Modifications & Termination

8.1 Our Right to Modify #

Aevum Encyclopedia reserves the right, at our sole discretion, to modify, alter, suspend, or discontinue — temporarily or permanently — all or any part of the Services at any time, with or without prior notice. "Services" includes, but is not limited to, the website, mobile applications, APIs, content, features, and any tools or resources provided through our platform.

Such modifications may include, but are not limited to:

• Content updates — editorial changes to articles, entries, and multimedia materials to reflect new research, corrections, or community contributions;
• Feature changes — addition, removal, or alteration of platform capabilities such as the AI-powered search engine, knowledge graphs, or contributor tools;
• Structural changes — reorganization of categories, navigation systems, user interface redesigns, or migration to new technology infrastructure;
• Access changes — modifications to free-tier versus premium-tier access levels, including changes to rate limits, API quotas, or feature availability;
• Policy updates — revisions to these Terms of Service, our Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines, or any other governing documents.

No modification shall be construed as a breach of these Terms by Aevum Encyclopedia, and your continued use of the Services after any modification constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. If you disagree with any modification, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue use of the Services.

8.2 Notification of Changes #

While we reserve the right to implement changes without notice, we are committed to transparency and will provide users with notification for material changes through one or more of the following channels:

Notifications will include a clear description of the change, the effective date, and any actions users may need to take. For changes to these Terms of Service, we will also update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document and provide a link to the prior version for reference.

8.3 User-Initiated Modifications #

Contributors and registered users may modify content within the scope of our Contributor Guidelines and applicable editorial policies. The following principles govern user-initiated modifications to Aevum Encyclopedia content:

8.3.1 Contributor Edits

• Verified contributors may submit edits, additions, and corrections to existing articles within their designated areas of expertise;
• All edits are subject to editorial review before publication. Changes are not applied immediately to live content;
• Contributors must cite verifiable, primary sources for any factual claims introduced or modified in an article;
• Edits that introduce original research, unverifiable claims, bias, or promotional content will be rejected;
• Contributors are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of their contributions over time and should flag outdated information for review.

8.3.2 Account Modifications

Registered users may modify their account settings, including display name, email address, notification preferences, and privacy settings, at any time through their account dashboard. Changes to account information take effect immediately and may require re-verification of the updated information.

8.4 Termination by Aevum Encyclopedia #

Aevum Encyclopedia may suspend or terminate your access to all or part of the Services at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice, effective immediately. We reserve the right to:

• Terminate for cause — if you breach any provision of these Terms, engage in fraudulent or abusive activity, contribute malicious or harmful content, violate applicable laws, or act in a manner that we determine, in our sole discretion, is harmful to the Services, other users, or our reputation;
• Suspend pending investigation — if we receive a report or otherwise become aware of suspected misconduct, we may temporarily suspend your account pending a review. We will notify you of the reasons for suspension and provide an opportunity to respond;
• Terminate for inactivity — accounts that have not logged in or used the Services for a period of 24 consecutive months may be deactivated. We will make reasonable efforts to notify account holders before deactivation;
• Terminate for business reasons — we may discontinue the Services or specific features for reasons including, without limitation, changes in business strategy, regulatory requirements, technological limitations, or force majeure events.

Upon termination of your account by Aevum Encyclopedia, all licenses and permissions granted to you under these Terms will immediately cease. You will lose access to all personalized features, saved data, contributions in review, and any premium features associated with your account.

8.5 Termination by User #

You may terminate your account and cease using the Services at any time by following these steps:

1. Log in to your Aevum Encyclopedia account and navigate to Settings → Account → Delete Account;
2. Confirm your account deletion by entering your password and selecting "Permanently Delete";
3. Alternatively, you may contact our support team at support@aevumencyclopedia.org with a written request to terminate your account;
4. You may also simply stop using the Services. Your account will remain active but will be subject to deactivation after the inactivity period described in Section 8.4.

If you are a registered contributor, please note that termination of your account does not retroactively remove content you have previously contributed that has been published. Published contributions remain under the licenses specified in Section 5 (Content Licenses) of these Terms.

8.6 Effects of Termination #

Upon termination of these Terms or your access to the Services, for any reason, the following effects will apply:

8.6.1 Cessation of Access

Immediately upon termination, you shall cease all use of the Services, including any API access, and you shall destroy or delete all copies of any materials obtained from the Services that are subject to access restrictions.

8.6.2 Outstanding Obligations

Any obligations or liabilities that have accrued prior to the effective date of termination shall survive and remain enforceable. This includes, without limitation, any unpaid fees for premium services, obligations related to content you have contributed, and any claims arising from your use of the Services prior to termination.

8.6.3 Refund Policy

For premium or paid subscriptions, termination will result in the following refund treatment:

8.7 Data Retention & Export #

Aevum Encyclopedia is committed to giving users control over their personal data, even after account termination.

8.7.1 Data Export

Before or after account termination, you may request a copy of all personal data associated with your account in a machine-readable format. To request a data export:

• Visit Settings → Privacy → Download My Data while logged in; or
• Send a request to privacy@aevumencyclopedia.org with the subject line "Data Export Request" and your registered email address;
• We will process your request and deliver your data within 30 days of receipt.

8.7.2 Data Retention After Termination

Following account termination, we will retain certain data as required or permitted by law:

• Personal identifiers (name, email, profile data) — deleted within 30 days of account termination, except where required for legal, regulatory, or security purposes;
• Contribution history — records of your contributions (including edits, article submissions, and discussions) may be retained indefinitely as part of the public record, but personal identifying information associated with contributions will be anonymized;
• Usage logs and analytics — retained in anonymized form for up to 24 months for service improvement purposes;
• Financial records — retained for a minimum of 7 years to comply with tax and accounting regulations;
• Legal holds — if we are subject to a legal obligation or investigation, data may be retained beyond the standard retention periods.

8.8 Survival of Terms #

Certain provisions of these Terms of Service are intended to remain in effect after the termination or expiration of the Services or your account. Without limiting the foregoing, the following sections will survive termination:

1. Section 3 — User Accounts and Registration (obligations related to account authenticity);
2. Section 4 — Acceptable Use Policy (prohibitions on unauthorized or harmful activities);
3. Section 5 — Content Licenses (your grants of license for contributed content);
4. Section 7 — Intellectual Property (ownership of Aevum Encyclopedia's proprietary materials);
5. Section 9 — Limitation of Liability;
6. Section 10 — Indemnification;
7. Section 11 — Dispute Resolution and Governing Law;
8. Section 12 — Miscellaneous (including the severability and entire agreement clauses).

The survival of these provisions is not limited in duration unless expressly stated otherwise within the applicable section. Nothing in this Section shall be construed as extending the duration of any license granted to Aevum Encyclopedia beyond what is expressly provided in Section 5.