llms.txt — Guidance for AI crawlers and LLM/data usage
Site: https://www.thegaragesociety.com
Organization: Garage Society
Contact for permissions/compliance: https://www.thegaragesociety.com/contact
Last updated: 2025-09-08

High-level policy
policy: disallow-training
policy: allow-summarization
policy: allow-qa
policy: allow-search-indexing
policy: allow-caching

Definitions (for clarity)
define: training = using content to train, fine-tune, or otherwise adjust model parameters (including RLHF/RLAIF, distillation, or adapter training).
define: embeddings = generating vector embeddings for retrieval is permitted only for user-facing QA/summarization features and must not be reused to train/fine-tune models.
define: caching = short-term, purpose-limited storage to serve user-facing features. Long-term retention (>30 days) requires permission.
define: derivative-works = outputs that substantially replicate, compile, or transform site content beyond short excerpts/summaries for user use.

Preferred/allowed AI agents
allow-agent: OpenAI
allow-agent: Google-Extended
allow-agent: Anthropic
allow-agent: Perplexity
allow-agent: AppleBot-Extended

Disallowed AI agents (add any that ignore your policies or cause load)
disallow-agent: *
Site-wide defaults
training: disallow
fine-tuning: disallow
embeddings: allow-qa-only
summarization: allow
qa: allow
derivative-works: disallow
cache: allow
cache-retention-days: 30
attribution: required
attribution-requirements: name, source-url, license, change-notes (if modified)

Crawl/access hygiene
respect-robots: true
crawl-delay: 5
max-pages-per-day: 8000
request-window: 1d
concurrency: 2

Licensing/usage terms for AI contexts (public marketing content)
license: CC BY-NC 4.0
license-url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
license-notes: NonCommercial only; appropriate credit and link to license required; indicate changes; no additional legal/technical restrictions.

Path-level rules
Public marketing pages (OK for summaries/QA in user-facing assistants; no training)
path: / training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow
path: /locations/* training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow
path: /workspaces/* training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow
path: /services/* training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow
path: /blog/* training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow
path: /events/* training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow
path: /contact training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow
path: /about training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow
path: /pricing/* training=disallow summarization=allow qa=allow derivative-works=disallow

Private, user, and operational areas (block everything)
path: /admin/* training=disallow cache=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow
path: /account/* training=disallow cache=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow
path: /checkout/* training=disallow cache=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow
path: /api/* training=disallow cache=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow
path: /login training=disallow cache=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow
path: /register training=disallow cache=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow
path: /search training=disallow cache=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow
path: /sitemap.xml training=disallow cache=allow qa=disallow summarization=disallow
path: /robots.txt training=disallow cache=allow qa=disallow summarization=disallow

Media and downloads (no training; minimize reuse)
path: /media/* training=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow cache=allow
path: /assets/* training=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow cache=allow
path: /downloads/* training=disallow qa=disallow summarization=disallow cache=disallow

Additional constraints for AI usage
retain-user-queries: no
store-content: minimal
prohibit: watermark-removal, drm-circumvention, application-of-technological-measures
no-redistribution: bulk or systematic redistribution is prohibited without permission.

Transparency, consent, and compliance
ask-permission: prefer
log-compliance: prefer
contact: https://www.thegaragesociety.com/contact
appeals: Use contact page for exceptions, commercial licensing, or expanded rights.

Notes for compliant agents
note: Do not use content from this site to train or fine-tune foundation or downstream models.
note: Limited, ephemeral caching and embeddings for user-initiated summaries/QA is acceptable, respecting license and attribution.
note: Derivative works beyond short summaries/snippets are disallowed without explicit permission.
note: NonCommercial license applies to public marketing content; other rights (publicity, privacy, moral rights) may apply. Review the full CC BY-NC 4.0 terms.