Terms of Service (Regulamin)

1. General provisions

1. The Service is operated by [OPERATOR], [OPERATOR ADDRESS] (the "Operator").

2. The Operator may be contacted at [CONTACT EMAIL]. That address also serves as the single point of contact for the authorities of the Member States, the Commission and the Board, and for recipients of the Service, within the meaning of Articles 11 and 12 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (the Digital Services Act). Communications may be made in Polish or in English.

3. "User" means a natural person who has created an account. "Content" means any name, text or other material published by a User within the Service, including the names of citizens, parties, countries and newspapers, party programmes, legislative texts, messages in the chat rooms, articles, comments, newspaper descriptions and logos, and uploaded pictures.

2. Nature of the Service

1. The Service is a persistent strategy game. Citizens, regions, countries, parties, laws, prices and all other elements exist solely within the game. They do not represent money, property or political rights in the real world, and game assets have no value outside the Service. The sale, purchase or exchange of game assets for consideration outside the Service is prohibited.

2. Use of the Service is free of charge.

3. The Operator may amend, suspend, reset or discontinue the Service or any part of it where justified, in particular to correct an error or to restore the balance of the game. Where practicable, the Operator shall give notice within the Service. The Operator shall not be liable for the loss of game progress to the extent permitted by law.

3. Eligibility

1. Use of the Service is permitted only to persons who have reached the age of 16.

2. When creating an account the User is asked to state a month and year of birth. The Operator retains only the confirmation that the User is at least 16 years of age and the date of that confirmation. The date of birth is not retained.

3. Each natural person may hold one account. The use of an additional account to assist the first account, to vote more than once, to transfer game assets between accounts or to evade a sanction is a breach of the Terms (rule "multiple_accounts"). The fact that several persons share a household or an internet connection does not of itself constitute a breach.

4. An account found to be used by a person under the age of 16 shall be deleted.

4. Account

1. The User shall choose a password of at least 12 characters or sign in through Google, Telegram or Discord. Accounts of staff members require a two-factor authentication code.

2. The User shall keep the sign-in credentials confidential and shall be responsible for all acts performed through the account until the User notifies the Operator that the account has been compromised.

3. An account that uses only Telegram or Discord has no email address. If access to that provider is lost, recovery of the account may be impossible. The User is advised to add a second means of sign-in in the security settings.

4. The User may delete the account at any time. Deletion takes effect after a grace period of 7 days, during which the User may cancel it. Deletion is held for as long as a moderation review concerning the account is open. Where the User holds an office or stands as a candidate, the office or candidacy passes in accordance with the rules of succession of the game. The categories of data deleted and retained are set out in the Privacy Notice.

5. Rules of conduct

The User undertakes to use the Service in accordance with the Terms and the law, and in particular to refrain from the following conduct (the name in brackets is the name of the rule used in moderation decisions):

• cheating: exploiting errors, using bots or automation other than that provided by the game, or any other means of obtaining an advantage not provided for by the rules of the game;
• multiple_accounts: holding or using more than one account, as described in section 3;
• harassment: threats, stalking, coordinated attacks, persistent unwanted contact, and disclosure of another person's personal data;
• hate: attacks on persons on grounds such as origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation or disability, and the use of symbols of hatred;
• offensive_name: using as the name of a citizen, party, country or newspaper a name that is offensive, hateful, sexually explicit or insulting;
• impersonation: impersonating a real person, a real organisation, the Operator's staff or another User;
• spam: advertising, repeated or meaningless posts or names, and links to unrelated websites;
• illegal_content: publishing content that is unlawful under Polish or European Union law, including material depicting the sexual abuse of children, incitement to violence or terrorism, and content infringing the rights of third parties;
• account_security: sharing, selling or acquiring accounts, and any attack on the security of the Service or of other accounts;
• under_age: use of the Service by a person under the age of 16.

Political and military events in the game are fictional. The Service shall not be used to harass or to promote hatred towards real persons or groups.

6. Content

1. The User retains all rights to Content. The User grants the Operator a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store the Content, to display it to other Users and to retain it as part of the history of the game, including after the account has been deleted, in a form that no longer identifies the User.

2. The User shall not publish Content to which the User has no right.

3. The Operator does not review Content before it is published.

4. Uploaded pictures are re-encoded before they are stored, and their embedded metadata (such as location or camera data) is removed.

5. An article remains published, together with its earlier versions, until its author or staff removes it. After the account of the author is deleted, articles and comments remain under the name "Former citizen" with a number. Removed articles and comments are no longer shown; they are kept for 3 years for the handling of reports and appeals and then deleted.

7. Moderation

1. Moderation is carried out by moderators and administrators appointed by the Operator ("staff"). Staff act on the basis of section 5, reports received and information otherwise brought to their attention.

2. No moderation decision is taken solely by automated means. Tools that indicate accounts sharing a network connection merely draw a matter to the attention of a person, who takes the decision.

3. Staff may:

• issue a warning;
• suspend an account for a limited period. A moderator may suspend an account for up to 30 days, and for not more than 30 days in total in any period of 90 days. During a suspension the User cannot sign in, and automatic actions and open market orders of the account are stopped;
• ban an account. A ban may be imposed by an administrator only. A permanent ban may be imposed for serious or repeated breaches;
• require a citizen, party, country or newspaper to be renamed. The owner then chooses a new name; until it is chosen, a neutral placeholder is displayed;
• mute a User for up to 30 days ("posting mute"). During a mute the User cannot write in the chat rooms, publish or edit articles, comment, upload pictures or found a newspaper, but can read, vote and use the rest of the Service as usual;
• remove Content that breaches the Terms or the law, including chat messages, articles, comments and pictures. A removed picture is no longer shown anywhere in the Service.

4. A suspension or ban of a User who holds an office or stands as a candidate (President, minister, member of parliament, party leader, candidate) may be imposed by an administrator only and results in the vacation of the office or candidacy in accordance with the rules of the game. Moderators shall not act in relation to their own country or party, nor in elections in which they vote.

5. The Operator retains the record of each moderation decision for 3 years after the decision ceases to have effect. For each country a public log lists the acts of staff in that country, stating the act and the role of the staff member. The log does not identify the staff member or the User concerned.

8. Statement of reasons

1. Where a suspension, ban, posting mute, forced renaming or removal of Content is imposed, the Operator shall provide the User with a statement of reasons containing:

• the decision and its duration;
• the facts and circumstances relied upon;
• the rule of the Terms breached and, where the Content is unlawful, the legal ground;
• information that the decision was not taken by automated means;
• information on how to appeal.

2. The statement is sent by email where the User has an email address, is displayed at the next sign-in, and is available to staff. A User without an email address is shown the statement at sign-in.

3. Where prior notice would defeat the purpose of the decision, in particular where necessary to protect other persons, the statement is provided without delay after the decision is taken.

9. Reports

1. Any person may report Content or an account that, in that person's opinion, breaches the Terms or the law, using the report form made available in the Service. Chat messages, articles, comments and newspapers carry a Report link that opens the form; a copy of the reported Content is then kept with the report.

2. The report should state the location of the Content, the rule or provision allegedly breached and the reasons. A report of unlawful Content should include an email address so that the outcome can be communicated.

3. The Operator confirms receipt where an email address is given, examines each report in a timely, diligent and objective manner, and informs the reporting person of its decision and of the available means of redress. Reports are not decided by automated means.

10. Complaints and appeals

1. A User or other person who disagrees with a decision of staff, with the handling of a report or with the operation of the Service may lodge a complaint at [CONTACT EMAIL]. The complaint should state the player name and identify the decision concerned.

2. The Operator shall respond within 14 days of receipt. Where practicable, an appeal is examined by a staff member other than the one who took the decision. Where a decision is found to be mistaken, it shall be revoked and, to the extent possible, the position within the game restored.

3. Lodging a complaint does not affect the right to bring the matter before a competent court, to seek the assistance of a consumer ombudsman or to use an out-of-court dispute settlement body. A consumer may also use the online dispute resolution platform of the European Commission. Complaints concerning personal data may be lodged with the supervisory authority as set out in the Privacy Notice.

11. Technical requirements

Use of the Service requires a current web browser with JavaScript enabled and an internet connection. Receipt of messages sent by the Operator (address verification, password reset, security notices) requires a functioning email address, where one has been given.

12. Liability

1. The Operator exercises due care in operating the Service but does not warrant uninterrupted availability or absence of errors.

2. The Operator is liable for damage in accordance with the provisions of law, including for damage caused intentionally or by gross negligence and for personal injury. Subject to the foregoing, and to the extent permitted by law, the Operator is not liable for the loss of game progress or game assets or for interruptions in the operation of the Service.

3. Nothing in the Terms limits the rights of a consumer under mandatory provisions of law.

13. Termination and amendment

1. The User may cease using the Service and delete the account at any time.

2. The Operator may suspend or terminate an account on the grounds and in the manner set out in section 7.

3. The Operator may amend the Terms for important reasons, in particular a change in the law or in the functioning of the Service. Amendments are announced within the Service and by email at least 14 days before they take effect, unless the law or the security of the Service requires earlier effect. A User who does not accept the amendment may delete the account before it takes effect. Continued use may be made conditional on acceptance of the new version.

14. Governing law

The Terms are governed by Polish law. This does not deprive a consumer of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of the country of the consumer's habitual residence. Disputes shall be resolved by the courts having jurisdiction under the applicable provisions of law.

Contact details

[OPERATOR], [OPERATOR ADDRESS], [CONTACT EMAIL].