Terms of Use
Preamble
Through their registration the user accepts the general terms and conditions for the use of OPIN (to follow). The OPIN platform is operated by Liquid Democracy e.V. These terms of use govern the contractual relationship between the user and OPIN. The user agrees to this contract concerning the use of the OPIN service in conjunction with Liquid Democracy e.V. Further contact materials and information can be taken from the Imprint.
1. Subject matter
OPIN offers registered users a fee-free platform, in order to enable democratic discourse and democratic decision making. Prevailing topics are introduced by the users themselves, and not by Liquid Democracy e.V.
2. Registration, Assurances of Registration
2.1 In order to make use of the services provided by OPIN, the user must register.
2.2 Through registration the user chooses a password. OPIN will not pass on this password to third parties nor will the user ever be asked for this password.
2.3 Through the completion of the registration process the user agrees to the terms of use when using OPIN. OPIN accepts this agreement and it os realised through its activation of the user account, so the service provided by OPIN can be used. Through this notion of acceptance, the agreement of contract between the user and Liquid Demcoracy e.V. is realised.
2.4 Every user is only allowed to register themselves with our organisation one time, and accordingly only create one user profile.
2.5 Liquid Democracy e.V. cannot technically ascertain with certainty, whether or not the logged in user on OPIN is actually the person hey claim to be. Liquid Democracy e.V. does not guarantee the actual identity of the user. Every user has to convince others of their identity if so.
3. Obligations of the User
3.1 The user is obliged to adhere to the rules as outlined by Liquid Democracy e.V.'s "code of conduct” and any relevant third party clauses/rulings during their usage of the services provided by OPIN. The user is strictly prohibited from using profane, insulting, or defamatory content. Similarly the user is prohibited from harassing other users in an unreasonable manner (especially through spamming) or to make use of lawfully protected content (for example: those goods protected by patent, copyright, authorial, international design, or utility model IP law) unless expressly allowed.
3.2 The user is obliged to refrain from the following harassing activities, even if they do not expressly violate any rules or laws:
• The sending of chain-letters
• The placement or posting of content of a purely commercial nature/intent
• Insinuating or expressing sexual communication
• Every action applicable, which can compromise the functionality of the liqd.net infrastructure, especially those actions which intentionally put stress or strain on its functionality.
4. Termination of the contract
4.1 The user can terminate his or her free-fee membership at any time without expressing reason. Termination can be undertaken with a contact form which is available on every OPIN page. The username and the registered E-mail address of the user are required during the account termination process.
4.2 Liquid Democracy e.V. reserves the right to terminate the contractual relationship between itself and the user at any time, as long as there are sufficient grounds for doing so. “Important grounds” are particularly the following occurrences:
• Non-abiding of lawfully expressed regulations or activity guidelines.
• User violation of the contractual requirements in the terms of use agreements.
In the event of sufficient grounds being evident, OPIN can enact the following sanctions on the user independent of an account termination:
• The deletion of content which was posted by the user.
• Blocking access to the services provided by OPIN.
5. Responsibility for content, data, and user information
5.1 Liquid Democracy e.V. arranges and prepares posts, originally assembled by third parties, on OPIN. If any of these postings violate the clauses of some third party agreement, or contain any law-breaking content, the respective composer of the post is to be held responsible. Liquid Democracy e.V. does not take responsibility for any such content, of any kind, nor is Liquid Democracy e.V. responsible for the content, information, data, or the content of linked external websites posted by users of OPIN. Furthermore, Liquid Democracy e.V. is not liable for the correctness of posted milestones/deadlines.
5.2 If any user recogniaes any unlawful or contractually illegal usage/activity of or on OPIN, the user has the ability to report this activity with the help of the “report” button which is available on all pages of OPIN.
6. Exemption
6.1 The user frees Liquid Democracy e.V. from all obligations and claims, including those claims for damages, asserted by third parties or users as a result of violations of contractual clauses which have been made by user’s postings or activities on OPIN. Similarly, the user frees Liquid Democracy e.V. from any and all claims, including those from damage claims, which are raised by third parties as a result of the violation of contractual clauses that are incurred through the use of OPIN services by any users. The user is responsible for all emerging reasonable costs as a result with the violation of third party rights, including all costs associated with a lawful defence. Any other causes, rights, and claims beyond these such as those for damage claims on Liquid Democracy e.V. remain unaffected. The aforementioned obligations of the user are no longer valid, insofar as the user is not liable for the concerned infringement.
6.2 In the event of an infringement of third party rights/rulings as a result of a user’s posting, the OPIN user’s rights to use the services of OPIN will be, in accordance with the chosen decision of the Liquid Democracy e.V., infringed upon to the user’s disadvantage due to the rightful precedence of the third party. The user will then, in all haste, put a stop to the unlawful use of the services as demanded by OPIN.
7. Privacy
Liquid Democracy e.V. is aware that a sensible handling of personal data transmitted over OPIN is of exceptional importance to users. Therefore Liquid Democracy e.V. abides by all pertinent lawful privacy requirements (such as those of German privacy law, European privacy law, and any other applicable personal privacy rulings). Liquid Democracy e.V. will not pass on any personal data to third parties unless authorised, nor will Liquid Democracy e.V. attempt to gain the attention of third parties regarding such personal data, unless authorised. Particularities as to how user data is processed are made explicit in Liquid Democracy’s privacy terms and conditions, which can be reached from OPIN.
8. Content rights
8.1 With the posting of a post/content the user grants Liquid Democracy e.V. the unlimited, irrevocable, and transferable right of use of the bespoke posting, they in turn are given the provision to permanently maintain the posting on their website.
8.2 Liquid Democracy e.V. places its user-transferred rights under a Creative Commons-by-SA-licence.
9. Final clauses
9.1 The contractual agreement and changes of said agreement must be in written form. Side-agreements are not coequally valid.
9.2 The place of fulfilment is Berlin.
9.3 The place of jurisdiction, to the extent to which it is lawfully applicable, is Berlin.
9.4 German law, excluding international private law and excluding transferred law from the UN-Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods into the German system, is hereby valid.
Through their registration the user accepts the general terms and conditions for the use of OPIN (to follow). The OPIN platform is operated by Liquid Democracy e.V. These terms of use govern the contractual relationship between the user and OPIN. The user agrees to this contract concerning the use of the OPIN service in conjunction with Liquid Democracy e.V. Further contact materials and information can be taken from the Imprint.
1. Subject matter
OPIN offers registered users a fee-free platform, in order to enable democratic discourse and democratic decision making. Prevailing topics are introduced by the users themselves, and not by Liquid Democracy e.V.
2. Registration, Assurances of Registration
2.1 In order to make use of the services provided by OPIN, the user must register.
2.2 Through registration the user chooses a password. OPIN will not pass on this password to third parties nor will the user ever be asked for this password.
2.3 Through the completion of the registration process the user agrees to the terms of use when using OPIN. OPIN accepts this agreement and it os realised through its activation of the user account, so the service provided by OPIN can be used. Through this notion of acceptance, the agreement of contract between the user and Liquid Demcoracy e.V. is realised.
2.4 Every user is only allowed to register themselves with our organisation one time, and accordingly only create one user profile.
2.5 Liquid Democracy e.V. cannot technically ascertain with certainty, whether or not the logged in user on OPIN is actually the person hey claim to be. Liquid Democracy e.V. does not guarantee the actual identity of the user. Every user has to convince others of their identity if so.
3. Obligations of the User
3.1 The user is obliged to adhere to the rules as outlined by Liquid Democracy e.V.'s "code of conduct” and any relevant third party clauses/rulings during their usage of the services provided by OPIN. The user is strictly prohibited from using profane, insulting, or defamatory content. Similarly the user is prohibited from harassing other users in an unreasonable manner (especially through spamming) or to make use of lawfully protected content (for example: those goods protected by patent, copyright, authorial, international design, or utility model IP law) unless expressly allowed.
3.2 The user is obliged to refrain from the following harassing activities, even if they do not expressly violate any rules or laws:
• The sending of chain-letters
• The placement or posting of content of a purely commercial nature/intent
• Insinuating or expressing sexual communication
• Every action applicable, which can compromise the functionality of the liqd.net infrastructure, especially those actions which intentionally put stress or strain on its functionality.
4. Termination of the contract
4.1 The user can terminate his or her free-fee membership at any time without expressing reason. Termination can be undertaken with a contact form which is available on every OPIN page. The username and the registered E-mail address of the user are required during the account termination process.
4.2 Liquid Democracy e.V. reserves the right to terminate the contractual relationship between itself and the user at any time, as long as there are sufficient grounds for doing so. “Important grounds” are particularly the following occurrences:
• Non-abiding of lawfully expressed regulations or activity guidelines.
• User violation of the contractual requirements in the terms of use agreements.
In the event of sufficient grounds being evident, OPIN can enact the following sanctions on the user independent of an account termination:
• The deletion of content which was posted by the user.
• Blocking access to the services provided by OPIN.
5. Responsibility for content, data, and user information
5.1 Liquid Democracy e.V. arranges and prepares posts, originally assembled by third parties, on OPIN. If any of these postings violate the clauses of some third party agreement, or contain any law-breaking content, the respective composer of the post is to be held responsible. Liquid Democracy e.V. does not take responsibility for any such content, of any kind, nor is Liquid Democracy e.V. responsible for the content, information, data, or the content of linked external websites posted by users of OPIN. Furthermore, Liquid Democracy e.V. is not liable for the correctness of posted milestones/deadlines.
5.2 If any user recogniaes any unlawful or contractually illegal usage/activity of or on OPIN, the user has the ability to report this activity with the help of the “report” button which is available on all pages of OPIN.
6. Exemption
6.1 The user frees Liquid Democracy e.V. from all obligations and claims, including those claims for damages, asserted by third parties or users as a result of violations of contractual clauses which have been made by user’s postings or activities on OPIN. Similarly, the user frees Liquid Democracy e.V. from any and all claims, including those from damage claims, which are raised by third parties as a result of the violation of contractual clauses that are incurred through the use of OPIN services by any users. The user is responsible for all emerging reasonable costs as a result with the violation of third party rights, including all costs associated with a lawful defence. Any other causes, rights, and claims beyond these such as those for damage claims on Liquid Democracy e.V. remain unaffected. The aforementioned obligations of the user are no longer valid, insofar as the user is not liable for the concerned infringement.
6.2 In the event of an infringement of third party rights/rulings as a result of a user’s posting, the OPIN user’s rights to use the services of OPIN will be, in accordance with the chosen decision of the Liquid Democracy e.V., infringed upon to the user’s disadvantage due to the rightful precedence of the third party. The user will then, in all haste, put a stop to the unlawful use of the services as demanded by OPIN.
7. Privacy
Liquid Democracy e.V. is aware that a sensible handling of personal data transmitted over OPIN is of exceptional importance to users. Therefore Liquid Democracy e.V. abides by all pertinent lawful privacy requirements (such as those of German privacy law, European privacy law, and any other applicable personal privacy rulings). Liquid Democracy e.V. will not pass on any personal data to third parties unless authorised, nor will Liquid Democracy e.V. attempt to gain the attention of third parties regarding such personal data, unless authorised. Particularities as to how user data is processed are made explicit in Liquid Democracy’s privacy terms and conditions, which can be reached from OPIN.
8. Content rights
8.1 With the posting of a post/content the user grants Liquid Democracy e.V. the unlimited, irrevocable, and transferable right of use of the bespoke posting, they in turn are given the provision to permanently maintain the posting on their website.
8.2 Liquid Democracy e.V. places its user-transferred rights under a Creative Commons-by-SA-licence.
9. Final clauses
9.1 The contractual agreement and changes of said agreement must be in written form. Side-agreements are not coequally valid.
9.2 The place of fulfilment is Berlin.
9.3 The place of jurisdiction, to the extent to which it is lawfully applicable, is Berlin.
9.4 German law, excluding international private law and excluding transferred law from the UN-Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods into the German system, is hereby valid.
We would like to thank bewegung.taz.de for their guidelines and template for the formation of these terms of use.