Microsoft Kusto Detective Agency Contest - Official Rules

1. Eligibility: This contest, the Microsoft Kusto Detective Agency Contest (hereby known as the “Contest”) is open worldwide for anyone who is 18 years of age or older. Employees, workers, contractors of Microsoft, contractors or agencies involved in the execution of this Contest directly or indirectly and their immediate families can claim the achievement badges but are not eligible to claim prizes. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited by Law. No purchase is necessary to enter this Contest, internet access is required.

2. Promoter: Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA, 98052, USA, is the Sweepstakes promoter (hereby known as the “Promoter”).

3. Participation Agreement: By participating in the Contest, entrants fully and unconditionally agree to and accept these Terms and Conditions (hereby known as “Official Rules”) and the decisions of the Promoter, which are final and binding in all matters related to the Contest. Entrants are advised to read the Official Rules carefully. Entrants accept that no Prize can be claimed if the Official Rules are not adhered to.

4. Promotion Period: The Contest will open at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time ("ET") September 18, 2022 and close at 11:59 p.m. ET 31 March, 2023 (hereby known as the "Promotion Period").

5. How to Enter: During the Promotion Period, entrants must visit the website https://detective.kusto.io, create a free Kusto cluster at http://aka.ms/kustofree read the cases that are made available over the course of the Promotion Period, and respond with the exact answers required by the cases. Five cases will be made available every two weeks, the webpage will display the period until the next case is released. Upon submission, the entry form will notify the entrant whether the answer is correct or not. If an entrant answers incorrectly, they are permitted to retry at any time during the Promotional Period. If an entrant correctly answers the challenges, they are permitted to claim a Prize as long as there are still prizes available.
Any attempt by any entrant to obtain more than one Prize per winning entrant by using multiple/different email addresses, identities, IP addresses, or any other methods or identifiers will void that entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified from the Contest and they may forfeit their eligibility to claim a Prize. The Promoter will be employing various methods to manually and automatically check winning entrants attempting to claim multiple Prizes.
Any use of scripted, automatic, programmed, or similar entry methods or agents to win the Contest or obtain more than one Prize per winning entrant will void entries by that entrant and forfeit their eligibility to claim a Prize. In the event of a dispute as to any online entry, the Promoter’s decision will be binding and final. The Promoter reserves the right to contact entrants for the purposes of validation and investigation at its discretion.

6. Prizes: There are 300 prizes for the second and third cases worth $25 each and 100 prizes for the last two cases worth $50 that can be claimed via Snappy inc or Credly depending on the country of residence. In addition, 5,000 Credly digital badge will be awarded for every case answered correctly.
A name, the country of residence and email address will be required to claim the prizes and the badges.
No more than the stated number of prizes will be awarded. The Prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable. There is no cash equivalent. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, the Promoter reserves the right to substitute the prize for an alternative of equal or greater value. Whilst reasonable efforts will be made to alert entrants as to the remaining availability of Prizes to entrants, entrants will have no claim to a Prize if none are available at the moment of claim, even if Prizes were available at the moment of entry.

7. Hints: There are three hints available for each case. To reveal a hint the participant is encouraged to share a post in one of the social networks however it is optional and participant can dismiss the suggestion.

8. General Conditions: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is delayed, impaired or suspended in any way for any reason, including but not limited to, fraud, outbreak of widespread illness, pandemic, or other similar occurrence, technical failure, cyber-attack, virus or other technical problem, the Promoter may, at their discretion, either: (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules; or (b) cancel the Contest and, at its discretion, allocate remaining prizes in a manner which it considers closest to the spirit of these Official Rules. the Promoter reserves the right at its discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the general operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of the Official Rules of this or any other promotion, or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Promoter reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. the Promoter's failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

9. Release and Limitations of Liability: Except where prohibited, by participating in the Contest, entrants agree to release and hold harmless Microsoft Corporation (One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA, 98052, USA), and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, promotional partners, prize fulfilment partners, agents and agencies, and the officers, directors and employees of them (the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (b) technical errors related to computers, servers, providers, printers or telephone or network lines; (c) printing errors or human error; (d) errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; (e) late, lost, or undeliverable mail; (f) incomplete entries; or (g) injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt of any prize. Entrants further agree that in any cause of action, the Released Parties’ liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorney’s fees. Entrants waive the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages. If, for any reason, an entrant’s entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, the entrant’s sole remedy is another Contest entry, if it is possible. If the Contest, or any part of it, is discontinued for any reason, the Promoter, at their discretion, may decide to allocate remaining Prizes in a way which best corresponds to the spirit of the Official Rules, though they are under no obligation to do so. No more than the stated number of Prizes will be awarded. In the event that human error, technical error, exploitation, scripting, cheating or any other reasons cause more than the stated number of Prizes as set forth herein to be available and/or claimed, the Promoter reserves the right to award only the stated number of Prizes by means judged to be most consistent with the Official Rules, namely a first claimed first served basis. If a first claimed first served basis is unavailable for whatever reason, Prizes will be allocated by means of random draw among recorded and eligible winning entries.

10. Entrant's Personal Information: The Contest or Promoter does not collect personal information but does involve the use of cookies to enhance user experience and record user achievements.

The Contest is run in accordance with the Microsoft Privacy Statement
Personal information will be required to fulfil Prizes, including name, email address and postal address information. This personal information will be collected and processed by the Contest fulfilment partners Snappy Inc and Credly Inc in accordance with the following privacy policies:

Snappy Inc privacy policy

Credly Inc privacy policy

11. Winner’s Details: enquiries relating to winners or for a winner’s list, individuals may email kustodetectives@microsoft.com with their enquiry.