Chatterchannel.social Terms Of Service

Before joining the chatterchannel.social Fediverse instance, please take a moment to read the following before signing up. 'Note that this document refers to the policies of the chatterchannel.social Fediverse instance. This wiki has separate rules and code of conduct.'

= General Rules = Always be kind and considerate towards fellow users.

Harassment, trolling, or hate speech will not be tolerated.

If creating content that notifies another user please only send users content that they are likely to want to see. No spam.

= NSFW Content =

Keep it SFW unless the content is set to unlisted, and an appropriate CW and NSFW tagging of images is added.

Non-commercial Posting
NSFW content should not be posted for commercial gain. NSFW accounts monetized through crowdfunding/membership platforms like OnlyFans, are not permitted. This is to prevent possible spam and legal liability issues along with issues with upstream vendors.

Consenting Adults
Any models featured in NSFW content must be consenting adults. Consent is crucial, and we expect content creators to ensure individuals involved are of legal age and have provided explicit consent.

The use of AI, machine learning or similar technologies to generate NSFW depictions of real people without their explicit permission is strictly prohibited.

= No illegal content =

No illegal or upstream TOS violating content allowed. This instance is maintained out of Pennsylvania, USA. Upstream providers include OVH Cloud, and Cloudflare R2.

Unauthorized Reproduction
Please refrain from reproducing content without proper authorization. It is crucial to acknowledge and respect the intellectual property rights of others. Note that copyright exists on all works by default unless the copyright holder has decided to wave some or all of these rights. A work that does not have a license attached to it is not necessary safe to reproduce.

Attribution
Share content that you have the right to distribute or that is your original creation. Proper attribution is essential when using others' work. Even when a work is not subject to copyright attribute the author.

Handling DMCA Notices and Copyright Complaints
In the event of receiving a DMCA notice or a verified complaint from a copyright holder regarding your content, we are obligated to address the matter promptly. Repeat infringers will have their account subject to moderation action.

Three Violations Protocol
After three violations of normal severity, resulting in a DMCA notice or verified complaint from a copyright holder, your account will be subject to restrictions. It will be set to limited/silenced, and all media content will be marked as sensitive.

Five Violations Protocol
Upon accumulating five violations of normal severity, your account will face suspension. Our intention is to maintain a respectful and lawful environment, and we hope to avoid reaching this point.

Fair Use Considerations
We acknowledge the importance of fair use in fostering creativity, criticism, and commentary. However, it is essential to recognize that fair use has limitations. Determining fair use involves considering factors such as the purpose of use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount used, and the effect on the market value.

While fair use is a valid concept, it does not provide unrestricted permission to use copyrighted material. Members are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the principles of fair use and exercise it judiciously, mindful of its limitations.

It's important to note that, in general, verbatim copying without transformative elements or substantial commentary tends to fall outside the scope of fair use. Fair use typically involves uses that contribute something new, offer insights, or provide commentary, thereby transforming the original work. When dealing with works actively distributed by the copyright holder, the need for transformative elements becomes even more pronounced. Members are encouraged to exercise caution when considering such uses and strive to add substantial value or commentary to ensure alignment with fair use principles.

DMCA Contact
Please see the following for our full DMCA Policy --- Chatterchannel.social DMCA Policy

Obsenity
Content that qualifies as obscenity under relevant laws, including but not limited to "loli" content, is strictly prohibited. Our commitment is to maintain a community adhering to legal standards and avoiding content that may be deemed obscene or which may damage our reputation with other instances. Note: The legal definition of obscenity in the U.S. includes the three-pronged Miller test, which considers the average person's standards, whether the work lacks artistic, literary, political, or scientific value, and whether it depicts sexual conduct in an offensive way.

Zero Tolerance for Abuse of Minors
Any abuse of minors, including explicit content involving individuals under the age of consent, will be promptly reported to law enforcement and any relevant information we have on the account including normally private content will be made available to law enforcement.

Such actions will result in an immediate account ban and removal of all account access. No ability to export/migrate account data will be provided to users suspended for this reason.

= Trolling =

Deliberately posting inflammatory or disruptive content with the intent to provoke reactions from others is not allowed. Posting content that is known to be factually incorrect without clear indication of satire is not allowed.

When engaging in discussion with other users, do not post low-effort, off-topic, or purposefully disruptive posts that contribute little or nothing to meaningful discussions.

= Spam =

Do not send unsolicited bulk messages to users through @ mentions, replies, DMs or any other user to user communication method.

Excessive promotion of products, services, or accounts without meaningful engagement is not allowed.

Posting misleading or deceptive information with the intent to generate engagement or manipulate the community is not tolerated.

Posting high volumes of low quality content for the purpose of driving traffic to your profile or an external site (ie. SEO content) is not allowed.

Any form of fraudulent activity or scam, including but not limited to financial scams, is not allowed. This includes Multi Level Marketing schemes.

To enhance our spam prevention efforts, we may implement CAPTCHA and other anti-spam tools to ensure the integrity of our community.

= Miscellaneous Cyber Security Threats =

Hacking
Unauthorized access or attempts to compromise the security of any system, network, or account is strictly prohibited.

Malware Distribution
Posting or distributing malicious software intended to harm or compromise the security of systems is not allowed outside of a legitimate educational or research purpose.

DDoS Attacks
Engaging in Distributed Denial of Service attacks or activities that disrupt the normal functioning of online services is strictly prohibited.

Griefing Tools
The use or promotion of tools designed to grief or disrupt online platforms is not permitted.

Phishing and Scams
Attempting to deceive others through phishing or engaging in any form of fraudulent activity is strictly prohibited.

Site Raiding/Nuking
Deliberate attempts to overload or compromise a website or online platform are strictly prohibited.

Ban/Block Evasion
Attempts to evade bans or blocks, whether through creating new accounts or using alternative means, are not allowed.

Site Brigades
Organized efforts to sockpuppet/meatpuppet an online platform through coordinated actions are strictly prohibited.

= Instance Preservation =

Reputation Damage
Activities likely to harm the reputation of the instance as a whole, including intentional misinformation or malicious behavior, are strictly prohibited.

Interoperability Impact
Actions that compromise the ability to interoperate with other Fediverse instances, such as deliberate interference with federation protocols, are not allowed.

Fair Resource Usage
Any activities disproportionately consuming server resources and negatively impacting the overall performance of the instance are strictly forbidden. We encourage all users to engage in activities that respect the fair usage of server resources, ensuring a smooth experience for everyone.

Vendor Relationship Damage
Engaging in behavior that damages relationships with external vendors providing services to the instance is not tolerated. Respect their terms of service and uphold positive relationships.

= Interacting With Users From Other Instances =

When interacting with users from other instances, try to generally pay attention to the nature of/the norms of the instances you are interacting with so as to avoid initiating unwanted interactions with external users.

Use content warnings for and/or unlist posts as reasonable for the content you are posting. Remember that is a post is set to listed, it will appear on the global timeline of other instances and the local timeline of users on this instance.

Open Exchange
We encourage open federation to facilitate the sharing of diverse content and ideas. Instances are welcome to connect unless a compelling reason exists to reconsider this openness.

Blocking vs. Silencing
Silencing an instance is the primary measure taken when content concerns arise from an upstream instance. Silencing ensures that content from the silenced instance does not appear in our local and federated timelines. However, voluntary follow relations remain intact.

Blocking, a more extreme measure, breaks voluntary follow relations and is reserved for the most severe cases or instances causing legal compliance issues.

Content Violations
Instances engaging in persistent and severe content violations, such as hate speech, harassment, or illegal activities, may face defederation. We prioritize maintaining a safe and respectful space for our users. Instances that fail to comply with legal requirements, resulting in potential legal consequences for our instance, may be subject to defederation.

Instances associated with extreme and unremitting behavior that poses significant harm to our community may be blocked to protect our users.

Instances which fail to keep basic IT security standards may be defederated, particularly in cases where these instances are tied to phishing, malware, or other cybersecurity risks for our users.