Terms of Service
You are responsible for abiding by
the rules set forth in the paragraphs below. Any violation of the
terms set forth below may result in immediate suspension and/or
termination of all services currently being provided.
As an Internet
service provider ("ISP"), we offer our customers the means
to acquire and disseminate a wealth of public, private, commercial and
non-commercial information. We also want our customers to be fully
informed of their rights and obligations -- and ours -- in connection
with their use of the Internet. This Network Access Policy, which
supplements and explains certain terms of each customer's respective
services agreement (the "Services Agreement"), is intended
as a plain English guide to those rights and obligations.
The fundamental
fact about the Internet is that no one --neither us, nor anyone else
-- owns or controls it. This fact accounts for much of the Internet's
openness and value, but it also places a high premium on the judgment
and responsibility of those who use the Internet, both in the
information they acquire and in the information they disseminate to
others. When customers obtain information through the Internet, they
must keep in mind that we cannot monitor, verify, warrant or vouch for
the accuracy and quality of the information that customers may
acquire. For this reason, the customer must exercise his or her best
judgment in relying on information obtained from the Internet, and
also should be aware that some material posted to the Internet is
sexually explicit or otherwise offensive. Because we cannot monitor
and censor the Internet, and will not attempt to do so, we cannot
accept any responsibility for injury to our customers that results
from inaccurate, unsuitable or offensive Internet communications.
When customers
disseminate information through the Internet, they also must keep in
mind that we do not review, edit, censor or take responsibility for
any information our customers may create. This places on customers
what will be, for most, an unfamiliar responsibility. When users place
information on the Internet, they have the same liability as other
authors for copyright infringement, defamation and other harmful
speech. Also, because the information they create is carried over our
facilities and may reach a large number of people, including both
customers and noncustomers of ours, customers' postings to the
Internet may affect other customers and may harm our goodwill,
business reputation and operations. For these reasons, customers
violate our policy and the Services Agreement when they, their
affiliates or subsidiaries engage in the following activities:
Spamming
-- Unsolicited, commercial mass e-mailing (known as
"spamming") is a strongly disfavored practice among
Internet users and service providers. It is particularly harmful
not only because of its negative impact on consumer attitudes
toward us, but also because it can overload our equipment and
disrupt service to our customers.
Copyright Violation
-- Violation of copyrights held by individuals and corporations or
other entities can result in civil and criminal liability for the
infringer, and can involve the ISP in litigation and possible loss
of reputation.
Distribution and/or
Transmission of Obscene or Indecent Speech or Materials
-- Violation of indecency and obscenity laws can result in
criminal penalties.
Defamation
-- Defamatory speech distributed over the Internet can result in
civil liability for the defamer and litigation against the ISP
whose facilities were used to distribute the defamatory material.
Illegal/Unauthorized
Access to Other Computers or Networks
-- The illegal or unauthorized accessing (often known as
"hacking") of computers or networks carries potential
civil and criminal penalties under both federal laws and the laws
of most states.
Distribution of Internet
Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses and Other Destructive Activities
-- Distribution of Internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses and
other destructive activities, such as hacking, can result in
serious civil and or criminal liability under federal and state
law.
Export Control Violations
-- The law limits the ability of persons to export encryption
software, over the Internet or otherwise, to points outside the
United States.
Other Activities, whether
lawful or unlawful, that we determine to be harmful to our
customers, operations or reputation, including any activities that
restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the
service or the Internet.
As we have
pointed out, the responsibility for avoiding the harmful activities
just described rests primarily with the customer. We will not, as an
ordinary practice, monitor the communications of our customers to
ensure that they comply with our policy or applicable law. When we
become aware of harmful communications, however, we may take any of a
variety of actions. We may remove information that violates our
policies, implement screening software designed to block offending
transmissions, or take any other action we deem appropriate, including
termination of a customer's contract with us.
We also are aware
that many of our customers are, themselves, providers of Internet
services, and that information reaching our facilities from those
customers may have been originated by customers of those customers or
other third parties. We do not require our customers who offer
Internet services to monitor or censor transmissions created by
customers of its customers. At the same time, customers who knowingly
transmit materials that violate law or our policy are, themselves, in
violation of our policy. Similarly, we anticipate that customers who
offer Internet services will cooperate with us in any corrective
action that we deem necessary, in order to correct and prevent the
transmission of material that is harmful to us or our customers.
Failure to cooperate with such corrective and preventive measures is a
violation of our policy.
We also are
concerned with the privacy of on-line communications. In general, the
Internet is neither more nor less secure than other common
communications media, including mail, facsimile and voice telephone
service, all of which can be intercepted and otherwise compromised. As
a matter of prudence, however, we urge our customers to assume that
all of their on-line communications are insecure.
We can not take
any responsibility for the security of communications transmitted over
our facilities. We will comply fully, however, with all applicable
laws concerning the privacy of our customers' on-line communications.
In particular, we will not intentionally monitor or disclose any
private electronic mail messages sent or received by our customers
unless required to do so by law. We may, however, monitor our service
electronically to determine that our facilities are operating
satisfactorily. Also, we may be required to disclose information
transmitted through our facilities in order to comply with court
orders, statutes, regulations or governmental requests. Finally, we
may disclose information transmitted over our facilities where
necessary to protect us and our customers from harm, or where such
disclosure is necessary to the proper operation of the system.
We expect that
our customers who provide Internet services to others will comply
fully with all applicable laws concerning the privacy of on-line
communications. A customer's failure to comply with those laws will
violate our policy. Finally, we wish to emphasize that in signing the
Services Agreement, customers indemnify us for any violation of the
customer of the Services Agreement, or of law or corporate policies,
that results in loss to us or the bringing of any claim against us.
This means that if we are sued because of activities of the customer
that violate any law, the Services Agreement or this policy (which is
part of the Services Agreement), the customer will pay any damages
awarded against us, plus costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
We hope this
Policy Statement is helpful in clarifying the obligations of Internet
users, including us and our customers, as responsible members of the
Internet.
We reserve the
right to permanently discontinue service at any time, without
notice, should you be found in violation of our aforementioned terms
and conditions.
Note: Also, you are not permitted to have any commercially available software, fixes, patches or electronic media for download on your site. You are not allowed to buy, sell, trade, give away, or otherwise traffic in or exchange passwords on your site. We reserve the right - at any time - to terminate service if we find that you have violated these terms. Additionally, should you be found to be in violation of any licensing agreements currently in place, we reserve the right to permanently terminate your service without refund. In English - no download sites, no Warez site, no password sites.
Complaints about violators of our policies should be referred to webmaster@electronic-village.com. Each complaint will be investigated.
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