These Terms are the entire agreement between you and me about the Site and the AI features.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email manager@billgwolcott.com or use the contact form.