Terms of Use
NederlandsCirclore is a noticeboard for neighbours who lend, borrow and give away books. These terms of use apply to everyone who uses Circlore.
We have written them as short and as plainly as we could. By creating an account you agree to them.
This is a translation. The Dutch version of these terms is the binding one; if the two differ, the Dutch text prevails.
Who we are
Circlore is offered by Ethan Speijer, a private individual trading as Circlore. You can reach us at circloresocial@gmail.com; that is a mailbox we read.
Circlore is not currently registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK): there is no company behind it yet. So there is no KvK number and no registered business address to give here. If we later bring Circlore into a company, that company becomes the provider and its details will be shown here.
Where "we" or "us" appears below, we mean that party. Where "you" appears, we mean you as a user of Circlore.
What Circlore is and is not
Circlore is a noticeboard for neighbours who lend, borrow and give away books. We put people in touch with each other and nothing more.
We are never a party to an arrangement between users. We do not hold money, we do not check anyone’s identity, and we do not verify that a book is in the condition described or that the person offering it owns it. An arrangement that comes about through Circlore is an arrangement between the users involved.
Your account
You must be 18 or older to create an account and use Circlore.
One person, one account. Do not create an account on someone else’s behalf and do not share your account with others.
Your @handle and your login details are yours. Keep them safe and give them to no one. Whatever happens through your account, we attribute to you. If you think someone else can get into your account, tell us straight away.
If you break these terms, we may suspend or terminate your account. How that works is set out under "Reporting and enforcement" and "Ending your account".
Rules of conduct
Circlore only works if neighbours leave each other in peace and treat each other with respect. So on Circlore there is:
- no harassment, threats, bullying or discrimination;
- no illegal content and no content that infringes someone else’s rights, such as copyright;
- no commercial advertising, spam or unsolicited canvassing;
- no scraping, automated harvesting or automated reading of the service, and no bots;
- no publishing another user’s address, surname or other real name.
On Circlore your @handle is the only public label. Real names are private by design. So do not put someone else’s anywhere others can read it, not even in a book description.
Exchanging books
If you lend a book, borrow one or give one away, that is an arrangement between you and the other user. Lending is a loan for use (bruikleen): the book stays the owner’s. Circlore stands outside it.
Unless you agree otherwise between yourselves, this is the starting point. Whoever has the book in their keeping bears the risk of loss and damage for as long as they have it, and returns it in the agreed condition on the agreed date. Whoever offers a book warrants that it is theirs and that they may lend it out or give it away.
If it goes wrong, that is a matter between the two of you. We give you a report button and the ability to block someone. We do not rule on who is right, we do not mediate and we do not compensate anyone.
Meeting in person
You decide for yourself who you meet, where and when. Meet somewhere public. Feel free to bring someone along, and call it off if something does not feel right.
We run no background checks, we check no identity documents and we screen users in no way at all. The existence of an account says nothing about the person behind it.
You are responsible for your own safety during a meeting. If you are in danger, call 112. Report it to us afterwards as well, so we can act against the account.
Liability
Circlore is offered as it is. We do not guarantee that the service is available without interruption or free of errors, and we may change or discontinue parts of it.
To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for:
- the conduct of users, online or during a meeting;
- the content users post;
- the loss of a book, damage to it, or not getting it back;
- an arrangement that falls through or turns out differently than expected;
- damage resulting from an incorrect or incomplete description by another user.
This exclusion does not apply in the case of intent (opzet) or gross negligence (grove schuld) on our part, nor to damage from death or personal injury attributable to us. We do not exclude that liability and we cannot exclude it.
If Circlore is liable nonetheless, that liability is limited to € 500 in total per user.
What you post
What you write and upload stays yours. We do not become the owner of your text or your photos.
To be able to show it, we do need your permission. You therefore grant us a worldwide, royalty-free and sublicensable licence to use, reproduce, adapt and display your content within the service and to promote the service.
You warrant that you hold the rights to what you post. So only upload photos you took yourself or are allowed to use.
Database rights in the catalogue
From everything users add, Circlore builds a single catalogue: works, editions, copies, subjects and the signals we derive from them, separate from any person.
The database rights in that catalogue as a collection are ours. We are the producer of that database within the meaning of the Dutch Database Act (Databankenwet). Outside normal use of the app you may not extract or re-use anything from it: no copying of substantial parts, no systematic reading, and no incorporating it into a service of your own.
This is about the collection, not about your own contributions. What you write and upload stays yours, as set out above under "What you post".
Reporting and enforcement
If you come across content or behaviour that is out of order, report it with the report button on that member’s profile, or at circloresocial@gmail.com. We assess every report and let you know what we do with it.
We may remove content, suspend an account temporarily and terminate an account permanently including the data belonging to it. Where there is a risk to the safety of others we do so immediately and without prior warning, without being liable for that towards the user concerned.
This is our main means of enforcement. We do not mediate in disputes between users.
Ending your account
You can stop at any time. Email circloresocial@gmail.com to say you want your account deleted and we will do it. You do not have to give us a reason.
We can suspend or terminate your account as described under "Reporting and enforcement".
On deletion we remove your account and your personal data. Two things stay behind. The first is your entries on the passports of books you passed on. Those entries stay, because they are the history of a book that is now in someone else’s hands, but your @handle comes off them and they read “someone” from then on. A book that was yours alone leaves with you, and its passport page goes with it. Our privacy statement sets this out in full.
The second is a limited moderation record. It notes that an account was removed, when that happened and which category of breach it concerned. We keep it to stop someone we have removed from signing up again the next morning, and to be able to defend legal claims. The basis for this is article 17(3)(e) GDPR. Our privacy statement sets out how long we keep it.
Changes to these terms
We may change these terms, for instance because Circlore changes or because the law requires it.
If a change is material, we announce it at least 30 days in advance, in the app or by email. If you do not agree with it, you can end your account before the change takes effect. If you carry on using Circlore after that, the new terms apply.
The version and the date of the last change are shown at the top of this document.
Paid exchanges
Today Circlore is only for lending, borrowing and giving away free of charge. No money goes through Circlore: we process no payments, we hold no money and we take no commission.
If two users nonetheless agree money between themselves, that happens entirely outside the platform and at their own risk. We do not see that arrangement, we do not vouch for it and we can do nothing if it goes wrong.
If a marketplace is ever introduced, separate terms will apply to it. We will announce those in advance.
Governing law
Dutch law applies to these terms and to the use of Circlore.
Disputes are brought before the competent court in the Netherlands. If you are a consumer, you keep the right to bring the matter before the court of your own place of residence, to the extent the law gives you that right.