acceptable use policy

HarborNet.Com, Inc. Internet Services
TERMS and CONDITIONS
and
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
for Internet Access Services

Introduction

This document explains the Terms and Conditions and the Acceptable Use Policy for use of services provided by HarborNet.Com, Inc. Internet Services (hereinafter known as HarborNet) by the client/user (hereinafter known as Customer). This document supersedes all previous forms of this previously published by HarborNet. This document is maintained and published on-line on the HarborNet home page at http://port.harbornet.com/html/aup.php

All Customers of HarborNet should become familiar with this policy. Use of HarborNet Internet services in any form constitutes acceptance of this Acceptable Use Policy and agreement to adhere to it.

TERMS and CONDITIONS

Account and Policy Term

The effective date of these Terms and Conditions and the Acceptable Use Policy is the date of acceptance by the Customer of services by HarborNet, and they shall remain in effect until Customer terminates his/her account or HarborNet cancels Customer's account.

HarborNet may occasionally require updated registration and account information by Customer to continue service. In addition, Customer shall notify HarborNet in writing or by E-mail to accounts@harbornet.com of any changes in the account information, such as address or phone number.

HarborNet reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of use or its Acceptable Use Policy by notifying Customer in writing or by E-mail at least 30 days in advance of the effective date of the change. Use by Customer after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the new terms and conditions. If customer does not agree to changes, Customer may cancel services by giving HarborNet proper written notice as directed herein.

Billing - Terms - Termination - Service Level Changes

Initial payment must be received prior to the service being activated. Billing is normally done in three-month periods unless otherwise arranged. HarborNet sends out bills by the 10th of the month for services in the following months. Billing will normally occur via e-mail and the bill will be due on the 1st of the upcoming month. Customer must notify HarborNet in writing at least 15 days before the next payment is due if Customer wishes to change the method of payment or cancel the account. There is a $28.00 charge for NSF/returned checks. There is a $45.00 charge for credit/debit card chargebacks. These fees must be paid the same business day that they are assessed.

Accounts that are 15 days past due may be placed on hold and access will be denied until payment is made. Accounts will continue to accrue charges while on hold. After the account has been on hold for 10 days, the service may be terminated if not under long-term contract and any outstanding balance will be immediately due and payable, or the full amount for the entire period of any contract, to HarborNet.

There is a $10.00 reinstatement charge for Dial-up accounts, a $20.00 reinstatement charge for Cable modem accounts and a $10.00 reinstatement charge for DSL accounts. For a full list of charges/fees, click here.
Accounts must be paid current to re-establish connection. This includes the past due balance, late charges, reinstatement charge, as well as any fees charged by Click!, CenturyTel, or Qwest. Termination requests for HarborNet accounts must be received in writing via E-mail, fax, or postal service at HarborNet's main office. Customers will receive refunds for prepaid services, however, prepaid service and installation discounts, will be void if customer cancels prior to the prepaid service end date. Billing will be recalculated and prorated at the normal monthly service rate. The remaining balance of previously waived installation fees will then be due. Any remaining credit will then be refunded, less a Refund Fee of no more than $10.00 to cover administrative costs.

If HarborNet raises subscription rates due to increased vendor costs, we reserve the right to amend long term billing within the first 30 days of the billing due date.

If a Customer so requests, HarborNet will forward E-mail to that Customer's new E-mail address, if any, for one month after termination unless termination was for nonpayment or system abuse.

Customer is responsible for all fees up to the date of termination of the service, regardless of the usage on the account. Customer acknowledges that HarborNet may terminate the account without notice if the customer does not comply with this policy.

Any change to Click! Cable Modem service levels must be maintained for a period of at least 30 days before another change can be made. Customer will be charged $10.00 for any Click! Cable Modem service level change.

Termination for Cause

HarborNet may terminate an account at any time for any violation of these Terms and Conditions or Acceptable Use Policy or for failure to pay bills for service. Such termination generally means that all files are deleted and all services, including mail forwarding are rescinded. Customer will not receive a refund for any prepaid services. All losses and expenses suffered by Customer as a result of such termination will be Customer's to bear alone, and HarborNet will have no liability whatsoever.

Provision of Services

HarborNet will provide services on its host computing systems to customers in exchange for payment of fees and compliance with these Terms and Conditions and the Acceptable Use Policy. HarborNet services are defined as the use by Customer of computing, telecommunications, software, and information services provided by HarborNet. These services also include the provision of access to computing, telecommunications, software, and information services provided by others via the worldwide computer network known as the Internet.

Consultation Charges

HarborNet welcomes requests from Customers concerning their problems and will do as much as possible to help resolve them. When assistance provided by HarborNet is beyond services offered to all customers by HarborNet as part of its basic services such as assistance with Customer systems configuration beyond the initial set-up, the Customer will be charged a standard consulting rate.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

This Acceptable Use Policy may be known hereinafter as policy, AUP or Acceptable Use Policy.

Security of Accounts

HarborNet Dial-up and Unix accounts are for individual Customers. Customer therefore agrees not to share the password of the account or internet connection 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 HarborNet services to obtain the passwords of other customers on HarborNet or other systems. Customer agrees not to use HarborNet services to make unauthorized attempts to access any systems and networks.

Use of Internet Services

Customer agrees not to use HarborNet 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 HarborNet 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

HarborNet 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. HarborNet has no intention of infringing upon those rights.

Unauthorized use of other people's accounts or computers

HarborNet 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 HarborNet, 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 HarborNet's mail servers, HarborNet 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.

HarborNet will not sell customer lists. HarborNet 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.

Commercial advertisements

Commercial advertising is an accepted and welcome use of the Internet. However, there is appropriate and inappropriate Internet advertising. ISP's that don't abide by this Internet standard may be denied access to newsgroups and in some cases to the Internet entirely.

Commercial advertisements are unwelcome in most Usenet discussion groups and on most E-mail mailing lists. Inappropriate postings may result in account suspension or cancellation. See the newsgroup or mailing list's charter for whether advertising is allowed or not. Unsolicited commercial advertisements sent out via E-mail or to many off-topic newsgroups are not allowed. Generally ads should be placed in the "biz." newsgroup hierarchy.

Sending a message, such as unsolicited e-mail, especially an unrequested advertisement, to multiple recipients is by itself "spamming", unauthorized use of E-mail, unless the individuals have specifically requested to be added to a mailing list on that topic.

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 HarborNet or non-HarborNet E-mail address in the "reply to" field as long as it is clear that the post came from your HarborNet account. Use of standard "anonymous re-mailers" is allowed for private (noncommercial) E-mail and posting.

Illegal Material

HarborNet assumes no legal liabilities relating to Customer's use of HarborNet's computer network and equipment. However, HarborNet requires that its customers not use HarborNet's network for illegal purposes. In any legal matters that result from a Customers action, HarborNet is under no obligation to defend itself rather than settle. Any losses suffered by HarborNet to settle or defend legal action, and all civil or criminal penalties inflicted on HarborNet as a result of any Customers act are payable by the customer. Customer shall have no defense against prompt and full repayment to HarborNet.

When presented with a search warrant, HarborNet is obligated to release appropriate information requested, and will cooperate with the authorities in any criminal investigation.

While HarborNet recognizes that the legal status of the Internet has not yet been fully resolved, HarborNet 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. HarborNet will handle incidents of harassment on a case-by-case basis, consulting with the parties involved.

Inappropriate use of Web Service

HarborNet provides space for personal and commercial web pages with some services. HarborNet maintains no responsibility for the content of such pages. HarborNet will handle complaints about inappropriate web pages on a case-by-case basis. Examples of inappropriate information include downloadable virus code, bulk E-mail lists, illicit advertising, and web-based services that allow members of the public to send E-mail or post news anonymously.

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. Some dial-up accounts include use of a Unix shell account. This account is only to be used interactively while dialed in.

HarborNet 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 HarborNet Internet connection. HarborNet Customers must abide by all rules imposed by any IRC server they connect to over HarborNet's network. IRC clients are not allowed on HarborNet's Servers.

If HarborNet receives a complaint, HarborNet 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 HarborNet's interpretation of the above. If Customer needs help interpreting or applying these rules, Customer should ask HarborNet support staff (support@HarborNet.com) for assistance.

Abuse of HarborNet Services

Any use of HarborNet system resources that disrupts the normal operation of the system or the use by other HarborNet 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.

Dial-up accounts staying attached to modems while not really "active" on line.

End users may not resell, share or otherwise distribute services or any portion of them to any third party

Storage of excessive mail files (normally limited to 5megabytes).

Overly large attachments (depending upon level of service - 5-10 megabytes) may also be cause for action. Use of HarborNet computers or Internet connection to send ping or other packets in an attempt to deny service to another user is considered abuse and is cause for immediate suspension of service.

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 HarborNet Management.

With the proliferation of email virii, HarborNet may place an account seen to be passing virii thru email on administrative hold while the infection is cleaned.

Discovering and Reporting Abuse

Violations of the HarborNet conditions of use are unethical and may in some cases be criminal offenses. You are expected to report to HarborNet any information you may have concerning instances in which the conditions of use have been or are being violated. When HarborNet becomes aware of possible violations, HarborNet will investigate. At the same time, in order to prevent further possible unauthorized activity, HarborNet 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. HarborNet reserves the right to monitor site activities when necessary to investigate possible violations of the conditions of use.

Customers may be charged HarborNet's standard systems-consulting rate, currently $112.00 per hour for HarborNet 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, HarborNet uses the following procedures:

A Systems Administrator or member of the systems staff attempts to contact the Customer by telephone or fax and logs the call in the HarborNet tracking database.
If the problem cannot be resolved by phone or the Customer is unreachable. Designated HarborNet staff may do what is necessary to protect the HarborNet site and systems and use of these facilities by others. Designated HarborNet staff may disable the Customers account by putting the account on hold.
If the Customer is contacted quickly and the problem is resolved, the Systems Administrator may re-enable the account. Other than logging the incident, further action may be unnecessary.
If the problem is not resolved, the Systems Administrator will disable the account, and notify the Accounting and Support departments that the Customer account has been disabled.
The Accounting Department will suspend billing on the account as of the end of an already-billed or contracted period and send a package to the Customer which contains the following:
- Written notification that the account has been disabled.
- A reminder copy of the Acceptable Use Policy.
- A statement for the Customer to sign so that Customer acknowledges the situation and, if appropriate, requests that the account be reactivated.
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 HarborNet 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

HarborNet does not censor on the basis of politics, religion, sexual themes, or artistic content. HarborNet 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. HarborNet assumes no responsibility for any material or for monitoring or controlling access to such material.

Warranties

HarborNet makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for its services. HarborNet specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. HarborNet will not be held responsible for any losses or damages resulting from delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, service interruption, or Customer's or HarborNet's errors or omissions. HarborNet will not under any circumstances be responsible for consequential damages.

HarborNet reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts for any reason, if, in HarborNet'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 HarborNet access is regarded the same as using HarborNet's site.

Applicability

These rules cannot be superseded by any verbal agreements of HarborNet employees or customers. Any agreement modification or special changes to this AUP must be in writing and signed by HarborNet management personel.

Jurisdiction

The validity, construction and performance of this AUP and Customers agreement to abide by this AUP shall be governed by the laws of Washington State.