Terms, copyright, protections.
Everything below is written in the most readable English we could manage. Where the law forces precise wording, we use it. Where we have a choice, we choose clarity. If anything here conflicts with reality on the live site, write to legal@infera.studio and we'll fix it.
Copyright
© 2026 Infera. All rights reserved.
The Mechanism Series — including the editorial text, original research, interactive components, motion design, visual identity, data visualizations, chassis components (echo dots, the provenance layer, evidence mode, chapter rails), and per-episode structure — is the original work of the Infera editorial desk and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law.
Underlying source material we cite (government datasets, statutory text, peer-reviewed papers, agency reports, public-record filings) remains the property of its original publishers and is referenced under fair use for the purposes of news reporting, criticism, commentary, education, and research.
Permitted reuse · no separate permission required
- Linking to any episode, with or without preview text
- Quoting up to 250 words from a single episode for news reporting, criticism, education, or research, with attribution to "Infera · The Mechanism Series" and a working link
- Embedding any episode in iframe form on non-commercial educational platforms
- Screenshotting any single interactive component for journalism or academic publication
Requires written permission · usually granted free
- Republishing an episode in full
- Translation of an episode
- Inclusion of original research in a commercial product, course, or paid newsletter
- Re-rendering of our visualizations or motion components in your own work
Permission requests: legal@infera.studio. We respond within five business days.
Terms of use
By using this site, you agree to the following.
Editorial nature
Everything here is journalism, opinion, or analysis — not legal, medical, financial, tax, political, investment, or professional advice. Confidence stamps and provenance badges denote our editorial assessment of evidentiary weight; they are not guarantees. Modeled estimates are explicitly labeled and should be read as estimates. Speculative scenarios are explicitly labeled and should not be read as predictions.
Subjects, names, places, and figures referenced in episodes are accurate as of publication date and may change. We update Field Notes as material changes arise.
Source URLs and time-sensitive data
External links are correct as of publication. Linked pages may move, change, or disappear; we re-verify periodically and repair within 48 hours of discovery. When a primary filing requires navigation, login, or a records request, we name the specific filing in the source label. If a link does not resolve to the exact document, this is a navigation limit, not a fabrication.
No warranty
The site is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement. We make no guarantee that any interactive feature will work in every browser, on every device, at every moment. If something breaks, write to hello@infera.studio.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Infera, its editorial staff, contributors, and underwriters shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including without limitation loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or in connection with your access to or use of this site or reliance on any content. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation of liability for certain damages; in those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
Acceptable use
- Do not scrape the site at volumes that disrupt service for other readers
- Do not automate bulk downloads of the corpus
- Do not republish without attribution
- Do not impersonate Infera, its editorial desk, or any named contributor
- Do not use the brand, visual identity, or chassis components to suggest endorsement we have not given
- Do not represent modeled or speculative content as documented fact when redistributing
Names and trademarks
"Infera," "The Mechanism Series," and the visual chassis (echo dot system, provenance layer, evidence mode, chapter rail, claims atlas format, systems atlas format) are trademarks and trade dress of Infera (the publication), whether or not formally registered. All other company names, product names, logos, brands, and trademarks referenced on this site are the property of their respective owners and appear under fair use for editorial commentary, criticism, news reporting, and research. References do not imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation in either direction.
Changes
We update these terms occasionally. Material changes are announced in the reader newsletter. The "last updated" date in the table of contents tracks revisions.
Governing law and venue
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. Any action arising from these terms shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Fulton County, Georgia, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in such courts.
Privacy
Plain version: we collect almost nothing, and we don't share what little we collect.
What we collect when you visit
- Server logs from our host (Render.com) — IP address, user-agent, page requested, timestamp. Retained 30 days for security and debugging. Not joined to any identity.
- Zero third-party tracking. No Google Analytics. No Meta Pixel. No advertising cookies. No fingerprinting libraries. The site uses zero third-party analytics by design.
- Browser local-storage. We use first-party browser local-storage for: the Personhood Inc persona memory (cross-episode echoes), evidence-mode preference, episode reading-log (the Case File feature), and signup intent. None of this leaves your device. Clear it any time at case-file.html.
What we collect if you subscribe
Your email address, the date you subscribed, the page you subscribed from, and any tag (e.g., founding-500) we applied at signup. That data is stored at our newsletter provider (currently Buttondown) under their privacy policy.
What we collect if you email us
Your email and whatever you sent us, plus our reply. Stored in Google Workspace (Gmail), governed by Google's privacy terms.
What we never do
- Sell, rent, or share your email with anyone, for any reason
- Build advertising audiences from your reading behavior
- Cross-reference visitors with broker profiles (this would be hypocritical given what we cover)
- Embed tracking pixels in our email
- Use cookies for behavioral targeting
Your rights
- Access — write to legal@infera.studio and ask what we have on you. We respond within five days.
- Deletion — click unsubscribe in any newsletter, or write to legal@infera.studio.
- Correction — write to legal@infera.studio.
- Portability — your Case File is downloadable as JSON directly from case-file.html.
- EU / UK readers — you have the rights described in Articles 15–22 of the GDPR. We honor all of them.
- California readers — you have the rights described in CCPA §§ 1798.100–199. We honor all of them.
- Children — the site is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have, write to legal@infera.studio for immediate deletion.
Corrections
Corrections are the most important email we get. Send them to corrections@infera.studio with: the specific claim, the specific episode, and supporting evidence.
What happens next
- Acknowledged within 48 hours
- Reviewed within 5 business days
- Published as a dated correction note on the affected episode if we agree
- Published as a dated response with reasoning if we disagree
- Confidence stamp on the original claim updated as appropriate
Right of response
Any person, entity, or official named in an episode may submit a request for clarification or right-of-response to the same address. We review every such request fairly and on the merits. We do not unpublish journalism; we correct it.
DMCA · copyright takedown
If you believe content on this site infringes your copyright, send a DMCA notice to legal@infera.studio with all of the following:
- Identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed
- Identification of the allegedly infringing material on our site, including the URL
- Your contact information (name, address, telephone, email)
- A statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized
- A statement under penalty of perjury that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on the owner's behalf
- Your physical or electronic signature
We respond within the statutory window. Counter-notices follow 17 U.S.C. § 512(g) procedure.
Notice: Knowingly making a material misrepresentation in a DMCA notice or counter-notice may subject you to liability for damages, including costs and attorney's fees, under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).
Accessibility
The Mechanism Series is committed to WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance.
What we do
- Honor
prefers-reduced-motionglobally — animations drop to near-zero duration on request - Use semantic HTML throughout
- Maintain visible keyboard focus on every interactive element
- Test text contrast at AA minimum for body text
- Provide a "Skim" reading mode on every Season I episode
- Strip canvas-heavy motion on small viewports
Where we fall short
- Some interactive visualizations are not fully screen-reader-navigable yet — we are working on this
- Mobile rendering is improving episode by episode; not all motion is fully stripped on small screens
- Older browsers may render the chassis with reduced fidelity
Report an issue
Write to hello@infera.studio with the page URL, your browser and device, and a brief description. We respond within five business days.
Reuse & syndication
See the copyright section for the rules. In short:
- Free, no permission: link, quote up to 250 words with attribution, embed for non-commercial education
- Free with permission (usually granted): full republication, translation, inclusion in paid products, re-rendering of visualizations
- Newsroom syndication: we do not paywall partner syndication of episode excerpts under fair use. Write for terms.
Permission requests: legal@infera.studio — five-day turnaround.
Editorial disclosures
Methodology
Every load-bearing claim carries a confidence stamp (Strong, Plausible, Correlated, Competing) and a provenance badge (Documented, Modeled, Speculative). Sources are tiered T1 (primary official) through T4 (contextual commentary). The complete claim catalog with sources is at the Claims Atlas.
Sources policy
We link to the most specific publicly accessible page for every cited claim. We do not pay for sources. We do not grant anonymity to sources whose claims we cannot independently corroborate. We re-verify all cited URLs on every site deploy.
Conflicts of interest
The Infera editorial desk discloses any material conflict on the relevant episode. Material conflicts include: a staff editor's direct financial interest in a named subject; a close personal or familial relationship with a named decision-maker; an underwriter's commercial relationship with a named subject. Staff editors do not own individual stocks in any company that could appear in our investigations. Diversified index funds are not a conflict.
Independence and funding
Infera is independent. No advertiser pays us. No platform deal exists. No political party, candidate, advocacy organization, lobbying firm, or government agency funds the publication. The series is supported by the reader newsletter, occasional research engagements, and a small number of named foundations underwriting specific Georgia field work. Underwriters do not see episodes prior to publication. Editorial decisions are made independently of underwriting decisions, by different people.
Use of AI
The Mechanism Series uses AI tools for code generation, data processing, and editorial drafting assistance. All editorial decisions, claims, sourcing, and final language are reviewed and approved by human editors before publication. AI does not author episodes.
Unsubscribe & subscription management
Every newsletter contains a one-click unsubscribe link at the bottom. We honor it instantly.
To change your email address: click manage subscription in any newsletter, or write to subscribe@infera.studio.
To delete your record entirely: write to legal@infera.studio requesting full deletion. We confirm within five business days.
Contact
- General: hello@infera.studio
- Subscriptions: subscribe@infera.studio
- Press, foundations, underwriting: press@infera.studio
- Corrections: corrections@infera.studio
- Legal, DMCA, formal correspondence: legal@infera.studio
Mailing address: available on request via legal@infera.studio.