ATXL.net / 895online.com
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
for Internet Access Services
This Acceptable Use Policy may be known hereinafter as
policy, AUP or Acceptable Use Policy.
Introduction
This document explains the Acceptable Use Policy for use of
services provided by ATXL.net. (hereinafter known as ATXL) by the client/user
(hereinafter known as Customer). This document supersedes all previous forms of
this previously published by ATXL.
All Customers of ATXL are required to be familiar with
this policy. This document shall be sent via e-mail to each new Customer and
upon receipt, the Customer shall become responsible for its contents. Use of ATXL
Internet services in any form constitutes acceptance of this Acceptable Use
Policy and agreement to adhere to it.
Security of Accounts
ATXL Dial-up and Unix accounts are for individual Customers.
Customer therefore agrees not to share the password of the account with others.
Customer agrees to maintain a secure password to the account and is responsible
for any use of his/her account. Customer agrees not to use any ATXL services to
obtain the passwords of other customers on ATXL or other systems. Customer
agrees not to use ATXL services to make unauthorized attempts to access any
systems and networks.
Use of Internet Services
Customer agrees not to use ATXL services to violate copyright
or other intellectual property rights. For example, Customer may not upload or
download commercial software in violation of software license agreements.
Customer agrees to use the services provided by ATXL as permitted by applicable
local, state, and federal laws. Customer agrees, therefore, not to use these
services to conduct any business or activity or solicit the performance of any
activity that is prohibited by law.
Specific Acceptable Use Policies
ATXL believes that the First Amendment rights of free speech,
freedom of the press, and freedom of association apply to the Internet to the
same degree as they do to print media. ATXL has no intention of infringing upon
those rights.
Shell (Unix) Usage
ATXL does not provide a Unix based shell account at this
time.
Unauthorized use of other people's accounts or computers
ATXL will react strongly to any unauthorized use or attempted
unauthorized use of an Internet account or computer without the owner's
authorization. Whether or not the attacked account or computer belongs to ATXL,
such attempts include but are not limited to "social engineering"
(tricking other people into releasing their passwords), password cracking,
security hole scanning, and denial of service attacks.
Possible actions including warnings, account suspension or
cancellation, and legal action, according to the seriousness of the attack.
E-mail Privacy
Electronic mail passes through multiple mail servers from
source to destination on the Internet. One can never be guaranteed privacy from
every possible mail server; therefore, customers seeking total privacy should
use some encryption scheme, such as PGP to render their messages unreadable by
eavesdroppers.
With regards to ATXL's mail servers, ATXL places a high
value on privacy, and will normally only examine Customers' mail to trouble
shoot E-mail delivery problems, protect system security, or to comply with a
lawful-appearing warrant or court-order.
ATXL will not sell customer lists. ATXL will not divulge
Customer account information outside of that provided by the 'finger' command
(which the Customer controls), except at the direction of a lawfully served
warrant.
E-mail and Usenet Abuse (spam)
Posting any commercial or off-topic article to a Usenet
newsgroup is prohibited. In the few cases where on-topic commercial postings are
allowed by a newsgroup charter, postings should be limited to one group per
posting. It is not acceptable to post a single commercial message to multiple
groups.
When a Usenet message is non-commercial and is on-topic to
more than one newsgroup, it is acceptable to cross-post a single message to the
newsgroups in question. Cross-posting to more than five groups is considered
Usenet abuse.
Sending unsolicited e-mail, especially an unrequested
advertisement, to multiple recipients or a third party mailing list is also
prohibited.
It is permitted to send commercial e-mail to individuals
who have an existing customer or supplier relationship with you or your company.
It is also permitted to send mail to individuals who have directly requested
information from you, if and only if that request came directly from the
individual to you and not via a third party or a "targeted list" of
addresses.
ATXL Requires the following be included in any posting to
any newsgroup:
- The message headers must contain true
Origination/Destination points.
- The subject of the message is not misleading or false
in relation to the content of the message.
- The body of the message displays the legal name of the
business, its true address and phone number.
ATXL also requires that commercial messages provide a clear,
simple, free, and effective procedure to be removed from all future mailings,
including those prepared from a different list.
Attempting to circumvent the above rules using a non-ATXL
Internet connection or allowing a third party to originate the e-mail or news
posting will be considered the same as using ATXL services. Customers will be
held responsible for any message advertising their websites and/or services
regardless of where the message originated or from whom it was sent.
Make Money Fast
Any mailing or posting of "Make Money Fast" (MMF)
or "Fast Cash" or pyramid schemes or chain letters of any sort will
result in quick account termination. Pyramid scams are illegal no matter how the
message is presented. Pyramid schemes are NOT permitted.
Spoofing E-mail and News posts.
All Customer E-mail and news posts shall have the Customer's
valid account name in the header. You may use another existing ATXL or non-ATXL
E-mail address in the "reply to" field as long as it is clear that the
post came from your ATXL account. Use of standard "anonymous
re-mailers" is allowed for private (noncommercial) E-mail and posting.
Illegal Material
ATXL assumes no legal liabilities relating to Customer's use
of ATXL's computer network and equipment. However, ATXL requires that its
customers not use ATXL's network for illegal purposes. In any legal matters that
result from a Customers action, ATXL is under no obligation to defend itself
rather than settle. Any losses suffered by ATXL to settle or defend legal
action, and all civil or criminal penalties inflicted on ATXL as a result of any
Customers act are payable by the customer. Customer shall have no defense
against prompt and full repayment to ATXL.
When presented with a search warrant, ATXL is obligated to
release appropriate information requested, and will cooperate with the
authorities in any criminal investigation.
While ATXL recognizes that the legal status of the
Internet has not yet been fully resolved, ATXL considers certain actions illegal
and therefore not allowed on its network, for example; unauthorized distribution
of copyrighted material; exploitation of minors; and unauthorized use of
computer resources.
Harassment
Harassment or abusive use of E-mail and other Internet
services is a serious misuse of Internet resources. ATXL will handle incidents
of harassment on a case-by-case basis, consulting with the parties involved.
Automated dial-up account use
Dial-up accounts are for personal, interactive use only. They
may not be kept connected with a "keep-alive" of any sort, such as
setting an E-mail program to check mail periodically unattended.
ATXL IRC rules
Bots (automated IRC programs) run against any programs,
community talk programs, video, audio or text servers, even if they are run from
your own machine, are not allowed via a ATXL Internet connection. ATXL Customers
must abide by all rules imposed by any IRC server they connect to over ATXL's
network.
If ATXL receives a complaint, ATXL will investigate the
abuse and, if a violation has occurred, may put the account on hold or remove
the abusers account. Full payment for the entire contract term will still be
due, even with no further services provided.
Customer agrees to abide by ATXL's interpretation of the
above. If Customer needs help interpreting or applying these rules, Customer
should ask ATXL support staff (support@ATXL.net) for assistance.
Abuse of ATXL Services
Any use of ATXL system resources that disrupts the normal
operation of the system or the use by other ATXL customers is considered to be
abuse of system resources and is grounds for administrative intervention. Some
examples of system abuse include spawning excessive processes, consuming
excessive amounts of memory or CPU for long periods of time, and staying
attached to modems while not really "active" on line or personally
present. Use of ATXL computers or Internet connection to send ping or other
packets in an attempt to deny service to another user is considered abuse.
Depending on the nature and the severity of the abuse, the customer may receive
an E-mail warning, have his processes halted, or have his account suspended. If
the misuse is unintentional or under other mitigating circumstances, the
suspension may be rescinded but may require a reconnection charge. Customers who
believe their activity has been inappropriately handled may appeal to ATXL
Management.
Discovering and Reporting Abuse
Violations of the ATXL conditions of use are unethical and
may in some cases be criminal offenses. You are expected to report to ATXL any
information you may have concerning instances in which the conditions of use
have been or are being violated. When ATXL becomes aware of possible violations,
ATXL will investigate. At the same time, in order to prevent further possible
unauthorized activity, ATXL may suspend the individual account in question.
Confirmation of violations may result in cancellation of the individual account
or reporting the abuse for criminal prosecution. The account suspension may be
rescinded following resolution of the incident and payment of appropriate
charges. ATXL reserves the right to monitor site activities when necessary to
investigate possible violations of the conditions of use.
Customers may be charged ATXL's standard
systems-consulting rate, currently $150.00 per hour for ATXL employees' work to
deal with abuse issues which were initiated by abuse of the customer's account.
Abuse Hold
When a Customer disrupts the system, ATXL uses the following
procedures:
- A Systems Administrator or member of the systems staff
attempts to contact the Customer by telephone.
- If the problem cannot be resolved by phone or the
Customer is unreachable. Designated ATXL staff may do what is necessary to
protect the ATXL site and systems and use of these facilities by others.
Designated ATXL staff may disable the Customers account by putting the
account on hold.
- The Accounting Department will suspend billing on the
account as of the end of an already-billed or contracted period.
- When the customer is contacted they may be sent a copy
of this Acceptable Use Policy to sign and return to ATXL.
- Once the signed statement is received, if reinstatement
is appropriate, Accounting will begin to charge the account and will notify
the Support department and the Systems Administrator.
- The Systems Administrator will take the Customer
account off hold and thus re-enable the account.
- If no signed statement is received or the situation is
not resolved to the satisfaction of ATXL Management, all customer files or
other material will be deleted and the customer account will be purged. All
amounts due through the end of any contract or already billed period will
become immediately due and payable in full and customer should expect
vigorous collection efforts.
Offensive or Adult Materials
ATXL does not censor on the basis of politics, religion,
sexual themes, or artistic content. ATXL has no control over the content of
materials accessed. Some materials may be offensive or adult in nature. Parents
are responsible for monitoring children's exposure to any material. ATXL assumes
no responsibility for any material or for monitoring or controlling access to
such material.
Warranties
ATXL makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or
implied, for its services. ATXL specifically disclaims any implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. ATXL will not be held
responsible for any losses or damages resulting from delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries,
service interruption, or Customer's or ATXL's errors or omissions. ATXL will not
under any circumstances be responsible for consequential damages.
ATXL reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts
for any reason, if, in ATXL's opinion, the Customer is disrupting or threatening
the operation of this site and/or the Internet or its components. In the context
of this AUP, using other sites or servers to abuse the net via ATXL access is
regarded the same as using ATXL's site.
Applicability
These rules cannot be superseded by any verbal agreements of ATXL
employees or customers. Any agreement modification or special changes to this
AUP must be in writing and signed by an official L.L.C. Manager.
Jurisdiction
The validity, construction and performance of this AUP and
Customers agreement to abide by this AUP shall be governed by the laws of the
Commonwealth of Virginia.
Severability
If any provision of this policy is held by a court to be
contrary to law, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.