Terms of Service

The short version

You own your garden data. We provide tools to help you design, observe, and grow. Be respectful in the community. You can export or delete your data anytime. That's the spirit of these terms, the rest is the details.

Using PatternBase

You must be at least 16 years old to create an account. Each person should have one account. Please don't create multiple accounts or share your credentials. You're responsible for keeping your login secure.

PatternBase provides garden design, observation, and community tools. We aim for reliability, but we can't guarantee 100% uptime. We'll do our best to give advance notice of planned maintenance.

Your content and data

Your garden designs, photos, observations, and notes belong to you. We need a license to store, display, and process your content in order to provide the service, but we won't sell it or use it for anything else.

When you share content publicly, other users can view and learn from your work. They can't claim it as their own or use it commercially without your permission.

You can export your data (JSON, CSV) and delete your account at any time from your account settings, or by emailing james@pattern-base.com.

Community standards

Use PatternBase for gardening, learning, and connecting with other growers. Don't harass others, post spam, share illegal content, scrape data, or misrepresent your identity.

We may remove content that violates these standards and will notify you when we do.

Paid tiers

The free tier (Seedling) is genuinely free, no credit card required, no time limit.

Grower subscriptions auto-renew monthly or annually until you cancel. You can cancel anytime from your billing settings. No refunds are issued for partial billing periods.

Steward is a one-time lifetime purchase with a 30-day refund window. If it's not right for you, contact us within 30 days for a full refund.

We'll give at least 60 days notice before any price increases on existing plans. Card payments are processed securely by Stripe. Bitcoin payments, when available, are processed by BTCPay Server. These are non-refundable due to the nature of cryptocurrency transactions.

Guided insights

PatternBase uses model-assisted tools (via Anthropic's Claude) for features like photo analysis, garden insights, and planting recommendations. These tools are provided for reference and learning . Always verify recommendations independently and consider your local growing conditions.

We're not responsible for inaccuracies in automated suggestions. Plants, soil, and climate are complex. Use your own judgment alongside our tools.

AI fair-use limits

Paid plans include high AI usage allowances subject to fair-use limits to prevent abuse and protect service quality. We apply monthly request limits by feature and additional short-window burst limits for interactive tools such as Knowledge Ask and Garden Coach.

If you hit a limit, requests may be temporarily blocked until your window resets. Attempted circumvention, automated abuse, or high-volume misuse may result in throttling, temporary suspension, or account action.

We may adjust limits over time based on infrastructure cost, reliability, and abuse patterns. For material changes, we provide advance notice in-app or by email.

Content reporting and DMCA

If you believe content on PatternBase infringes your copyright or violates community standards, contact us at james@pattern-base.com with the following information:

• A link to the content you're reporting
• A description of the issue (copyright, harassment, spam, etc.)
• For copyright claims: identification of the copyrighted work, your contact information, and a statement that you believe the use is not authorized

We respond to all reports within 5 business days and will remove infringing content promptly. Repeat infringers may have their accounts terminated.

Disclaimers

PatternBase provides tools, not professional horticultural, agricultural, or landscaping advice. Growing conditions vary by location, season, and countless other factors. We're not responsible for crop failures, plant losses, or garden outcomes.

The service is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. Our total liability is limited to the amount you've paid us in the past 12 months, or $50 for free-tier users.

Account termination

You can stop using PatternBase at any time. Export your data first from account settings if you'd like to keep it.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that seriously or repeatedly violate these terms. We'll give you notice and a chance to fix the issue first, except in cases of serious violations (harassment, illegal activity). You can request your data for 30 days after termination.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We'll give at least 30 days notice for any changes. Significant changes will be communicated by email or a notice in the app. Continued use after the notice period means you accept the updated terms.

Disputes

If something goes wrong, reach out to james@pattern-base.com first. We'll try to work it out. These terms are governed by the laws of British Columbia, Canada. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of British Columbia. Disputes will be brought individually, not as part of a class action.

Contact

Questions about these terms? Reach out: james@pattern-base.com