Terms

Empire's Open Vault's Terms of Use

This page covers the following terms and conditions for Empire's Comics Vaults website(s) in the following areas:

1. Commenting
2. Submissions
3. General Terms

NOTE: TERMS AND CONDITIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.

Commenting

It seems, almost without exception, that comics fans are also fans of passionate debate about comics and comics-related topics. We wouldn't have it any other way!

To help keep the debate and conversation above the belt, we put together some basic commenting guidelines. If you think we've missed something, please email us and let us know.

Commenting Guidelines

1. Personal Attacks: Personal attacks, name calling and threats will not be tolerated, whether to an author, other commenters, or any other person. Such comments will be removed. We won't always agree on things; however, we do have in common that each of us appreciates being addressed politely and being treated with dignity.

2. Hate speech: Racism, sexism and homophobia will not be tolerated.

3. Language: We reserve the right to remove comments containing profanity. While some of the comics or movies talked about in a post may be for mature audiences, every post on this community blog is intended for general audiences and should be all ages appropriate.

4. No Spam: "Buy this. Buy that. Check out my link." Comments like that will be deleted. If you leave an on-topic comment that includes a link to a relevant article on another site, including your own, then you're cool - no worries. We like that. But we hate junk mail and we hate junk comments.

5. Add Quality: Empire's Open Vault is where we can have some amazing comics-related and pop culture conversations. Please jump in and add comments that shed more light on a topic or help us see something from a different perspective. Broaden our horizons. If you disagree with the author of a post, then respectfully disagree in the comments and say why you see it differently. Better yet, write and submit a post with an opposing view. In other words, help make Empire's Open Vault better through your comments (and, we hope, your post submissions).

Note: *Mashable's commenting guidelines served as a template for ours. Thank you, Mashable.*

Submissions

All submitted blog posts are subject to review and editing for grammar and content (this is an all-ages blog).

Here's how it works:

1. Pick your topic.
2. Write about it. Make it as long or as short as you'd like.
3. Include a picture or video from YouTube (or similar site) appropriate to the article.
   It can be an image file or a link to the photo location. Comic book covers are fine (there doesn't tend to be any licensing issues with them, because the publishers love free promotion). Other photos should be ones you own the right to or available via the appropriate Creative Commons license.
4. If this is your first entry, write a brief bio, include your blog address, business website, Twitter handle, etc., and include a headshot. If you really want to shine, set up a free about.me page or flavors.me page, and we'll link to you from the blog. Web not your thing? We'll help you. Just ask Ronnie.
5. Email your post as the body of an email, including live links, along with attached photos to empirescv [at] gmail [dot] com.
6. We will review (and likely edit) your article, photo licenses, and schedule your article for publishing.

Best Practices for Awesome Blog Posts

• Include pictures or a video link.
• Link to other blog posts or news sources referred to in your article.
• 500 words or less is ideal.
• If you write more than 1000 words, then think about logical breaks to make dividing into a series of posts easier.
• Use bolded subheadings that are catchy.
• Give your article a title, or include several titles you were toying with and let us pick it. : )

Not-To-Do List

• Do not self-promote. Instead, promote others.
• Do not use profanity. This is an all-ages blog.
• Do not link to adult sites. This is an all-ages blog.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I write more than one article? Yes, please do. We'll schedule it for publishing. The plan is to have at least one post per week for a three month period. Once that's accomplished, we'll move to 2 articles per week.
2. Will my time-sensitive article have to wait before being published? No. Some posts are time sensitive, like comic book reviews, movie reviews, and event notifications. We know this and will make sure these articles get published sooner than later.
3. How come only half of my article was printed? An article that is lengthy may be logically divided into two or more parts and published as a series of articles.
4. Why do you need a bio and headshot? You will receive credit for your work. This information is so that other blogs can find out a little more about you and contact you if they like your work. If you do not wish to be contacted by anyone, then simply do not include contact information with your bio.

General Terms

The following are some terms for authors who are contributing to the Empire's Open Vault blog, owned by Empire's Comics Vault. These terms of service have been created to protect all parties involved.

By submitting, posting (via email to empirescv@gmail.com,  empirescv@hotmail.com or other email addresses owned by Empire's Comics Vault, Sacramento, Ben C. Schwartz, or his representatives, named or unnamed) or displaying content intended for the Empire's Open Vault blog, you grant Empire's Comics Vault, Sacramento, Ben C. Schwartz and his representatives, named or unnamed, a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).

This license is you authorizing us to make your posts available to the rest of the world and to let others do the same. You agree that this license includes the right for Empire's Comics Vault and its managers to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with the Empire's Open Vault blog or Empire's Comics Vault and its managers for the syndication, broadcast, distribution or publication of such Content on other media and services, subject to our terms and conditions for such Content use.

Empire's Comics Vault, the Empire's Open Vault blog and its managers seek to publish your content with the goal of reaching as many individuals as possible. It should be understood that the Content submitted to this project will and can be seen by anyone.

Such additional uses by Empire's Comics Vault, the Empire's Open Vault blog and its managers, or other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with above parties, may be made with no compensation paid to you with respect to the Content that you submit, post, transmit with the intent of being an author on the Empire's Open Vault blog.

We may modify or adapt your Content in order to transmit, display or distribute it over computer networks and in various media and/or make changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to any requirements or limitations of any networks, devices, services or media.

You understand that your Content may be rebroadcasted by our partners and if you do not have the right to submit Content for such use, it may subject you to liability.  Empire's Comics Vault, the Empire's Open Vault blog and its managers will not be responsible or liable for any use of your Content by Empire's Comics Vault, the Empire's Open Vault blog or its managers in accordance with these Terms. You represent and warrant that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein to any Content that you submit.

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We are open to hearing your feedback regarding the above terms. We want all parties involved to feel protected and encouraged to participate. To submit your suggestions, changes, and/or additions, please email us at empirescv@gmail.com.