Minecraft Middle-Earth (MCME) Terms of Service

MC Middle Earth is not affiliated to Minecraft, Mojang or Microsoft in any way. MCME is a non-commercial, volunteer based online group of Lord of the Rings enthousiasts who enjoy building Tolkien's world in Minecraft.

0. Definitions

   1. Purpose

      The purpose of the rules laid out in this document is to ensure we all have an environment in which everyone can enjoy themselves regardless of their cultural background and ideologies.

   2. MCME Network

      The MCME Network consists of, but is not limited to, the following set of services provided by MCME:

      1. Minecraft and/or other game servers

      2. MCME Website

      3. MCME Discord

      4. MCME Dynmap (http://map.mcmiddleearth.com/)

      5. Secondary servers such as: PVP server, Survival server, Event servers, Development server and Cinematic server.

      6. Official rank or event specific Google Drive folders and documents.

      7. MCME Social media channels such as: YouTube channel, Facebook page and Twitter channel.

   3. MCME Content

      All data contained within the MCME Network is generally considered content owned by MCME. This includes, but is not limited to:

      1. The Minecraft maps and builds used on the MCME servers.

      2. Player data generated by Minecraft or the server (such as player profiles, statistics, permissions, logs).

      3. Software developed for MCME

      4. Forum content

      5. Graphical contributions (screenshots, logos, official videos).

      6. Sound contributions (sound files, music).

   4. MCME Community & Members

      The MCME Community consists of all registered players that are part of the MCME project who are not permanently banned. Everyone can join and leave the community at any time.

   5. Roles and functions

      Members of the MCME Network can carry a certain role or 'function'. Each role has an additional document laying out role specific guidelines and permissions.

      A full overview of all the roles and their responsibilities or functions, is available at Ranks and Duties

   7. Rules and punishments

      1. Applicability and scope:

         The MCME Terms of Service and the Rules apply to the entire MCME Network, where technically sensible. The Terms and Rules consist of all that is laid out in this document and its annex and may be extended by the official rank manuals that apply for holders of specific ranks and can be found within the Resources section on the MCME website.
         All MCME Members using any of the services provided by MCME are bound to these Rules.

      2. Moderator responsibility:

         The players with the Moderator role are responsible to ensure that these rules are being respected. Moderators have the ability to restrict access to parts or the entire MCME Network. Restricting access can be done when a player does not follow the rules and when proper evidence can be collected.

      3. Punishments:

         Punishments include, among other more special cases, muting (inability to chat), kicking a player as a warning, demotion to the temporary restrictive Oathbreaker role, banning from parts or all of the MCME Network and exclusion from (re-)gaining certain ranks, functions and permissions.

      4. Oathbreaker:

         A demotion to Oathbreaker is issued for less severe infractions. Depending on the severity 1st grade and 2nd grade Oathbreaker are distinguished. Either grade includes requiring the player to walk to an appointed location on the main build map. 2nd grade oathbreakers additionally need to wait at least a week until they can get promoted back. If the player held a higher rank than Commoner it is up to the respective Head whether the initial rank can be regained or not.

      5. Bans:

         Only upon severe infraction and if the Moderators / Heads are sure to have identified the infraction as having been malevolent, i.e. the player purposely broke the rules to cause drama or other damage to the MCME Network or Community, a ban is issued which means no further access to the Main server and/or Discord. In special cases the access to other parts of the MCME Network can be restricted as well. Access to the Forums usually remains in order to offer communication to clarify the case. A ban may be labelled “Appealable”, which means that the ban can sometimes be lifted by writing a Ban Appeal on the Forums. Temporary bans may be invoked which do expire after a specified time and do not require appealing.

         In the case of an appeal, the ban appeal will be handled by a person (Moderator or Head) who has not issued the punishment.

1. Terms of Service

   1. Applicability

      By using any of the services supplied by the MCME Network, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service, and that you agree with the Rules.

   2. Disclaimer

      Minecraft Middle-earth is not affiliated with Mojang AB, Microsoft, The Tolkien Estate or Middle Earth Enterprises.
      We are a non-profit, unregistered online entity of enthusiastic fans with no source of revenue except for donations and a few financial backers, who all chose to voluntarily help Minecraft Middle-earth with no expectations of having something in return.

   3. Content ownership

      All content as defined above may be retained, removed, or relocated at the discretion of the Administrator. By submitting content to our Network, or by submitting content to staff or server email accounts or other contact media, or by creating content on our Network, you grant Minecraft Middle-earth perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, rights to use, copy, modify, adapt, distribute, prepare derivative works of, perform, or publicly display that content.
      All content made available to the public, most notably the MCME Resource Packs, are licensed as follows:

      Minecraft Middle-earth by Minecraft Middle-earth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.mcmiddleearth.com.

      Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.mcmiddleearth.com/help/terms.

   4. Privacy

      All personal information collected by Minecraft Middle-earth will not be disclosed or distributed to any other entities unless the permission is obtained from the account holder. We only keep track of our users through the use of cookies, for statistical purposes to improve our website, and to track the traffic of our visitors. Https is used on the entire website to secure transmission of information.

   5. Donations

      1. Access to the Network is completely free of any charge. As such, donations are fully optional and not required to join and experience our community. Minecraft Middle-earth does not generate revenue, and is not a commercial entity.

      2. By donating you are not entitled to any physical or virtual good. A donation is not a purchase. As defined, a donation is an act or instance of presenting something as a gift, grant or contribution with no expectation of anything in return.

      3. A refund of your donation will not be made under any circumstances. You agree to not buy back, stop credit, or force charge-back on donations. If you are banned or your access is restricted because you violated this Terms of Service and Rules, you will not be entitled to a refund.

      4. In extreme rare cases, such as billed multiple times due to technical or human errors, you are entitled to a refund. Please contact the Administrator for this by using the Contact Us page.

   6. Additional terms for staff members

      All staff are bound to the following additional terms: Staff are to promote a safe, fun, and friendly environment within the MCME Network. A Staff position equals contributing to the project in a voluntary way, and doesn't entitle you to special treatment or payment. Staff are also bound to these Terms of Service and Rules at all times. Certain Staff ranks have their own set of procedures and documentation to follow, which are described in a Rank Manual. They will follow these instructions described by the official manuals provided for them. The Head Builder is in charge of the rank manual for Designers, the Head Enforcer is in charge of the Moderator Manual.
      Any staff members that are unable or unwilling to fulfill their duties and responsibilities are subject to the loss of their rank. Administrators retain the right to revoke a user’s rank without warning.

   7. Changes to these Terms of Service and Rules

      Minecraft Middle-earth reserves the right to update and change these Terms of Service and Rules without notice. While Minecraft Middle-earth prohibits illegal activity and uses measures towards prohibiting illegal activity, you understand and agree that we cannot be made responsible for the Content and actions of our members.

2. Rules

   The rules in effect for the Network can be found at https://www.mcmiddleearth.com/community/help/rules/