Leaderboards and speedrun.com's new terms of service

Speedrun.com’s recent terms of service update removes the Creative Commons licensing that previously kept runs and community resources openly reusable and now explicitly prohibits archiving and some forms of reuse. The site’s public news post emphasized cosmetic changes like AI-bot disclosures but omitted several substantive restrictions buried in the terms: donations are labeled commercial, competitors may no longer use the API, manual copying of runs is forbidden, moderators can be held liable for imported guest runs, and content can remain on the site even after account deletion. The post suggests asking for permission to reuse data, but permission-based access can be refused or withdrawn and is not equivalent to an open license or permanent public access.

Practical responses recommended are to export and locally back up your own runs (speedrun.com settings; EU/UK users also have GDPR data-portability rights), pressure game moderators to oppose or pause boards, and contact Elo directly via the news comments, Discord, or [email protected] to demand a reversion. Share the issue widely so communities that built the site aren’t locked out. The summary is based on the site’s October 1, 2026 terms and historical archives; the writer identifies as a speedrunner and community tool maintainer, not a lawyer.