Terms and Conditions

To submit stories or like content, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete information during registration
• Maintain the security of your account credentials
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account
• Take responsibility for all activities that occur under your account
• Be at least 13 years of age to create an account

Your Content:

You retain full ownership of all stories and content you submit to DustyProse. Your creative work remains yours.

License to DustyProse:

By submitting content to our platform, you grant DustyProse a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to:

• Display your stories on the platform
• Distribute your content to other users as part of the service
• Promote your stories on our social media channels and in newsletters
• Archive your stories as part of our historical challenge records
• Create excerpts or summaries for promotional purposes (e.g., "Story of the Week")

This license exists only for the purpose of operating, promoting, and improving DustyProse, and does not transfer ownership of your content to us.

Deleting Your Content:

You may delete stories you have submitted while the weekly challenge is still active. Once a challenge has ended and winners have been announced, stories become part of the permanent challenge archive and can no longer be deleted. Deleting a story permanently removes it along with all associated likes. The license granted above terminates for any story you delete.

All submitted stories must:

• Be original work created by you
• Begin with the provided first sentence
• End with the provided last sentence
• Fall within the specified word count range
• Not contain plagiarized or copyrighted material

Stories must not contain:

• Hate speech, harassment, or discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics
• Graphic violence or gore intended to shock or disturb
• Sexually explicit content or pornography
• Spam, advertising, or promotional content
• Personal information of others without their consent
• Content that violates any local, state, national, or international law

Note: Mature themes may be permitted if handled tastefully and appropriately within the context of literary fiction.

At the end of each weekly challenge, winners are recognized through:

• Popular Vote: Top 10 stories by likes, with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place receiving special recognition
• Staff Pick: Selected by our editorial team based on writing quality, creativity, and adherence to the challenge
• Hidden Gem: Recognition for outstanding stories that did not receive many likes

Winners earn collectible badges displayed on their profile. You acknowledge that:

• Voting results are based on community engagement and are subject to platform safeguards
• Editorial awards (Staff Pick, Hidden Gem) are at the sole discretion of DustyProse staff
• Awards have no monetary value and are purely for recognition purposes
• We reserve the right to disqualify stories that violate these terms

DustyProse reserves the right to review, remove, or refuse to publish any content that violates these terms or is otherwise objectionable. We may, but are not obligated to, monitor user content. Removal of content or suspension of accounts may occur without prior notice if we determine a violation has occurred.

Users may delete their own stories at any time while the challenge is still active. This can be done from the story page or the user's profile. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Once a challenge has ended, stories are locked and can only be removed by DustyProse staff for moderation purposes.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time for:

• Violation of these Terms and Conditions
• Fraudulent or abusive behavior
• Attempting to manipulate voting or gaming the system
• Harassment of other users or staff
• Any other reason at our sole discretion

You may delete individual stories while the challenge is still active, or delete your account at any time. Upon account deletion, your previously submitted stories may remain on the platform as part of challenge archives, though they will be attributed to "Deleted User."

DustyProse is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. We do not guarantee:

• That the service will be uninterrupted or error-free
• The accuracy, reliability, or quality of any content on the platform
• That your content will receive any specific level of engagement or recognition

To the fullest extent permitted by law, DustyProse shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of your use of the platform, including but not limited to loss of data, loss of profits, or loss of goodwill.

Your use of DustyProse is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal information. By using the platform, you consent to our data practices as described in the Privacy Policy.

When you first visit DustyProse, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner. You may accept all cookies or choose essential cookies only. You can update your cookie preferences at any time from your Account Settings. You may also export a copy of all your personal data or delete your account directly from your Account Settings page, in accordance with your GDPR rights.