Terms of Use

1. What WorldVote is

WorldVote is a satirical public-participation platform that allows users to propose alternative names for geographic places and vote on those proposals.

WorldVote-approved names exist only within WorldVote.

They do not:

• change official geographic names;
• alter government records;
• modify Mapbox’s underlying geographic data;
• represent decisions by any government, municipality, mapping authority, or geographic organization.

WorldVote is not a governmental voting system, referendum service, election authority, or official naming authority.

2. Eligibility

You must meet the minimum age required to use this type of online service in your jurisdiction.

WorldVote is not intended for children under 16.

3. Accounts

WorldVote supports account authentication through methods including email/password and Google authentication.

You are responsible for activity performed through your account and for maintaining the security of your credentials.

A public WorldVote username is required to submit a proposal. Voting does not require a username, and individual vote choices are not displayed publicly.

WorldVote treats authentication methods linked by Supabase to the same verified email as one account identity. Creating or using multiple independent accounts tied to the same verified email to gain additional voting identities is prohibited.

You must not:

• impersonate another person;
• create accounts primarily to manipulate voting;
• use automated account creation;
• sell or transfer accounts for voting manipulation; or
• circumvent account restrictions or suspensions.

WorldVote may restrict or suspend accounts that violate these Terms or threaten the integrity of the service.

4. Proposals

Authenticated users may propose alternative names for supported geographic entities.

A proposal may include a proposed name and supporting reason.

Submitting a proposal does not guarantee that it will:

• remain publicly visible;
• receive votes;
• reach its required threshold; or
• become an approved WorldVote name.

Proposal rules, thresholds, voting periods, rename rounds, and eligibility requirements are displayed within WorldVote.

5. Voting

WorldVote uses a community voting system.

A user may have one current vote per proposal.

Depending on the current rules, a vote may be:

• for;
• against; or
• removed or changed while voting remains open.

WorldVote currently calculates proposal support using net support, meaning votes for a proposal minus votes against it.

A proposal may automatically become approved when it reaches its applicable threshold while it is active and eligible.

Thresholds may increase between successful rename rounds.

Voting periods are time-limited.

If one proposal wins a rename round, competing proposals in that round may be closed.

WorldVote may modify voting rules prospectively as the service develops. Material rule changes will not intentionally be applied in a misleading manner to completed historical voting records.

6. No official effect

WorldVote results are fictional or community-created naming outcomes within the WorldVote service.

An approved WorldVote name has no governmental, legal, cartographic, administrative, ownership, territorial, or diplomatic effect.

Official geographic names remain unchanged.

7. User content

You retain any rights you may have in original content you submit.

By submitting content to WorldVote, you grant WorldVote a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, format, moderate, and distribute that content as reasonably necessary to operate, maintain, promote, and preserve the WorldVote service and its public historical record.

This license includes the ability to display proposals and voting history after a proposal has closed.

You must have the right to submit the content you provide.

8. Public record

WorldVote is designed to preserve a public history of proposals and naming outcomes.

Public records may include:

• proposed names;
• proposal reasons;
• voting totals;
• proposal status;
• rename rounds;
• approved WorldVote names;
• previous WorldVote names; and
• historical outcomes.

Closing or deleting an account does not necessarily erase historical public records associated with participation.

Account deletion removes the login and profile but preserves proposals, aggregate votes, lifecycle history, and approved WorldVote names where necessary for the integrity of the public record. Retained records are dissociated from the deleted account where appropriate.

9. Prohibited content and conduct

You may not use WorldVote to:

• submit unlawful content;
• threaten or harass identifiable individuals;
• publish another person’s private personal information without authorization;
• distribute malware or malicious links;
• spam the service;
• manipulate voting through bots, scripts, automation, or coordinated fake accounts;
• evade rate limits or account restrictions;
• interfere with the operation or security of WorldVote;
• exploit vulnerabilities;
• impersonate WorldVote, its administrators, or another user;
• submit content primarily intended to disrupt or damage the service.

Satire, jokes, criticism, and controversial naming suggestions are not automatically prohibited merely because they are provocative or unpopular.

WorldVote may nevertheless moderate content where necessary for safety, legality, abuse prevention, or service integrity.

10. Reports and moderation

Users may report proposals they believe violate these Terms.

Submitting a report does not automatically remove a proposal or affect its vote count.

WorldVote administrators may:

• dismiss reports;
• place content under review;
• hide or remove content;
• reject proposals for moderation reasons;
• restore content;
• suspend users; or
• take other reasonable measures necessary to protect the service.

Moderation decisions are separate from ordinary voting outcomes such as approval, expiration, or losing a rename round.

11. Voting integrity

You must not attempt to manipulate WorldVote results through:

• bots;
• scripts;
• automated voting;
• repeated account creation;
• account sharing for vote manipulation;
• deliberate circumvention of rate limits;
• fraudulent or coordinated artificial voting activity.

WorldVote may apply rate limits, suspend accounts, block actions, or take corrective measures where abuse is detected.

12. Third-party map and service data

WorldVote relies on third-party services, including Mapbox, Supabase, Google, Brevo, and Vercel.

Geographic names, coordinates, classifications, search results, map labels, boundaries, and other third-party information may contain errors, omissions, or inconsistencies.

WorldVote does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of third-party geographic information.

13. Intellectual property

The WorldVote name, branding, original interface, original software, graphics, and other WorldVote-created materials are owned by or licensed to WorldVote unless otherwise indicated.

Third-party maps, geographic data, trademarks, software, and services remain subject to the rights and licenses of their respective owners.

These Terms do not grant you ownership of WorldVote intellectual property.

14. Service availability

WorldVote may change, suspend, limit, or discontinue parts of the service.

We do not guarantee:

• uninterrupted availability;
• permanent preservation of every feature;
• error-free operation;
• permanent compatibility with third-party providers; or
• that every geographic feature will be searchable or renameable.

15. Disclaimer of warranties

To the maximum extent permitted by law, WorldVote is provided “as is” and “as available.”

WorldVote does not guarantee that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, accurate, or suitable for a particular purpose.

Nothing on WorldVote should be treated as official geographic, governmental, legal, political, or administrative information.

16. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, WorldVote will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising from or related to use of the service.

This includes damages relating to:

• service interruptions;
• user-submitted content;
• voting outcomes;
• third-party services;
• inaccurate geographic information;
• loss of data; or
• unauthorized access beyond WorldVote’s reasonable control.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so these limitations apply only to the extent permitted by law.

17. Suspension and termination

WorldVote may suspend or terminate access where reasonably necessary because of:

• violation of these Terms;
• abuse or fraud;
• security risks;
• legal requirements; or
• significant disruption of the service.

Suspension does not necessarily remove historical WorldVote records created before the suspension.

18. Changes to these Terms

WorldVote may update these Terms as the service evolves.

Material changes will be reflected by updating the effective date and, where appropriate, providing notice.

Continued use of WorldVote after updated Terms take effect constitutes acceptance where permitted by law.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms may be submitted through the contact method published on worldvote.org.