ugreen-forum.de

1. Scope

1.1 These Terms of Use of Michael Doll, acting under “UGREEN.FORUM” (hereinafter “Operator”), govern the use of the online forum provided by the Operator on the internet (hereinafter “Forum”) by the user.

1.2 Users within the meaning of these Terms of Use are consumers or business users who have registered for the Forum.

1.3 A consumer within the meaning of these Terms of Use is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that predominantly are outside their trade, business or profession.

1.4 A business user within the meaning of these Terms of Use is a natural person who, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of their trade or profession.

2. Eligibility

2.1 Only natural persons with full legal capacity are eligible to use the Forum. Persons without full legal capacity (in particular minors) may only use the Forum with the consent of their legal representative. The Operator reserves the right to make use of the Forum in such cases contingent upon submission of a written declaration of consent from the legal representative. By agreeing to these Terms of Use, the user confirms that, at the time of concluding the user agreement, they meet the aforementioned requirements.

2.2 Each user may create only one user account on the Forum. The authorization to use the Forum applies only to the user personally and is non-transferable.

3. Registration, conclusion of contract

3.1 Successful registration creates a user agreement between the Operator and the user for the use of the Forum under these Terms of Use.

3.2 After entering their data into the online form provided, the user can register by clicking the button that completes the registration process. The user will then receive an email with a confirmation link ("double opt-in"). The user account will only be activated, and the user agreement will only become effective, once the user has confirmed this link within 24 hours. If the user does not confirm the link within this period, the created account will be automatically deleted.

3.3 The contract text is stored by the Operator but can no longer be retrieved by the user via the Operator’s website after the user has submitted their contractual declaration.

3.4 Before submitting their contractual declaration, the user can correct their entries at any time using the usual keyboard and mouse functions.

3.5 The language available for concluding the contract is German.

3.6 The data requested during registration must be provided by the user completely and correctly. The user is obliged to keep this data up to date at all times.

3.7 If the Operator receives sufficient indications or has reason to believe that information obtained from the user during registration regarding their identity is incorrect, incomplete or not up to date, the Operator will request the user to promptly correct or complete such information. If the user fails to correct or complete this information, the Operator will suspend the user until the request has been fully complied with.

3.8 Users are generally liable for all activities carried out using their access credentials, insofar as they are responsible for them. The user is responsible for keeping their login details confidential and ensuring that they are not accessible to third parties. The user must inform the Operator immediately if there are indications that their access has been used without authorization by third parties or has been misused.

3.9 Further information on the processing of personal data can be found in our Privacy Policy.

4. Operator’s services

4.1 The Operator provides an online Forum through which users can, using the software provided by the Operator, create user profiles and post and/or retrieve certain content, as well as interact with other users of the Forum.

4.2 To use the Forum, the Operator enables the user to access the Forum and provides suitable software that remains on the Operator’s server. The Operator is not responsible for establishing and maintaining the data connection between the user’s IT system and the Operator’s server.

4.3 The Forum is offered subject to availability. 100% availability is technically not feasible and therefore cannot be guaranteed by the Operator. However, the Operator endeavors to keep the service as continuously available as possible. In particular, maintenance, security or capacity issues, as well as events beyond the Operator’s control (disruptions of public communication networks, power outages, etc.), may lead to disruptions or temporary shutdown of the service. Where possible, the Operator will carry out maintenance work during off-peak times.

4.4 The software used to operate the Forum is updated by the Operator at irregular intervals. The user therefore only acquires a right to use the software in its current version. The user has no claim to the creation of a specific state or feature set of the software.

4.5 To ensure operations, security, abuse prevention, and quality assurance, certain usage data is logged and evaluated automatically (e.g., IP address, timestamps, pages/actions accessed, technical client data, and—when logged in—the username). Details are set out in the Privacy Policy.

5. Changes to services

5.1 The Operator reserves the right to change the services offered or to provide different services, unless such changes are unreasonable for the user.

5.2 The Operator also reserves the right to change the services offered or to provide different services,

• insofar as the Operator is obliged to do so due to changes in the law;
• insofar as the Operator is complying with a court ruling or official decision directed against it;
• insofar as the respective change is necessary to close existing security gaps;
• if the change is solely beneficial to the user; or
• if the change is purely technical or procedural in nature and has no material impact on the user.

5.3 Changes with only an insignificant impact on the Forum’s functions do not constitute changes in performance within the meaning of this section. This applies in particular to purely graphical changes and the mere rearrangement of functions.

6. User responsibility for content

Each user is solely responsible for the content of the information they post on the Operator’s Forum, in particular for its accuracy and legal permissibility. The user warrants that the data they provide is truthful. The user must ensure that the content they post does not violate these Terms of Use or applicable law. In particular, the user must always fully comply with the provisions of intellectual property law (copyrights, patent rights, trademark rights, etc.) and behave at all times in such a way that third-party rights are not infringed and that no risk arises for the Operator, for example due to claims by third parties.

The following is particularly prohibited:

• publishing copyrighted content without authorization to use it (e.g., photos for which the photographer and/or a depicted person has not consented to publication on the internet);
• false statements of fact;
• posts intended to personally attack or defame other users;
• racist, xenophobic, discriminatory, or insulting content;
• content harmful to minors;
• content glorifying violence;
• links to pages that do not comply with legal requirements or these Terms of Use.

In addition, the Community Rules apply and are a binding part of these Terms of Use.

7. Moderation and restriction of content

7.1 The Operator is generally not obligated to proactively check user-posted content for legality, compatibility with third-party rights, or compliance with these Terms of Use. Nevertheless, the Operator reserves the right, in individual cases and on its own initiative, to review user content for legality and, in the event of identified violations, to take measures at its reasonable discretion to remedy them.

7.2 Users and affected third parties can report allegedly unlawful or personal-data-containing content via the reporting function available in the forum software (“Report” button) or by using the email address provided in the Operator’s legal notice. The Operator may forward the substance of a report to the user who posted the reported content. The identity of the reporting person will only be disclosed to the user if this is strictly necessary.

8. Comments

8.1 The Operator allows users to submit comments.

8.2 Users are obliged to provide only truthful information in the comments they submit. Comments must be factual and may not contain abusive criticism.

8.3 Any misuse of the commenting function is prohibited.

8.4 Comments are not reviewed by the Operator without specific cause and may be inaccurate or misleading.

8.5 If a user believes that another user has posted an inaccurate or otherwise impermissible comment about them, they may submit a complaint to the Operator using the email address stated in the legal notice. The complaint must include an explanation of why the relevant comment is, in the complainant’s view, inaccurate or otherwise impermissible. In the event of a substantiated complaint, the Operator will request a statement from the author of the comment. If the author refuses to amend or withdraw their comment, the Operator will, at its reasonable discretion and taking into account the interests of the affected users, decide whether the comment should remain on the website until the matter is resolved by a court.

9. Rights of use granted by the Operator

9.1 The Operator grants the user a non-exclusive right, limited to the term of the user agreement, to use the online Forum provided by the Operator under these Terms of Use.

9.2 Unless the specific circumstances indicate otherwise, users are generally prohibited from making content from the Forum publicly accessible outside the Forum, in whole or in part, or from passing it on to third parties. The user must also ensure that they do not provide third parties with any means of circumventing access to the Forum.

10. Rights of use granted by the user; indemnification

10.1 The Operator is entitled to use, or have third parties use, content and information provided by users for the Forum, within the Forum.

10.2 The user grants the Operator, free of charge, non-exclusively and limited to the duration of the user agreement, the rights of use necessary for this purpose, in particular the right to permanently host and store and to make publicly accessible, as well as the rights of reproduction, publication, editing, and distribution, and warrants that they are authorized to grant such rights of use.

10.3 The user shall indemnify the Operator against all claims that other users or third parties assert against the Operator due to the infringement of their rights arising from content posted by the user or due to the user’s other use of the Forum. In this context, the user shall also bear the necessary costs of legal defense, including all court and attorney fees at the statutory rate. This does not apply if the user is not responsible for the infringement. In the event of claims by third parties, the user is obliged to provide the Operator immediately, truthfully and completely with all information necessary to examine the claims and for a defense.

10.4 The rights of use granted to the Operator under section 10.2 for content published by the user shall continue indefinitely for content already published, insofar and as long as this is necessary to maintain the functionality, readability, and substantive consistency of the Forum and there are no overriding legitimate interests of the user to the contrary. A complete deletion of already published content shall only take place if this is mandatorily required for legal reasons.

11. Sanctions by the Operator

11.1 If the user violates statutory provisions or these Terms of Use, or if there are concrete indications of such, the Operator is entitled, without prior notice and further review, to

• delete related entries by the user,
• modify entries under the right of editorial adjustment,
• issue a warning,
• temporarily or permanently block the user’s access, or
• take other necessary and appropriate measures.

Which measure the Operator takes depends on the individual case and is at the Operator’s reasonable discretion.

11.2 If a user is blocked, they may no longer use the Forum and may not register again.

11.3 The Operator reserves the right to take legal action due to a user’s violation of statutory provisions or these Terms of Use.

12. Operator’s liability

The Operator shall be liable to the user for damages and reimbursement of expenses under all contractual, quasi-contractual and statutory, including tort, claims as follows:

12.1 The Operator shall be liable, on any legal ground, without limitation

• in the event of intent or gross negligence,
• in the event of willful or negligent injury to life, body or health,
• under a guarantee, to the extent otherwise provided,
• under mandatory liability, such as under the Product Liability Act.

12.2 If the Operator negligently breaches a material contractual obligation, liability shall be limited to the foreseeable, typical damage, unless liability is unlimited pursuant to the preceding subsection. Material contractual obligations are obligations which the contract imposes on the Operator according to its content in order to achieve the contractual purpose, the fulfillment of which makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on the compliance with which the user may regularly rely.

12.3 Otherwise, the Operator’s liability is excluded.

12.4 The above liability provisions also apply with regard to the liability of the Operator’s vicarious agents and legal representatives.

13. Term, termination

13.1 The user agreement is concluded for an indefinite period and may be terminated by the user at any time without notice and by the Operator with fourteen (14) days’ notice.

13.2 The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected. Good cause exists if, taking into account all circumstances of the individual case and weighing the interests of both parties, the terminating party cannot reasonably be expected to continue the contractual relationship until the agreed termination or until the expiry of a notice period.

13.3 Termination must be made in text form (e.g., by email). The user may also terminate the contract by deleting their user account using the function provided for this purpose in the user account.

13.4 When a user account is deleted, it is initially flagged for final deletion for a period of 7 days (“waiting period”). Within this period, the user may revoke the deletion.

13.5 After the waiting period has expired, personal account data will be deleted or anonymized. The displayed username will be replaced by a neutral placeholder (e.g., “Deleted user #ID”). Private messages will be deleted or made technically inaccessible, unless statutory retention obligations prevent this.

13.6 Content published by the user (posts, topics, comments, attachments, quotes) remains in place to preserve the readability, traceability, and substantive consistency of the Forum, but is no longer assigned to an identifiable profile. If individual content, in exceptional cases, contains personal data that allows identification despite anonymization, the user may request its removal via the reporting option provided in § 7.

14. Amendments to these Terms of Use

14.1 The Operator reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use at any time, provided the user agrees to the amendment.

14.2 The Operator also reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use without the user’s consent,

• insofar as the Operator is obliged to do so due to a change in the legal situation;
• insofar as the Operator is complying with a court ruling or official decision directed against it;
• insofar as the Operator introduces additional, entirely new services or service elements that require a service description in the Terms of Use, unless the existing user relationship is adversely altered thereby;
• if the change is solely advantageous to the user; or
• if the change is purely technical or procedural in nature, unless it has a material impact on the user.

14.3 The Operator will inform the user of material changes to these Terms of Use in good time and in an appropriate manner. Material changes are those that would significantly shift the contractual relationship to the detriment of the user or would be tantamount to entering into an entirely new contract. This includes, for example, provisions on the nature and scope of the service or on the contract term and termination modalities.

14.4 The user’s right of termination remains unaffected.

15. Governing law

All legal relationships between the parties are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. For consumers, this choice of law applies only to the extent that the protection afforded is not withdrawn by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer has their habitual residence.

16. Venue

If the user is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law with its registered office within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract shall be the Operator’s place of business. If the user’s registered office is outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Operator’s place of business shall be the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract if the contract or claims arising from the contract can be attributed to the user’s professional or commercial activities. In the above cases, however, the Operator is in all cases entitled to bring an action before the court at the user’s registered office.

17. Alternative dispute resolution

The Operator is neither obliged nor willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.