Allegory of Empires Terms of Service
1. Our Services. Skotos is an Internet-based service that allows you to play
numerous online, multi-genre, role-playing games where the worlds, places,
characters, plots and other items may be created by you, other members,
Skotos or other parties (collectively, "Games"). In addition to the Games,
we also provide bulletin boards, chat rooms and other game-related services
(collectively, "Services").
2. Age Requirement. You must be at least fifteen (15) years of age to use the
Site, Services and Games, and you represent and warrant that you meet this
age requirement.
3. Access. You must have access to the World Wide Web in order to use our
Site, Services and Games. It is your responsibility to select, obtain and
pay for any equipment (e.g., computer or modem) and services (e.g., phone
line or DSL) necessary for such access.
4. Registration. If you accept the Terms, Skotos will ask you to complete a
registration form in order to establish your membership account. You must
select a name by which to identify yourself to other members and to the
Skotos staff when you use the Services (your "User ID"). You may not select
as your User ID the name of another person (unless it is also your name), or
a name that violates any third party's trademark right, copyright, or other
proprietary right, or which Skotos deems in its sole discretion to be vulgar
or otherwise offensive. Skotos reserves the right to delete any vulgar or
otherwise offensive User ID, or to require you to change your User ID. You
must also select a password for your account. Skotos recommends that you
choose one with letters and numbers, and do not use your User ID as your
password. The registration form will ask you for other information about
yourself ("Registration Data") which you represent and warrant is at all
times true, accurate, current and complete, and which you agree to update in
order to maintain as such. If you breach this representation, or Skotos has
reasonable grounds to suspect that you have, Skotos has the right upon
notice to suspend or terminate your account and this agreement and to refuse
your current or future use of the Site, Services or Games (or any portion
thereof).
5. License. Subject to all of the Terms, Skotos hereby grants you a personal,
non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access the Site and to use the
Games and Services only on the Site solely for your personal entertainment
purposes.
6. Restrictions. You agree not to do any of the following prohibited actions:
a. reproduce, distribute, publicly display or perform, store, translate,
modify, adapt, create derivative works from, deconstruct, reverse
engineer, decompile or disassemble in any manner the Games or Services or
any portion thereof, including but not limited to any character, graphic,
associated software or proprietary communications protocol used by the
software or any utilities, applications, emulators or tools derived
therefrom;
b. permit any other person (including but not limited to a former member
whose account Skotos has terminated) to access the Site, Services and/or
Games, or create or provide any other means through which the Games may
be played by anyone besides you (e.g., through server emulators);
c. upload, post, email or otherwise transmit through the Site, Services or
Games any material that (i) is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive,
harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of
another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise
objectionable; (ii) you do not have a right to transmit under any law or
contractual or fiduciary relationship (e.g., inside information,
proprietary information from an employer or confidential information
subject to a nondisclosure agreement); (iii) infringes any patent,
trademark, trade secret, copyright or other party's proprietary rights;
(iv) is unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional material,
"junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other
form of solicitation, except in those areas that are expressly designated
for such purpose (e.g., player advertisement rooms); or (v) contains
software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed
to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software
or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
d. harm minors in any way;
e. impersonate any person or entity, including but not limited to a Skotos
"Story Host", "Host" or other representative or otherwise misrepresent
your affiliation with a person or entity;
f. forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise
the origin of any materials you or another party transmit through the
Site, Services or Games;
g. disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, cause a screen to "scroll" faster
than other members of the Services are able to type, or otherwise act in
a manner that negatively affects other members' ability to engage in real
time exchanges;
h. interfere with or disrupt the Services or servers or networks connected
to the Services, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or
regulations of networks connected to the Services;
i. intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state,
national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations
promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of
any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation,
the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ,
and any regulations having the force of law;
j. "stalk" or otherwise harass another; or
k. collect or store personal data about other members.
7. a. Content. Participatory Content. As part of our interactive approach,
Skotos provides you with certain opportunities to submit your own ideas,
text, graphics, plots, characters, feedback and other materials while you
participate in the Games, bulletin boards, chat rooms and other
activities in the Site or Services (collectively, "Participatory
Content"). By submitting any Participatory Content, you represent and
warrant that you are the owner of or have the right to post your
Participatory Content, and your Participatory Content does not infringe
the rights of any third party. You hereby grant Skotos a perpetual,
irrevocable, non-exclusive, sub-licensable, worldwide, royalty-free
license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, distribute, publicly
display and perform any and all of your Participatory Content in all
media now known or later developed. You, and not Skotos, are entirely
responsible for all of your Participatory Content that you upload, post,
email or otherwise transmit via the Site, Services or Games.
b. Public Content. Skotos also offers you certain opportunities to create
your own web pages and games to offer at no charge to the public and/or
other members. By submitting any Public Content, you represent and
warrant that you are the owner of or have the right to post your Public
Content, and your Public Content does not infringe the rights of any
third party. You hereby grant Skotos a perpetual, irrevocable,
non-exclusive, sub-licensable, worldwide, royalty-free license to use,
reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, distribute, publicly display and
perform any and all of your Public Content in all media now known or
later developed. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary or the use of
the word perpetual, you may remove your Public Content from the Site,
Services and Games at any time your account is active and in good
standing and Skotos' license to your Public Content shall terminate at
such time, except that you may not remove your Public Content after this
agreement has terminated. Skotos and you may amend this provision by
entering into a separate, written agreement. You, and not Skotos, are
entirely responsible for all of your Public Content that you upload,
post, email or otherwise transmit via the Site, Services or Games.
c. Third Party Content. You acknowledge and agree that the Site, Services
and Games contain materials owned by Skotos and its licensors (including
other members), and you agree not to interfere the copyrights, trademarks
and other proprietary rights of such parties. You agree that these
rights are valid and protected in all media existing now or later
developed, and that except as is explicitly provided otherwise, your use
of such materials shall be governed by the copyright laws of the United
States and other applicable laws.
d. Content Monitoring. As a matter of policy, Skotos does not pre-screen or
monitor the content that you or other members may post to the Site,
Services or Games. Skotos does reserve the right to monitor all such
content, and reserves the right to remove without notice any and all
content that Skotos, in its sole discretion, finds offensive or otherwise
objectionable. You are solely responsible, and bear the risk, for
evaluating the accuracy, integrity, quality, completeness or utility of
any content. Skotos makes no representations or warranties about the
content appearing on the Site, Services or Games. Under no circumstances
will Skotos be liable in any way for any content, including but not
limited to, for any errors or omissions in any content, or for any loss
or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content
posted, emailed or otherwise transmitted via the Site, Services or Games.
e. Mature Content. Skotos has adopted a "MATURE" rating, and parts of the
Site, Services and/or Games contain adult or mature content that some
users may consider offensive, indecent or objectionable. While Skotos
has established a list of restrictions (section 6) and may in some
instances choose to monitor and take action upon inappropriate gameplay,
chat or links to the Services, it is possible that at any time there may
be language or other material accessible on or through the Site, Services
or Games that may be offensive or objectionable to some users.
f. Content Transmission. You understand that the technical processing and
transmission of the Services, including your Participatory Content and
Public Content, may involve (i) transmissions over various networks; and
(ii) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting
networks or devices.
g. Links. The Site, Services and Games may provide links to other sites for
your convenience only. Skotos does not control, is not responsible for,
does not necessarily endorse and makes no representation about the
materials contained at any linked site. If you choose to visit any
linked Sites, Skotos recommends that you review the other site's terms of
use. Skotos is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of
transmission received from any linked site.
8. IDEA SUBMISSION POLICY. SKOTOS AND ITS EMPLOYEES DO NOT ACCEPT OR CONSIDER
UNSOLICITED IDEAS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IDEAS FOR ADVERTISING
CAMPAIGNS, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT OR PRODUCT NAMES. PLEASE DO NOT SEND
SKOTOS OR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES ANY UNSOLICITED MATERIALS, INCLUDING ANY
ARTWORK OR DEMOS. IF ANY AREA OF THE SITE, SERVICES OR GAMES INVITES YOU TO
SUBMIT MATERIAL, SUCH SUBMISSION SHALL NOT BE DEEMED TO BE UNSOLICITED FOR
PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION 8 ("IDEA SUBMISSION POLICY"). THE PURPOSE OF THIS
POLICY IS TO AVOID POTENTIAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS OR DISPUTES IF SKOTOS'
PRODUCTS OR MARKETING STRATEGIES MIGHT SEEM SIMILAR TO IDEAS SUBMITTED TO
SKOTOS. SKOTOS DOES ACCEPT CERTAIN SOLICITED IDEAS PROVIDED YOU PROPERLY
SUBMIT THEM THROUGH THE STORYBUILDER APPLICATION AND INCLUDE YOUR SIGNATURE.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY MATERIAL YOU SUBMIT TO SKOTOS IN ANY MANNER WILL BE
DEEMED YOUR "PARTICIPATORY CONTENT" AND SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF SECTION 7(a)
("PARTICIPATORY CONTENT").
9. Your Account is Your Responsibility. You are solely responsible and
entirely liable for all activities conducted through your account and/or
your User ID, even if your account has been compromised through no fault of
your own. Skotos encourages you to maintain the confidentiality of your
password, and reminds you that you do not have a license to let others use
your account. You agree to notify Skotos immediately in the event your
password is lost, stolen, disclosed or compromised. It is not Skotos'
policy to ask for your password online, and Skotos suggests that you never
respond to an on-line request for your password. You acknowledge that
although the Site, Services and/or Games may offer a feature that allows you
to "remember" your password and thereby bypass the password protection, this
feature makes it possible for third parties to access your account and User
ID. Skotos strongly discourages the use of the password bypass feature,
which will in any event be at your own risk.
10. Privacy. You understand that you have no expectation of privacy with
respect to your use of the Site, Services or Games, and that all
communications made by or received from you may be monitored, preserved and
disclosed by Skotos representatives. You hereby consent to the extraction
of hardware system profile data and any data related to operation of the
software from any computer that logs on to the Site, Services or Games using
your account. You acknowledge and agree that Skotos will report to law
enforcement authorities any actions which may be considered illegal, as well
as any reports it receives of such conduct. Skotos will cooperate fully
with law enforcement agencies in any investigation of alleged illegal
activity. Specifically, Skotos may disclose information about you or your
Participatory Content or Public Content if Skotos has the good faith belief
that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal
process; (b) enforce the Terms; (c) respond to claims that any your
Participatory Content and/or Public Content violates the rights of a third
party; or (d) protect the rights, property or safety of Skotos, its members
or the public.
11. Charges for Service. Skotos will bill you a monthly fee of US$12.95 for use
of the Site, Services and Games. Skotos will waive this monthly fee for
your first month of service. Alternatively, you may purchase one year of
access to the Site, Services and Games for a flat fee of US$129.95. You
may also choose to pay additional fees for access to additional
services ("Premium Services").
YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE PAYABLE IN ADVANCE AND ARE NOT REFUNDABLE
IN WHOLE OR IN PART. YOU ARE FULLY LIABLE FOR ALL CHARGES
UNDER YOUR ACCOUNT WHETHER OR NOT AUTHORIZED BY YOU. If your use of the
Site, Services or Games is subject to any use, sales or other taxes, or
if Skotos offers any additional services for a fee as noted on the Site
and you choose to partake in such additional fee-services, then Skotos may
also bill you for any such charges, which will be in addition to the rates
noted here. Skotos reserves the right to change its fees and billing
methods at any time effective thirty (30) days after notice of the changes
are posted on the Site. You are responsible for regularly reviewing these
Terms to obtain timely notice of such changes. If any such change is
unacceptable to you, you may terminate your account and this agreement as
provided in Section 18 ("Termination").
Your continued use of the Games or Services seven (7) days after the changes
are posted on the Site will constitute your acceptance of such change. If
you pay for the Games and/or Services by credit card, you represent and
warrant that you are the authorized user of such credit card. Each month
you use the Games and/or Services, you agree and reaffirm that Skotos is
authorized to charge your credit card. You agree to promptly notify Skotos
of any changes to your credit card account number, its expiration date
and/or your billing address, and you agree to promptly notify Skotos if your
credit card expires or is canceled for any reason.
12. International Use. Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you agree
to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable
content. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws
regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States
or the country in which you reside.
13. Ownership. Skotos and its licensors shall at all times retain all right,
title and interest in and to the Site, Services and Games, except to the
extent of the licenses granted to you hereunder. Skotos, Skotos Tech and/or
other Skotos products referenced herein are either trademarks or registered
trademarks of Skotos.
14. Disclaimer of Warranty. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SKOTOS, ITS
AFFILIATES, LICENSORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS,
IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR
A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SKOTOS PROVIDES THE SITE,
SERVICES AND GAMES (AND ANY RELATED SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE USED OR PROVIDED BY
SKOTOS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH OR ANY CONTENT INCLUDED THEREIN) "AS IS" AND
ON AN "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, AND MAKES NO WARRANTY OF PERFORMANCE OR QUALITY
OR THAT THE SITE, SERVICES OR GAMES WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT PERMIT THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO
SUCH EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
15. Limitation of Liability. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY, SKOTOS'
AND ITS AFFILIATES', LICENSORS' AND SUBCONTRACTORS' TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU
ARISING FROM OR IN RELATION TO THIS AGREEMENT, THE SITE, SERVICES OR GAMES
SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE TOTAL PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU TO SKOTOS UNDER THIS
AGREEMENT WITHIN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRIOR TO THE OCCURRENCE OF THE
INCIDENT WHICH GAVE RISE TO SUCH LIABILITY. THE FOREGOING LIMITATION SHALL
NOT APPLY TO DAMAGES ARISING FROM DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY TO PERSONAL OR
TANGIBLE PROPERTY IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH LIMITATION IS PROHIBITED BY
LAW.
16. Consequential Damages. IN NO EVENT WILL SKOTOS, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS
OR SUBCONTRACTORS BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL,
SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY LOSS OF USE OR COSTS OF SUBSTITUTE
SERVICES, HOWEVER CAUSED, WHETHER FOR BREACH OF REPUDIATION OF CONTRACT,
TORT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY OF
LIABILITY, WHETHER OR NOT SKOTOS, ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS OR
SUBCONTRACTORS WERE ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES AND
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY
STATED HEREIN. IN JURISDICTIONS THAT DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR
LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SKOTOS', ITS AFFILIATES',
LICENSORS' AND SUBCONTRACTORS' LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED
BY LAW.
17. Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Skotos,
its affiliates, licensors and subcontractors from all liabilities, claims
and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising from or related to your
breach of this Agreement or portion hereof, you Participatory Content or
Public Content or any act or omission by you relating the Site, Services or
Games. Skotos reserves the right to assume its own defense and/or control
of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you hereunder.
18. Termination. Either you or Skotos may terminate your account and this
agreement upon notice at any time without further obligation to the other.
Further, Skotos reserves the right to terminate the Site, Services and/or
Games, or any part thereof, at any time without notice and without further
obligation to you. IN NO EVENT SHALL YOU BE ENTITLED TO A REFUND OF ANY
FEES OR PRORATION THEREOF. UPON TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOUR ACCESS
PRIVILEGES TO THE SITE, SERVICES AND GAMES WILL TERMINATE AND YOU WILL
FORFEIT ANY UNUSED ACCESS TIME THAT YOU PURCHASED OR RECEIVED PRIOR TO
TERMINATION. A member whose account Skotos has terminated may not access
the Site, Services or Games in any manner or for any reason without Skotos'
express, prior, written permission. Termination of this agreement shall
have no effect on any payment obligation accrued prior to the effective
date of termination. The following sections shall survive termination:
7(a) and (b), 8 and 13-21.
19. Amendment. Skotos may amend the Terms in its sole discretion at any time by
posting revised Terms on the Site, and you agree to regularly review the
Terms. If any such revision is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your
account and this agreement as provided in Section 18 ("Termination"). Your
continued access and use of the Site, Services and/or Games seven (7) days
after posting of the revised Terms shall constitute your acceptance of the
same. Except as expressly set forth herein, the Terms may not otherwise be
modified or amended.
20. Reservation of Rights. Skotos hereby reserves any rights not expressly
granted herein.
21. General Provisions. You may not sublicense, rent, sell, assign or otherwise
transfer the rights or obligations granted to you in this agreement, and any
such attempted transfer shall be void. If any provision of this agreement
is held to be unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be reformed
only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable, and such decision shall
not affect the enforceability of: (i) such provision under other
circumstances, or (ii) the remaining provisions hereof under all
circumstances. Skotos' failure to enforce at any time any provision of this
agreement shall in no way be construed to be a present or future waiver of
such provision, nor in any way affect the right of any party to enforce each
and every such provision thereafter. The express waiver by Skotos of any
provision, condition or requirement of this agreement shall not constitute a
waiver of any future obligation to comply with such provision, condition or
requirement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, no default, delay or
failure to perform on the part of Skotos shall be considered a breach of
this agreement if such default, delay or failure to perform is shown to be
due to causes beyond Skotos' reasonable control. This agreement is governed
by and construed under California law without regard to its conflict of law
principles, and you agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts
located in San Mateo County, in the State of California, U.S.A. for the
resolution of any dispute arising from or related to this agreement. In any
action to enforce this agreement, the prevailing party shall be awarded its
costs and fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees), including such fees
and costs incurred in enforcing and collecting any judgment. All notices
given by you shall be in writing and addressed to Skotos Technologies, Inc.,
1512 Walnut St., Berkeley California 94709 Attn.: Skotos Account
Administration, or emailed to ce@skotos.net with receipt of confirmation.
Skotos may give notice to you at the e-mail address you provide in the
Registration Data. This agreement represents the entire agreement between
you and Skotos with respect to the subject matter referenced herein.