Freethinker: Terms and Conditions of Membership

Updated terms, 15th September 2022

This agreement is between you, the member, and G.W. Foote & Co. Limited (“the Company”), the publisher of the Freethinker, an online magazine (“the Website”). 

A. Payment and cancellation terms

  1. Freethinker membership costs GBP £15.00 per year, including the transaction fee charged by the Company’s online payments system using the payment provider or providers available from time to time on the Website for this purpose (currently the only payment provider is PayPal). 
  2. Once you have set up your membership using the Company’s online payments system, this will be taken from your account every year unless you cancel in writing by an email to <editor@freethinker.co.uk> at least two weeks before the annual payment is due. 
  3. Once you have paid your annual membership fee, you will be entitled to a cooling-off period of two weeks during which you may choose to cancel in writing by an email to <editor@freethinker.co.uk>. After that you may cancel but will not be entitled to receive a full or partial refund for that year’s payment.
  4. If you cancel within the cooling-off period, the Company reserves the right to delete any events you have posted to the Events Calendar on the Website. 
  5. Any refund you receive will be minus any transaction fees charged by PayPal or any other payment provider that has been used to facilitate payment of your membership fees. 
  6. Any change in the cost of your annual membership subscription will be notified to you via email no less than one month before the date when the change becomes effective. You will be entitled to cancel your membership for subsequent years, provided you do so in writing by an email to <editor@freethinker.co.uk>, at least two weeks before the payment falls due. 
  7. The Company reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to add or remove any payment providers with no fewer than two weeks’ notice to members. 
  8. If you default on any payment, the Company may: (i) terminate your membership; (ii) charge you for any outstanding amount remaining on the unexpired portion of your minimum membership term; (iii) take any action which is necessary in the Company’s opinion to recover its losses.

B. Benefits of membership

  1. As a member, you will have a Freethinker account with your own personal login details, via which you may comment on articles and post events on the Events Calendar. You may also post comments and events without being logged in if you prefer.
  2. In due course the Company may in its absolute discretion add benefits of membership, or remove any existing ones. The Company will inform you in a reasonable time of any such changes.
  3. If, in the future, additional benefits or discounts are offered to new members, the Company is under no obligation to provide existing members with the same or comparable benefits or discounts.

C. Rules for posting comments and events

  1. You agree to abide by the Community Guidelines (below) when posting comments or events on the Website.
  2. You further agree that any events you post to the Events Calendar will be reasonably likely to be of interest to the Website’s readers. 
  3. Once you have posted anything, if you wish to delete it you will need to submit a request to the Company to do so. It is within the Company’s absolute discretion whether it agrees to delete the post. 
  4. If you do not abide by the Community Guidelines, the Company is entitled in its absolute discretion and without giving reasons to suspend or cancel your membership at any time. You will not be refunded if the Company cancels your membership in these circumstances, subject to the cooling-off period (above). If  the Company suspends or cancels your membership it will notify you of the fact.
  5. You will be able to publish your posts directly to the Website. Once posted, these will be publicly visible to all visitors to the Website.  
  6. The Company reserves the right, within its absolute discretion, to delete any of your posts at any time without notifying you or giving reasons. 
  7. Comments will usually be allowed on articles. However, the Company reserves the right in its absolute discretion not to allow comments, or to close comments, on any particular article.
  8. Community Guidelines:

You agree to keep your posts to the Website within the limits of English law and in accordance with the spirit of the Freethinker as set out in the Editor’s Letter. You agree not to post anything which violates these principles, including but not limited to: slander, libel, harassment, intimidation, incitement to violence, personal attacks, grossly offensive language, and spamming.  

D. Changes to these terms

  1. The Company may amend these terms, including the Website Terms and Conditions and the Community Guidelines, at any time to ensure that it remains compliant with relevant laws and regulations and to ensure that it is constantly improving your membership experience. If any important changes are made to the membership terms you will be notified. Subject to the foregoing, by remaining as a member after any changes are made, you accept those changes and will be bound by them.

E. The Website  

  1. To benefit fully from membership, you will need a smartphone, computer or tablet (a “device”) that has reasonably up-to-date software and any other relevant programmes, hardware or features, such as web browsers, that are reasonably up-to-date. Without prejudice to the foregoing, the Company does not guarantee or warrant that the Website or any of its features will work on any particular device. 
  2. This agreement incorporates the Company’s Website Terms and Conditions, as set out on the Website and amended from time to time. They can be accessed here: https://freethinker.co.uk/website-terms-and-conditions/ 

Applicable law and jurisdiction

  1. This agreement and any non-contractual obligations arising of this agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law, and any dispute arising out of or relating to the same shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.  

Address for service

  1. The address for the service of any documents relating to this agreement or any legal proceedings shall be the Company’s registered office from time to time, currently:

409-411 Croydon Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3PP.

Limitation of liability

25. Neither the Company nor any of its agents, employees, editorial staff or contractors, shall be liable to you for any monetary claims of any description arising out of or relating to this agreement. The agents, employees, editorial staff and contractors of the Company shall be entitled to enforce this clause pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.