Internet forum conditions of use

Section 1 Subject of the contract and scope

(1) The subject of the contract is the use of the functions of the forum as a communication platform. For the purpose of using these functions, the provider shall grant the user what is known as a “membership account”.

(2) The conditions below, agreed between the user and the website operator (hereinafter referred to as the “Provider”) apply to the use of this forum. Using the forum is only permitted if the user accepts these conditions of use and adheres to them at all times.

Section 2 Registration, membership, participation 

(1) Access to the forum requires prior registration on this website as a member of the Trucker’s World by MAN club. This applies to any kind of club membership. Once a user has successfully registered as a club member, they shall be granted access to the forum. The user may write and publish posts in the forum. 

(2) There is no entitlement to membership.

(3) The user shall undertake to keep their access details secret and refrain from passing them on to third parties. The user must not hand over the use of their account to third parties. Words protected as trademarks, Internet addresses and images may not be used in access details.

Section 3 Services of the Provider

(1) The Provider shall provide the user with a forum in so far as it is technically and economically possible to do so. As part of the conditions of use, the Provider shall grant the user permission to publish topics and posts in the forum as a member of the Trucker’s World by MAN club. The Provider shall ensure that the forum is available at all times. It shall not assume any other service obligations. In particular, it is not possible to rule out technical issues or issues of any other kind that are not within the Provider’s sphere of influence (force majeure, for example). As a result, the user has no entitlement to uninterrupted use of the service.   

(2) The Provider may make modifications to the content and structure of the forum if doing so will not adversely affect the subject of the contract or will only adversely affect it to a negligible extent. 

Section 4 Disclaimer

(1) Any compensation claims on the part of the user shall be excluded unless otherwise specified in the clauses that follow. This disclaimer also applies to legal representatives and vicarious agents of the Provider, in the event that the user asserts claims against them.

(2) Compensation claims based on injury to life, limb or health and based on breaches of material contractual obligations shall not be affected by the disclaimer. Material contractual obligations are obligations which must be fulfilled in order to perform the contract. Additionally, the disclaimer excludes liability for damage resulting from intentional or grossly negligent breaches of obligations on the part of the Provider, its legal representatives or its vicarious agents. 

(3) The Provider shall not be liable for breaches of secondary obligations (non-material contractual obligations) in cases of ordinary negligence.

(4) The Provider shall assume no responsibility for any content posted in the forum; in particular, it shall assume no responsibility for the content being accurate, complete, reliable, up to date or usable.

Section 5 Obligations of the user

(1) In the contractual relationship with the Provider, the user shall undertake to refrain from posting anything that is in breach of these conditions of use, moral standards or applicable law. In particular, the user shall undertake to refrain from: 

(2) Before publishing topics, content or posts, the user shall also undertake to check whether doing so complies with the contractual requirements. 

(3) In the event of a breach of Section 5 (1) or 5 (2), the Provider shall have the right to do the following separately from termination of membership:

The user shall undertake to compensate the Provider for any damage incurred as a result of its breach of obligations.

(4) If the Provider suspects a breach of the forum’s conditions of use, it shall reserve the right to block access to the forum. The block may be lifted if evidence refuting the breach can be provided at the user’s expense.

(5) In the event of claims asserted by other users or third parties against the Provider based on potential legal breaches on the part of the user, the user shall undertake to hold the Provider harmless against any claims and compensate any costs arising from them. Additionally, the user shall support the Provider in defending against claims of this nature. The user shall also undertake to bear any costs associated with an appropriate legal defence of the Provider, and to contribute information. If the user has not committed the breach of rights, the aforementioned obligations shall no longer apply.

Section 6 Transfer of usage rights

(1) The user shall retain the copyright to the posts and content that it contributes, provided that they are capable of being protected by copyright. However, the user shall grant the Provider the right to retain the user’s posts permanently in the forum on the online platform so that they may be retrieved. The user has the right to delete, edit, move and lock any posts made on the online platform, and to link any of these posts to other content.

(2) The user is not entitled to demand that the Provider deletes or corrects anything that the user has posted. The aforementioned usage rights shall continue to apply even if the contract relating to use of the forum is terminated or if club membership is terminated.

Section 7 Term and termination of membership

(1) This contract is restricted to the term of the membership of the Trucker’s World by MAN club. If a user’s membership is terminated, the Provider shall block the user’s access to the online portal and, therefore, to the forum.

(2) The right of both parties to suspend the contract where necessary or even terminate it for just cause shall remain unaffected. Just cause shall be established if a party culpably breaches a material obligation it assumes in this contract. 

 (3) The Provider shall be entitled, but not obligated, to delete any content posted by the user in the event that the user’s membership comes to an end. Any claims on the part of the user for relinquishment of the posted content shall be excluded.

Section 8 Modifications to or discontinuation of the service

(1) The Provider is entitled to modify its service at its own discretion at any time.

(2) The Provider is entitled to end its service subject to a notice period of two weeks. In the event that it ends its service, the Provider shall be entitled, but not obligated, to delete content posted by users.

Section 9 Applicable law

The contractual relationships between the Provider and the user shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. The applicable law excludes any mandatory consumer protection provisions that apply in the country in which the user is ordinarily resident.