Gherkin is an open minded and tolerant community developed by Clarence Valley Council for young people between 12-25 to share their ideas and creations.

Respect is the key to getting on with everyone. This means respect for other people’s privacy, showing consideration for other people’s sensitivities and being positive.

We encourage you to check out gherkin and upload your own work. This work can be a simple text blog, short story, artwork, photo or video, to a polished artwork, video or song that you have spent heaps of time producing.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes to create a communication piece, the important thing is to express yourself. If you are having problems getting started with contributing, spend time on the gherkin and get to know what other people are sharing - it might inspire you!

You may contribute to gherkin subject to the following terms and conditions. These conditions apply to any content contributed in any format.

Clarence Valley Council and Gherkin administration is committed to ensuring that these rules are met and enforced, so that all members can gain from the gherkin space. By accessing or using gherkin, you signify that you have read the following rules and accept and agree to be bound by them, whether or not you register with gherkin. Where applicable under law, these Terms constitute a ’writing signed by you.’

 

GHERKIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. Registration and Login Names

1.1 In order to submit content or to utilise certain gherkin services, you may be required to apply for registration to establish an account with the gherkin.

1.2 Clarence Valley Council and gherkin administration generally recommends that applicants register online using a pen name or pseudonym as their login name (not their real name). You should be aware that your posted comments or other submissions can remain online indefinitely and may be found through search engines or online archives. Users must not impersonate another living person or registered user.

1.3 When registering, a genuine email address must be provided. In some cases, you may be asked to provide your real name or other identifying or contact details, such as where content is submitted for use in gherkin competitions or events.

1.4 Gherkin is a site for young people between 12-25 years of age. You are not permitted to upload content to this site if you are younger than 12 years of age or older than 25 years of age. Your profile may be deleted and your membership may be terminated without warning, if we believe that you are under 12 years of age, if we believe that you are over 25 years of age and you represent yourself as under 25.

1.5 Gherkin administration may refuse registration of users whose suggested login names are considered inappropriate. Grounds for refusal may include:

1.5.1 offensive content;
1.5.2 obscenity;
1.5.3 abuse;
1.5.4 defamatory content;
1.5.5 contempt;
1.5.6 incitement;
1.5.7 copyright infringement;
1.5.8 brand names or registered trademarks;
1.5.9 company or organisation names;
1.5.10 names of high-profile or public figures; or
1.5.11 names promoting political, religious, social or economic issues.

1.6 Gherkin administrators reserve the right to refuse suggested login names at its sole discretion.

1.7 Gherkin administrators will not accept any registration that they suspect is being made by or on behalf of a member who has been suspended for repeated violation of these conditions of use.

2. Passwords and Security

2.1 As a registered user of Clarence Valley Council’s interactive services, you may receive or establish one or more passwords. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of your password(s).

2.2 Accordingly, you understand and agree you are fully responsible for all actions and submissions made from your account.

2.3 If you become aware of any unauthorised use of your account, you should notify Clarence Valley Council via the gherkin administrator immediately.

3. Termination of Account

3.1 You can close your account with gherkin at any time by unsubscribing, where that option is available to you, or by notifying gherkin administrators. You should note, however, that your contributions may still be available on gherkin after your account has been closed.

3.2 If Clarence Valley Council and gherkin administrators reasonably believe you have breached these Conditions of Use, Clarence Valley Council and gherkin administrators reserve the right to restrict access to or terminate your account, with or without notice, and without any liability to you.

4. User Participation

4.1 Children's contributions should be supervised by an adult.

4.2 You may be held legally responsible for the content you submit to gherkin.

4.3 All material published on gherkin is at the gherkin administrator’s sole discretion.

4.4 Your contribution may be edited, removed or not published if the gherkin administrator considers it to be:

4.4.1 defamatory, or otherwise unlawful or that it violates laws regarding harassment, discrimination, racial vilification, privacy or contempt;

4.4.2 intentionally false or misleading;

4.4.3 an infringement of intellectual property rights or copyright. See below for further information on copyright;

4.4.4 abusive, offensive or obscene;

4.4.5 contains nudity, excessive violence, or offensive subject matter or contains a link to an adult website;

4.4.5 compromising the privacy of yourself, other contributors or containing inappropriate personal information;

4.4.7 includes a photograph or video of another person that you have posted without that person's consent;

4.4.6 seeking to endorse commercial products or activities or to unduly promote commercial products or services;

4.4.7 deliberate provocation of other community members;

4.4.8 a posting on behalf of a suspended member. This may lead to you also having your membership locked or terminated.

4.5 Clarence Valley Council and gherkin administration reserves the right to archive and republish all contributions to its interactive services across all platforms.

4.6 Clarence Valley Council and gherkin administration reserves the right to use contributions for internal training purposes.

4.7 Repeated breaches of these Conditions of Use may cause Clarence Valley Council to complain to the Internet Service Provider of the person responsible, and in very serious cases, initiate legal action.

5. Linking

5.1 Gherkin publishes links to external sites at its sole discretion, including links posted by users subject to the moderation statement of any interactive service.

5.2 Clarence Valley Council and gherkin administration is not responsible for, and does not endorse, the content on external sites.

5.3 Clarence Valley Council and gherkin administration reserves the right to remove user-posted links for any reason, at any time, with or without notice to the user. Links may be deleted where, for instance, they are not editorially justified or are unsuitable for the likely audience.

6. Copyright

6.1 Material published on the internet is protected by the same laws of copyright which apply to books, videos and music.

6.2 The right to "copy" always remains with the owner of the material. Unless expressly stated otherwise, you are not permitted to copy or republish anything you find on the internet without the copyright owner's permission.

6.3 If you wish to refer to material on someone else's website we recommend you include an attribution in your message.

6.4 Under Australian copyright law, limited quotation is permissible in the context of genuine review and criticism. However this does not permit extensive quoting of song lyrics etc.

6.5 When you submit content, in any format, you acknowledge that you have all necessary rights, including copyright, in the material that you are contributing to the gherkin. You agree that Clarence Valley Council and gherkin administration may use the material online and in whatever other ways Clarence Valley Council chooses, now and in the future.

7. Comments and Complaints

7.1 Contributions made to interactive services will not be treated as service complaints. Clarence Valley Council has a complaint handling mechanism which can be found at www.clarence.nsw.gov.au

This page last updated: 12 October 2009
For further information about this document contact Council’s Youth Development Officer youth@clarence.nsw.gov.au