Photoclub is a meeting place for ambitious (hobby) photographers. Membership is a privilege, not a right. Photoclub is neither anarchy nor democracy, but a democratic community with rules. The basis of these rules are our values and goals. Therefore, these rules can only be discussed within the framework of our values and goals.
Values
We want to create an oasis for photographers here. An oasis where you feel comfortable. Friendliness, respect, and decency are more important to us than photographic competence or a membership fee. Anyone who does not behave respectfully and decently with us loses our respect and thus the privilege of their membership. It does not matter whether professional photographer or premium member. Besides good social skills, we expect a minimum level of photographic and technical competence from our members. Willing beginners are, of course, always warmly welcome.
Goals
We want to grow and give our members the greatest possible control over Photoclub. The organization and administration should be independent and democratic but within the framework of these club rules. We want to create the conditions for this here.
§1 Scope
(1) Our club rules apply to all users of this internet offer. By using this internet offer, you agree to these club rules and our privacy policy. If you do not agree with our club rules or our privacy policy, you are prohibited from using our internet offer. In case of violations of these rules, Photoclub, its legal representatives and/or agents cannot be held liable. In case of violations of these rules, Photoclub will exercise its house rights. If you do not or no longer agree with these rules, you can cancel your membership at any time.
(2) Photoclub reserves the right to adjust its club rules if necessary. You will usually be notified of a change by email. However, it is your responsibility to check the rules for currency. Members agree to the currently valid rules by each login. If the member does not object to the changed rules within 4 weeks after the change/change notification, these are considered accepted by the member. A revocation of the rules can be made at any time by email.
§2 Code of Conduct
(1) Respect
Freedom of opinion ends where the dignity of another is violated! Behave respectfully towards every member, no matter what you think of them. A person's social competence is weighted higher in Photoclub than photographic competence. A person can be a very good photographer, but if they behave disrespectfully, offensively, or condescendingly (whether subtly or openly expressed) towards other members, they are not suitable as a whole for our Photoclub. Inappropriate social behavior such as unfriendliness, sarcasm, hostility, insults, or threats (whether subtle or openly expressed) will lead to exclusion after multiple unsuccessful mediations.
(2) Loyalty
As a club member, you should support your Photoclub as best as possible. We want only members in our club who stand with and behind us. Club members who harm the club, whether through defamation, slander, or other means (whether subtle or openly expressed), lose the privilege of their membership. We expect our members to know the difference between constructive and destructive criticism and to act accordingly.
§3 What is allowed?
(1) Content
Basically, all content is allowed in Photoclub that does not violate applicable law or good morals and decency or come from other websites. Sexualized content is only allowed in the 16+/18+ zones. Please also note our 16+ rules! Basically, each member is responsible for ensuring that the content they publish does not violate these rules. Web addresses in the image or image description are not allowed.
(2) System
Repeated sending/publishing of (largely) identical information on/about our system is considered spam by us and is not allowed. It is also not allowed to misuse our system for advertising, poaching, or other agitation. Likewise, all measures that could lead to excessive load on the system are prohibited.
(3) Registration
It is not allowed to register with a domain name as a username. To ensure that posts can always be specifically assigned to someone, multiple registrations for the same user are not permitted. For the same reason, it is also not allowed for several people to "share" one account. The respective owner of the account is obliged to keep their password secret and is responsible for all actions associated with the account.
(4) Members
Measures that lead to harassment of other members are not allowed. Behave respectfully towards every member in Photoclub, no matter what you think of them. Members who notoriously provoke disputes, insult (whether subtly or openly expressed), or simply spread negative vibes are not welcome at Photoclub. In such cases, we will exercise our house rights.
(5) Criticism
Constructive error reports and improvement suggestions are gratefully received via the support system. So-called "protest images" or "protest posts" that serve agitation against Photoclub are not welcome. We expect our members to know the difference between constructive and destructive criticism and to act accordingly. Members who notoriously express themselves destructively about Photoclub show their intention to harm the club and consequently its members. In such cases, we will exercise our house rights.
§3 Rights
(1) There is basically no entitlement to membership in Photoclub. Only those who accept these rules, adhere to them, and prove suitable can become and remain members.
(2) Images/texts can be removed by us at any time without giving reasons if circumstances require it.
(3) We strive for as trouble-free operation as possible. However, there is no legal claim to availability and use of Photoclub.
(4) The user indemnifies Photoclub from all third-party claims arising from an existing or alleged infringement of third-party rights and a defense against such claims upon first request.
(5) If paid memberships are suspended or deleted due to violations of these rules, the member has no claim to a refund of partial or full fees. Outstanding invoices up to the date of suspension must be settled.
(6) If a user has been suspended, they are prohibited from further use of Photoclub for the duration of the suspension. The exception is the cancellation of the (premium) membership. In case of exclusion, it is also forbidden for them to register again or to enter or access Photoclub as a guest.
§4 Premium
(1) The use of certain services within Photoclub is subject to a fee. To activate the paid services, the user accepts the associated payment obligation and the waiver of the right of withdrawal. The exact fees and conditions of this service are displayed during the activation of the respective service. The provision of this paid service "premium membership" consists of providing the user with additional functions and support via a "premium access." After activation of the service, the service is considered fully fulfilled and can therefore be canceled but not revoked.
(2) Any applicable fee must be paid in advance without deduction. Overpayments will be credited to the next contribution. Payouts are excluded for technical and organizational reasons. Paid memberships, premium support, and VIP membership begin immediately with the booking/purchase date. Some technical premium features are only activated after payment receipt and payment allocation. Payment is expected within 7 days after booking. Orders/bookings are binding.
(3) If a "conflict" is filed with PayPal due to "unauthorized account access," "non-receipt of an item," "item not as described," or similar fabricated claims, this causes additional effort for us in processing the case through our accounting. Additionally, PayPal itself charges a "dispute fee." We reserve the right to charge you these additional costs. Premium features are automatically activated when booking with PayPal payment. A subsequent withdrawal of this payment via a conflict report to PayPal is obtaining services by deception and thus fraud. This would inevitably result in a report and collection.
(4) The premium membership can only be canceled by canceling the premium membership. Canceling your standing order, payment order, or subscription payment does not automatically cancel your premium membership in Photoclub. Stopping payment or refusal to pay also does not automatically cancel the premium membership.
(5) Premium features and the contracts concluded through them automatically renew for the chosen or stated payment period unless canceled at least 30 days before the end of the access/payment period stated at purchase via the system-provided function. Cancellation of the premium membership by email is only possible after consultation and only in exceptional cases. Please use exclusively the provided cancellation button. An online cancellation requires only a few clicks. Upon successful cancellation, you will receive a cancellation confirmation from the system. Please also refer to our help.
(6) In case of suspension, exclusion, or revocation of these rules, no refund of partial membership fees will be made.
§5 Disclaimer
(1) Content of the online offer:
The contents of our club pages are created with the greatest care. Photoclub assumes no liability for the timeliness, correctness, completeness, or quality of the information provided. Liability claims against Photoclub relating to material or immaterial damages caused by the use or non-use of the information presented or by the use of incorrect and incomplete information are generally excluded. All offers are non-binding and without obligation. Photoclub expressly reserves the right to change, supplement, delete parts of the pages or the entire offer without separate announcement or to discontinue publication temporarily or permanently.
(2) References and links
In the case of direct or indirect references to external internet sites ("links") that lie outside the responsibility of Photoclub, a liability obligation would only come into effect if Photoclub had knowledge of the contents and it would be technically possible and reasonable for Photoclub to prevent the use in case of illegal content. Photoclub hereby expressly declares that at the time of link setting no illegal content was recognizable on the linked pages. Photoclub has no influence on the current and future design, content, or authorship of the linked/connected pages. Therefore, Photoclub hereby expressly distances itself from all contents of all linked/connected pages that were changed after the link was set. This statement applies to all links and references set within its own internet offer as well as to external entries via functions set up by Photoclub. For illegal, incorrect, or incomplete content and especially for damages arising from the use or non-use of such presented information, only the provider of the page to which reference was made is liable, not the one who merely refers to the respective publication via links.
(3) Copyright
We point out that Photoclub cannot assume liability for image or text theft and copyright infringements by third parties. Images, texts, and photos you publish in Photoclub are visible to all internet users. Everything visible on the internet can, of course, also be downloaded. There is definitely no effective download protection, neither with us nor anywhere else on the internet. Therefore, we refrain from such nonsensical things as blocking the right mouse button. By registering and using Photoclub and subsequently publishing photos, you acknowledge that you are aware that the risk of possible misuse of your photos by third parties is not higher without these measures.
§6 Supplementary to copyright
(1) The images uploaded and published by the member in Photoclub are hereinafter referred to as photos.
(2) The user assures that he owns the copyright and/or the right or permission to publish his photos on Photoclub. The user alone is responsible for the content of his published photos.
(3) Copyright remains with the photographer or uploader in any case. However, the user grants Photoclub a temporally and spatially unlimited right of use of the photos/texts within the framework of the club rules and thus makes his photos/texts available to all Photoclub users - also within the framework of these rules - for viewing. The user has a right of revocation for this. For a revocation, the uploader has the option to delete his photos. Photoclub points out that photos/texts may still be stored and displayed on external sites such as search engines or other caching services even after cancellation or revocation of the right of use or deletion of the photos/texts.
(5) Once a photo has been published, the user can undo the publication at any time by deleting or appropriately changing the privacy of the photo/gallery/folder. If you want all your photos deleted and there are more than 100, a message via the contact form is sufficient.
(6) The pornographic, defamatory, satirical, slanderous, or otherwise illegal use of a photo or other images from Photoclub is not permitted.
(7) If the rights of third parties are violated by uploading or using a photo, Photoclub cannot be held liable. If you suspect a copyright infringement, please report it to us with detailed information.
(8) The content and works created by Photoclub on these pages are subject to copyright. Duplication, processing, distribution, and any kind of exploitation outside the limits of copyright require the written consent of the respective author or creator. Downloads and copies of this site are not permitted. As far as the content on this site was not created by the operator, the copyrights of third parties are respected. In particular, third-party content is marked as such. Should you nevertheless become aware of a copyright infringement, please inform us accordingly. Upon becoming aware of legal violations, we will act accordingly.
§7 Severability clause
If parts or individual formulations of this text are or become legally ineffective in whole or in part, or lose their legal effectiveness later, this shall not affect the validity of these rules in the rest. The statutory provisions shall replace the ineffective regulation. The same applies if the rules contain an unforeseen gap. In case of violations of these club rules, Photoclub cannot be held liable. The user indemnifies Photoclub from justified claims of third parties made against Photoclub due to the use of the rights granted by these rules. In the event of a legal dispute, the user assumes the judicial and extrajudicial costs of legal defense incurred by Photoclub.
Closing words
Our rules were created to realize our idea of a Photoclub. They are based on firm values and goals and can therefore only be discussed within these values and goals. The makers and members of Photoclub are at home all over the world. If this is not to your liking, our offer is unfortunately not suitable for you. If you have different ideas of a Photoclub and its rules, you are free to realize your ideas in another community. Likewise, we are free to realize our Photoclub according to our ideas. So if our rules do not correspond to your nature, then this simply is not your club. Otherwise, we wish you lots of fun and nice contacts in Photoclub.
