Version 1.0 · 17 October 2026 · Applies prospectively through the applicable publication and personal acceptance process. Earlier signed records are preserved.
Purpose and how to read these terms
Physical I/O brings together people curious about technology and its impact on human life. We create space to meet, learn, make things and explore possibilities together—with generosity, care for people and a sense of fun. People should feel welcome before they feel useful, and free to participate without pressure to buy, recruit, perform or prove their status.
Our purpose and descriptions of a healthy community are guidance, not performance targets. Clauses describing permitted actions, restrictions, conduct and approval requirements set conditions for participation or access when adopted and accepted through the applicable process. No clause obliges a volunteer to perform services.
Operator and scope
Physical I/O Community is operated by PHYSICAL IO STUDIO LTD, company number 17424963. Contact soul@physical-io.com for community questions, concerns and privacy requests. Community membership and volunteer roles do not confer shares, company ownership, employment, partnership, profit participation or general authority to bind the company. Existing contracts and statutory rights are preserved.
Paid services, employment, specific IP transfers, venue contracts and sponsorship transactions require separate appropriate agreements. These community terms do not execute those transactions.
Roles
Members choose how to participate, bring their interests and questions, and respect others. Membership does not oblige anyone to contribute work, buy services, accept introductions or receive marketing.
Community Admins support connection and belonging. They welcome members, build trusted relationships, encourage participation, listen and connect people with permission. Each Admin agrees a focus area with the Community Lead. This coordinates care; it creates no ownership of people, exclusivity over a group or recruitment target. The detailed permissions are in Schedule A.
The Community Lead supports Admins and the overall community experience. The Lead coordinates willing contributions, connects overlapping efforts, shapes activity proposals around members' interests, handles ordinary coordination and escalates matters needing authority or resources. Schedule B defines the role and its limits.
The Company Director sets direction, provides oversight and approves company commitments, policies, formal appointments and delegations, subject to valid corporate authority. Consultation is encouraged; community polls do not change company control.
Voluntary participation
Admin and Lead participation is voluntary. There are no minimum hours, mandatory attendance, compulsory availability, recruitment quotas or obligations to continue. People may decline, pause or leave without penalty. Practical notice and handover are appreciated where feasible, but no continuing unpaid work is required.
No salary, commission, equity or future paid role is promised. Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses require advance approval and receipts. The actual working relationship and applicable law determine legal status; labels do not waive rights.
Membership and participation
Use the official signup process and the published Membership Criteria. Ordinary membership approval does not grant Admin or Lead authority. Marketing choices remain separate from membership and role acceptance.
Introductions require the people's permission. Respect a person's choice not to participate, receive messages, purchase services or disclose contact details. Focus areas remain open to connections across the community.
Respect, concerns and fair decisions
Treat people respectfully, including when disagreeing. Harassment, unlawful discrimination, fraud, impersonation, misuse of personal information and unauthorised commitments are prohibited. Raising a good-faith concern, declining unpaid work, leaving a role or exercising legal rights is not misconduct.
Raise ordinary concerns with the Lead or contact soul@physical-io.com. Serious, sensitive or conflicted matters go to the Director. A complaint about the Director requires a suitably independent reviewer arranged for that matter. A person must not determine their own complaint or appeal. External legal advice, protected reporting and regulatory routes remain available without prior permission.
Urgent credible safety or security risks may justify temporary restrictions within authorised powers. Record the reason and review promptly. Ordinarily explain the concern, offer a reasonable opportunity to respond, consider relevant evidence and give a proportionate written decision with a review route. A role ending does not automatically end ordinary membership.
Director approval and delegation
The Director is the default approver for spending, venue bookings, sponsorships, partnerships, contracts, formal appointments, reserved access decisions and policy exceptions. The Lead's title alone grants none of those powers.
An express written Director delegation must identify the named delegate, permitted decisions, scope, financial ceiling, conditions, duration and reporting requirements. It must say whether booking, signing, payment or further delegation is permitted. Anything outside it returns to the Director. Silence is not approval. Default spending and contracting authority is £0.
Exploratory discussions may seek information and indicative quotations but cannot make commitments. Before booking or onboarding a sponsor or partner, record approval of the counterparty, scope, full cost or value, deliverables, dates, cancellation terms and any continuing, publicity, exclusivity or data obligations. Identify who may communicate binding acceptance, sign and pay. Changes beyond scope require renewed approval.
No one may promise member data, guaranteed introductions, attendance, hiring outcomes or editorial influence as part of an unauthorised package.
Changes and existing rights
Publish a version and effective date. Give notice of material changes and obtain fresh acceptance where required before extending the affected permissions. Guidance cannot silently introduce contractual obligations or enlarge authority.
Keep previous terms, signatures, appointments and delegations with their original versions. These terms do not retrospectively amend another signed agreement or release historical claims. Mandatory law and valid separate contracts prevail for their subject matter. A specific delegation may grant only powers the Director can lawfully delegate; it cannot override these safeguards or mandatory law.
Role and portal acceptance is separate from community signup and marketing consent. Reading a document alone records no acceptance. No automatic fine, personal guarantee or blanket IP assignment is created.
The adopted contractual provisions are governed by the law of England and Wales, subject to mandatory rights and jurisdiction rules. Nothing excludes rights or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.