Terms of Service

These terms of service apply to all sites operated by Messy Media Ltd., and also cover content associated with those sites, including email services and RSS feeds. Please take the time to read these terms of service. By using our sites, you are indicating that you have read these terms and and acknowledge that they will apply to your use of the site.

Content on our sites

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Messy Media Ltd. controls the copyright in all content, including text, photos and images, audio and video which is displayed on Messy Media titles. You may not exploit, distribute, adapt or otherwise use any of the material on the sites without the explicit permission of Messy Media Ltd.

Submitting content to MessyMedia

Users may submit content to MessyMedia titles and editors for various purposes, including, but not limited to, news tips, comments on posts or responses to requests for information.

Where a user submits content to MessyMedia, they do so on the basis that they have the appropriate permissions and legal standing to do so. Messy Media Ltd. will assume that the content submitted can be used on a public website, unless the user explicitly states otherwise. This includes images and photos submitted by users.

We will consider that any material you submit to Messy Media Ltd or to a MessyMedia site, including comment posts, emails, documents, images or letters, is licensed by you for use by our editors on our sites. By sending this material, you grant Messy Media a permanent, irrevocable and worldwide licence to use the material on our websites and/or redistribute it however we see fit. We reserve the right to reproduce all or part of any of the material on any of our sites or affiliates.

Using our comments

We require that users register before commenting on our sites, using one of the systems we choose to make available. We may change the criteria for allowing people to comment as and when we see fit.

The following rules apply to anyone posting on any of our sites:

1. Do not post anything which threatens, harasses, defames or libels another person
2. Do not post anything which you know to be untrue or misleading
3. Do not post any offers to buy or sell
4. Do not post anything which infringes anyone’s copyright
5. Do not post anything which you know breaks the law, or is confidential or sensitive
6. Do not post anything which is not relevant to the post on which you are commenting

You are personally responsible for anything you post in the comments on our sites. Messy Media Ltd. will not accept any responsibility for any information in the posts.

MessyMedia reserves the right to remove comments or edit them as it sees fit. Our general policy is that we will only remove comments if they infringe the rules set out here; we will not remove a post just because somebody changes their mind about what they have said. Please bear this in mind when posting comments.

Wherever we can, we will invite people to respond to comments they have complained about in the comments themselves. If they decide to take matters further and commence legal proceedings, it may become necessary for us to provide your personal information in line with our Privacy Policy.

Images on our sites

Images are used extensively on our sites, subject to our internal Image Use Policy. This allows editors to use images which meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Images we have licensed from agencies or have commissioned directly
• Public relations and marketing images, whether or not supplied directly to MessyMedia editors
• Images submitted by users (see “Submitting content to MessyMedia”, above)
• Images with an appropriate usage licence (such as that provided by Creative Commons)
• Images used under fair use guidelines, including thumbnail images which have been cropped or reduced from the original source; images which themselves represent a news story; images use for parody
• Images which have effectively entered the public domain through mass distribution

If an image meets any of these criteria we will not remove it from the site and will argue that our use of it is permitted under existing laws and business practices.

If you believe that an image is being used incorrectly on a MessyMedia site, please email info (at) messymedia.net with the following information:

1. The MessyMedia URL where the photo is appearing
2. Your reasons for believing its use contravenes existing laws and/or business practices, including any documentary evidence proving your claim of copyright in the image
3. Your contact information, including email address, phone number and postal address

Links to third-party sites

MessyMedia sites contain many links to external sites which are not affiliated to Messy Media Ltd. By linking to these, Messy Media Ltd. and its editors do not imply any approval, guarantee or endorsement of the site being linked to, nor is any association with the external site implied. Messy Media Ltd. has no control over the content of sites which it links to, and makes no guarantee or warranty as to the accuracy or reliability of the information being linked to.

The decision to click on any links on MessyMedia sites is the user’s alone, and MessyMedia will not be held responsible for any matters arising from a user’s decision to click on a link on a Messy Media site.

Using our RSS feeds

Messy Media Ltd. provides feeds of its web content for general use, including display on third-party sites. Please note, however, that MessyMedia provides these feeds for information purposes only, and makes no warranties for their suitability for any particular purpose you may put them to. By accessing the feeds, you are indicated that you have read these conditions and that they will apply to your use of the feeds.

Where content is used on third-party sites, the following rules apply:

1. The display must not include any images (as this may contravene third-party copyrights)
2. Any advertising included in the feeds cannot be stripped out.
3. Only the headine and a text summary of reasonable length may be used.
4. The relevant logo and URL of the site must appear prominently on the page displaying the content
5. The wording of the content, including the formatting of headlines and text, must be the same as provided in the RSS feed
6. Links back to the source site, with wording including “More from...”, must be included alongside the content
7. Notwithstanding any of the above requirements, should we object to the way you have presented our feeds, for whatever reason, we may choose to exercise our right to demand their immediate removal

Other terms of use for content feeds

1. RSS feeds may not be spliced into or otherwise redistributed by third-party RSS providers.
2. No content, including advertisements or promotional content, can be added to the RSS feeds.
3. We may shut down the feed, change its content or change its format, all without notice to you.
4. We will not be liable to any actions arising from your use of our feeds, including complaints from your users about the use of our content on your site

Changes to this policy

We will display changes to these terms of service on this page when they occur, and will highlight them appropriately.

Questions

If you have questions about these terms, please either email the Editor of the relevant site, or send an email to info (at) messymedia.net.