Terms of Use

  1. Introduction

    1. These terms of use apply to this website and any connected services, such as our Discord server. The website and these services are hereinafter referred to as platform.
    2. The services provided on this platform are subject to change. If possible, the discontinuation of any services will be announced at least one week in advance.
    3. Any changes to the terms of use will be announced at least 30 days in advance. In order to be able to continue using our platform's services, it is necessary to agree to the updated terms of use.
  2. Registration and User Accounts

    1. Users must be at least 16 years old to register an account.
    2. The account's login information may not be disclosed to any third party. Each person may use only one account.
    3. Every registered user (member) must make sure that they have provided a valid email address. Disposable or temporary email address may not be used. If no valid email address was provided during registration or if the user does not confirm their email address within four weeks after registration, the account may be deleted.
      Members are able to adjust which emails they want to receive in their privacy settings and their notification settings.
    4. Restrictions

      1. The following measures may be taken if a member violates the terms of use, applicable law, or commits actions outside of this platform that are suitable to disrupt its service, to harm or harass other members, or to violate other members' legal rights:
        1. If violations or actions only affect specific services within our platform, access to these services may be limited or suspended.
        2. If restricting access to specific services is not suitable to prevent violations, access to an account may be suspended temporarily. Depending on the severity of a violation or action, temporary suspensions can range from one day to six months.
        3. in case of repeated or severe violations, accounts may be suspended permanently. Accounts may also be suspended permanently if their sole use and purpose is to advertise products or services (so-called "spam") that are either not related to the topic of this platform or violate our terms of use.
      2. If necessary to prevent immediate severe or ongoing violations, measures may be applied without prior notice.
      3. Users may not register new accounts to circumvent these restrictions.
      4. Users may against appeal any restrictions to their account using the contact form, by sending an email to webmaster@modding-forum.com, or by using the conversation tool to message an administrator. This appeal must include the user name of the restricted account and a reason for the appeal.
  3. Content

    Members are able to contribute their own texts, images and other files within our platform (hereinafter referred to as "content").
    1. Every member is responsible for the content they are publishing. When posting, embedding or linking to content, every member must make sure that they holds all rights or permissions legally required. If necessary for quotes, images or other content, sources need to be mentioned.
    2. By submitting their own content, the user grants the platform's operator a non-exclusive right of use, allowing the operator to keep the respective content permanently publicly available within our platform, including in the case that the user's account has been suspended or deleted. The operator may move content within the platform or connect it to other content.
    3. If content violates our terms of use or applicable law, it can be reported to the platform's staff using the "Report" button, the contact form, or by sending an email to webmaster@modding-forum.com. As much information as possible needs to be provided. Reported content will be dealt with accordingly. If a user provides a way of contact, they will be informed about whether the respective content has been removed or other actions have been taken.
    4. Forbidden content

      1. It is not allowed to post anything that is offensive, disrespectful, obscene, discriminatory, expresses extreme political views, otherwise violates the law or is generally deemed inappropriate.
      2. It is not allowed to post any personal information or private data or media of others, except when it is in the public interest or explicitly permitted.
      3. Spam, advertising or posting content in order to pursue a commercial interest is forbidden, except when explicitly allowed by staff.
    5. Restrictions

      1. Content may require approval when it is submitted, in this case the content will only be visible to the submitting user and the platform's staff. Staff will review the content as soon as possible and approve it if it does not violate our terms of use, guidelines or applicable law. Approval can be required for specific types of content, or if the content has been flagged by our automated spam detection. The automated spam detection considers the past activity of user accounts, their username, email address, their current IP address, and the content they are trying to submit.
      2. Content may be deleted if it violates the terms of use, applicable law, or our guidelines. If content violates the guidelines, it may be hidden from public access while the respective user may edit their content to comply with the guidelines. If such a violation is only included in parts of a specific content, this content may be edited by staff to remove the violating parts.
      3. Members may appeal against any restrictions to their content within 14 days using the contact form, by sending an email to webmaster@modding-forum.com, or by using the conversation tool to message an administrator. A link to the respective content and a reason for the appeal must be included.
  4. Modifications

    Members can post their own changes or edits to games (so-called "modifications" or "mods") in the showroom categories or our filebase, or show or discuss other modifications within our platform.
    1. Correct and complete credits must be provided for all released modifications. Credits must include a list of all authors and their contributions. They must be displayed before downloading and must be included with the downloadable file. When showcasing unreleased modifications or work in progress, credits must be provided if requested.
    2. Script modifications may not contain any harmful code. It is not allowed to use script modifications for the purpose of collecting or relaying any personal data nor to identify users based on previously collected data. Modifications may not allow executing code remotely nor may they include features that can remotely interfere with the functionality of the modification itself or other software. Users must be informed in advance if a mod creates network connections, for example for automated update checks.
    3. Posting, promoting or discussing any multiplayer cheats or other modifications that provide unfair advantages in online games is forbidden.
    4. Promoting or offering paid modifications, or offering to pay for modifications is forbidden.
    5. Modifications may not be showcased or uploaded if any part of the modification has been used without permission.
    6. Users may not use downloaded modifications or parts of these modifications in any way not intended by the original author.
  5. Conversations

    1. Conversations are private messages only meant for the parties involved. It is not allowed to share messages without previous consent, except when reporting a message if the user has reason to believe that the respective message violates our terms of use or applicable law.
    2. Spam, advertising, the handling of any commercial activities, or otherwise pursuing a commercial interest is forbidden within conversations.
    3. If a participant in a conversation has reason to believe that a message violates our terms of use or applicable law, they may report the message. The content of the specific reported message will be automatically disclosed to the website's staff members.
  6. Additional Guidelines

    We expect all our members to follow these guidelines in order to maintain a good atmosphere within the community.
    1. User Profile

      Members may post links to their website, YouTube channel and Discord server in the respective fields in their profiles. Within these fields, in the "About Me" text, and in signatures, it is allowed to post commercial projects as long as their content is related to the platform's topic and does not violate our terms of use.
    2. Forums

      1. Choose comprehensible thread titles that describe the topic as well as possible.
      2. Use an appropriate tone and try to follow grammar and spelling rules as far as possible.
      3. Posts must be relevant to the topic.
      4. Do not create two consecutive posts unless they are an important contribution to the topic.
      5. Instead of third party hosters, our own attachment tool should be used to upload pictures whenever possible. Instead of embedding large pictures, smaller thumbnails should be used if reasonably possible. Do not use pictures to add text to your content.
      6. Avoid quoting long posts and instead quote only the part that you are referring to.

      Specific categories have their own guidelines, complementing these general guidelines. They are pinned on top of the respective category. This applies for the following categories:
    3. Gallery

      1. Screenshots need to uploaded into the correct category. Only in-game screenshots may be posted in game categories.
      2. Members should not post many similar pictures at the same time.
    4. Filebase

      Every file submitted needs to be approved by a member of staff. It will be checked whether the modification reaches the required quality. If the file does not reach the requirements, it may be rejected. Further information can be found in our Guidelines for Modifications in our Filebase.
  7. Disclaimer

    Liability claims are generally excluded, except in case of a breach of duty resulting in damage to a person's life, physical integrity or health, or for any intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty, caused by a party to these terms of use, or their vicarious agent or a legal representative.