Terms of Use

Last updated: 2026-11-01.

Who these terms apply to

These terms apply to everyone who reads Sophaxis or submits to it. Using the site means accepting them. The other policies are part of these terms.

What Sophaxis provides

Sophaxis lists preprints in philosophy, mathematics, logic, the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of science. It gives each listed work a record page, a search, a feed and, where the repository allows, a copy of the PDF. It does this free of charge.

The authors bear full responsibility

The authors bear full responsibility for their work and for its listing on Sophaxis. This covers:

• the content of the work, including every claim, proof, citation, calculation and figure;
• the right to share the version under its licence, and the permission of any publisher;
• material from others in the work, and any infringement of copyright or other rights;
• personal data of third parties in the work;
• the statement on generative models, and any use that it leaves out;
• the truth of everything the submitter confirms in the Submission Policy.

Moderation does not move any of this to the operator. A listing says only that a submission passed the checks in the Moderation Policy. If a third party makes a claim against Sophaxis or its operator because of a listed work, the authors are responsible for it, to the extent the law allows. The operator still acts on requests under the Takedown Policy.

What readers may do

Readers may read, download and reuse each listed work under its own licence. The text of this site may be reused under CC BY 4.0, as set out in the Licence Policy.

What is not allowed

• Submitting work of which you are not an author.
• Submitting material that infringes copyright or other rights.
• Submitting personal data of third parties without a lawful basis.
• Spam, abuse, and attempts to disrupt the site or the submission process.

The operator may decline or remove a submission that breaks these rules.

No warranty

Sophaxis is provided as it is. It does not guarantee the quality, correctness or completeness of listed work. It does not guarantee that the site will always be reachable. To the extent the law allows, the operator is not liable for loss that arises from using the site or relying on listed work.

Changes and closure

These terms and the other policies may change. The date on each page shows its last change, and earlier versions stay in the public repository. No change will introduce fees.

A change that takes away or narrows a right of authors or readers, or adds a duty, is announced on the top page before it takes effect, with what changes and from which date. The announcement comes at least 14 days ahead, unless the law or an urgent problem, such as a security or legal risk, requires the change sooner. Other changes, such as clearer wording or new examples, take effect when they are published. Continuing to use Sophaxis after a change takes effect means accepting it; a person who does not accept it can stop using Sophaxis, and an author can withdraw their works under the Withdrawal Policy.

Continuity

Sophaxis is run by one person, and is planned so that it can stop without loss.

• A slow decision is not a pause: moderation can take several weeks or a few months. A pause is for when the operator cannot work on Sophaxis at all, for example because of illness. If that lasts for more than 30 days, the top page says that new submissions are paused. Listed records stay online.
• If Sophaxis closes, the operator will keep the repository with every record public, so that the records stay readable. Each week, the pages and the PDF copies are also saved to the Internet Archive.
• The operator may hand Sophaxis over to another person or to an institution. A hand-over is announced on the site first, and these terms stay in force until the new operator changes them in the ordinary way.
• Anyone may copy the repository and continue the work elsewhere under its licences: CC BY 4.0 for the text and MIT for the code. Each listed work keeps its own licence.
• The DOIs stay with the repositories that issued them, whatever happens to Sophaxis.

Law

These terms are governed by the laws of Japan. Nothing in them limits a right that the law does not allow to be limited. In particular, nothing in them excludes or limits liability for intent or gross negligence, or any liability that Japan's Consumer Contract Act or another law does not allow to be excluded or limited.

Disputes

A dispute about Sophaxis or a listed work is settled by agreement wherever possible.

1. Write to the operator first, by email to the address on the operator's ORCID record, or in an issue if the matter can be public. Say what the dispute is about and what would settle it.
2. Both sides then try, in good faith, to reach an agreement by talking. The operator answers within 7 days and does not leave a dispute without reply.
3. If talking does not settle it within 60 days, either side may propose mediation, such as civil conciliation (minji chotei) at a Japanese summary court, before going to court.

If a dispute is not settled in these ways, it goes to the district court or the summary court that has jurisdiction over the operator's place of residence, as the court of first instance by agreement. The operator's address is given on request, as the Operator and contact page says. This does not take away a right that the law gives a consumer, or a person outside Japan, to bring or defend a case in another court. Nothing in this section stops anyone from asking a court for urgent relief, or from using the Takedown Policy.

People outside Japan

Sophaxis is run from Japan and can be read from anywhere.

• The same steps apply. Talks and mediation can be held in writing or online, in English or Japanese, so that no one has to travel to Japan to settle a dispute.
• These terms are governed by the laws of Japan. Where the law of a person's own country gives them protection that cannot be set aside by agreement, such as the protection of consumers, that protection still applies.
• A person outside Japan who may sue in the courts of their own country under that country's law keeps that right; the agreement on the court above does not take it away.
• These terms are written in English. If a translation is ever published and differs from the English text, the English text applies.

GitHub and Vercel

Sophaxis runs on two services based in the United States, and their own terms apply alongside these.

• Submitting to Sophaxis means using GitHub: opening an issue, commenting and attaching files are governed by GitHub's Terms of Service and Privacy Statement, between the user and GitHub.
• Reading Sophaxis means receiving pages from Vercel, which handles each request, including the IP address, under its own terms and privacy policy, possibly in countries other than Japan or the reader's own.
• These terms bind the operator and the people who use Sophaxis. They do not bind GitHub or Vercel, and they give no one a claim against GitHub or Vercel, or against the operator for what GitHub or Vercel does.
• A dispute with GitHub or Vercel themselves follows their terms, including their own choice of law and court. The steps in Disputes above cover only the operator and Sophaxis.
• Material in the Sophaxis repository or its issues can also be reported to GitHub through GitHub's own process, and material on the site to Vercel. The operator acts on requests under the Takedown Policy whether or not GitHub or Vercel has acted.
• If GitHub or Vercel removes, limits or blocks something on their side, for example under the law of the United States, Sophaxis may not be able to restore it.

General

• The other policies are part of these terms. Where a policy deals with a subject in more detail, it applies to that subject; otherwise, where they differ, these terms apply. The FAQ, the step-by-step page and the Disclaimer explain these terms and do not change them.
• If a part of these terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the rest stays in force, and that part applies as far as the law allows.
• If the operator does not enforce a part of these terms at one time, that does not waive it.
• A person under 18 may submit only with the consent of a parent or guardian.
• A notice to the operator is given by email to the address on the ORCID record, or in an issue. A notice to an author is given in their submission issue.

Contact

The operator and every way to reach the operator are on the Operator and contact page. Questions go to the issues of the repository. Anything that should not be public goes by email to the address on the operator's ORCID record. Requests to remove material follow the Takedown Policy.

All policies