These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) govern your use of The Ember Community, also known as The Ember Map (the “Platform”), operated by Within Temptation Entertainment BV, residing at Verrijn Stuartweg 30, (1112 AX Diemen), The Netherlands (“we”, “us”, “our”), in connection with the (upcoming) album “Through Fire & Ashes” of Within Temptation (the “Band”).

By submitting a story or otherwise using the Platform you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal data and forms part of these Terms.

The Platform invites fans worldwide to share a personal story made of two parts: what burned (a difficult period or experience) and what still glows (what helped you through it), and optionally a song that helped you. Approved stories appear as small points of light (“embers”) on an abstract 3D-form, which changes his geometry on the album’s release day.

Visitors can read stories and give a “kudos”. They cannot comment. Every story is reviewed by Haiku - an AI-model by Anthropic. It get's published when visitors confirm their e-mail via a link sent to them upon submission. We do not use algorithms, ranking or AI to assess stories, and all published stories are displayed equally – except featured stories.

The Platform is a community space for fans. It is not a helpline, medical service, therapy, or crisis service. Nobody monitors the Platform in real time. We do not provide advice, diagnosis or treatment, and we cannot respond to emergencies. A story you share will not be treated as a request for help, and we may not contact you about it.

If you are in immediate danger, or thinking about harming yourself, please contact your local emergency number right away, or one of these services:

• Netherlands: 113 Zelfmoordpreventie, call 113 or 0800-0113 (free), or chat at 113.nl
• United Kingdom and Ireland: Samaritans, call 116 123 (free)
• United States: call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• Canada: call or text 9-8-8
• Elsewhere: find a local helpline at findahelpline.com, or befrienders.org

If you read a story that worries you, you can tell us at office@within-temptation.com. We will review it, but we cannot guarantee that we can reach the author.

You must be at least 16 years old to submit a story. By submitting you confirm you are 16 or older.

If you are younger than 16, you are welcome to read stories, but please do not submit one. If we find or suspect that a story was submitted by someone under 16, we will not publish it or will remove it, and delete the related personal data. We may ask for confirmation of age in doubtful cases.

You must be legally capable of agreeing to these Terms, and the story must be your own.

You may only submit your own story. Do not submit stories on behalf of someone else, or someone else’s experience without their permission.

5.1 Your choices

When you submit, you automatically give us the explicit consent for the processing and publication of sensitive information (such as information about your health). And you do also agree that we may use your story in the Band’s campaign (section 7.2).


5.2 Your responsibility for what you share

Your story is published on the internet and can be read, copied and shared by anyone, anywhere. Even if you choose anonymity, details in the story itself (such as places, dates, names or circumstances) may identify you. Please share only what you are comfortable having public. Do not include details that identify other people.


5.3 Content rules

Your submission must not:

• contain personal information of other people (names, contact details, or details that make them identifiable), or accuse named or identifiable people or organisations of crimes or wrongdoing;
• contain or promote hate speech, discrimination, harassment or threats of violence;
• describe methods of self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders in a way that could harm others, or encourage or glorify them;
• contain sexual content, graphic violence, or content involving the abuse of minors;
• contain advertising, spam, links, contact details, or commercial promotion;
• infringe anyone’s intellectual property or privacy, for example by copying song lyrics, poems or text written by others;
• be false or misleading about who you are, or be written by someone else without permission;
• be unlawful, or be generated by bots or automated tools;
• contain malicious code.

6.1 Review before approvement

Every story is reviewed by Haiku - an AI-model by Anthropic. Haiku decides according to our specifications whether it approves a story or not. We/Haiku have no obligation to approve a story. Approval of a story is not an endorsement of its content or a confirmation that it is true.

6.2 Grounds for refusal or removal

We may refuse, remove, or unpublish a story, in whole or in part, at any time if:

• it breaches these Terms, especially the content rules in section 5.3;
• it contains information that could identify, harm or endanger you or another person, for example detailed personal data, or content that seems to put a minor or vulnerable person at risk;
• it appears to be a duplicate, spam, a joke, a hoax, or created by a bot, or does not appear to be a genuine personal story;
• we reasonably suspect you are under 16, or that the story is not yours;
• we receive a credible complaint or a legal request, or are required to remove it by law;
• keeping it would harm the Platform, the Band, or other participants, or it is not in keeping with the purpose of the Platform;
• technical, security or legal reasons require it, or the Platform or campaign ends.

6.3 How we handle it

If Haiku rejects a story, it will tell you directly in the submission-process and will indicate the board reason.

If we reject a story manually, we will normally tell you by email (unless that is not possible or appropriate) and, where it helps, indicate the reason. You may resubmit an adjusted story.

We do not edit the meaning of your story, but - if you write in another language than english - the automatic translation by Haiku may not be accurate. We may ask you to change it, or with your agreement make a small edit, for example to remove a name or other identifying detail.

If a story raises serious concern about your safety, we may share a list of support services with you where we have your email address. We are not able to provide care ourselves, and will only share your data with others where the law allows or requires it, for example to protect a person’s life.

You can report a story at office@within-temptation.com. We aim to look at reports within a few working days, and we will remove content that is clearly unlawful or harmful promptly.

7.1 You keep ownership

You keep the copyright in your story. We do not claim ownership. You confirm that your story is original and yours, and that you have the right to give the permissions below.


7.2 License for the Platform

By submitting a story, you automatically grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, reproduce, display, and make available your story (and, if you shared under your name, your display name) on the Platform and on the 3D-model, including in the form of an ember, and to create anonymous statistics from it. The license lasts until the story is removed under section 8.


7.3 Optional license for campaign use

If, and only if, you ticked the separate box for campaign use, you also grant us, the Band, and their record label, management, and promotional and press partners (together the “Campaign Partners”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use your story, in whole or in part, in connection with the promotion of the album and the Platform. This includes:

• social media posts, advertisements, and websites;
• press releases, press kits, and media coverage;
• Band content, such as videos, visuals, artwork, live show elements and merchandise [confirm scope, e.g. whether merchandise is included];
• reasonable editing, shortening, translating, and formatting, provided that we do not change the meaning of your story or put words in your mouth.

If you shared under your name, we may use your name outside the Platform. You will not receive payment for these uses. You will not be compensated or credited unless we agree otherwise in writing.

The license for campaign use is limited to the album campaign and related Band communications [and ends [24] months after release, provided that we may keep and use your story on the Ember Platform for as long as the website is alive (archive usage). We will not use your story to advertise unrelated products or services, or give it to third parties for their own purposes.


7.4 Moral rights and personal rights

To the extent as permitted by law, you agree not to assert moral rights against us for uses that comply with these Terms. This does not affect your rights over your personal data, or your right to withdraw consent under section 8.


7.5 Our ownership

The Platform itself, including its design, code, 3D artwork, and the Band’s names, logos and music, belong to us, the Band or our licensors. You may not copy or reuse them, other than for personal, non-commercial use, such as sharing a link to the Platform. You may not scrape or bulk copy stories from the Platform.

You can remove your story at any time using the Delete-link included in the emails sent to you upon story-submission and email-confirmation. You can also ask us to withdraw only your consent for campaign use or for the use of your name. Email office@within-temptation.com and help us identify your story by copying the link to your story provided in the email you get upon email-confirmation. We may ask you to confirm you are the author.

We remove your story from the Platform and the 3D-object within [7] days and delete it from our systems (subject to the retention rules in the Privacy Policy). Where you withdrew only campaign consent, we stop campaign use and remove it from channels we control.

We ask the Campaign Partners to stop using and delete the story.

Limits: we cannot recall content that has already been printed, broadcast or distributed, or copies made by third parties outside our control, such as screenshots and reposts. Withdrawal applies from the moment you withdraw, and does not affect past lawful use.

Withdrawal means your ember will disappear from the 3D-object. We may keep the 3D-object intact by recalculating the number of embers, and we may keep anonymous statistics.

Any visitor may give a kudos to a story. Kudos are a simple sign of support. They have no value, are not a ranking, and do not influence how stories are shown. We may block or remove kudos created by automated tools or abuse.

The Platform has a restricted area for our team, the Band, and selected press. If you have been given access, you must keep your login confidential, use the information only for the purpose for which you received it, not share or publish it unless we permit this in writing, and treat stories with care and respect. Press is only given stories selected for them, anonymized unless the author agreed otherwise. Access can be withdrawn at any time.

We do our best to keep the Platform available, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access. We may change, suspend, or end the Platform, or any feature, at any time, for example after the album campaign ends. If we end the Platform, we will delete stories or ask for renewed consent / archive them as described in the Privacy Policy.

• The Platform and all stories are provided “as is”. Stories are written by individuals, we do not verify their accuracy, and their views are not ours or the Band’s.
• You use the Platform at your own risk. Reading stories about difficult experiences may be upsetting. If so, please see section 3.
• Nothing on the Platform is professional advice.
• To the fullest extent permitted by law, we and the Band are not liable for damages resulting from the use of, or inability to use, the Platform, or from the content of stories, or from the actions of third parties, such as copying of public stories.
• Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for intent or gross negligence, for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything that cannot be excluded under mandatory law.
• If you are a consumer, you keep all rights that the mandatory consumer protection laws of your country give you.

If you breach these Terms, we may remove your content, block you from submitting, and take other steps that the law allows. You agree to compensate us for damage caused by a breach that you are responsible for, such as a claim by a third party arising from content you submitted, to the extent permitted by law.

We may change these Terms, for example because of changes in the law or the Platform. The new version will be published with a new date. For changes that significantly affect stories you already submitted, we will tell you where we can and ask for your consent where required. If you do not accept the change, you can delete your story at any time or ask us to remove your story.

These Terms are governed by Dutch law, without prejudice to mandatory consumer protection rules of your country of residence. Disputes will be brought before the competent court in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. If you are a consumer, you may also bring proceedings before the courts of your country of residence. EU consumers may find more informations here.

Within Temptation Entertainment B.V.
Verrijn Stuartweg 30
1112 AX Diemen
The Netherlands

General and reports: office@within-temptation.com
Privacy and withdrawal requests: office@within-temptation.com