Lonely Planet Community Terms

You know we have to do it and there's some important stuff in here you really do need to know - because by participating in our online community you accept these terms (whether you're registered, contributing content or just browsing). Also, when using a particular part of the community (like Classifieds or Haystack), you agree to follow any guidelines we provide.

So, scroll down to find out everything you never knew you wanted to know about:

• Who can use the community
• Copyright and community content
• Complaints
• Your personal information
• More serious legal bits

Just so you know, when we say ‘we’, we mean us - Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd. When we say ‘community’ we mean all of the places on lonelyplanet.com where users can contribute (like Thorn Tree, Bluelist, Classifieds, accommodation reviews and adding other content, like blogs, images or tips). We may change these terms now and then (and may or may not let you know we have), so check them regularly.

Who can use the community and how?

You are only permitted to use the community for personal, non-commercial purposes. If you are under the age of 18 you should seek your parents' permission before accessing the community. Because users can automatically make postings, they may contain content which is not appropriate for people under 18. (Find tips on facilitating a safe internet experience for children on the Australian Broadcasting Authority's CyberSmart Kids site.

You need to register if you wish to contribute ‘postings’ (meaning any content whatsoever contributed by a user to the community), in most cases. When you register for one part of the community (eg Thorn Tree), you are automatically registered for all other parts of the community and can contribute postings to those parts.

Although we don't monitor every single posting, we do drop in to see what's going on. We can (and sometimes do) remove postings that breach the wording or spirit of these terms without notice. We may also ban users who breach these terms, and delete their postings.

Don't make postings that:

• contain racist, sexist or homophobic comments;
• harass or ‘stalk’ any person;
• contain defamatory statements or personal attacks on others;
• disrupt users' enjoyment of the services (for example persistent off-topic discussion on Thorn Tree, or nonsensical Bluelist postings);
• personal details or private information about any other person (or anything contrary to our privacy policy;
• are made under another person's name or impersonating another person;
• contain commercial advertising;
• contain excessively coarse language or content which would be rated R, RC or X by the Australian Classification Board (for more information please see the Office of Film and Literature Classification); or
• breach any intellectual property rights law or discuss how to commit illegal activity.

If you're relying on information or opinions from postings, remember you do so at your own risk. Use common sense and make your own inquiries first, especially for postings like those on the Thorn Tree ‘Health’ branch - these may not be from medical professionals (even if the user claims to be one), so you should always seek your own advice. Be aware that postings only represent the opinions and experience of users, not ours.

You, and you alone, are responsible for any consequences of your postings and responses to postings. If a dispute arises between users of the community, or between users and a third party, Lonely Planet is not obliged to get involved, although we may choose to. Lonely Planet is not responsible if anything goes wrong with your interactions with other users (including transactions on Classifieds). We'll give you the tools, how and what you decide to make with them is entirely your responsibility!

Make sure you use the right section of the community (such as the relevant Thorn Tree branch or Classifieds section) so you get the best response to your posts and to make it easier for those looking for information. We may move or delete postings to the wrong section.

Speaking of Classifieds, Lonely Planet may set limits around your use of Classifieds (such as number of days that posts will appear, length of posts, attachments to posts, and how you can amend and/or delete posts). Check the FAQs for information about these (and any other) limitations.

When listing and selling stuff via Classifieds, you must be legally able to sell the item(s) you list for sale. You must include any terms of sale in the description of each item. There are some things which you're not allowed to sell (because of laws or Lonely Planet’s policy), such as alcohol, animals and wildlife, artefacts, drugs and drug paraphernalia, fireworks, firearms, ammunitions, replicas, and militaria, food, offensive material, stolen property, and weapons and knives.

This is not an exhaustive list, and you should check your local laws in case they specify other stuff you're not allowed to sell via Classifieds. If you think someone is selling items in breach of these terms (including items which may infringe copyright), follow the complaint procedures set out below.

When selling tickets to events (such as concerts or sporting events), keep in mind that resale is often regulated by the issuer of the ticket (eg booking agents). If you want to resell events tickets, it's up to you to ensure that this doesn't breach both your local laws and the terms on which you bought the ticket in the first place. Generally speaking, you can't sell events tickets for more than you paid for them.

When buying stuff, it's up to you to check out whatever you need to before transacting with sellers. You're also responsible for organising payment to, and collection from, the seller (and meeting any of the other terms of sale the seller specifies in their posting). And if you're not happy with what you've bought, it's up to you to sort out any issues with the seller. Remember - buyer beware!

If you're advertising a job vacancy, make sure your advertisement is compliant with your local laws, such as human rights, equal opportunity and anti-discrimination.

When arranging rides or finding travel companions, exercise common sense (see The Rules for more suggestions). We'd hate to hear of anything bad happening when people meet up, but you'll understand that we can't be responsible for the actions of each person in the Lonely Planet community.

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Copyright and community content

Don't post copyrighted material or trade marks without permission from the owner or you may put yourself and Lonely Planet at risk of legal action. This applies to other users' postings too - you can't copy, amend or re-transmit others' postings without permission (which you can obtain either from the user or from us). But you can share postings with a friend by sending them a hyperlink. Third party commercial sites are not permitted to provide digests or summaries of posts, even through hyperlinks, without our permission.

You can also share a useful internet resource with other users by hyperlinking to the relevant resource, but first make sure you're allowed to by checking the terms of use of the site you are linking to. Many site operators don't allow people to link to pages below the front page or home page of their site.

If you own intellectual property and believe it is being infringed through a posting, please contact us as soon as possible.

The copyright in your postings is yours (generally speaking). We sometimes use postings in our products (books, newsletters, websites, television programs and other products in any media). You give us a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide licence to reproduce, communicate, edit, adapt or otherwise use your postings in our products as we see fit, including the right to sublicense to others at our discretion. You also give us a licence to deal with the postings as necessary to perform technical and administrative functions to operate the community.

You may also have moral rights, so you consent to your postings being altered, edited or adapted for use under our licence as we see fit. You consent to us not attributing authorship to you at all, or only attributing your registered ‘handle’. We generally attribute authorship, but that's not always possible and we decide this on a case by case basis. If we do use your material we may attribute it to your registered ‘handle’, or contact you to request that your real name be used. Don't worry, we will never publish your real name without permission.

If you don't want your posting to be used in this way, don't post it. Once you have made a posting, you can't withdraw or retract your licence and consents.

Lonely Planet's intellectual property (which includes content other than postings and includes the Lonely Planet, Bluelist or Thorn Tree trade marks) may not be used in any way or for any purpose without our permission. See Trade Marks & Copyright for more information.

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Complaints:

We take copyright, trade mark, defamation and other laws seriously. If you think a posting is infringing these terms or anyone's legal rights, let us know immediately. We will investigate all complaints and take action if we think it's necessary, including removing the posting or banning the relevant user.

To let us know, email community@lonelyplanet.com.au, and the relevant moderator will respond. For Bluelist and Classifieds, you can use the relevant ‘report’ action to notify us of an infringing posting and we will remove the posting from view until the relevant moderator can review it.

Removal of postings is at our discretion, except if the content is illegal. If you're not happy with the moderator's response, you can ask them to refer the matter to our Online Publisher. If you're still not happy, you can follow the formal complaints procedure below. We may also require you to follow the formal procedure for certain matters (for example, if you claim content is infringing copyright or defamatory).

To make a formal complaint, send a signed written letter of complaint to:

or fax it to: +61 3 8379 8111 (Attention: Lonely Planet Online Community Complaints).

Your complaint needs to:

• Identify the posting in issue and provide us with a copy of the posting and its location (URL, or web address).
• Identify the intellectual property or other right which is being infringed by the posting or the law which the posting breaches. Articulate your arguments about this as thoroughly as possible.
• Provide information so that we can easily contact you (including if possible your email address, your postal address and fax number).

We will assess your complaint's merit and will take whatever action we see fit. We will get in contact with you to explain our decision.

If you're still not happy you can make a complaint to the Australian Broadcasting Authority. We will comply with any directions given by the ABA in relation to these complaints.

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Your personal information:

You supply us with personal information when you register, use the community (including submitting postings) or email us. The purpose of us collecting this information is to administer and help you use the community, send you a password, contact you about postings, and keep in touch with you.

Your user name (or ‘handle’) will be visible to other users and when you register you can chose whether your user profile and email address will be also be visible to other users. You can access and update your personal information in the 'profile' section at any time.

Sleep easy, we won't sell your contact details to marketing companies for spamming! But we may disclose information about you to our authors (some of whom work on contract to us) and to other companies in the Lonely Planet family. If you'd like to find out more, please read our privacy policy.

If you make postings which are in breach of these terms or the law, we may pass your details and IP address on to an aggrieved person, or a law enforcement agency.

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More serious legal bits:

Any legal issues arising will be dealt with under the laws of Melbourne, Australia, since that's where the community is run from. Illegal activity under those laws will be a violation of these terms, but as the Lonely Planet website is accessible worldwide you may run into trouble under the laws in other jurisdictions too.

We are not responsible to you or anyone else for any loss, damage, liability, cost or expense suffered in connection with the use of the community or any of its content. We make no warranties or representations about the community or its content and exclude, to the maximum extent permitted by law, any liability which may arise as a result of their use. We will never be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or loss of business profits or revenue arising out of the use of the community. You indemnify us and the other companies in the Lonely Planet family against each claim, action, proceeding, judgment, damage, loss, expense or liability incurred or suffered by, or brought, made or recovered against us or the other companies in the Lonely Planet family in connection with any breach by you of these terms.

And that's all for now!

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