Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of HardCoded ("the Platform"), a product owned and operated by Deltum (Pty) Ltd ("Deltum", "we", "us", or "our"), a company registered in South Africa. By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and all applicable laws and regulations, and you enter into a binding agreement with Deltum (Pty) Ltd. If you do not agree with any part of these terms, you may not use our services.

2. Description of Service

The HardCoded platform provides an online learning environment focused on programming and technology education for South African students. Our services include:

• Interactive coding courses and lessons
• Coding challenges and assessments
• Progress tracking and gamification
• Certificates of completion
• Public portfolio pages
• Help center and support resources

3. User Accounts

3.1 Registration

• You must be at least 13 years old to create an account
• If you are under 18, you must have parental consent
• You must provide accurate and complete information
• You are responsible for maintaining account security
• One person may not create multiple accounts

3.2 Account Security

• Keep your password confidential
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized access
• You are responsible for all activities under your account

4. Acceptable Use

4.1 You May:

• Access courses and complete lessons
• Submit code for challenges and assessments
• Create a public portfolio to showcase your work
• Share your certificates with employers
• Use the Platform for personal learning and career development

4.2 You May Not:

• Share your account credentials with others
• Submit malicious code or attempt to harm the Platform
• Scrape, copy, or redistribute course content without permission
• Reverse engineer or attempt to extract source code
• Use the Platform for commercial purposes without authorization
• Harass, abuse, or harm other users
• Submit someone else's work as your own (plagiarism)
• Attempt to bypass security measures or access restrictions

5. Intellectual Property

5.1 Our Content

All course materials, lessons, challenges, and platform design are owned by Deltum (Pty) Ltd or its licensors. You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works without written permission from Deltum (Pty) Ltd.

5.2 Your Content

You retain ownership of code you write and solutions you submit. By submitting content, you grant us a license to:

• Store and process your submissions for grading
• Display your public portfolio content
• Use anonymized data for platform improvement

5.3 Certificates

Certificates are verifiable credentials of course completion issued by Deltum (Pty) Ltd through the HardCoded platform. You may share certificates with employers and on professional networks. Falsifying or tampering with certificates is prohibited.

6. Code Execution

The Platform executes your code in a secure sandbox environment. You agree that:

• You will not submit malicious or harmful code
• Resource limits apply to code execution
• We may monitor submissions for security purposes
• Deltum (Pty) Ltd is not liable for issues arising from your code

7. Pricing and Payments

Currently, the HardCoded platform offers free courses. If premium content is introduced:

• Pricing will be clearly displayed in South African Rand (ZAR)
• Payments are processed by Deltum (Pty) Ltd and are non-refundable unless required by law
• We reserve the right to change pricing with notice
• Free content may become premium or vice versa

8. Termination

8.1 By You

You may delete your account at any time through your profile settings. Your data will be deleted within 30 days.

8.2 By Us

Deltum (Pty) Ltd may suspend or terminate your account if you:

• Violate these Terms of Service
• Engage in fraudulent activity
• Pose a security risk to the Platform
• Provide false information

9. Disclaimers

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. DELTUM (PTY) LTD DOES NOT GUARANTEE:

• Uninterrupted or error-free service
• Specific learning outcomes or job placement
• Accuracy of all content at all times
• Compatibility with all devices or browsers

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law, Deltum (Pty) Ltd shall not be liable for:

• Indirect, incidental, or consequential damages
• Loss of data, profits, or business opportunities
• Damages exceeding the amount you paid us (if any)

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Deltum (Pty) Ltd and its directors, employees, and agents harmless from claims arising from:

• Your use of the Platform
• Your violation of these terms
• Your infringement of third-party rights

12. Changes to Terms

Deltum (Pty) Ltd may update these Terms of Service at any time. Material changes will be notified via email or platform notification. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the new terms.

13. Governing Law

These terms constitute a binding agreement between you and Deltum (Pty) Ltd and are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any disputes shall be resolved in South African courts with jurisdiction in Johannesburg, Gauteng.

14. Severability

If any provision of these terms is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

15. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms of Service, contact Deltum (Pty) Ltd at:

• Email: legal@hardcoded.co.za
• Support: support@hardcoded.co.za
• Website: hardcoded.co.za/help