Terms of Use

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using Decoding-Us.com (the "Website"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use.

Use of Content

The content provided on Decoding-Us.com, including the haplogroup trees and related information, is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This means you are free to:

• Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
• Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

Under the following terms:

• Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

Specifically, when providing attribution, we request that you credit "Decoding-Us.com" and, where possible, include a link back to our Website: decoding-us.com.

The haplogroup trees and related information on this Website are generated and enhanced by integrating data from multiple sources, including aggregated, non-personally identifiable data obtained from a private federation of genetic genealogy researchers operating AT Protocol Personal Data Server (PDS) applications, and publicly available genetic data from repositories such as the European Nucleotide Archive and PGP: Harvard. This integration allows for broader population coverage and more comprehensive branch identification. The data from the private federation is made publicly available by the researchers within their PDS privacy controls and is crawled by Decoding-Us.com. Publicly available data from repositories is accessed and integrated according to their respective terms of use.

Features for Research Collaboration

Decoding-Us.com provides an Application View that allows researchers within the private federation using AT Protocol PDS applications to communicate with each other based on shared genealogical and genetic information. This messaging feature is facilitated to encourage collaboration and potential relative matching. Users of the PDS control whether they receive and engage with these messages.

The Website may also display anonymized ancestral population and Earliest Known Most Distant Ancestor (MDKA) information obtained from publicly shared data within the federation. This information is intended to provide genealogical context and facilitate connections among researchers. Please note that the MDKA's date of birth may be masked to protect potential privacy.

Responsibility for PDS User Interactions

The messaging functionality is a feature provided to facilitate communication between users of the AT Protocol PDS within the private federation. Decoding-Us.com acts as an interface and does not assume responsibility for the content, conduct, or outcomes of these direct interactions between PDS users. Users are solely responsible for their communications and interactions with others within the federated environment.

Use of Anonymized Genealogical Data

Any anonymized ancestral population and MDKA information displayed on Decoding-Us.com is derived from publicly shared data within the private research federation. While this information is intended to be helpful for genealogical research, Decoding-Us.com makes no warranties regarding its accuracy or completeness. Users should exercise their own judgment and conduct independent research to verify any genealogical information obtained through the Website.

No Warranties

THE CONTENT ON THIS WEBSITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, DECODING-US.COM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR THE SERVERS THAT MAKE IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL DECODING-US.COM BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF, OR YOUR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE, THE WEBSITE OR ITS CONTENT, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF DECODING-US.COM HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Governing Law

These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin, USA, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.