Terms of Service

Last updated: v2

These Terms of Service govern access to and use of Habbo Archive - dChat. In these terms, "Service" means this website, community, and related features made available through dChat. "Operator", "we", "us", and "our" mean the person or organization running this deployment of the Service. The primary contact for this Service is me@dek.cx unless the Operator publishes a different contact point.

1. Acceptance and scope

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

The Service is forum software operated by an independent site operator. Some features may be public, while others require an account. These terms apply to all visitors, registered users, moderators, and administrators.

2. Eligibility and accounts

You must be at least 13 years old, or the minimum age required in your jurisdiction, to use the Service.

If you create an account, you must:

• provide accurate registration information;
• keep your login credentials confidential;
• remain responsible for activity under your account; and
• notify the Operator promptly if you believe your account has been compromised.

You may not impersonate another person or create accounts for abusive, deceptive, or unlawful purposes.

3. Public and private areas of the Service

Threads, replies, profile details, usernames, uploaded images, votes, and similar community activity may be visible to the public unless the Operator configures the Service differently.

Direct messages are intended to be private between participants, but they are not end-to-end encrypted. The software stores direct messages in encrypted form at rest. The Operator may still be able to access direct messages where reasonably necessary for security, abuse prevention, legal compliance, maintenance, backup recovery, or when a participant reports a message for moderation.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• break the law or encourage unlawful conduct;
• harass, threaten, stalk, defraud, or exploit others;
• post or share defamatory, hateful, sexually exploitative, or otherwise unlawful content;
• upload malware, malicious code, phishing content, or harmful files;
• attempt unauthorized access, scraping in breach of published rules, or disruption of the Service;
• interfere with security, rate limits, moderation tools, or abuse-prevention systems;
• infringe intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights; or
• use automation in a way that unreasonably burdens the Service.

The Operator may set additional community rules, topic rules, or moderation standards. Those rules form part of these terms.

5. User content

You retain ownership of content you submit, including posts, replies, profile text, messages, and uploads.

By submitting content, you grant the Operator a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, distribute, reformat, back up, moderate, and otherwise process that content as necessary to operate, secure, improve, and provide the Service.

You represent that you have the rights needed to submit the content and grant this license.

6. Moderation and enforcement

The Service may include reports, moderation queues, content flags, soft deletion, restoration, account controls, and other moderation tools. The Operator may investigate misuse and may remove content, restrict accounts, disable features, or terminate access where reasonably necessary to enforce these terms, comply with law, protect users, or protect the Service.

Moderation decisions may be made with or without prior notice where the Operator considers this necessary.

7. Uploaded files, embeds, and external links

The Service may allow uploads and may support embedded or linked content from third-party services such as YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, or X/Twitter. The Operator does not control third-party services and is not responsible for their availability, terms, privacy practices, or content.

External links and embeds are used at your own risk. The Service may show a warning before opening external links.

8. Intellectual property

The Service software, design, branding chosen by the Operator, and Operator-created content are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

Except as allowed by law or by the Operator in writing, you may not copy, reverse engineer, redistribute, or exploit the Service or Operator content beyond normal personal use of the community.

9. Service availability and changes

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. The Operator may change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time.

The Operator does not guarantee uninterrupted availability, error-free operation, or that the Service will always be secure or free of harmful components.

10. Privacy and cookies

Your use of the Service is also subject to the Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy published on the Service. Those documents explain how personal data and cookies are handled.

11. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. The Operator may suspend or terminate your access, or remove or restrict content, if reasonably necessary to enforce these terms, comply with legal obligations, or protect the Service, users, or third parties.

Clauses that by their nature should survive termination will continue to apply, including provisions on licenses, liability, disputes, and enforcement.

12. Disclaimers

Community content is created by users. The Operator does not guarantee that user content is accurate, safe, lawful, or suitable for any purpose.

Nothing on the Service constitutes professional advice unless the Operator clearly states otherwise.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Operator will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for loss of data, profits, goodwill, or business interruption arising out of or related to the Service.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Operator's aggregate liability for claims arising out of or relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of:

• the amount you paid to the Operator for the Service in the 12 months before the claim; or
• GBP 100 or the equivalent amount in the Operator's local currency.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain exclusions or limitations. In those cases, the above limits apply only to the extent permitted by law.

14. Governing law and disputes

Unless the Operator publishes a site-specific legal notice stating otherwise, these terms are governed by the laws applicable where the Operator is established, excluding conflict-of-law rules.

To the extent permitted by law, disputes should be brought in the courts with jurisdiction over the Operator or as otherwise required by mandatory consumer law.

15. Changes to these terms

The Operator may update these terms from time to time. The current version will be published on the Service with an updated version number or date. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept the revised terms, unless applicable law requires a different form of notice or consent.

16. Contact

Questions about these terms should be sent to me@dek.cx or to any updated legal contact published by the Operator on the Service.