Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Otto, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, you may not use the platform.

Eligibility

You must be at least 16 years of age to use Otto. If you are under 16, you are not authorised to create an account or use the platform, with or without parental consent. By creating an account or using Otto, you represent that you are at least 16 years old.

Adult & NSFW Content

Otto does not currently permit pornographic, sexually explicit, or NSFW (Not Safe For Work) content of any kind. This includes images, videos, text posts, and links to external adult material. Content that violates this policy will be removed and may result in account suspension.

This policy is enforced by automated content moderation systems that scan uploaded images and text. Communities cannot be designated as NSFW, and users cannot enable NSFW content in their settings.

This policy may change in the future. If adult content is permitted at a later date, age verification will be required in jurisdictions that mandate it, and this section will be updated accordingly.

Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You may not share your account or allow others to access it. You must provide a valid email address and verify it before posting or commenting. Each person may maintain only one account.

Prohibited Conduct

You may not:

Post content that violates our Rules
Harass, threaten, or intimidate other users
Impersonate another person or entity
Attempt to circumvent bans or platform restrictions
Use automated tools to scrape content or create accounts
Interfere with or disrupt the platform's operation
Upload malicious files or attempt to exploit security vulnerabilities
Evade rate limits or abuse prevention measures

Illegal Content

The following content is strictly prohibited and will be removed immediately upon discovery. Depending on the nature of the content, we may also report it to the relevant law enforcement authorities and preserve evidence as required by law.

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or any sexual content involving minors
Content that promotes or facilitates terrorism
Content that incites violence against individuals or groups
Content that promotes, encourages, or provides instructions for suicide or self-harm
Content that promotes, encourages, or provides instructions for disordered eating (including pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia content)
Content used to facilitate fraud, including financial scams and phishing
Content that facilitates the sale or distribution of illegal drugs or weapons
Non-consensual intimate images (including deepfakes)
Content that constitutes harassment or stalking under applicable law
Content that infringes copyright where a valid takedown request is received

Users who post illegal content will have their account permanently suspended. Where content may constitute a criminal offence, we will cooperate with law enforcement investigations and may be required to preserve and disclose relevant data.

Moderation & Enforcement

Otto uses a combination of automated systems, community moderation, and site-wide administration to keep the platform safe.

Automated safety systems: Submitted content is analysed by automated tools that check text for harmful patterns (such as hate speech, violent threats, and spam) and scan uploaded images for inappropriate visual content. These systems also use keyword detection and AI-based classification to identify content that promotes, encourages, or provides instructions for self-harm, suicide, or disordered eating, in compliance with applicable online safety legislation. Content flagged by these systems may be temporarily hidden from public view pending human review. A human moderator reviews all flagged content before permanent action is taken.
Community moderation: Each community has volunteer moderators who review reported content and enforce community-specific rules. Moderators must comply with our Moderator Guidelines, which set out standards of conduct for anyone granted moderation privileges. Breach of these guidelines may result in removal as a moderator, temporary suspension, or in severe cases, a site-wide ban.
Site administration: Site administrators enforce platform-wide rules, review content flagged by automated systems or user reports, and handle appeals.

Our automated systems are not perfect. If you believe your content was incorrectly flagged or removed, you can appeal through our contact form. We review all appeals manually.

We may remove content, suspend accounts, or ban users who violate these terms or our rules. When content is removed, the author will be notified with the reason for removal where practicable.

Community Ownership & Squatting

Community names on Otto are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Community creators are expected to actively moderate their community and foster a healthy environment for members.

Administrators reserve the right to reassign ownership of a community if:

The owner is inactive (has not logged in for an extended period)
The community is being squatted (registered with no intention of building or maintaining it)
The community is being run in a way that significantly harms its members or violates platform rules

When ownership is reassigned, the previous owner will be demoted to a regular moderator (not removed entirely) and notified of the change.

Reporting Content

If you encounter content that you believe violates our Rules or is illegal, please use the report button available on all posts, comments, and messages. You may also contact us directly via our contact form for urgent matters.

All reports are reviewed by a moderator or administrator. We aim to review reports within 48 hours, though complex cases may take longer. Content that appears to be illegal will be prioritised. You will not be penalised for making a good-faith report, even if no action is ultimately taken.

Complaints & Appeals

If your content has been removed, you may contact us via our contact form to appeal the decision. Please include your username, a description of the content, and why you believe the removal was incorrect.

If your account has been suspended, you will receive an email containing a unique appeal link. This link allows you to submit an appeal explaining why you believe the ban should be lifted, without needing to log in. Each appeal link can be used once. An administrator will review your appeal and you will be notified of the outcome by email. If your appeal is accepted, your ban will be lifted and you will be able to log in again immediately. If your appeal is denied, you will receive a new appeal link so that you may try again at a later date.

We aim to resolve appeals within 7 days. If an appeal is upheld, the account restriction will be lifted promptly.

If you have a complaint about how Otto handles safety or moderation more generally (rather than a specific content decision), you may raise this via the contact form. Such complaints will be reviewed by the platform's designated safety lead.

Intellectual Property

The Otto platform, including its design, code, and branding, is the property of Otto. You may not copy, modify, or distribute any part of the platform without permission.

Your Content

You retain ownership of any content you submit to Otto, including posts, comments, and messages. By submitting content, you grant Otto a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use, copy, modify, adapt, distribute, display, and create derivative works from your content (such as thumbnails, previews, and search snippets) solely for the purpose of operating, developing, and promoting the platform.

This license continues even if you delete your account or remove your content, to the extent that your content has already been shared with other users, cached, or is reasonably necessary to maintain the integrity of existing discussions (for example, comments that others have replied to). Otto will not sell or sublicense your content to unaffiliated third parties for purposes unrelated to the operation of the platform.

You represent that you have the right to submit any content you post and that your content does not infringe the rights of any third party. You are solely responsible for the content you post and must ensure it complies with our Rules.

Third-Party Links

Users may post links to external websites. Otto is not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or availability of third-party sites. Accessing external links is at your own risk.

Disclaimers

Otto is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. We do not guarantee that the platform will be available at all times or free from errors.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Otto shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform. Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any rights or remedies that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including the Australian Consumer Law.

Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you indemnify Otto against any third-party claims brought against Otto, and the related losses, damages, and reasonable expenses (including reasonable legal costs) that Otto incurs as a result of such claims, where the claim arises directly from (a) content you submit that infringes the rights of another person, (b) your breach of these terms or our Rules, or (c) your unlawful or wilful misconduct. This indemnity is limited to third-party claims and the losses and expenses Otto incurs in connection with them; it does not extend to Otto's own internal losses. It does not apply to losses caused by Otto's own negligence or wilful misconduct, and does not limit any rights or remedies that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including the Australian Consumer Law.

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time for violations of these terms or our rules. You may delete your account at any time from your account settings page.

Copyright and Takedown Requests

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe content on Otto infringes your copyright, you may submit a takedown request via our contact form by selecting the copyright inquiry option. Your request should include:

A description of the copyrighted work you believe has been infringed
The URL or location of the infringing content on Otto
Your contact information
A statement that you have a good faith belief the use is not authorised by the copyright owner

Upon receiving a valid request, we will remove or disable access to the content and notify the user who posted it. The affected user may submit a counter-notice through the same contact form if they believe the content was removed in error. We will review counter-notices and may restore the content if the dispute is not resolved.

Users who repeatedly infringe copyright may have their accounts suspended or terminated.

Defamation Complaints

If you believe that content on Otto is defamatory, you may submit a concerns notice via our contact form. Your notice should identify the specific content, explain how it harms you, and state what action you are requesting.

We will acknowledge receipt of your notice and assess the complaint in good faith within 7 days. Where we determine that access prevention steps are warranted, we will remove or restrict access to the content. Both the complainant and the author of the content will be notified of the outcome. If we determine the complaint lacks merit, we will inform you of our reasoning.

Force Majeure

We are not liable for delays or failures in performance caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government action, network or infrastructure failures, denial-of-service attacks, or pandemics. Where such an event occurs, we will use reasonable efforts to restore service as soon as practicable.

Assignment

You may not assign, transfer, or sub-license your account or any rights under these terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these terms, in whole or in part, to a successor entity in connection with a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. We will give you reasonable notice of any such assignment.

Severability

If any provision of these terms is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that provision will be severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Entire Agreement

These terms incorporate our Rules and, where applicable, our Moderator Guidelines. Together they govern your use of the platform and supersede any prior agreements, understandings, or representations on the same subject. Our Privacy Policy is a separate notice that explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information.

Governing Law

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Victoria, Australia. Any disputes arising from these terms or your use of Otto shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria, Australia.

Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. Material changes will be communicated through a notice on the platform. Continued use of Otto after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Contact

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us via our contact form.

Last updated: May 2026. See also our Privacy Policy, Rules, and Moderator Guidelines.