Terms of Use

Last updated 4/9/2019

Notable Updates
  • Use of the site restricted to users 13 years of age or older
  • Prohibition of "ad hominem" attacks and attempts to deter others from using the site
  • Users whose account has been disabled, or removed, as a result of a violation of these Terms may not create a new account without the express permission of TheTopTens staff


This terms and conditions of use agreement ("Terms of Use") is between the party using this website ("you") and TheTopTens ("we" or "us"). By using this website ("The Site") you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of use set forth in the Terms of Use.

1. You agree to use The Site in a manner consistent with the Terms of Use and all applicable rules and regulations. You acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and that you accept the terms thereof. You agree to read these Terms of Use carefully before using The Site. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use, you may not access or otherwise use The Site.

2. Use of The Site is available to persons 13 years of age or older who are not otherwise prohibited from receiving our services under applicable law. The Site is provided on an "as is, as available" basis.

3. TheTopTens does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement, or other information displayed or distributed through The Site. You acknowledge that any reliance upon any such materials, opinion, advice, statement, memorandum, or information shall be at your sole risk.

4. You represent, warrant and covenant that you shall not upload, post or transmit to or distribute or otherwise publish through The Site any materials which (i) restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying The Site, (ii) are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, offensive, pornographic, profane, sexually explicit or indecent, (iii) contain "hate speech" which includes attacks against a person or group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender, (iv) constitute or encourage conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate law, (v) violate, plagiarize or infringe the rights of third parties including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary right, (vi) contain a virus or other harmful component, or (vii) constitute or contain false or misleading indications of origin or statements of fact.

5. You agree that you will not use this site for the purposes of trolling or bullying other users of the site. Trolling is defined as seeking to start arguments or upset people by engaging in behaviors that include but are not limited to (i) posting inflammatory content with little or no value in terms of provoking thoughtful discussion, (ii) posting off-topic content that does not contribute to the intended discussion in a meaningful way, (iii) posting the same or substantially similar content multiple times to the same audience, (iv) intentionally posting factually inaccurate information, (v) creating a user account, often times in addition to an existing account, for the purpose of creating a phony persona designed to be ridiculed or disliked, and (vi) impersonating another user whether by claiming to be another user or by using methods such as creating an account designed to be confused with the account of another user. Bullying is defined as attempting to demean, intimidate, and otherwise negatively affect the experience of a visitor or group of visitors to The Site by engaging in behaviors that include but are not limited to (i) name calling, (ii) threats of physical violence, (iii) wishing harm on others, (iv) posting defamatory content, (v) using "ad hominem" attacks, (vi) deterring others from using The Site, and (vii) singling out another visitor or group of visitors for ongoing negative attention. This "negative attention" may take the form of frequently (i) posting contrary comments on lists created by a specific user, (ii) posting contrary replies to comments posted by a specific visitor, (iii) posting contrary comments to posts created by a specific visitor, or (iv) sending argumentative personal messages to a specific visitor, all in excess of what is typical and reasonable.

6. You represent, warrant and covenant that you own all content you submit to the The Site, including but not limited to (i) lists, (ii) comments, (iii) images, (iv) profile information, (v) messages, and any other materials ("User Content"). Additionally, all content you submit is jointly owned by yourself and TheTopTens. By submitting User Content, you hereby irrevocably grant us a perpetual, world-wide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license and right to use User Content for any purpose and in any media now existing or in the future. By "use" we mean use, copy, display, distribute, modify, translate, reformat, incorporate into advertisements and other works, promote, and create derivative works. You irrevocably waive, and cause to be waived, any claims and assertions of moral rights or attribution with respect to User Content brought against TheTopTens.

7. We reserve the right to monitor all postings or other materials posted on The Site and to remove any which we consider in our absolute discretion to be (i) offensive, (ii) inappropriate, (iii) criminal or (iv) otherwise in breach of these Terms of Use. We do not and cannot review all materials posted to The Site by users, and we are not responsible for any such materials posted by users. However, we reserve the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or government request, or to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in the sole discretion of TheTopTens are objectionable or in violation of these Terms of Use. In addition, in the case of repeated infringing activity by users, we reserve the right to remove any or all posts by individual users, terminate user accounts, or limit access to The Site.

8. Where we provide hypertext links from or to third party sites we do so for convenience and information purposes only. We do not review, endorse, approve or control, and are not responsible for any sites linked from or to the Website, the content of those sites, the third parties named therein, or their products, resources or services. Clicking links to any other site is at your sole risk and we will not be responsible or liable for any damages in connection with linking, and we accept no liability nor make any endorsement or approval of the same.

9. You agree not to attempt to "game" or otherwise work to damage the relevancy or representative nature of votable lists on The Site using tactics including but not limited to (i) automated voting methodologies, (ii) incentivizing others to vote through monetary or other means, (iii) creating multiple profiles, and (iv) placing votes intended to undermine the integrity of the list whether for humorous effect or material gain.

10. We reserve the right to monitor all votes cast on The Site in the form of direct votes placed on a list or user remixed versions of lists (collectively known as "Votes") and filter, discount, or remove Votes that in the sole discretion of TheTopTens, are damaging to the integrity of The Site. This includes but is not limited to (i) Votes cast through proxy networks, (ii) Votes placed in an attempt to "game" the rankings on TheTopTens, and (iii) Votes contributing to the loss of relevancy of a given top ten list. We reserve the right to adjust Vote counts and list rankings at any time at our sole discretion.

11. We reserve the right to edit, refuse to post or to remove any information or materials provided by TheTopTens or by users of The Site including but not limited to (i) list titles, (ii) list descriptions, (iii) titles of items added to lists, (iv) URLs provided for items added to lists, (v) comments added to lists, (vi) member blog posts added to The Site, (vii) comments added to blog posts, (vii) information added to member profiles, and (viii) personal messages sent between members at the sole discretion of TheTopTens at any time for any reason (including, but not limited to, upon receipt of claims or allegations from third parties or authorities relating to such User Content), or for no reason at all.

12. You agree not to engage in activities that could potentially affect the availability of The Site including but not limited to (i) sending an excessive number of requests to The Site, or (ii) attempting to identify or exploit potential vulnerabilities in The Site's hosting environment or source code.

13. Users of The Site 13 years old and older are allowed to create user accounts which they can use to post User Content that is then attributed to that user. Users under 13 years of age may not create or use an account. Additionally, users who have an account disabled, or have had an account removed, due to violation of these Terms may not create or use an account without the express permission of TheTopTens staff. By creating a user account, you agree to (i) make a reasonable effort to prevent others from being able to discover your password and gaining unauthorized access to your account, (ii) allow TheTopTens to contact you using the provided email address, (iii) not provide false information about your age, and (iv) not use The Site's messaging feature to send messages to others that include unsolicited commercial messaging or content that is offensive, threatening, or otherwise in violation of The Site's Terms of Use. Additionally, whether or not you have created a user account on TheTopTens, you agree not to access or attempt to access the user account of another user without their express permission.

14. We reserve the right to take action against users or anonymous visitors to the site who, in our sole discretion, have engaged in activities that are in violation of the Terms of Use. This action may include but is not limited to (i) restricting access to elements of The Site or The Site as a whole, (ii) limiting site functionality, (iii) preventing users from being able to access their user account, and (iv) removal of a user's account.

15. User Content submitted to TheTopTens can be voted on, commented on, ranked, etc., by visitors to the site. As such, removing content submitted to the site may negatively affect the experience of multiple users of the site. Because of this and because of the resources required to identify and remove content submitted to TheTopTens, we reserve the right to not remove User Content from the site. By posting to TheTopTens, you understand and agree that the material you post may not be removed, even at your request.

16. This site contains a number of affiliate links where, when visitors to The Site click through the link and perform a specific action such as submitting a form or making a purchase, we receive a commission. We reserve the right to work to maximize the profits generated by The Site using a number of tactics including but not limited to (i) more prominently featuring lists containing affiliate links throughout the site, (ii) displaying affiliate banners, and (iii) purchasing advertising to promote lists containing affiliate links.

17. TheTopTens reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to change, modify, add or remove any portion of these Terms of Use, in whole or in part, at any time.

18. Should any part of the Terms of Use be declared invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, this shall not affect the validity of any remaining portion and such remaining portion shall remain in full force and effect as if the invalid portion of the Terms of Use had been eliminated.

19. The Site, any information provided from it and the Terms of Use are given and made in the state of Utah, United States of America. THIS TERMS OF USE AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF UTAH, WITHOUT REGARD TO CONFLICTS OF LAWS PROVISIONS. SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION FOR ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS TERMS OF USE AGREEMENT SHALL BE AN APPROPRIATE STATE OR FEDERAL COURT LOCATED IN SALT LAKE COUNTY IN THE STATE OF UTAH.