Acceptable Use of Nether.Net Information Systems

General Principles

Access to computer systems and networks owned or operated by Nether.Net or Nether.Net service providers imposes certain responsibilities and obligations and is granted subject to Nether.Net policies, and local, state, and federal laws. Acceptable use always is ethical, reflects personal honesty, and shows restraint in the consumption of shared resources. It demonstrates respect for intellectual property, ownership of data, system security mechanisms, and individuals' rights to privacy and to freedom from intimidation, harassment, and unwarranted annoyance.

Guidelines

In making acceptable use of resources you must:

• Use resources only for authorized purposes.
• Protect your userid and accounts from unauthorized use. You are responsible for all activities on your userid or that originate from Nether.Net account or service that you use.
• Access only files and data that are your own, that are publicly available, or to which you have been given authorized access.
• Use only legal versions of copyrighted software in compliance with vendor license requirements.
• Be considerate in your use of shared resources. Refrain from monopolizing systems, overloading networks with excessive data, or wasting computer time, connect time, disk space, printer paper, manuals, or other resources.

In making acceptable use of resources you must NOT:

• Use another person's system, userid, password, files, or data without permission.
• Use computer programs to decode passwords or access control information.
• Attempt to circumvent or subvert system or network security measures.
• Engage in any activity that might be harmful to systems or to any information stored thereon, such as creating or propagating viruses, disrupting services, or damaging files.
• Use Nether.Net systems for commercial or partisan political purposes, such as using electronic mail to circulate advertising for products (commonly known as "spam") or for political candidates.
• Make or use illegal copies of copyrighted software, store such copies on Nether.Net systems, or transmit them over Nether.Net networks.
• Use mail or messaging services to harass, intimidate, or otherwise annoy another person, for example, by broadcasting unsolicited messages or sending unwanted mail.
• Waste computing resources, for example, by intentionally placing a program in an endless loop.
• Use Nether.Net's systems or networks for personal gain; for example, by selling access to your userid or to Nether.Net systems or networks, or by performing work for profit with Nether.Net resources in a manner not authorized by Nether.Net.
• Engage in any other activity that does not comply with the General Principles presented above.

Enforcement

Nether.Net considers any violation of acceptable use principles or guidelines to be a serious offense and reserves the right to copy and examine any files or information resident on Nether.Net systems allegedly related to unacceptable use. Violators are subject to disciplinary action, including but not limited to:

• Loss of account privileges temporarily
• Loss of account privileges permanently

If Nether.Net believes illegal or improper behavior is taking place, or if your actions are affecting the reliability of Nether.Net services, Nether.Net reserves the right to suspend services and/or access privileges until you have been contacted and a full review of the situation takes place.

Nether.Net will NOT refund any fees paid by users who have lost privileges due to violations of the Acceptable Use Policy.

Offenders also may be prosecuted under laws including (but not limited to) the Privacy Protection Act of 1974, The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, The Computer Virus Eradication Act of 1989, Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property, The Virginia Computer Crimes Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Access to the text of these laws is available online.

Comments

This is the Nether.Net Acceptable Use Policy as adopted and endorsed by the Nether.Net Board of Directors, 11-APR-2002.