Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).

Version 12 Wednesday, 02 April 2008

1 Introduction

The Internet is a pervasive medium and it is relatively cheap and easy for unscrupulous users to become a problem. The main problem is “spam”, i.e. unsolicited bulk e-mail or mass postings in inappropriate newsgroups; whilst many spammers think this is an innocent practice it would, if it became common, rapidly choke the net and prevent access to legitimate e-mail. There are an estimated 20,000,000 people with things to sell. If 0.1% of them sent one message a month you would see nearly 1000 unwanted messages per day. Since it costs these people almost nothing to send such mail they do so even if the return is very small.

Other problems such as illegal, abusive, insulting or unwelcome e-mail, come into a similar category: things you do not want to see and which have no right to occupy your time or system resources. We, in common with most ISP’s, have implemented this AUP so that our users, at least, will not contribute to the problem.

Websites and solicited mail are in a different category. Where the decision to view is proactive, i.e. where you have asked for or looked for the content and where without such a decision no action, even pressing a delete key, is required, there are very few restrictions on content.

2 Who must abide by this AUP?

Any direct customer. Any person using our facilities such as websites and mailing lists. Any person using our bandwidth or routing.

If a customer has more than one provider we will ask them to abide by these guidelines for both, (for example: if you have a Web-site with us and cause a problem via another provider’s e-mail system, we will still consider it as abuse).

Most reputable ISPs have a very similar policy, and we depend on them to guide their users as they depend on us to guide our users.

3 What is acceptable?

We do not censor site content or e-mail through our systems, nor do we read e-mail in transit (although you should be aware that while it is in transit mail administrators of any intermediate system could in theory read it). However we must take steps to ensure that our users use of e-mail does not become a problem to us or to others and we will act is any breach is reported or detected.

We specifically distinguish between solicited and unsolicited material. If you send an unsolicited communication then the grounds for objection by a recipient or viewer can be much broader or even illogical. Basically if you initiate the communication then you take a risk.

The broad areas of acceptable use are:

· That the communication be legal and consensual (i.e. the viewer wants to see it).

· That it does not interfere with the proper operation of the Internet or our servers.

· That it does not become a problem to others.

· That it does not infringe the rights of others.

Within these boundaries, and subject to the clarifications in later sections, solicited content is always acceptable.

3.1 Other opinions than your own.

We do not regard the holders of different opinions to be “a problem” and if they are posting in a public forum we will almost never take steps to limit such expression. If somebody complains about a posting we will politely ignore it unless you are posting in the wrong place or otherwise causing problems. If somebody complains about your e-mail we will ignore it unless they have previously requested you not to contact them our if your e-mail is clearly unsolicited.

3.2 Individual unsolicited e-mail.

We do not prohibit first contact e-mail on a personal or individual basis, and an individual, but unsolicited, e-mail will not be considered abuse unless it is:

· part of a bulk, automated or repetitive posting

· based on an “opt out” mailing list.

· from somebody you previously asked not to contact you

· from an organisation that uses spam techniques

· clearly derived from information sold on bulk lists

· “generally offensive”. Yes, this is a value judgement and we will make it.

Essentially, if somebody is taking the time to make individual contact then the major problem of unsolicited mail - that its very low cost leads to huge amounts of unwanted mail - is already eliminated. However they have far fewer rights with respect to individual reaction to the content and should be on best behaviour.

3.3 Content that people don’t like.

It’s a big world and almost anybody will find something offensive and there is some content that the majority of people won’t like. We don’t regard this as abuse and we will generally take no action if the decision to view the content is proactive and informed. This means that if a site contains unusual or unexpected material a casual viewer should be made aware of this. If somebody complains about content, and if the decision to view was consensual and informed, then we will take no action provided that it does not breach any of the general conditions above.

3.4 Adult sites and sexual, violent, disturbing or extreme content.

This is acceptable provided that it does not violate the general conditions, and in particular that it is legal. If somebody doesn’t want to view this content, and can only do so on the basis of an informed decision then they have no right to complain about it.

The key is informed decision. Adult sites of any kind should have warnings as to the nature of the content before entry and should preferably be protected by logins where the user is identifiable.

We might also ask you to register with a “safe surfing” organisation. The major players in this area are:

The first three are content control systems which can be used to filter sites from, for example, children and employees; the last two are ratings systems which also feed the first three.

4 What is not acceptable?

It is unacceptable to use our facilities in certain defined ways. The overriding principle is that you must not interfere with the legitimate use by others of the net, though illegal or fraudulent acts are obviously also included. The main categories are listed below:

4.1 Bulk Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (BUCE or Spam)

BUCE is the sending of mail to persons who have neither requested it, expressed an interested in receiving such mail (not simply an interest in the subject), or indicated by other means that they would like to see such mail. The most common forms are:

· Chain letters (in particular those that threaten dire acts if not passed on).

· Pyramid Selling Schemes, (also illegal in many countries).

· Multi Level Marketing (MLM) schemes.

· Unsolicited General Commercial Email - advertising material received by email without the recipient either requesting such information or having expressed an interest in the specific material offered.

Certain exceptions are made for individual person to person first contact but nor for form letters with somebody’s name on them. Such communication should be short, polite and non-repetitive. See section 3.2 for more details.

Remember: Most Internet users pay for their connections. Unsolicited e-mail is cheap for the sender but costs the recipient time and money.

4.2 Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE or Spam)

This is the non-commercial version of UCE and is normally simply intended to annoy, though sometimes to spread political, religious or social views in an aggressive way. This sort of mail can be very distressing.

Note that UBE will not be tolerated even for good causes. We support many charities and provide free facilities to some, but consider: if a few charities were to adopt UBE then all would have to do so – competition for funds is very strong. The resulting flood of mail would remove any benefit that the net might have for them by simple volume. We don’t want to see this happen, and we regard the use of the net by charities, in particular organisations who support the free flow of information in and out of areas controlled by authoritarian regimes, to be a facility which worth defending.

Note that “mail-bounce” spam will be treated in the same way as deliberate spam and users must protect their systems from this possibility,

4.3 Mail Bombing

Mail bombing is the deliberate sending of either large numbers of e-mails, or single very large e-mails, with the intent of flooding a user’s mail system. This has traditionally been a method of revenge by one user on another, but it is unacceptable to do so today.

Note that binary attachments can be very large and that sending these to a user without prior arrangement will probably be regarded as unfriendly. Posting binary files to newsgroups is only acceptable in groups that welcome them.

4.4 Denial of Service attacks

Denial of service is any activity which makes it difficult or expensive for a user to use a system, or which interferes with the operation of the net as a whole. These vary widely, but examples are:

· Sending large amounts of data in mail or other connections which is designed to flood the link.

· Making rapid or frequent repeated connections to the same service to hog its connections.

· Deliberately sending data known to cause problems.

Denial of service can have a serious impact on the net and the reaction is likely to be harsh.

4.5 Forging your name or forging the headers in a message.

“Forging” is the deliberate alteration of mail headers or content in order to mislead or to subvert normal mail processes, such as replies. It includes:

· attempts to send a message in somebody else’s name without their permission

· header alteration to change the apparent origin of e-mail

· any measure taken to make it difficult to track or to prevent replies or complaints.

The only exception is the use of mail relay where permission has been granted to use the names.

4.6 Forged Mailing List Subscriptions

You must not subscribe anyone, other than a user on your own host, to a mail list or similar service without their permission.

4.7 Illegal Content

Any web content, e-mail message or news group posting of an illegal nature will be considered abuse and will be reported. We will suspend such sites or accounts as soon as they are reported or detected. The net is an international medium and we operate in many jurisdictions. We reserve the right to take this into account when determining “illegal” content even if no breach of English law can be said to have occurred.

4.8 Breach of Copyright or Intellectual Property

You must not send Copyrighted material or Intellectual Properties via email or other means unless you have permission to do so from the owner or are using them under the terms of “fair use”.

4.9 Viruses and malicious software.

Sending of viruses and malicious software is illegal. If you do it knowingly, or if you continue to do it after having been informed of the presence of a virus in your mail or system, we will report it.

4.10 Misuse of news groups.

When posting to a newsgroup you must conform broadly to its charter. Each group, however informal, will have a charter that describes acceptable use. Some newsgroups will have implied conditions of use which are expressed by a majority of its users. Either way you must not violate these conditions.

4.11 Restricted websites.

Some websites contain content not intended for minors, or of a potentially offensive nature. In the case of material of a recognised adult content, (sex, violence and drugs being the most common), we ask that clients who maintain such sites register them with a screening organisation (e.g. Net Nanny). Note that this does not exempt such sites from normal legal process – site content must always be legal.

4.12 “Offensive” Websites without notice.

Sites where the content is simply contentious or offensive to some, should also indicate the nature of the material on the entry page, and provide a suitable warning. To put this into perspective: many of the most popular sites on the net fall into this category and we don’t want to prevent people from doing this, we simply ask that you give those you visit an opportunity to back out.

Obviously this is a wide issue, and in a net population approaching a four billion somebody to will object to anything, but if we receive valid complaints about a site we will ask you to place an entry page on it, and possibly to register it.

4.1 Negligence

Any of the forgoing can happen my mistake. We will treat this in exactly the same way as if it had been deliberate if it can be shown that negligence was involved. For example:

· A mail system which spams people because of an error in it’s checking

· A server that is badly patched, becomes infected and is used to spam

· A server that is badly patched and is used to mount attacks

All of these will be treated in the same way as deliberate abuse.

4.2 New forms of Net Abuse.

From time to time a new form of abuse arises which doesn’t come under the above categories, but which is generally held by the Internet community to be an abuse of the Internet. If this is detected, and it is reasonable that it was not contained in the description above (either in detail or by principle) then we will amend these details, ask you to stop, and, normally, give you 28 days to comply.

If the new form of abuse causes a severe problem, or is impacting our service, or is creating a major problem on the net, we reserve the right to ask you to stop at once.

5 If you do not abide by these terms.

We implement a sliding scale of sanctions that depend on the severity of offence. For very serious cases we will start higher up the scale.

1. We will ask you to stop what you are doing.

2. We will suspend your e-mail accounts.

3. We will suspend your Web-site.

4. We will cease to carry your domain.

5. We will ask others not to carry your domain.

If an account or Web-site is suspended we will sometimes ask you for a specific undertaking before resuming service. In the case of abuse in a public forum this will normally include an apology in that forum. If you fail to takes such steps as requested we will escalate the suspension.

In very severe cases we reserve the right to make public announcements that action has been taken, and in these cases we will include identification details and notify any appropriate authorities.

In all cases you are liable for any costs or damages incurred by us as a result any use you make of our facilities, and we will make no refunds in respect of any services suspended or cancelled are a result of a breach of these conditions.

6 Other ISPs

Our terms are very similar to those in use by reputable ISPs the world over. You can generally expect that people you deal with will abide by these conventions. If they do not you can, as a first case, send an e-mail to their postmaster, or to the special abuse desk maintained for that purpose, (normally abuse@ispname), and we will provide advice if you are the target of abusive e-mail.

A simple and effective short cut to reporting Spam or other abuse, is the use of SpamCop on www.spamcop.com.

Please remember that a simple difference of opinion or news articles and websites that you find objectionable or offensive, is not abuse. The net is a wide place and there are many different people and cultures. If you have a personal problem with things you find on the net there are many facilities for either preventing access or arranging not to see them.

7 Summary.

Most of the terms in this document are simple common sense, a reasonable respect for the privacy of others, and a normal degree of courtesy. The Internet is a wide ranging medium but it is not just a collection of computers – there are real people at the end of e-mail postings and real people read news groups. Treat them with normal consideration and there will seldom be a problem.