Continuity Policy

Why this exists

Stringer is solo-founder bootstrapped. That's a real risk for someone who paid $69 or $79 for a year's subscription. We'd rather tell you exactly what happens in the bad scenario before you pay than discover it together when something goes wrong.

This policy is a written commitment. It sits at joinstringer.com/legal/continuity, dated and version-controlled. You can come back to it.

1. What "pause" means

Stringer is "paused" if no new dispatch is published for 30 consecutive days during the active publishing calendar (excluding declared editorial breaks of up to 14 days, announced in advance).

2. Reader refund commitments

• Annual subscribers (Founding $69/yr, Standard $79/yr) — receive a pro-rata refund automatically within 14 days of the pause being declared. Calculated as: (remaining_days / 365) × amount_paid. No support ticket required, no fight, no friction.
• Monthly subscribers ($9/mo) — the next renewal is cancelled and you keep access until the end of the current month, then your subscription closes.
• Founding-rate readers retain their permanent $69/yr lock-in if Stringer relaunches under the same entity within 12 months. After 12 months, the lock-in expires.
• Refunds are issued via the original payment method. If the card is expired, an alternate payment route is offered.

3. Writer rights

• Founding-cohort writers retain rights to dispatches they wrote. They may republish elsewhere with attribution to Stringer.
• Accrued $10/sub bonus obligations carry forward — paid out from remaining cash on hand within 60 days of pause declaration. If cash is insufficient, payouts are pro-rata, written, and acknowledged in writing.
• Equity stakes vest under their contractual schedule regardless of Stringer's operating status. Phantom equity rules in the writer agreement govern in the event of acquisition or wind-down.

4. Data deletion

• Active subscriber emails are deleted from operational systems (Supabase, Resend, Stripe customer records) within 60 days of pause declaration, unless the reader explicitly opts in to keep their email on file for revival notice.
• Anonymized aggregate analytics may be retained beyond 60 days for editorial post-mortem purposes only.
• Writer applications are deleted unless the writer opts to keep them in case Stringer (or a successor) reopens recruiting.

5. What this policy does NOT promise

• It does not promise that Stringer will not pause or shut down. Bootstrapped solo media has structural risk, and we're being honest about it.
• It does not promise an exhaustive refund of operational costs (server time, payment-processor fees on the original transaction). Refunds are based on subscription period unused, not gross receipts.
• It does not bind a successor entity that may acquire Stringer's assets, except where required by law or contract.

6. How "pause" is declared

Pause is declared via:

• An email to all active subscribers, dated and from max@joinstringer.com
• A notice posted at joinstringer.com homepage and /legal/continuity
• An update to this page's "Last updated" header

The declaration triggers the 14-day refund window. Subscribers can also reach max@joinstringer.com directly to request earlier processing.