ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY FOR INTERNET ACCESS
Foggy Coast Internet and Aquis Access Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is designed to help protect our customers, and the Internet community, from irresponsible or illegal activities. The Internet access service that we are delivering to our customers is for their individual personal use. For this level of service to continue to be available it is necessary for all users of this service to follow the basic objectives of this AUP.
GENERAL
Impersonation:
Attempting to impersonate any person, using forged headers or other identifying information is prohibited. The use of anonymous re-mailers and nicknames does not constitute impersonation.
Network unfriendly activity:
Activities which adversely affect the ability of other people or systems to use the services or the Internet is prohibited. This includes "camping" online. If you have signed up for one of the limited access products you are subject to the same acceptable use policies as the unlimited access products. If you have signed up for one of the unlimited access programs this will provide unlimited access for individual personal needs as long as appropriate operating procedures are followed. Unlimited access is intended for interactive use only, not a full-time connection. Some restrictions may apply. This does not mean you can sign on to the Internet and leave the computer unattended, and return throughout the day to look at something on the Internet or check e-mail. It is very important to practice proper operating procedures by signing on and doing what you want to do, then signing off. If you are signed on to the Internet you must be actively engaged with the service or data. If you are not observing this policy it might appear that you are using the service for more than individual personal use.
Network Usage Monitoring:
Your cost for the Unlimited Access service being provided is based on the current average usage of individuals on the Internet community. The network used for Foggy Coast's Internet Access service is designed and is managed to guarantee connection to the Internet to our customers on 95% of all requests. To maintain this superior Internet availability, it will be necessary for Aquis to monitor your Internet connect time, and to notify you if a pattern of excessive usage is occurring. Remedies for continuous excessive usage could be establishment of a higher fixed cost per month or metered, usage-based pricing added to the fixed monthly cost when a predetermined cap is exceeded. If remedies are not established, Foggy Coast Internet reserves the right to suspend or cancel your Internet access. To protect the enjoyable use of the Internet for our customers, Aquis will track usage on a daily basis, and reserves the right to suspend service to flagrant, continuous abusers immediately.
Privacy violations:
Attempts, whether successful or not, to gain access to any computer system, or customer’s data, without consent is prohibited.
Commercial e-mail:
Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail is prohibited. Using a Foggy Coast Internet or Aquis provided e-mail address to collect responses from unsolicited commercial e-mail is prohibited.
Personal e-mail:
Sending large volumes of unsolicited e-mail is prohibited.
Sending threatening or harassing e-mail after being requested to stop is prohibited. Extremely threatening or harassing e-mail is prohibited always.
Personal e-mails should be prepared off-line, then sign-on to deliver. It is highly recommended to sign-on to receive email, but go off-line to read and respond.
NEWS
News group spamming:
Excessive cross-posting, or posting the same article to several news groups, is prohibited. Generally accepted standards allow no more than 15 news groups, or cross-postings, for a single article or substantially similar articles. Such articles may be canceled.
Off-topic or inappropriate postings:
There is no restriction on content, except as defined by each news group. Continued posting of off-topic articles is prohibited. Please note that commercial advertisements are off-topic in the vast majority of news groups.
Privacy
It may be necessary for Foggy Coast Internet or Aquis employees or their agents to examine system accounting logs and other records to resolve system problems. Foggy Coast Internet or Aquis reserves the right to access an account’s mailbox to resolve system problems or mail system errors.
In addition, Foggy Coast Internet or Aquis will cooperate with the appropriate legal authorities in investigating claims of illegal activity, including but not limited to illegal transfer or use of copyrighted material, postings or e-mail containing threats of violence, or other illegal activity.
Foggy Coast Internet or Aquis makes no guarantee and assumes no liability for the security of any data on any server including "secure servers".
Our customers are reminded that no computer system should be considered safe from intrusion. E-mail may pass through many customers systems, and should not be considered a secure means of communication unless encrypted. Even then, information is only as secure as the encryption method being used.
Rationale
This document provides a general understanding of Foggy Coast Internet’s policy on Acceptable Use of Foggy Coast Internet Access services. Common sense and judgment are a necessary part of any system of rules, and this AUP is no exception. Flagrant or repeated violations of the Policy will result in the individual user’s service being discontinued.
Protection of our customers and our resources, the ability to provide quality service to our customers, conformance with existing law, and the protection of our reputation as a service provider are all contributing factors to decisions on AUP violations.
It is our intention to allow Foggy Coast Internet Access customers access to everything the Internet has to offer with minimal or no interference. Foggy Coast Internet does not censor the content of any news groups. We believe such choices should be left to the individual. We do advise our users that tools, such as Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny, and Net Shepherd, are available to screen access to news groups ones considers offensive. It is the account owner’s responsibility to make use of such tools if desired.
Foggy Coast Internet or Aquis does not monitor the activity of accounts except for measurements of system utilization and billing records. However, in our efforts to promote good citizenship within the Internet community, if we become aware of inappropriate use of the service, we will respond.
If a Internet access account is used to violate the AUP, we reserve the right to terminate the service without notice. Our preferred course of action would be to advise the account owner of inappropriate behavior and corrective action necessary. However, flagrant and repeated violations of the AUP will result in immediate termination of service.
In the event that an account is temporarily inactivated as result of any prohibited activities, the account may be subject to reactivation charges and/or deposit requirements to be determined by Aquis.
For more information email us at: info@foggycoast.com