Terms of Service

What this is

These Terms of Service constitute a binding agreement between you and Parallel Works, LLC, a Maryland limited liability company, doing business as (“d/b/a”) The True Norm (“we,” “us,” or “our”). The True Norm is a platform where people answer questions about their lives and see how their responses compare to others. You must be at least 18 years old to use this service. By using the site, you agree to these terms.

Your responses

By submitting a response, you grant Parallel Works, LLC a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, aggregate, and publish your response data in de-identified, aggregate form. This license survives your account deletion with respect to data already incorporated into aggregate statistics. Your individual response will never be shared in a way that identifies you. You may request deletion of your data at any time (see our Privacy Policy).

Honesty

The value of this platform depends on honest responses. By using The True Norm, you agree to answer questions truthfully. Deliberately submitting false, misleading, or spam responses may result in your account or session being blocked.

No guarantees

Percentiles and comparisons are based on user-submitted data and are not scientifically validated. The True Norm is not a medical, financial, or professional advisory service. Results are for informational and entertainment purposes only. Do not make life decisions based solely on your percentile ranking.

Rooms

You may create or join Rooms — private groups where members answer the same questions and see the group portrait (averages). Individual answers are never visible to other Room members. In small Rooms (fewer than 5 members), individual answers may be inferable from the average; a disclosure is shown in this case.

Room creators can revoke invite links at any time to stop new members from joining. Anonymous members' contributions expire after 48 hours unless they create an account. Your responses in a Room also contribute to the global TTN dataset. You may leave a Room at any time; your data will be removed from that Room's aggregates.

Data export

You may export your response data as a CSV file from your profile page. Exported data is for your personal use. You may not use exported data to re-identify other users or reverse-engineer aggregate statistics.

Acceptable use

You agree not to: submit automated or bot-generated responses; attempt to manipulate percentile calculations; scrape or harvest data from the platform; use the platform to harass, harm, or target individuals; reverse-engineer individual responses from aggregate data.

Accounts

You may use The True Norm without an account. Creating an account via Google sign-in or passwordless email link allows your responses to persist and gives you access to additional features. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account.

Limitation of liability

The True Norm is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. Parallel Works, LLC is not liable for any damages arising from your use of the platform, including but not limited to emotional distress from comparison results, data inaccuracies, or service interruptions.

Governing law

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to its conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising under these terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Frederick County, Maryland.

Indemnification

If you violate these Terms, infringe someone else's rights, or misuse the Service (including using Rooms to harass or defame others), you agree to defend and indemnify Parallel Works, LLC from any resulting claims, damages, and expenses, including reasonable attorney fees.

Arbitration and class-action waiver

Any dispute arising under these Terms will be resolved by binding individual arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act and administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules, seated in Frederick County, Maryland. You and Parallel Works, LLC both waive any right to bring or participate in a class action. Small-claims court is permitted as an alternative for eligible claims.

Severability

If any clause of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect, and the unenforceable clause is reformed to the minimum extent needed to make it enforceable.

Assignment

We may assign these Terms and any rights under them (for example, in connection with a merger, acquisition, or entity restructuring). You may not assign these Terms without our written consent.

Survival

The following survive termination of these Terms or your account: the license you grant to your anonymized data (already aggregated); the warranty disclaimer; the limitation of liability; the indemnification clause; and the governing law and arbitration clauses.

Changes

We may update these Terms. We will post updated Terms with a revised “Last updated” date. For material changes affecting your rights — including the arbitration provisions — we will provide at least 30 days’ advance notice via email to account holders or a site-wide banner. Your continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. You may reject material changes to the arbitration clause by emailing us at hello@thetruenorm.com within 30 days of notice; if you do, the prior version continues to govern disputes that have already accrued.