Terms of Use

Date of Last Revision: August 13, 2025

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE (“TERMS”) CAREFULLY. BY ACCESSING OR USING THIS WEBSITE https://www.dscc.org/, MOBILE SITE OR MOBILE APPLICATION (COLLECTIVELY, THE “SITE”), YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS HEREIN AND ALL TERMS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, YOU MAY NOT USE THE SITE.

The Site is operated by Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (“DSCC”, “we,” “our” or “us”). These Terms apply solely to your access to, and use of the Site. These Terms do not alter in any way the terms or conditions of any other agreement you may have with DSCC for services or otherwise.

We reserve the right to change or modify any of the terms and conditions contained in the Terms or any supplemental terms, policy or guidelines of the Site, at any time and in our sole discretion. Any changes or modification will be effective immediately upon posting of the revisions on the Site, and you waive any right you may have to receive specific notice of such changes or modifications. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes or modifications will confirm your acceptance of such changes or modifications. PLEASE REGULARLY CHECK THE SITE TO VIEW THE CURRENT TERMS.
1. Privacy Policy. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for information on how we collect, use, and disclose personal information we receive; the terms of our Privacy Policy are incorporated by reference into these Terms.
2. Mobile Communications. You consent to our communicating with you about the Site and our work by SMS, text message, email or other electronic means. These communications may include donation requests through SMS (short or long code), text message, email or other electronic means. Message frequency varies. Your carrier’s normal messaging, data and other rates and fees will apply to these communications. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

If you subscribe to any text programs that DSCC makes available, the following terms apply:
(a) By subscribing to DSCC updates or alerts, you consent to receive recurring updates or alerts including by automatic text message. Text STOP to stop. For Help, text HELP. Message and data rates may apply.
(b) Neither DSCC nor the participating carriers guarantee that messages will be delivered. DSCC may discontinue the program at any time without notice.
(c) You represent and warrant that you are supplying your own phone number, and not someone else’s, and that you agree to provide us with notice if you are no longer the primary user of that number.
(d) You acknowledge and agree that you may opt out of receiving further mobile messages via any opt-out keywords that are universally recognized, including, but not limited to, STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, or QUIT. You acknowledge that any opt-out method not expressly provided in this opt-out provision is unreasonable.
(e) You may not receive mobile messages if you are under thirteen (13) years of age and if you are between the ages of thirteen (13) and eighteen (18) years of age, you must have your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission to register to receive mobile messages.
3. Copyright and Limited License. Unless otherwise indicated in the Site, the Site and all content and other materials on the Site, including, without limitation, DSCC’s logo, and all designs, text, graphics, pictures, information, data, software, tools, widgets, sound files, other files and the selection and arrangement thereof (collectively, the “Site Materials”) are the proprietary property of DSCC or its licensors or users and are protected by U.S. and international copyright laws.

You are granted a limited, non-sublicensable license to access and use the Site and the Site Materials for your informational, non-commercial and personal use only. Such license is subject to these Terms and is subject to the following restrictions: (a) you shall not engage in any harassing, threatening, intimidating, predatory or stalking conduct; (b) Use our Site other than for its intended purpose and in any manner that could interfere with, disrupt, negatively affect or inhibit other users from fully enjoying our Site or that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the functioning of our Site in any manner; (c) Develop or use any applications that interact with our Site without our prior written consent; (d) send, distribute or post spam, unsolicited or bulk commercial electronic communications, chain letters, or pyramid schemes; (g) bypass or ignore instructions contained in our robots.txt file; (e) use our Site for any illegal or unauthorized purpose or engage in, encourage, or promote any activity that violates these Terms; (f) you shall not license, sell, resell, rent, lease, transfer, assign, reproduce, distribute, host or otherwise commercially exploit the Site Materials or any portion thereof, including the Site; (g) you shall not frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any trademark, logo, or other Site Materials (including images, text, page layout or form) of DSCC; (h) you shall not use any metatags or other “hidden text” using DSCC’s name or trademarks; (i) you shall not modify, translate, adapt, merge, make derivative works of, disassemble, decompile, reverse compile or reverse engineer any part of the Site Materials or do anything that might discover source code or bypass or circumvent measures employed to prevent or limit access to any part of our Site, except to the extent the foregoing restrictions are expressly prohibited by applicable law; (j) you shall not use any manual or automated software, devices or other processes (including but not limited to spiders, robots, scrapers, crawlers, avatars, data mining tools or the like) to “scrape” or download data from any web pages contained in the Site (except that we grant the operators of public search engines revocable permission to use spiders to copy materials from the Site for the sole purpose of and solely to the extent necessary for creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, but not caches or archives of such materials); (k) you shall not access the Site Materials in order to build a similar or competitive website or service; (l) except as expressly stated herein, no part of Site Materials may be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means; and (m) you shall not remove or destroy any copyright notices or other proprietary markings contained on or in the Site Materials. Any use of the Site or the Site Materials other than as specifically authorized herein, without the prior written permission of DSCC, is strictly prohibited and will terminate the license granted herein. Such unauthorized use may also violate applicable laws, including without limitation copyright and trademark laws and applicable communications regulations and statutes. Unless explicitly stated herein, nothing in these Terms shall be construed as conferring any license to intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, implication or otherwise. This license is revocable at any time.

As a part of the Site Materials, you may have access to materials that are hosted by another party. You agree that it is impossible for DSCC to monitor such materials and that you access these materials at your own risk.

4. Repeat Infringer Policy. In accordance with the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and other applicable law, DSCC has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and at DSCC’s sole discretion, subscribers or account holders who are deemed to be repeat infringers. DSCC also may at its sole discretion limit access to the Site and/or terminate the accounts of any users who infringe any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is any repeat infringement.

5. Copyright Complaints. If you believe that anything on the Site infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may file a notification of such infringement with our Designated Agent as set forth below.

Name of Agent Designated to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement: Allison Wright

Telephone Number of Designated Agent: (202)-224-2447

Full Address of Designated Agent to Which Notification Should be Sent:

120 Maryland Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20002

E-Mail Address of Designated Agent: [email protected]

 

Please see 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3) for the requirements of a proper notification. You should note that if you knowingly misrepresent in your notification that the material or activity is infringing, you will be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by us or the alleged infringer as the result of our relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing.

6. Trademarks. DSCC’s stylized name and all related graphics, logos, slogans, service marks and trade names used on or in connection with the Site are the trademarks of DSCC and may not be used without permission in connection with your or any third-party products or services. You may not use any metatags or any other “hidden text” utilizing “DSCC” or any other name, trademark or product or service name of DSCC without our prior written permission. Other trademarks, service marks and trade names that may appear on or in the Site Materials are the property of their respective owners. In addition, the look and feel of the Site, including all page headers, custom graphics, button icons and scripts, is the service mark, trademark and/or trade dress of DSCC and may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without our prior written permission. Reference to any products, services, processes or other information, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, and supplier or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation thereof by us.

7. Third-Party Services. Our Site may contain links to third-party websites (“Third-Party Sites”). DSCC makes no claim or representation regarding, and accepts no responsibility for, the quality, content, nature, or reliability of Third-Party Sites accessible by hyperlink from the Site, or Third-Party Sites that link to the Site. Such sites are not under the control of DSCC, and DSCC is not responsible for the contents of any Third-Party Site or any link contained in a linked site, or any review, changes or updates to such sites. DSCC provides these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or adoption by DSCC of any site or any information contained therein. When you leave the Site, you should be aware that our terms and policies no longer govern. You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any Third-Party Site to which you navigate from the Site.

8. Third-Party Content. We may make third-party information and other content available on or through the Site (the “Third-Party Content”) as a service to those interested in this information and we may provide information regarding or access to third-party products or services available on or through the Site (“Third-Party Products and Services”). Your business dealings or correspondence with such third-parties, and any terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated therewith, are solely between you and such third-party. DSCC does not control, endorse or adopt any Third-Party Content or Third-Party Products and Services, and makes no representation or warranties of any kind regarding the Third-Party Content, including without limitation regarding its accuracy or completeness. You acknowledge and agree that DSCC is not responsible or liable in any manner for any Third-Party Content and undertakes no responsibility to update or review any Third-Party Content. Users use such Third-Party Content at their own risk.

9. Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless DSCC, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, employees, agents, partners, suppliers, and licensors (each, a “DSCC Party” and collectively, the “DSCC Parties”) harmless from any losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) relating to or arising out of any and all of the following: (a) your use of, or inability to use, any of the Site Materials; (b) your violation of the Terms; or (c) your violation of any applicable laws, rules or regulations. DSCC reserves the right, at its own cost, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with DSCC in asserting any available defenses. This provision does not require you to indemnify any of the DSCC Parties for any unconscionable commercial practice by such party or for such party’s fraud, deception, false promise, misrepresentation or concealment, suppression or omission of any material fact in connection with the Site or any services provided hereunder. You agree that the provisions in this section will survive any termination of your access to the Site Materials.

10. Disclaimers. YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOUR USE OF THE SITE MATERIALS IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK, AND THE SITE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITH ALL FAULTS. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED HEREIN, THE SITE, THE SITE MATERIALS CONTAINED THEREIN AND THE SERVICES PROVIDED ON OR IN CONNECTION THEREWITH (THE “SERVICES”) ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. DSCC DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT AND AS TO ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, FORMS OR OTHER SITE MATERIALS ACCESSED THROUGH THE SITE. DSCC DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE, THE SITE MATERIALS OR THE SERVICES ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, RELIABLE, CURRENT OR ERROR-FREE.

DSCC IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS OR OMISSIONS, INCLUDING THOSE RELATING TO PRICING, TEXT OR PHOTOGRAPHY. WHILE DSCC ATTEMPTS TO MAKE YOUR ACCESS AND USE OF THE SITE AND SERVICES SAFE, DSCC CANNOT AND DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT THE SITE, THE SITE MATERIALS OR THE SERVER(S) ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; THEREFORE, YOU SHOULD USE INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED SOFTWARE TO DETECT AND DISINFECT VIRUSES FROM ANY DOWNLOAD.

DSCC IS ALSO NOT RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE IN ANY MANNER FOR ANY THIRD-PARTY ACTIVITIES OR EVENTS LISTED ON THE SITE.

11. Limitation of Liability. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL DSCC PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE OR DATA, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES OR COSTS DUE TO LOSS OF PRODUCTION OR USE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, IN EACH CASE WHETHER OR NOT DSCC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE TERMS OF USE OR ANY COMMUNICATIONS, INTERACTIONS OR MEETINGS WITH OTHER USERS OF THE SITE MATERIALS, ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, RESULTING FROM: (1) THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE MATERIALS; (2) THE COST OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES RESULTING FROM ANY GOODS, DATA, INFORMATION OR SERVICES PURCHASED OR OBTAINED OR MESSAGES RECEIVED FOR TRANSACTIONS ENTERED INTO THROUGH THE SITE MATERIALS; (3) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (4) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD-PARTY ON THE SITE MATERIALS; OR (5) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATED TO THE SITE MATERIALS, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, COPYRIGHT, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY. THE FOREGOING CAP ON LIABILITY SHALL NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY OF A DSCC PARTY FOR (A) DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY A DSCC PARTY’S NEGLIGENCE; OR FOR (B) ANY INJURY CAUSED BY A DSCC PARTY’S FRAUD OR FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL DSCC PARTIES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR MORE THAN $5. THE FOREGOING CAP ON LIABILITY SHALL NOT APPLY TO LIABILITY OF A DSCC PARTY FOR (A) DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY A DSCC PARTY’S NEGLIGENCE; OR FOR (B) ANY INJURY CAUSED BY A DSCC PARTY’S FRAUD OR FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION.

THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN DSCC AND YOU.

12. Use of Artificial Intelligence. DSCC may use artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies, including machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and other automated systems, to support and enhance the services they provide. These technologies may be used for, but are not limited to, content generation, customer support, personalization, fraud detection, data analysis, and other operational or functional purposes.

While DSCC strives to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and appropriateness of AI-generated outputs, such outputs may occasionally contain errors, inaccuracies, or incomplete information. Accordingly, users should not rely solely on AI-generated content without independent verification, especially where legal, financial, medical, or safety-related decisions are involved.

By using DSCC services, you acknowledge and agree that: (a) you understand DSCC’s use of AI technologies; (b) you assume full responsibility for any reliance on AI-generated content; and (c) DSCC disclaims any and all liability arising from or related to the use of such content to the maximum extent permitted by law. If you have concerns about how AI is used in connection with DSCC’s services, please contact DSCC at the email address provided below.

13. International Users. The Site can be accessed from countries around the world and may contain references to services and that are not available in your country. These references do not imply that DSCC intends to announce such services in your country. DSCC makes no representations that the Site Materials are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Those who access or use the Site from other countries do so at their own volition and are responsible for compliance with local law.

14. Applicable Law and Venue. These Terms and your use of the Site shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia applicable to agreements made and to be entirely performed within the District of Columbia, without resort to its conflict of law provisions. You agree that any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to these Terms shall be filed only in the state and federal courts located in the District of Columbia and you hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts over any suit, action or proceeding arising out of these Terms.

15. Dispute Resolution; Binding Arbitration. Please read the following section carefully because it requires you to arbitrate certain disputes and claims with the DSCC and limits the manner in which you can seek relief from us, unless you opt out of arbitration by following the instructions set forth below. No class or representative actions or arbitrations are allowed under this arbitration provision. In addition, arbitration precludes you from suing in court or having a jury trial.

No Representative Actions. You and the DSCC agree that any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or our Site is personal to you and the DSCC and that any dispute will be resolved solely through individual action, and will not be brought as, and you hereby waive the right to bring, a class arbitration, class action or any other type of representative proceeding.

Arbitration of Disputes. Except for small claims disputes in which you or the DSCC seeks to bring an individual action in small claims court located in the county of your billing address, you and the DSCC waive your rights to a jury trial and to have any other dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or our Site, including claims related to privacy and data security, (collectively, “Disputes”) resolved in court. Instead, for any Dispute that you have against the DSCC you agree to first contact the DSCC and attempt to resolve the claim informally by sending a written notice of your claim (“Notice”) to the DSCC by email at [email protected]. The Notice must (a) include your name, residence address, email address, and telephone number; (b) describe the nature and basis of the Dispute; and (c) set forth the specific relief sought. Our notice to you will be similar in form to that described above. If you and the DSCC cannot reach an agreement to resolve the Dispute within thirty (30) days after such Notice is received, then either party may submit the Dispute to binding arbitration administered by JAMS or, under the limited circumstances set forth above, in court. All Disputes submitted to JAMS will be resolved through confidential, binding arbitration before one arbitrator. Arbitration proceedings will be held in Washington, DC unless you are a consumer, in which case you may elect to hold the arbitration in your county of residence. For purposes of this Section 15, a “consumer” means a person using the Site for personal, family or household purposes. You and the DSCC agree that Disputes will be held in accordance with the JAMS Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures (“JAMS Rules”). The most recent version of the JAMS Rules are available on the JAMS website and are hereby incorporated by reference. You either acknowledge and agree that you have read and understand the JAMS Rules or waive your opportunity to read the JAMS Rules and waive any claim that the JAMS Rules are unfair or should not apply for any reason.

You and the DSCC agree that these Terms affect interstate commerce and that the enforceability of this Section 15 will be substantively and procedurally governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. (the “FAA”), to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. As limited by the FAA, these Terms and the JAMS Rules, the arbitrator will have exclusive authority to make all procedural and substantive decisions regarding any Dispute and to grant any remedy that would otherwise be available in court, including the power to determine the question of arbitrability. The arbitrator may conduct only an individual arbitration and may not consolidate more than one individual’s claims, preside over any type of class or representative proceeding or preside over any proceeding involving more than one individual.

The arbitration will allow for the discovery or exchange of non-privileged information relevant to the Dispute. The arbitrator, the DSCC, and you will maintain the confidentiality of any arbitration proceedings, judgments and awards, including information gathered, prepared and presented for purposes of the arbitration or related to the Dispute(s) therein. The arbitrator will have the authority to make appropriate rulings to safeguard confidentiality, unless the law provides to the contrary. The duty of confidentiality does not apply to the extent that disclosure is necessary to prepare for or conduct the arbitration hearing on the merits, in connection with a court application for a preliminary remedy or in connection with a judicial challenge to an arbitration award or its enforcement, or to the extent that disclosure is otherwise required by law or judicial decision.

You and the DSCC agree that for any arbitration you initiate, you will pay the filing fee (up to a maximum of $250 if you are a consumer), and the DSCC will pay the remaining JAMS fees and costs. For any arbitration initiated by the DSCC, the DSCC will pay all JAMS fees and costs. You and the DSCC agree that the courts of the District of Columbia and of the United States sitting in the District of Columbia have exclusive jurisdiction over any appeals and the enforcement of an arbitration award.

Any Dispute must be filed within one (1) year after the relevant claim arose; otherwise, the Dispute is permanently barred, which means that you and the DSCC will not have the right to assert the claim.

You have the right to opt out of binding arbitration within thirty (30) days of the date you first accepted the terms of this Section 15 by emailing us at [email protected]. In order to be effective, the opt-out notice must include your full name and address and clearly indicate your intent to opt out of binding arbitration. By opting out of binding arbitration, you are agreeing to resolve Disputes in accordance with Section 14.

If any portion of this Section 15 is found to be unenforceable or unlawful for any reason, (a) the unenforceable or unlawful provision shall be severed from these Terms; (b) severance of the unenforceable or unlawful provision shall have no impact whatsoever on the remainder of this Section 15 or the parties’ ability to compel arbitration of any remaining claims on an individual basis pursuant to this Section 15; and (c) to the extent that any claims must therefore proceed on a class, collective, consolidated, or representative basis, such claims must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration, and the parties agree that litigation of those claims shall be stayed pending the outcome of any individual claims in arbitration. Further, if any part of this Section 15 is found to prohibit an individual claim seeking public injunctive relief, that provision will have no effect to the extent such relief is allowed to be sought out of arbitration, and the remainder of this Section 15 will be enforceable.

With respect to any text programs offered by the DSCC, the DSCC’s platform provider is a third-party beneficiary of the foregoing arbitration, class action, and jury waiver provisions.

16. Termination. Notwithstanding any of these Terms, DSCC reserves the right, without notice and in its sole discretion, to terminate your license to use the Site, and to block or prevent your future access to and use of the Site.

17. Release. You hereby release the DSCC Parties and their successors from claims, demands, any and all losses, damages, rights, and actions of any kind, including personal injuries, death, and property damage, that is either directly or indirectly related to or arises from your use of the Site Materials, including but not limited to, any interactions with Third-Party Sites of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of the Terms or your use of the Site Materials. If you are a California resident, you hereby waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which states, “A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.” The foregoing release does not apply to any claims, demands, or any losses, damages, rights and actions of any kind, including personal injuries, death or property damage for any unconscionable commercial practice by a DSCC Party or for such party’s fraud, deception, false, promise, misrepresentation or concealment, suppression or omission of any material fact in connection with the Site or any services provided hereunder.

18. Assignment. The Terms, and your rights and obligations hereunder, may not be assigned, subcontracted, delegated or otherwise transferred by you without DSCC’s prior written consent, and any attempted assignment, subcontract, delegation, or transfer in violation of the foregoing will be null and void.

19. Force Majeure. DSCC shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside its reasonable control, including, but not limited to, acts of God, war, terrorism, riots, embargos, acts of civil or military authorities, fire, floods, accidents, strikes or shortages of transportation facilities, fuel, energy, and/or labor or materials.

20. Severability. If any provision of these Terms shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

21. Questions & Contact Information. Questions or comments about the Site may be directed to DSCC at the following email address: [email protected]

22. Entire Agreement. The Terms are the final, complete and exclusive agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes and merges all prior discussions between the parties with respect to such subject matter.