Terms of Service
1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using The Epicure's Journal / 腹地笔记 ("the Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.
Section 14 of these Terms contains a mandatory arbitration provision and a class action waiver. Please read it carefully before using the Platform.
2. Who May Use the Platform
You must be at least 13 years of age to use the Platform. By creating an account, you represent that you meet this requirement. The Platform is operated by Mengxin Ran and is hosted at gn-ava.org.
3. Your Account
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us immediately at ranpsy2001@gmail.com if you suspect unauthorized use of your account.
4. User-Generated Content
Your Content, Your Responsibility
You retain ownership of the content you post. However, by submitting content to the Platform, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, store, display, reproduce, and distribute your content solely for the purpose of operating and improving the Platform, and for the development of aggregated, anonymized insights and services, provided that your personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to third parties without your separate consent.
Content Ownership Representation
By submitting content to the Platform, you represent and warrant that: (a) you own or have the necessary rights, title, or authorization to the content you submit; (b) your content does not infringe any third party's copyright, trademark, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other right; (c) you have full authority to grant the Platform the license described in these Terms. You shall bear all legal liability arising from any content you submit that violates these representations.
Comment Images
On the desktop (ej) version of the Platform, you may attach images to comments. By doing so, you grant us the same license described above for that image content, and you represent and warrant that you own or have the necessary rights to any image you attach.
What You May Not Post
You agree not to post content that: infringes any third party's copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights; contains false or misleading information about food safety; is defamatory, harassing, or abusive; impersonates any person or entity; violates any applicable law or regulation.
We Are Not Responsible for User Content
The Platform hosts user-generated content. We do not verify the accuracy, safety, or legality of content posted by users. Food preparation methods, recipes, and safety claims posted by users reflect the views of those users only, not those of the Platform. You consume or prepare any food based on user content at your own risk.
5. Copyright and DMCA
We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe content on the Platform infringes your copyright, please contact our designated DMCA agent:
Mengxin Ran
ranpsy2001@gmail.com
We will respond to valid DMCA notices in accordance with 17 U.S.C. § 512. Users who repeatedly infringe third-party copyrights will have their accounts terminated.
6. Prohibited Conduct
You agree not to: scrape or harvest data from the Platform without our written permission; attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Platform; use the Platform for any commercial purpose without our written consent; upload malicious code or interfere with the Platform's operation.
7. Disclaimers
The Platform is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components. We expressly disclaim all liability for the accuracy of food-related information, recipes, or safety claims posted by users.
Translation accuracy: The Platform provides automatic translations of food names and content via a third-party translation service (MyMemory). Translations are provided for convenience only and may be inaccurate or incomplete. We make no representations as to the accuracy of any translated content and are not liable for errors or omissions in translations.
Route and navigation accuracy: Route planning and navigation suggestions provided by the Platform are for informational purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or safety of any route. Always comply with local traffic laws and regulations. Do not rely solely on the Platform's routing for navigation decisions.
WeChat Miniprogram availability: The Platform's WeChat miniprogram version is subject to Tencent's platform policies and may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time due to changes in those policies, without notice from us.
8. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the Platform, including but not limited to damages arising from user-generated content. Our total liability for any claim arising from use of the Platform shall not exceed the greater of (i) the total amount you have actually paid to the Platform in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or (ii) ten United States dollars (USD $10.00).
9. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Mengxin Ran and The Epicure's Journal from any claims, damages, or expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising from your use of the Platform, your violation of these Terms, or your infringement of any third party's rights.
10. Termination
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time for violation of these Terms, without prior notice. You may request deletion of your account at any time by contacting ranpsy2001@gmail.com.
11. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
12. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms at any time. We will notify registered users of material changes by email. Continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
13. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
14. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration
Please read this section carefully — it affects your legal rights.
Mandatory Arbitration: Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms of Service or the use of the Platform between you and the Platform shall be resolved by binding individual arbitration rather than in court. Arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Consumer Arbitration Rules.
Class Action Waiver: You and the Platform each waive the right to resolve disputes through class actions, class arbitrations, or representative actions. All disputes must be brought and resolved on an individual basis.
Exceptions: The following matters are not subject to this arbitration provision: (a) either party seeking injunctive or other equitable relief to protect intellectual property rights; (b) small claims court actions where the amount in controversy is less than five hundred United States dollars (USD $500).
Opt-Out: You may opt out of this arbitration provision by sending an email to ranpsy2001@gmail.com with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out" within thirty (30) days of first agreeing to these Terms.
15. Contact Us
For any questions regarding these Terms: ranpsy2001@gmail.com