Terms and Conditions of Use
for the Internet Platform futurechallenges.org
________________
of the
Future Challenges e.V.
– Hereinafter referred to as the “Supplier” –
A. General Points
1. Preamble
1.1 The Supplier operates an internet platform on the topic of “Globalization” and “Human Rights” (hereinafter referred to as the “Platform”) under the address www.futurechallenges.org.
1.2 Use of the Platform is free of charge and any user may have reader access at any time without prior registration.
1.3 Numerous specific articles, magazine articles, commentaries, films, photographs and other media that come from various authors (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Contributions”) can be called up on the Platform. These authors may be members of Irrespressible Voices e.V. or external users such as bloggers supporting the Supplier, scientists or generally registered users.
1.4 The Supplier makes every effort to involve the users in expanding the Platform and making it possible for them to supplement the Platform in accordance with the rules of these Conditions of Use, in particular by creating new Contributions.
1.5 It is possible both to create Contributions such as specific articles and to write commentaries on Contributions. The original Contribution is not changed when commented on; however, the commentaries on the Contribution are shown. (Furthermore, there is the possibility of acting as a user with the user’s own administrative rights for the user’s own idea within Futurechallenges.org and editing the texts of other registered users (Number 8).)
2. Using the Platform
2.1 By using the Platform the user accepts the Terms and Conditions of Use and obliges him- or herself to comply with them.
2.2 The content of the Platform is under a creative commons license (version 3.0 by-nc-sa) the license conditions of which shall be complied with.
2.3 The Platform is conceived as a public source of information. Thus its content may be disseminated and used for non-commercial purposes pursuant to the specifications of the aforementioned cc licence. Any commercial utilisation of the content is prohibited.
3. Rights of Use and Enjoyment
3.1 When using the Platform, please ensure that the copyrights and other rights of the Supplier and other holders of rights are complied with and not infringed upon. Users of the Platform shall make every effort to ensure that they comply with and do not violate the copyrights and other rights of the Supplier and other holders of rights. Its the responsibility of the users alone not to violate any rights of any holders in their articles which they provide for Futurchallenges.org
3.2 All content on the Platform is under CC licence 3.0, by-nc-sa (attribution non-commercial share alike). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, as long as they credit you and license their new creations under identical terms. Others may download and redistribute your work as per the by-nc-nd license, but they can also translate, make remixes, and produce new stories based on your work. All new work based on your own will carry the same license, so that any derivatives will also be non-commercial in nature.
4. Registered Users
4.1 The right to create and comment on Contributions is reserved for registered users.
4.2 Each registered user also has his or her own page on the Platform with his or her own administrative rights to present his or her own ideas. Furthermore, they have the option of editing the texts of other registered users on their own pages.
5. Registration
5.1 During registration, the Supplier asks for personal data that will be stored and processed. Mandatory data are marked as such; provision of all other data is voluntary.
5.2 Users are obliged to make truthful statements when they register. This covers both mandatory and voluntary data.
5.3 The registered user obliges him- or herself only to use passwords for their own Platform utilisation, to store them safely and not to pass them on to third parties.
B. Creating Your Own and External Content
6. Compliance with Legal Specifications
6.1 Registered users shall be responsible for any Contributions and/or comments they make themselves (hereinafter uniformly referred to as “Contributions”) and all editing of Contributions. The specifications of the CC licence by-nc-sa shall be complied with and it is only possible to directly edit the texts of third parties on the Platform.
6.2 When entering and editing Contributions, particular care shall be taken to ensure that Contributions do not infringe any external copyrights. The Supplier explicitly wishes to emphasize that texts licensed under GNU FDL (such as articles from Wikipedia) may NOT be posted on the Platform.
6.3 Only Contributions, films, photographs and miscellaneous media may be posted whose author is the registered user, or for which the holder of the right has given permission. An exception to this is the use of quotations and when used these require proper referencing.
6.4 It is the responsibility of registered users to make sure that their Contributions generally do not infringe the rights of third parties and do not violate applicable law.
6.5 The registered user also has to ensure that he or she does not post any Contributions that are insulting or pornographic that glorify violence or that could damage other users – for instance, through viruses.
6.6 If there are links complying with the rules of use, the registered user may be responsible for the content of the linked pages if he or she adopts them. The Supplier shall not be responsible.
7. Conceding Rights
7.1 Contributions entered onto this Platform shall be under the CC licences by-nc-sa as soon as they are entered.
8. Erased
9. The Supplier’s Responsibility
9.1 The Platform is an open project that gives registered users the option of creating and editing Contributions.
9.2 All Contributions and revisions of such always reflect the opinion of the specific authors. The Supplier does not adopt external content and explicitly disassociates itself from such content. The Supplier does not assume any responsibility whatsoever for external content.
9.3 The Supplier makes every effort to check compliance with the Terms and Conditions of Use and statutory regulations within the Platform. However, it is not appropriate for the Supplier to check all Contributions and revisions entered, either in advance or subsequently.
10. The Supplier’s Virtual Right
10.1 The Supplier reserves the right – also with a view to reducing its risk of liability – to remove Contributions either in whole or in part and/or to temporarily block users at any time or exclude them completely.
10.2 In particular, registered users can be excluded if their Contributions/revisions violate applicable law, or if the specifications of the Terms and Conditions of Use are not complied with. Advance notice of exclusion is not necessary nor do any reasons for the grounds thereof have to be given.
10.3 Contributions or parts of Contributions can be removed especially if they violate the public morals or the ban on advertsing.
10.4 A user has no claim to be admitted as a registered user; there shall also be noclaim to publishing certain Contributions or conceding the option of publishing or editing Contributions. The Supplier can reject registration or publication at any time and without giving reasons and may also subsequently reverse such a decision.
C. Editorial Rules of Use
11. The Principle
11.1 The rules of use form part of the terms and Conditions of Use; they specify in greater detail the rules and regulations that must be complied with when entering Contributions and editing them.
11.2 The rules of use are the netiquette of the Platform. If the registered user does not comply with them, the registered user has to expect that his or her Contributions/revisions shall be deleted and/or that the user shall be excluded from further use. Sanctions are imposed in particular if the rules of use are intentionally and/or repeatedly violated.
12. Topical Relevance
12.1 All Contributions/revisions should have a direct bearing on the topic of the Platform as defined in these Terms and Conditions of Use and on the Platform itself.
12.2 The Contributions/revisions should contain information that is relevant and worth knowing.
13. Search
13.1 When drafting Contributions/revisions registered users should bear in mind that other users should see these texts as reliable sources. Thus great diligence should be exercised in ensuring the accuracy of all data given.
13.2 In the event that statements are made on certain persons in a Contribution or that one’s own Contribution deals with a certain person, care shall be taken to respect his or her personal rights. In particular, persons who are not constantly in the the public eye and therefore should not be deemed as personalities contemporary history should be notified in advance and their permissionrequested.
14. Erased
15. Neutrality
15.1 The principle of neutrality shall be complied with within the framework of Contributions to the Platform according to which registered users shall refrain from political or personal opinions. Ideological texts or texts displaying a political tendency are not desired.
15.2 The commentary function is provided for representing one’s own opinion or evaluating one’s own or other users’ Contributions.
16. Advertising
16.1 The Platform is a non-commercial project of the Supplier. Thus the Platform may not be exploited for commercial purposes. The content of the Platform may also be used only for non-commercial purposes as per the cc licence by-nc-sa.
16.2 Within this framework, all forms of advertising – be they direct or indirect – are prohibited in Contributions or links entered.
D. Final Provisions
17. Quality Control
17.1 The Platform has been designed to ensure that users should aid in guaranteeing a high level of quality in the existing Contributions. If a user discovers gaps or errors, notification should be given or the gaps should be directly rectified or/and the errors should be be corrected.
17.2 The Supplier shall be notified whenever a user discovers gross errors or violations of these Terms and Conditions of Use including the rules of use.
18. The Supplier’s Liability
18.1 The Supplier shall not assume any warranty for the correctness of the articles or other Contributions/revisions entered on the Platform (by the Supplier or by any third parties).
18.2 The Supplier shall not assume any liability for direct or indirect damage incurred by using the data or information on the Platform. In the event that that liability cannot be generally excluded, the Supplier shall only be liable in any event for intentional or grossly negligent behaviour and with mandatory statutory regulations.
18.3 Registered users shall explicitly exempt the Supplier from all third party claims to the extent that they are in connection with each registered user entering a Contribution or editing it.
19. Violating the Rights of Third Parties
19.1 If a user discovers a legal violation, the user shall notify the Supplier who shall immediately remove said content or remove the legal violation itself . If this is a legal violation assigned to the user, the idea giver can also do this.
20. Data Protection
20.1 The Supplier may use the user’s registration data for operating the Platform and for evaluating users behaviour. Such data shall only be passed on to third parties pursuant to the specifications of the statutory regulations on data protection and if the Supplier is in possession of the appropriate permission. The data may be delivered to the Supplier’s service providers who performservices in connection with operating the Platform and evaluating users behaviour for the purpose of guaranteeing the functionality of the Platform. These service providers are obliged to comply with statutory regulations on data protection and confidentiality.
20.2 In addition, other data shall be stored and made publicly available i.e. visible to other users of the Platform (even to non-registered users) for reasons of verifiability when creating/editing Contributions. This refers to the point in time of creating/editing said Contributions, the user name and the Contribution/revision itself.
20.3 Furthermore, the Supplier shall store the IP address of users. The IP address of specific users can be recorded even without registration and may be processed by the Supplier for reasons of technical evaluation.
20.4 Moreover, the registered user may enter other voluntary data on his or her person on the Platform, and the registered user cmay select from a variety of authorisation levels with reference to how visible his or her data are to other users. The Supplier shall only store this additional data for representation on the Platform, and shall not subject it to further evaluation. The registered user can adapt or delete the additional data at any time.
20.5 Every user shall have the right to receive information at any time without charge with reference to the personal data stored on his or her person. Furthermore, the user also has the right to correct, block or delete his or her data at any time. In the event that a registered user deletes his or her access to the Platform, the personal data stored on his or her person shall be automatically deleted. If the Supplier blocks a registered user, it shall only retain the email address of the user affected for the purpose of performing the blockage.
21. Choice of Law and Applicable Law
21.1 The Supplier operates the Platform at its headquarters. Its range of services is aimed at an international audience, although it shall be subject to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany wherever this is legally possible. Therefore, the law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be uniformly and mutually agreed to as the applicable law.
21.2 The exclusive venue and place of performance shall be the headquarters of the Supplier (Berlin).
22. Amending the Conditions of Use
22.1 The Supplier reservesthe right to amend these Terms and Conditions of Use at any time and in particular to adapt them to changing circumstances and legal constraints.
22.2 The Terms and Conditions of Use as applicable at the point of time of utilisation of the homepage of the Platform shall always be deemed definitive.
22.3 If the Terms and Conditions of Use have been amended, the Supplier is not obliged to explicitly point this out to registered users.
23. Changing the Scope of Performance
23.1 The Supplier is not obliged to make the Platform permanently available for usage to the previous extent or to make it available at all. The Supplier is entitled to stop the operation of the Platform permanently or temporarily, even without prior announcement.
23.2 The Supplier does not make any promises or assurances with reference to the scope of the Platform or its availability. In particular, the Supplier reserves the right to make both creating Contributions and general access to the Platform dependent upon prior registration.
24. Severability Clause
Should any individual provisions of these Terms and Conditions of Use be or subsequently become invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of all other provisions. The provision that comes closest to the original purpose of the invalid or unenforceable provision shall replace the invalid or unenforceable provision.
