Virtual 5 Network - Terms of Service

Please ensure to read and fully understand this policy. Failure to abide by the conditions, rules, regulations and tips laid out in this policy may result in disciplinary action.

Virtual 5 Network is a social networking service that allows its users to create profiles, use and create chat rooms, upload pictures and videos, add and invite their friends and keep in touch with the general community. The entity 'Virtual 5 Network' is based in the Australasia region of Australia and New Zealand. The use of the V5 Network is governed by your acceptance of the Network wide Terms of Service. When you sign up or view material on this network, you agree to follow and be liable to the Terms of Service as well as any other policies related to the services you use, at the same time. Please remember the services are for the general public, and as such, any information or material you post is likely to be viewable by the public use of this service.

1. Virtual 5 Network/V5N/V5/Network/Services - Refers to the Social Network called 'Virtual 5 Network' or any of its services.
2. Terms of Service/TOS/Policies - Refers to all rules and policies implied at V5N.
3. Account/Ticket/Passport/Membership - Refers to your account that you use to login to V5N.
4. Staff/Operator - Refers to anyone that works within V5N.
5. User/Visitor - Refers to anyone who views, visits or uses the services on V5N.

1 Use of ‘Virtual 5 Network’

1.1 If you see the TOS in violation anywhere on the network, please alert customer services immediately. Please do not steal or ‘rip’ our work. All credit goes to the developers of each area. Rule breakages can lead to suspension, ticket deletion or in extreme cases, the authorities being alerted.

1.1.1 We reserve the right to make changes to any policy at any time, and these will take effect at the time of publishing. Therefore it is up to the user to stay up to date with current rules and regulations on the network. These changes will be posted on our news page. Any loop holes or inconsistencies in any policy are to be reported to Management ASAP and are not to be abused. Abuse of such will result in disciplinary action.

1.1.2 As a user, the terms in this policy apply to all services and network links, although additional policies may be enacted within different areas of the network which apply, in conjunction with the terms in this document.

1.1.3 This terms of service policy will be in effect for the length of membership and use of the V5N website/services.

1.2 All areas on the network that have user interaction are logged and stored in secure confinements and are only accessible by the authority in line with network policies. This can include items such as, but not limited to: Network private messages, chat room conversations, uploads and downloads, IP addresses. These are collected for reasons including security and identification. The viewing and use of these logs are in accordance with our other network policies and therefore only authorised access to these logs is viable.

1.3 For a user to be eligible to use the V5N service, the user must ensure that they: (1) Are at least 13 years old at the time of registration, (2) Provided correct, truthful and accurate personal details, (3) Will maintain the accuracy of this information, (4) Are allowed to use the V5N service in their residential area or terminal they are using to access this service.

1.3.1 There is allowed to be one account per user. You are not allowed to access any other users account, with permission or not.

1.4 V5N reserves the right to terminate membership or services as seen fit by the Management of the network at any time, for any reason.

1.5 You acknowledge that while the core services of V5N will be free, ‘Virtual 5 Network’ reserves the right to charge for any service and/or to change its fees from time to time in its discretion. If your account terminates because you have breached any Agreement, you shall not be entitled to the refund of any unused subscription fees.

1.6 At no stage should any sort of automated tool, robot, spider, etc be used, unless approved by V5N Management. All messages, requests, etc sent to the server should not exceed what a human could reasonably accomplish in a given time frame.

1.6.2 You agree not to circumvent, disable or otherwise interfere with security-related features of the V5N service or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content or enforce limitations on use of the V5N service or the content therein.

2 Legal Summaries

2.1 In using the 'Virtual 5 Network' social network service, you surrender the right to any legal proceedings against any person in, on or involved with the network, or the V5N Entity itself, nor can any user or the V5N Entity use any legal proceedings against any staff member.* All users of ‘Virtual 5 Network’ are also susceptible to the rules and regulations laid out in ‘Further Documentations’ as listed out below.

2.2 V5N has no liability in regards to user submitted material. V5N will do it's best to censor material deemed inappropriate by themselves or by local law. Users may, via the helpdesk or links provided, challenge information and request its removal. These complaints will be handled by the network view of the situation presented. V5N also removes liability for any damages, loss or other impacts from the use of its software or services.

2.3 This policy is based on New Zealand and Australian law, and does not replace any local laws from your location, however shall still be adhered to as allowed by any local laws.

2.4 All publicly accessible data must not be in violation of any law or statute. You accept this statement and you are responsible (according to civil and criminal law) for the material you make available. All material you upload or make available must not violate the rights of authors, patents, laws, copyright or trademarks, or the intellectual, privacy or publicity rights of a third party. Material you upload or post may not be misleading, threatening, defamatory or tormenting.

2.5 Using the services of V5N to mine or gain access to user information for the purpose of spam, chain letters, unsolicited messages, or commercial gain is prohibited. Commercial advertisements, affiliate links, and other forms of solicitation may be removed from Member profiles without notice if deemed inappropriate by network staff. Commercial use of the V5N service can only be gained by the express permission of the Board of Directors.

*V5N reserves the right to legal proceedings against any user or staff member found to be in breach of standard Law, as set out by any local Government, in which the network would be obliged to take action. Any action taken against members of the network for which ever reason should be dealt to outside of the network, as we do not endorse any actions that require such proceedings. Any liability for outside action is on the users and you agree to the removal of liability of this nature on the network.

3 Identifying Staff

3.1 Staff members within V5N use a few visual tags to identify them into their positions, so users and staff can identify who is who. Operator staff will have a ‘Position Tag’ at the beginning of their name (Such as Admin_) with a small staff icon next it. Other staff will carry a small icon next to their names identifying their level within V5N Official areas.

3.2 Operating staff (Administrators, Sysops, and Supops) and the Development Team (Tech) will always carry the position tag and official icon while logged in as a staff team member. Any user who has a position tag but no official icon should be reported to the helpdesk immediately.

3.3 It is against the TOS to impersonate members of staff or forcibly gain access to their accounts.

4 Further Documentations

The following are additional policies that are enforced in conjunction with the terms of service. On registration or visitation to our services, you are also agreeing to be bound by the following documents.

5 Children and Young Person Policy

‘Virtual 5 Network’ takes the safety of children and young person’s seriously. We are very aware of the real dangers posed to people of such age. We define children as anyone between the age of 13 and 15 and Young Persons as anyone between the age of 16 and 18. Anyone over the age of 18 is not governed by this policy, as they are seen as adults.

5.1 Children’s Policy

5.1.1 ‘Virtual 5 Network’ understands how susceptible children can be to online predators, stalkers, attackers, etc. We have restricted access to the network to people aged 13 years and above on registration and provided an online safety policy, and this children’s policy for their safety. Of course there is no way we can 100% guarantee a stop in underage use of the network, but every step has been taken to minimize this danger as much as possible. 16 – 18 year olds are covered in our Young Persons Policy as below in Policy 5.2.

5.1.2 Staff policy strictly enforces that any predator is to be removed from the network permanently. Our helpdesk staff is trained to respond immediately to reports of abuse.

5.1.3 As a part of being on the network, it is agreed that while ‘Virtual 5 Network’ will do everything in its power to protect children, it is ultimately up to the child and guardians/parents to dictate where they go and who they will talk to.

5.1.4 Any sort of predator like behaviour toward anyone under this policy will be taken seriously, and in extreme cases, the authorities may be alerted. We ask that all users assist us in keeping predators to a minimum by reporting any form of this to the Helpdesk as soon as possible. The quicker we can catch up with the perpetrator, the quicker we can resolve the issue.

5.2 Young Persons Policy

5.2.1 At V5N, we also understand that 16 – 18 year olds can also be susceptible to predators, as well as create problems themselves. We dictate through this policy that 16 year olds and above have the mental capacity to report by themselves, any form of abuse they are uncomfortable with, and understand should they put anyone else in this situation, can be removed from the network.

5.2.2 Staff will patrol and control Young Persons as per the staffing guidelines; however the ultimate responsibility for online actions and safety of people this age directly falls onto the user themselves.

5.2.3 As with the Children Policy, any predators found to be abusing anyone under this policy will be susceptible to the same form of action as laid out in that policy.

5.2.4 As we feel 16 – 18 year olds have the mental capacity to monitor their own behaviour, and understand how to handle any abuse they do not like, we feel, with guidance, that there is no reason why Young Persons cannot be on the Staffing team. We ask that you support them in these responsible roles.

6 Acceptances of the Terms of Service, Network Policies, Rights and Responsibilities

IN NO EVENT SHALL ‘VIRTUAL 5 NETWORK’, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE ‘VIRTUAL 5 NETWORK’ SERVICE. YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ‘VIRTUAL 5 NETWORK’ SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR USER MATERIAL OR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE, OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY AND THAT THE RISK OF HARM OR DAMAGE FROM SUCH IS ENTIRELY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. YOU AGREE TO WAVE LIABILITY TO THE NETWORK AS PER 'Terms of Service, Section 2'.

By using our services, you agree that you, the user, are 13 years of age or over. You are fully responsible for any information or file supplied by this user. You also agree that you will not post any copyrighted material that is not owned by yourself or the owners of the network. In your use of the network, you agree that you will not post, send, or voice any information which is vulgar, harassing, hateful, threatening, invading of others privacy, sexually oriented, or violates any laws. In your use of the network, you still agree to be bound by the network policies as listed per 'Terms of Service, Section 4'. You also agree you have understood all polices, including further documentation. All information you submit will be accurate to the best of your knowledge. You accept V5N has no liability over user submitted material, but will do its best to monitor those activities it deems necessary.

If you do agree with the rules and policies stated in this Terms of Service, and meet the criteria stated herein, you are invited to sign up and become an active member of the ‘Virtual 5 Network’. Should you have any further questions, please contact management directly.

Last updated: 12/03/08

Virtual 5 Network
http://www.v5n.net
Management