MUD2 - Terms and conditions

A great big thank you should go to Lanfear, a devoted MUD2 player who reviewed this document and provided legal advice.

A. THE SERVICE

MUD2.COM is a commercial online service (the "Service") operated by Mr. Viktor T. Toth of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada ("Mr. Toth"). The Service exists for the sole purpose of providing access to the multi-user role-playing text adventure game MUD2 to its customers. By accessing and using the Service, you indicate acceptance of these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with any of the terms and conditions presented here, please discontinue use of the Service immediately.

The Service is managed by Mr. Toth, or persons designated as managers of the Service ("Managers") by, and at the sole discretion of, Mr. Toth.

Mr. Toth may discontinue, add to or revise any or all aspects of the Service in his sole discretion and without notice, including access to support services, publications and other products or services ancillary to the Service or subscribership. In particular, Mr. Toth specifically reserves the right in his sole discretion to modify, supplement, delete, discontinue or remove any software, file, publications, information, communication or other content appearing on or transmitted through the Service; to modify the means and characteristics of the Internet connection of the service or any of the hardware components used to operate the service; or to modify the Service's operating hours and maximum number of players.

MUD2 is a constantly developing project. All users should therefore understand and accept that aspects of the Service will change regularly without prior warning or notice.

B. SUBSCRIBERS AND ACCOUNTS

Using the Service requires that you be a subscriber of the Service, or that you are given permission to access the Service using a subscriber's account, or that you access the Service using its special guest login facility. Even if you are not yourself a subscriber, your use of the service is subject to the same terms and conditions as any use by its subscribers.

A subscriber to the Service is one who holds a MUD2 account. A MUD2 account is a means of accessing the Service using a 9-character alphanumeric identifier, and it is protected by a password. An account holder is responsible for all access and use of the Service on that account, regardless of the identity or actions of the person who actually uses the account. Mr. Toth cannot be held liable for unauthorized access to the service if a subscriber's password security is compromised for any reason, including, but not limited to, subscriber's disclosure of the password to third parties.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a subscriber's right to use the Service, or to designate other users of its account, is not transferable and is subject to any limits established by Mr. Toth, or by the subscriber's credit card company or other billing institution, as applicable.

C. PRICING AND BILLING, METHODS OF PAYMENT

As of November 15, 2006, access to MUD2.COM is provided free of charge.

D. RIGHT TO CANCEL, REFUNDS

Mr. Toth reserves the right to cancel subscriptions at any time without prior notification and is under no obligation to provide an explanation. It is understood that while it is Mr. Toth's purpose to see as many players on the Service as possible, subscribers whose conduct is detrimental to the game or is deemed otherwise unacceptable will be removed. The decision to remove a subscriber can be made by Mr. Toth or by persons designated by Mr. Toth as Managers of the Service.

Subscribers have the right to cancel subscriptions at any time.

E. PRIVACY

It is understood that due to the nature of the game MUD2, any and all activities that subscribers undertake while using the Service have the potential to be recorded and observed by other subscribers of the Service without notice or indication. Mr. Toth reserves the right to monitor all activities on the system without notice or indication and to do with the results of such monitoring as he sees fit. Recordings of such monitoring become the property of Mr. Toth.

As part of the MUD2 system, a simple electronic mail facility (MUDMail) is provided. Although this facility cannot regularly be monitored by the game's players or Managers, it does not represent a secure person-to-person electronic mailing system. In particular, it is not guaranteed that the contents stored in this facility will not at one time become public due to a software or system failure, operator error, or malicious access to the computer system used to provide the Service.

Personal information stored on the MUD2 computer system is limited to the full names of subscribers. During normal operation, this information is available only to Mr. Toth, or to persons designated by Mr. Toth as Managers and given appropriate privileges on the Service.

All other personal information, including, but not limited to, mailing addresses, electronic mail addresses or credit card information are stored elsewhere and every reasonable precaution is taken to ensure their confidentiality. Under normal circumstances, such information will be communicated only for the purposes of facilitating billing. However, Mr. Toth cannot be held liable if such information becomes accessible to unauthorized third parties due to theft, sabotage, or malicious access to Mr. Toth's computer systems. If Mr. Toth becomes aware of an occurrence involving theft, sabotage, or malicious access that may compromise the confidentiality of personal information, he will make an effort to notify every affected subscriber as soon as possible.

F. RULES OF CONDUCT

The MUD2 service operated by Mr. Toth is a family gaming service. While every attempt is made to keep the activities, communications and display free from offensive and/or libelous material, Mr. Toth accepts no responsibility if offense is caused or taken from an aspect of the game.

Accessing the Service is subject to acceptable conduct. In particular, the following forms of conduct are not acceptable:

  1. Conduct that violates or infringes upon the rights of any other subscriber of the Service;
  2. Conduct that, under the circumstances and in Mr. Toth's good faith judgment, or the good faith judgement of persons designated by Mr. Toth as Managers, is, or is likely to be perceived by an intended recipient or target as, defamatory, deceptive, misleading, abusive, profane, offensive or inappropriate;
  3. conduct that constitutes a threat to, harassment of, or stalking of another;
  4. conduct that adversely affects the performance or availability of the Service or its resources;
  5. the use of the Service for the solicitation or conduct of any business or activity that is prohibited or would violate any applicable law, rule, or regulation or legal obligation;
  6. the use of the Service for the purpose of soliciting others to subscribe to, or use, competitive services;
  7. the use of the Service for the purposes of advertising, promotion, or solicitation of goods or services for commercial purposes;
  8. the use of the Service in a form that is considered cheating in Mr. Toth's good faith judgement, or the good faith judgement of persons designated by Mr. Toth as Managers. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, the following activities:
a. Multilining: using multiple accounts simultaneously, either by the same person, or by two or more persons who are communicating outside of the Service for the purposes of playing MUD2. Note that the simultaneous use of multiple accounts from the same household is permissible, as long as players do not communicate game information outside of the game;
b. "Looby-looing": the use of one account or persona for the express purpose of benefiting another account or persona operated by the same subscriber;
c. The intentional use of software or system errors ("bugs") for the purposes of gaining an advantage in the game.

Any and all of these forms of conduct can be subject to disciplinary action. Disciplinary action can be in, but not limited to the form of the loss of points in the game, the temporary suspension of access to the game, or cancellation of subscriptions.

It is an essential element of MUD2 that some of the game's players attain the position of Wizard or Witch ("Wiz"). Wizzes of the game have special privileges and responsibilities. Subscribers accept that Wizzes hold extraordinary powers within the MUD2 game and may exercise this power at will. In particular, Wizzes shall be viewed as designated by Mr. Toth to carry out some of the management functions of the game, including, but not limited to, the disciplining of subscribers who violate the rules of conduct.

In case of a dispute with another subscriber, the subscriber's sole recourse is to notify Mr. Toth, or a Manager designated by Mr. Toth, for the purposes of requesting resolution. However, neither Mr. Toth, nor persons designated by Mr. Toth are under any obligation to provide a resolution that the subscriber finds satisfactory. In particular, it is understood that MUD2 provides a gaming facility in which player vs. player combat is possible, and that as a consequence of this capability, subscribers may conduct themselves in a way that other subscribers find unfair or offensive. However, as long as none of the rules of conduct as spelled out in these Terms and Conditions are violated, such conduct, and the consequences of such conduct, will be deemed acceptable.

G. COPYRIGHT

The MUD2 game is the product of MUSE Ltd., and is protected by international copyright conventions and treaties. MUD2, its packaging, language, machine-generated characters, etc. are the property of MUSE Ltd., and may not be used, published, copied, or diffused without the prior written permission of MUSE Ltd.

Material may be downloaded from the MUD2 system for the subscriber's own use. Except as expressly provided for by copyright law, copying, distribution, display, performance, modification and publication of copyrighted material must be with the express permission of Mr. Toth and the owner(s) or authorized person(s), if the owner is other than Mr. Toth. Permission must be specified in a document or on the Service, and must be obtained directly from Mr. Toth and the owner(s) or authorized persons(s), if the owner is other than Mr. Toth. In any use of copyrighted material, any changes to or deletion of author attribution or copyright notice are prohibited. Software or tools downloaded or otherwise available through access to or use of the Service may not be reverse engineered or otherwise tampered with unless specifically authorized by the owner of the rights in the software or tools.

Except as expressly permitted in these Terms and Conditions, no subscriber may reproduce, distribute, transmit, publish or otherwise transfer, or commercially exploit, any software, file, information, communication or other content received or accessed through the Service.

H. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

It is understood that physical access to the MUD2 system is provided via the world-wide Internet, which is not an error-free communication facility. Mr. Toth cannot be held responsible for any problems arising from the use of the Internet, including, but not limited to, failure to access the Service, intermittent access to the service, transmission errors and delays, sudden disconnections. The subscriber accepts responsibility for any loss that occurs within the game (including, but not limited to, the loss of points or personae) due to communication problems. Mr. Toth reserves the right to compensate members for any such loss under exceptional circumstances, but normally, no such compensation shall be expected or will be awarded. The form of compensation is at the sole discretion of Mr. Toth.

SUBSCRIBER EXPRESSLY AGREES THAT USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT SUBSCRIBER'S SOLE RISK. NEITHER MR. TOTH NOR ANY PERSONS DESIGNATED AS MANAGERS OF THE SERVICE, NOR ANY OTHER SUBSCRIBERS TO THE SERVICE WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DOES MR. TOTH OR ANY PERSONS DESIGNATED AS MANAGERS OF THE SERVICE OR ANY OTHER SUBSCRIBERS TO THE SERVICE MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICE. THE SERVICE IS DISTRIBUTED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR OTHERWISE, EXCEPT FOR THOSE WARRANTIES, IF ANY, WHICH ARE IMPLIED BY, AND INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER, THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Subscription fees are charged for providing access to the Service. Payment of the subscription fee does not entitle the subscriber to any claims within the game, including, but not limited to, personae, playing status, or points.

NEITHER MR. TOTH NOR ANY PERSONS DESIGNATED AS MANAGERS OF THE SERVICE, NOR ANY OTHER SUBSCRIBERS SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF USE OF THE SERVICE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR OUT OF ANY BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY.

WITHOUT IN ANY WAY LIMITING THE FOREGOING, MR. TOTH SHALL IN NO EVENT HAVE, IN THE AGGREGATE, ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN EXCESS OF AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION FEE AS APPLICABLE DURING THE MONTH OF THE DATE OF THE FIRST CLAIM HEREUNDER ALLEGING LIABILITY.

SUBSCRIBER EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION H. SHALL ALSO APPLY TO ANY AND ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO "ACQUIRED MATERIAL" AND ANY OTHER CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE. SUBSCRIBER AGREES THAT IT WILL NOT IN ANY WAY HOLD MR. TOTH RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY SELECTION OR RETENTION OF, OR THE ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF, THIRD PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE (INCLUDING THOSE WITH WHOM MR. TOTH CONTRACTS TO OPERATE VARIOUS AREAS ON OR FEATURES OF THE SERVICE).

THE FOREGOING EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY APPLY REGARDLESS OF ANY ALLEGATION OR FINDING THAT A REMEDY FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION OR THEORY OF LIABILITY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE) AND EVEN IF MR. TOTH OR OTHERS WERE ADVISED OR AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OR LIKELIHOOD OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LIABILITY.

I. INDEMNITY

Subscriber agrees to indemnify Mr. Toth against all claims, liability, damages, costs and expenses, including but not limited to reasonable attorneys fees, arising out of or related to any and all use of Subscriber's account. This includes, without limitation, responsibility for all such consequences of Subscribers (or that of any user of Subscriber's account) violation of these Terms and Conditions or placement on or over, or retrieval from or through, the Service of any software, file, information, communication or other content.

J. TERMS

These terms and conditions are subject to the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, and both Mr. Toth and subscribers of the Service hereby submit to the jurisdiction of the Provincial Courts of Ontario, located in the city of Ottawa. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply to these Terms and Conditions and it is acknowledged that these Terms and Conditions govern the sale of a service and not the sale of goods. Subscriber agrees that these Terms and Conditions are set forth in the English language for the mutual convenience and benefit of the parties.

Ottawa, Ontario, March 20, 1997.

Last Revision: November 6, 2006.