Terms of Service

choidev (https://choidev.com) These terms apply when you use the site. They also apply when you only read posts. Effective date: October 3, 2026

Article 1 (Purpose and Definitions)

These terms set out the conditions and procedures for using choidev (the "Site"), a personal blog run by Sehyun Lim (the "Operator"), as well as the rights and obligations of the Operator and users.

"User": Anyone who visits the Site and uses its content
"Member": A user who has become a member by logging in with a Google, Kakao, Naver, or GitHub account
"Posts": All writing users submit to the Site, including comments and guestbook entries

Article 2 (Effect and Changes to These Terms)

These terms take effect once they are posted on the Site. The Operator may change them within the scope of applicable laws. Changes will be announced on the Site at least 7 days before taking effect (at least 30 days in advance for changes unfavorable to users). Members who do not agree to a change may withdraw.

Article 3 (Services)

The Site offers, free of charge: reading and searching posts, member-only posts, comments, guestbook, community, member profiles, likes, credits, new-post notifications in apps and browsers, browser notifications, and an Android app (new post and reply notifications). The Operator may change or discontinue all or part of the services due to server maintenance, failures, or operational needs, and will give advance notice where possible. Since the service is free, no separate compensation is provided for changes or discontinuation.

Members can earn credits, which are used only within the Site, through attendance, comments, the daily quiz, friend invitations, and similar activities. These credits can be used to unlock some posts or code. Credits have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for cash or other goods or transferred to others. The criteria for earning credits and where they can be used may change, and credits may expire. Credits obtained through improper means may be reclaimed or may restrict use of the Site. If you withdraw, your remaining credits are deleted. Friend invitation rewards are paid once, after the invited member starts being active. No reward is paid for invitations that appear improper, such as self-invitations, or for invitations beyond the monthly limit. Decorative items in the credit shop are delivered to your account the moment you exchange credits for them, so they cannot be canceled or converted back to credits. The Operator may change the availability and prices of items, but items already received can continue to be used. If you withdraw, your remaining credits and items are deleted together and cannot be restored.

Donations and Donation Thank-You Credits

Users may voluntarily support the Operator through external platforms such as Buy Me a Coffee or GitHub Sponsors. Donations are not purchases of goods or services, and payments, cancellations, and refunds follow the terms and policies of the relevant platform.
As a token of thanks, the Operator may give credits to members who donate (currently 100 credits per US dollar, rounded down to the whole number). The rate and whether credits are granted are decided by the Operator and may change. Donations made in currencies other than US dollars are handled after the Operator confirms them.
Thank-you credits have no cash value and cannot be cashed out, refunded, or transferred.
If a donation is refunded or canceled, the thank-you credits received from that donation will be reclaimed. If the balance is insufficient, only the remaining balance will be reclaimed.
If a donation has no donation code or cannot be linked to a member, it may be linked after the Operator confirms it. If it cannot be linked, credits may not be granted.
For recurring donations, thank-you credits are given on the start date of each month for as long as the donations continue, and they stop when the donations end.

Article 4 (Membership Registration and Withdrawal)

Membership is available only through a Google, Kakao, Naver, or GitHub account. By logging in for the first time, you are deemed to have agreed to these terms and the Privacy Policy.
People under 14 years old cannot register as members.
If someone uses another person's account or seriously violates these terms, the Operator may suspend their use or revoke their membership.
If a former member who withdrew while under a usage restriction (community restriction or suspension) registers again with the same social account or email address, the remaining restriction will apply again. Restrictions without an end date and suspensions will apply for one year from the date of withdrawal.
Members may request withdrawal at any time by emailing hi@choidev.com. The Operator will process requests without delay.

Article 5 (Comments and Other Posts)

Copyright in posts belongs to their authors. Authors grant the Operator permission to use their posts to the extent necessary to display and store them on the Site.
Responsibility for posts rests with their authors.
The Operator may hide or delete posts that fall under Article 6 without prior notice. New comments and guestbook entries go through human verification (Cloudflare Turnstile) and AI spam screening (TypeSafe), and posts judged to be spam or malicious will be published only after review by the Operator.
If you believe your rights have been infringed, you may request removal of the content by emailing hi@choidev.com. The Operator will take action in accordance with the Information and Communications Network Act.

Community

Only members can write posts and comments in the community. Each board has its own members who can post and its own rules. Boards with rules require agreement when you first post, and if the rules change, you will be asked to agree again.
Copyright in posts (text, comments, and images) belongs to their authors. Authors grant the Operator a royalty-free, non-exclusive permission to display and store posts within the Site (including the community list, post pages, member profiles, and search results on boards that allow search engine exposure), and to resize or convert images as needed for this purpose. This permission ends when a post is deleted, and copies remaining in backups will be erased once the backup retention period passes.
You must not post other people's works, photos, or personal information without the right to do so, and legal liability arising from your posts rests with you. In addition to the acts in Article 6, the following are prohibited: reposting the same content or ads repeatedly, impersonation, malicious or phishing links, altering banned words to evade rules, and using multiple accounts to get around usage restrictions.
To prevent spam and flooding, the Operator uses banned-word and link-count checks and AI spam screening. As a result, submissions may be rejected or published only after review. Posts from newly created accounts and from boards that require approval are also published after review.
To prevent flooding, each member can write one new post every 3 minutes across all boards and one comment every 20 seconds. Each board also has daily limits on the number of posts and comments. Editing a post you already wrote does not count as a new post, and deleting a post does not shorten the waiting time before your next post. Posting intervals and limits may change depending on operating conditions and do not apply to the Operator's account.
Members can report rule violations with the "Report" button. When reports from different members reach a certain number, the post is hidden until the Operator reviews it. Requests to remove content for rights infringement can be made by emailing hi@choidev.com, and the Operator will take necessary measures, such as temporary measures, in accordance with Article 44-2 of the Information and Communications Network Act.
The Operator may hide or delete posts that violate these terms or board rules without prior notice. The Operator may also restrict a violating member's community activities (writing posts and comments, editing, uploading images), either for a set period or indefinitely. Credits earned from posts that are hidden or deleted will be reclaimed.
Images can be uploaded at up to 5MB each. They are resized on the server and stored, and metadata such as shooting location is removed. Each member has a limit on image storage capacity.
Posts and comments by withdrawn members remain, displayed as "Withdrawn member" without author information. If you want a post removed, please delete it yourself before withdrawing or ask the Operator to delete it.

Article 6 (Prohibited Conduct)

Defaming or insulting others, or posting others' personal information without permission
Posting obscene material, hate speech, or illegal information
Posting advertising or promotional spam, or repeatedly posting the same content
Infringing others' copyrights or other intellectual property rights
Sending excessive requests to the Site through automated means, or bypassing or attacking its security
Impersonating the Operator or others, or any other conduct that violates the law

Article 7 (Copyright)

Copyright in content created by the Operator on the Site, including text, images, and design, belongs to the Operator. Quoting within a reasonable scope while citing the source (choidev and the post's URL) is allowed. However, reproducing the full text, reposting it elsewhere, or using it commercially requires the Operator's permission. Code examples in posts may be used freely unless otherwise noted.

Article 8 (Limitation of Liability)

Posts on the Site summarize the Operator's experience and opinions, and their accuracy and currency are not guaranteed. Users are responsible for decisions made with reference to the posts and for their results.
The Operator is not liable for damages caused by reasons without the Operator's intentional or serious negligence, such as natural disasters or failures of external services (hosting, networks, etc.).
The Operator is not responsible for anything that happens on external links or on sites reached through advertisements.

Article 9 (Protection of Personal Information)

The Operator protects users' personal information in accordance with applicable laws. For details, see the Privacy Policy and the Cookie Policy.

Article 10 (Governing Law and Jurisdiction)

These terms are interpreted under the laws of the Republic of Korea. Disputes related to use of the Site will be resolved by the competent court under the Civil Procedure Act. If a dispute arises, please first contact hi@choidev.com, and the Operator will consult in good faith.

Supplementary provision: These terms take effect on October 3, 2026 (initially effective September 30, 2026).