Note: “Service” refers to any service offered by OpenWine Consortium (OWC) (such as messaging, or e-mail, etc…) and “Site” refers to the OWC website and online community (openwineconsortium.org).

First, we’d like to thank you for your participation in the OpenWine Consortium (OWC) and recommend the use of real names on the Site and Service just to encourage honest and open communications.

Some very important rules that are highlighted here and repeated in the body of the user Code of Conuduct.

  • Keep all arguments courteous and avoid personal attacks.
  • Forum moderators reserve the right to remove any post at their discretion. If the abuse is habitual we can also disable or ban any user from the network at our discretion.

You understand that except for advertising programs offered by us on the Site for the benefit of this organization, the Service and the Site are available for your personal, non-commercial use only. You represent, warrant and agree that no materials of any kind submitted through your account (Content) or otherwise posted, transmitted, or shared by you on or through the Service will violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary rights; or contain libelous, defamatory or otherwise unlawful material.

Open Wine Consortium Policies

In addition, you agree not to use the Service or the Site to:

  • harvest or collect email addresses or other contact information of other users from the Service or the Site by electronic or other means for the purposes of sending unsolicited emails or other unsolicited communications;
  • gratuitously solicit business from individual members via messaging, email, wall posts, etc… While the Site is meant to create and foster business and personal connections, its not meant as an alternative way to generate Spam. Many updates are communicated to users through email notifications and you must respect that excessive posts solely for the purpose of driving traffic to a commercial site is considered using the Site in a commercial manner (advertising) and will not be accepted without prior approval from the OWC Admins.
  • use the Service or the Site in any unlawful manner or in any other manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Site;
  • use automated scripts to collect information from or otherwise interact with the Service or the Site;
  • upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available any content that we deem to be harmful, threatening, unlawful, defamatory, infringing, abusive, inflammatory, harassing, vulgar, obscene, fraudulent, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
  • upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available any videos other than those of a personal nature that: (i) are of you or your friends, (ii) are taken by you or your friends, or (iii) are original art or animation created by you or your friends;
  • register for more than one User account, register for a User account on behalf of an individual other than yourself;
  • impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity;
  • upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;
  • upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make publicly available on the Site any private information of any third party, including, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card numbers;
  • solicit personal information from anyone under 18 or solicit passwords or personally identifying information for commercial or unlawful purposes;
  • upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
  • intimidate or harass another;
  • upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense, violate the rights of any party, or that would otherwise create liability or violate any local, state, national or international law;
  • use or attempt to use another’s account, service or system without authorization, or create a false identity on the Service or the Site.
  • upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available content that, in the sole judgment of Company, is objectionable or which restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Site, or which may expose any company or its users to any harm or liability of any type.

The Open Wine Consortium website is a social utility that connects people with others in the wine industry and others who work, study and live around them. People use the Site to keep up with contacts, to share links, to share photos and videos, and to learn more about the industry and topic they love – wine. We want the OpenWine Consortium site to be a place where people respect the rights and feelings of others, including third party intellectual property rights. Therefore, we have established certain rules for using the Site and for posting messages, photos, video and other content (“Content”) on OWC site, which rules are set forth in our platform’s Terms of Use and in this User Code of Conduct. WHEN YOU USE OWC SITE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO ABIDE BY THE USER CODE OF CONDUCT AND THE OTHER RULES SET FORTH IN OUR TERMS OF USE. FAILURE TO ADHERE TO THIS CODE OF CONDUCT AND THE TERMS OF USE MAY RESULT, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IN TERMINATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT AND THE DELETION OF CONTENT THAT YOU HAVE POSTED ON OWC SITE, WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE, AS DETERMINED BY OWC ADMINS IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION.

Third-Party Content

OWC allows you to upload and share user generated Content with your friends or the public, such as photographs and videos you upload from your camera, webcam or mobile phone. This means that you may post and share original photographs and video that are of a personal nature that: (i) are of you or your friends and associates, (ii) are taken by you or your friends or associates, or (iii) are original art or animation created by you or your friends, or your associates with their permission. It is not intended as a place for you to post third-party copyrighted content. In addition, we expect our users to use good judgment and respect the copyrights and other intellectual property rights of others. Therefore, in using the Site and Service, you may not:

  • upload or share any photographs, videos or other Content other than original works that are created by you or another user
  • post or share any Content that infringes upon or violates the copyright, trademarks or other rights of any third party
  • attempt to circumvent any content filtering techniques we may employ

Inappropriate Content

While we believe users should be able to express themselves and their point of view, certain kinds of speech simply do not belong in a community like the OpenWine Consortium. Therefore, you may not post or share Content that:

  • is obscene, pornographic or sexually explicit
  • depicts graphic or gratuitous violence
  • makes threats of any kind or that intimidates, harasses, or bullies anyone
  • is derogatory, demeaning, malicious, defamatory, abusive, offensive or hateful

If you locate such material on the site notify us immediately by forwarding the link to [email protected]!

Unlawful or Harmful Content or Conduct

Although as an online service provider, we are not responsible for the conduct of our users, we want the Site to be a safe place on the Internet. Therefore, in using the Site, you may not:

  • violate any local, state, national or international law or post any Content that would encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offense
  • impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity
  • use the Site to send or make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation
  • post or share any personally identifiable or private information of any third party
  • solicit passwords or personal information from anyone, including those under 18
  • use information or content you obtained on the Site or Service in any manner not authorized by the Site’s Code of Conduct or Terms of Use
  • post any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment
  • register for more than one account or use or attempt to use another’s account, service or system without authorization or create a false identity on the Service or the Site
  • engage in any predatory or stalking conduct

This Content Code of Conduct is subject to change at any time at OWC Admins‚ sole discretion.