We want OutaStory to have a large and great, diverse and intense, open community with respect for others that is fun and curious.

Since we have limited resources, but also because we want it to become your community, we need your help.

Join the community and become active!

We consider the right to freedom of expression to be the highest good. Only those who can freely express their opinions can participate in social discourse. However, this right to freedom of expression has its limits if it violates the rights of others.

The usual rules apply to the community:

• Respectful interaction
  Treat all members politely and respectfully. No insults, discrimination or personal attacks.
• No hate speech or extremism
  Content with a racist, sexist, political extremist or misanthropic character is prohibited.
• Clean language & netiquette
  No vulgar expressions, spam or aggressive provocations.
• Respect data protection
  No publication of private data (own or third-party).
• Legally compliant content
  No copyright infringements, illegal downloads, advertising for illegal activities or violations of German law.
• Avoid advertising & spam
  Commercial advertising or mass posting of unwanted content is not permitted.
• Stay on topic
  Posts should be factually relevant to the topic and serve the discussion.
• Report instead of arguing
  Please report violations to the moderators – do not let them degenerate into a public dispute.

We have a rigid no-tolerance policy and reserve the right to delete posts that violate the above rules and, in the event of a repeat offense, to block members from participating in the community without further justification.

The community managers at OutaStory will accompany you and help where possible.

Later, members who work intensively and fairly in the community can be asked by us to become our Community Ambassador. You can check out the Community Ambassador Program here (link). Ex communitate pro communitate! From the community, for the community!

Please remember: All content you post is your content! Only you are fully responsible for the content.

As soon as you post your first post/comment, you expressly accept these rules.

We are very happy that you are participating!

Please read these Terms of Service carefully and to the end so that both you and Outerstory know what we can expect from each other.

What we do for you

OutaStory is a platform for stories primarily in the genres of romance, fantasy and science fiction.

With us, you can browse through the published stories to your heart's content and read what you like.

In the "my stories" section, you will find all the stories you have accessed. If you click on a story, you will be taken to the page you were last on. You can then scroll forward or backward.

How does that work?

To immerse yourself in the world of OutaStory, all you have to do is register with us and you're ready to go.

Your age

By agreeing to these Terms of Use, you expressly confirm that you are 18 years of age or older.

You can register here.

When registering, you must agree to our privacy policy and what is written here. And of course we also need some data from you.

You can read the privacy policy here.

And you have to choose one of the pay models.

And how much does it cost?

For the operation of the platform and the opportunity for you to read/listen to the stories, you pay a fixed amount to OutaStory every month or an amount according to effort.

We want to be as fair and transparent as possible, also in terms of costs.

Therefore, there are different pay models from which you can choose the one that suits you best:

Monthly flat fee with advertising: You pay 4.99 EUR per month and can browse and read without limits. We want to have as many readers ("members") as possible so that even those who are very cost-conscious can read more cheaply. There will also be advertising in and around the stories.

Monthly flat fee without ads: You pay 7.99 EUR per month without ads in and around the stories.

Pay per page: You only pay for the pages you actually visit in the stories. To do this, you simply buy the number of pages you want. Once your purchased pages are used up, you can quickly and conveniently buy more pages and you're back at it.

So that you can flexibly use all our offers, you buy bookies, our internal currency. You can use them to buy pages, but also to buy merchandising items.

A page costs a bookie.

A bookie costs 2 cents.

The bookie is due as soon as you call up a page, i.e. even if you don't finish reading the page.

You can use the purchased pages for one story or spread them across several stories. Your decision. But you only pay as much as you actually read (every page you start counting).

To help you keep track of everything, we will set up a user account for you that you can check out at any time.

And you can read the first 5 pages of each story to see if you like the story, and you don't pay anything for it.

No matter which pay model you choose. What you have read will stay with you to turn back or start over.

Price adjustment: We may be forced to increase our prices. We will let you know in good time.

Runtime

Your reading time begins with the submission of the registration.

You can terminate the contract with OutaStory in writing (email is sufficient). Your reading time will then end at the end of the month following the month in which we received your cancellation. You will receive a confirmation of your cancellation.

We can also terminate the contract properly and without justification. We may do this, for example, if you do not accept changes to these Terms.

In the event of an ordinary termination by OutaStory, your reading time ends at the end of the 3rd month following the month in which we sent our ordinary notice. This gives you the chance to use up purchased bookies.

The right to extraordinary termination for good cause exists for you and also for us. Good cause exists if one of us can no longer reasonably be expected to continue the contractual relationship.

If you do not agree to a price increase, you can cancel with a notice period of 2 months from the time the higher prices take effect.

Unfortunately, we cannot refund credit to bookies due to the individual effort.

Liability

OutaStory is a platform through which writers publish their stories.

Of course, these are and remain their stories. Therefore, we are not liable for the published content/stories.

If something that is published actually violates a law, you can report it to us.

It may happen that we have to block access to certain stories (completely or temporarily). We don't want to do that, but we have to do it if a violation of the law has been reported and/or exists. Therefore, we are not liable for the fact that you can read or continue reading the story in such a case.

We try to attract as many writers as possible to the platform. But of course we can't guarantee how many there will be. And writers can also leave the platform. Therefore, we do not guarantee a number of stories or who publishes stories via the platform.

Technical

You need a suitable device to use OutaStory.

These can be: Hany, tablet and PC.

And, of course, you need an internet connection. Make sure to use a connection that is as cost-effective as possible.

You cannot download, copy and/or edit the stories.

You may also not make any technical changes to the Platform or hinder or prevent the use of the Platform. That would be a reason for termination without notice by us. And we would demand compensation for the damage caused by such behavior, including possible restoration of the platform and the costs of legal action.

Community

We want you to be able to exchange ideas with other members about the stories and the writers. There will be various communities in which you can participate.

But always remember to communicate fairly, respectfully and without insults or agitation. Otherwise, we would have to exclude you from participating in the community.

You can find the community rules here. The Community Rules form part of these Terms of Use.

To ensure that everyone always knows who is posting what, you should only participate in the communities with your real name.

Dispute settlement

If you are a consumer located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you can contact us directly here if you have any problems. We will then try to find a solution. The European Commission also provides a platform for online dispute resolution, however, OutaStory is not legally obliged to use this or any other platform for dispute resolution.

These Terms of Use

We may update these Terms of Use to reflect (1) changes to our offering or business operations, for example, when we add new services, features, technologies, prices or benefits (or remove old ones), (2) for legal, regulatory or security reasons, or (3) to prevent abuse or harm.

If we change these Terms of Use, we will provide you with advance notice at least 21 days prior to the changes becoming effective. By notifying you of the changes, we will provide you with the new version of the Terms of Use and notify you of any significant changes. If you do not object before the changes take effect, the amended Terms of Use will be deemed to have been accepted. This objection process is explained in our communication. You may refuse to accept the changes – in this case, the changes will not apply in relation to you. However, we reserve the right to terminate our user relationship.

Withdrawal

You can revoke your registration with us within 14 days of submitting your registration.

Here is the link for the withdrawal.

OutaStory aims to become the largest platform for people who love to read and listen to stories. And who like to write stories. This also includes clear rules of the game for the people who publish stories on our platform.

To make sure you are on the safe side, we have developed this contract.

These terms apply to the contract between OutaStory and you as the author ("Writer") for the creation and publication of stories via the OutaStory platform.

OutaStory acts as a platform operator and is not responsible for the content of the stories published via the platform. You are responsible for this.

1. Subject matter of the contract

1.1 OutaStory provides you with the platform for the creation and publication of your literary stories primarily in the genres of science fiction, fantasy and romance as well as in other genres.

This includes, among other things:

- Free provision of server capacity to create and store your stories

- Free publication of your stories by you on the platform

1.2 OutaStory also offers the possibility that you publish your stories as an audiobook ("AudioStories"). That's up to you.

2. Storage/Editing

2.1 After registering on the platform, you will receive an access code by e-mail with which you can legitimize yourself for the use of OutaStory.

2.2 You will receive storage capacity on a server rented by OutaStory.

You create and edit your stories online.

You upload stories to the storage space.

You can upload all or part of a story and edit, add to, or delete it at any time.

2.3 Until you have arranged for a publication (see section 4.1 below), only you have access to the respective story. After that, registered members will have the opportunity to read the story, if necessary, listen to it, and to comment and evaluate it.

2.4 Editing of a saved story by third parties is excluded without your express consent. Excluded from this is the possibility for members to decorate pages in stories they read with graphics, ornaments, etc. The graphics/ornaments are only visible to the respective member.

2.5 In addition, there will be the possibility to edit each individual story offline.

2.6 OutaStory has the right to technically edit your stories for publication – if necessary.

2.7 Access to the platform is not limited to Germany.

3. No violation of laws

3.1 By agreeing to these Terms, you expressly agree that you will not release for publication any stories whose content

- violates the law

- is inflammatory, glorifies violence, pornographic, insulting, harmful to minors, anti-Semitic or similar.

3.2 You expressly confirm that no stories will be published that violate the rights of third parties, in particular copyright and/or ancillary copyrights as well as exclusive rights of third parties.

3.3 You further expressly confirm that the data you have provided about yourself is correct and complete.

3.4 You indemnify OutaStory against all claims by third parties that may be made against OutaStory in connection with the publication of one of your stories. This includes the reasonable costs of a legal defense.

4. Publication

4.1 You must explicitly arrange for a saved story to be published. This is done by ticking the "Publish" field and then confirming it in a confirmation dialog.

4.2 The stories you publish will be automatically made available on the platform for the duration of this agreement. Only members of OutaStory who have previously registered on the platform have access to the respective story.

4.3 OutaStory will protect your published stories as much as possible with a technique against evaluation by AI-supported chat systems.

4.4 Publication may be made under a pseudonym. However, OutaStory needs your personal data in order to contact you, e.g. in the event of a complaint.

5. AudioStory

5.1 You can also publish your stories as an audio story if you wish. By ticking the "AudioStory" field and then confirming it in a confirmation dialog, you agree that a story will be automatically made audible and published by a text-to-speech system.

5.2 By agreeing to AudioStory, you expressly assign OutaStory the right to edit your stories accordingly.

5.3 You can choose the voice you want your story to hear from an overview.

5.4 OutaStory takes care of the entire process. You do not bear any costs for the AudioStory.

5.5 OutaStory assumes no liability for the AudioStories, in particular for the correctness of the spoken content and the quality.

6. Social Media

OutaStory will present published stories on social media platforms, among others, and promote the stories and OutaStory.

7. Referral Lists

OutaStory will create various lists (e.g. new releases, rankings by click rates) and renew them daily/weekly. In addition, individual stories are presented or recommended.

8. Application

8.1 OutaStory will promote the platform in order to attract a growing number of writers and members.

8.2 To this end, you hereby grant OutaStory the right to advertise your stories, using your name, your picture, your CV, quotes from you and from the respective story, as well as characters and locations.

8.3 All stories published by you via OutaStory will receive a cover of your choosing. You can upload a photo or choose a corresponding photo from a database.

9. No AI

We want a vibrant community of people. So it wouldn't be nice if chat bots communicated with each other. That's why we don't want stories on the platform that were created wholly or partly with the help of AI. We expressly reserve the right to block stories that we assume were created with AI assistance.

10. Information about the stories

You must provide information for each story that serves to guide the members:

- an indication that the story contains explicit depictions of violence and/or sex

- brief description of the content

- information about the main characters of the story

- classification of the story into a genre

- a note that the story is self-contained and has been written to the end (this information is provided by ticking the designated box)

- or the note that it is a sequel story

OutaStory may use these texts to promote your stories and OutaStory.

11. Right of First Negotiation

OutaStory wants the widest possible exploitation of your stories, e.g. in the form of a podcast, audiobook or film. To this end, OutaStory offers a special partnership through the OutaStory Writers Guild, which includes additional exploitation.

If you do not become a member of the OutaStory Writers Guild, but want to open up the possibility of further exploitation of your stories, you hereby grant OutaStory an exclusive right of first negotiation to conclude a separate contract with you for the exploitation of your stories/a story.

12. Contract Term / Termination

12.1 The contract between you and OutaStory begins with your acceptance of these terms. Your consent will be stored digitally with date and time.

If you do not agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy, no contract will be formed and you will not be able to use the Platform.

12.2 The contract has an unlimited term.

12.3 It can be terminated by you and OutaStory with a notice period of 1 month to the end of the quarter. The right to extraordinary termination exists.

12.4 In particular, OutaStory has the right to terminate the Agreement with immediate effect if you violate one or more obligations in Sections 3 and/or 10 and/or if a story or multiple stories have been blocked multiple times for violating Section 3 and/or Section 10.

13. Relapse of Rights

13.1 At the time the termination becomes effective, any rights granted revert to you.

13.2 Excluded are those rights for exploitation for which a legally valid contract (including with third parties) for the exploitation of the granted rights has been concluded before receipt of a notice of termination.

13.3 The above shall also apply in the event of termination of the contract by death.

14. Deletion

14.1 Stories stored on the server will be deleted when the termination becomes effective. This does not apply to stories that fall under Section 13.2.

14.2 If you wish, you will receive digital copies of your saved stories.

15. Liability

You are solely responsible for the published stories.

16. Blocking Stories

16.1 If OutaStory is informed that a published story violates a law and/or the rights of a third party in whole or in part, or that the provisions in Sections 3 and/or 10 above have been violated, OutaStory will immediately block access to the story, at least temporarily.

16.2 OutaStory will investigate the allegation to the appropriate extent. In addition, OutaStory will contact you after the information and discuss the next steps.

16.3 If the accusation is not justified, OutaStory will unblock access to the story. OutaStory is not liable for any loss of profit from the period of blocking.

If the accusation turns out to be justified, access to the story will be permanently blocked.

16.4 In general, OutaStory is entitled to block access to the story without further justification in the aforementioned cases.

17. Community / Rating

17.1 You have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other writers and/or members in general or regarding specific stories via the platform. OutaStory encourages using this opportunity to build a community and engage in direct discussions.

17.2 Registered members can comment on and rate published stories.

This can also be done directly in the story (even paragraph by paragraph).

OutaStory is not liable for the content of the comments and reviews.

18. Website

18.1 OutaStory offers to create a partially customizable writer website for an additional fee. You will receive access to a management system where you can control the layout and content of your site. This will be provided under a subdomain of OutaStory.site. Furthermore, we offer the possibility to use your own domain.

The remuneration for the website will be agreed separately.

18.2 Furthermore, OutaStory offers to set up an individual online shop for you, through which merchandising items or similar products can be sold. For this purpose, a separate contract is concluded between you and OutaStory.

19. Advertisement

19.1 OutaStory will display advertising on the pages of the OutaStory website. The proceeds from this belong solely to OutaStory.

19.2 If you agree to the placement of advertisements on your sub-website, OutaStory will handle the acquisition and placement of adverts on this sub-page in return for a reasonable share of the revenue. A separate contract will be concluded for this purpose.

19.3 The creation and operation of the platform has incurred and will continue to incur costs. To refinance these costs, OutaStory may place advertisements within your stories.

Advertisements may also be inserted on individual pages or before and after accessing your stories or after a certain number of pages.

20. Statistics

OutaStory compiles statistics to track usage of the platform and individual stories and will make usage statistics for your stories available to you.

21. Bonus System

OutaStory will develop a bonus system where you will receive bonus points based on usage statistics (e.g. in the case of high usage by members), which you can redeem for certain offers.

22. No inappropriate self-promotion

We want to give all members the opportunity to read/listen to your stories to the end. Therefore, it is forbidden to publish stories only up to a certain page to make further reading/listening dependent on, for example, purchasing the story outside OutaStory. In such cases, we immediately block the story.

Of course, sequel stories may be published. However, the above prohibition applies accordingly if reading/listening to a sequel is made dependent on, for example, purchasing the sequel outside OutaStory.

We expressly reserve the right to block any story immediately if we find that reading a story is prevented or made conditional.

23. Fees

23.1 OutaStory offers the use of the platform by members for a monthly fee ("Paywall").

23.2 Different usage models for members are offered, e.g. pay per page, free reading, free reading and listening.

In addition, there will also be an offer for reading/listening to stories without advertising.

24. Law / Place of Jurisdiction / Severability

24.1 German law applies.

24.2 The place of jurisdiction is – as far as legally permissible – Hanover.

24.3 Should one or more provisions of this contract be or become invalid, void or unenforceable, or should a regulatory gap arise, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected. The invalid/void or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by the effective and enforceable provision whose effects come closest to the economic objective pursued by the contracting parties. The above shall apply accordingly if the contract proves to be incomplete.

24.4 Further/other contractual provisions in addition to the above shall not apply.