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CheaperWebHost.com Web Hosting and
Electronic Mail
Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
Last Updated
January 12, 2004
- Introduction
- Kudzu Corner, Inc. ("we," "us," "our"), owner and operator of the
CheaperWebHost.com website, has developed this Acceptable Use Policy
("AUP") to help enhance the use of the Web Hosting, Electronic Mail, and
related Services offered on the CheaperWebHost.com website
(collectively referred to as the "Services") and the Internet as a whole
by preventing unacceptable use.
- This AUP applies to each Customer and all Users of the Services.
"Users" include, but are not limited to, every
"authorized user" of each account. "Authorized Users" include the actual
account holder and:
(i) in the case of an individual account holder,
members of the individual's family residing in the same household, and
(ii) in the case of a business account holder, its employees, agents,
contractors, or other users of said business. Each Person, Customer,
and Authorized User using the Services is a "User" and is also referred
to in this AUP using the terms "you" and "your" (and appropriate formatives).
The terms "your account," "your own account," and "user's account" as used
in this AUP refer to the account being used by the referenced User, whether
or not the referenced User is the actual account holder of the
account.
- We do not normally actively monitor use of the Services. Similarly,
we do not exercise control over the content of any web site, electronic
mail ("e-mail") transmission, or other material created or accessible over
or through the Services. However, in accordance with this AUP, we may remove
any materials that, in our sole discretion, may be illegal, may subject
us to liability, or which may violate this AUP. We reserve the right to
make the final decision in any matter relating to what constitutes
acceptable or unacceptable use.
- We may notify legal authorities of any suspected or alleged crime or
civil wrongdoing. We may cooperate with legal authorities in the
investigation of any suspected or alleged crime or civil wrongdoing.
We may disclose any content or records concerning a customer's account
as required to satisfy any law, regulation, governmental request, or
court order.
- Your violation of this AUP may result in the suspension or termination
of your account and/or your access to the Services. We reserve the right
to discontinue service or deny access to anyone who violates this AUP
without warning or prior notice. No refunds of fees paid will be made if
account termination is due to a violation of this AUP.
- This AUP is not exhaustive and we reserve the right to modify this
AUP at any time and without notice, effective upon posting of the modified
AUP at http://www.cheaperwebhost.com. It is your responsibility to
periodically review this AUP for any updates.
- This AUP is incorporated by reference into our Web Hosting and E-Mail Services Agreement and
other policies.
- Any questions regarding this AUP should be sent to info@cheaperwebhost.com.
- Prohibited Uses
The following are prohibited uses of the Services and constitute violations
of this AUP. Users may not:
- Send unsolicited bulk e-mail ("spam") to third parties, whether or
not said e-mail is commercial in nature.
- Use the products and/or services of another provider, including, but
not limited to, the use of address lists obtained from a third-party vendor
or provider, to send unsolicited bulk e-mail ("spam") to third parties,
whether or not said e-mail is commercial in nature.
- Use the Services as the source, intermediary, or destination location
or address involved in the transmission of unsolicited bulk e-mail ("spam"),
flames, or mail bombs (numerous copies of the same or substantially similar
message with the intent to disrupt a server or account), including mass
unsolicited messages in newsgroups, whether or not such e-mail or messages
are commercial in nature.
- Use the Services to send more than 60 e-mail messages in any one
hour, or more than 500 e-mail messages in any given 24-hour period,
from your account as a whole (i.e., total of all Users who use your account),
regardless of whether the messages are solicited or whether they are
commercial in nature.
- Use the Services in connection with any illegal activity, including,
but not limited to:
- Using the Services to transmit any material (by e-mail, uploading,
posting, or otherwise) that, intentionally or unintentionally, violates
any applicable local, state, national, or international law.
- Using the Services to copy material (including text, graphics, music,
videos, or other copyrightable material) from others without proper
authorization.
- Using the Services to infringe on patents, copyrights, trademarks,
service marks, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights of
others.
- Using the Services to traffic in illegal drugs, illegal gambling,
obscene materials, or any other products or services that are prohibited
under applicable law.
- Using the Services to export encryption software to points outside
the United States in violation of applicable export control laws.
- Using the Services to solicit the performance of, or assist others
in the performance of, acts or services that are illegal under applicable
law.
- Use a domain name in connection with the Services in violation of any
trademark, service mark, or similar rights of any third party.
- Use the Services to harm, attempt to harm, or threaten to harm minors
or any other person in any way, physically or otherwise.
- Use the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise) material that exploits persons under 18 years of
age.
- Use the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise), receive, send, or otherwise distribute material or merchandise
that depicts nudity or is sexually explicit, as determined by us in our sole
discretion, including, but not limited to, child pornography and bestiality.
In accordance with this section, no "adult," "nudist," or "naturist" websites
are permitted.
NOTICE: We have a "zero tolerance" policy regarding child pornography.
We will cooperate fully with any criminal investigation into a reported
violation of the Child Protection Act concerning child pornography.
Customers are ultimately responsible for the actions of their clients'
use of the Services and supporting network and will be liable for illegal
material posted by their clients.
According to the Child Protection Act, "child pornography" includes
photographs, films, video, or any other type of visual presentation that
shows a person who is or is depicted as being under the age of eighteen
years and is engaged in or is depicted as engaged in explicit sexual
activity, or the dominant characteristic of which is the depiction, for a
sexual purpose, of a sexual organ or the anal region of a person under the
age of eighteen years or any written material or visual representation that
advocates or counsels sexual activity with a person under the age of
eighteen years.
- Use the Services to operate, transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting,
or otherwise), advertise, or promote software, services, or other material
related to gambling or lotteries, except for sweepstakes or contests for
which no entry fee is charged and for which no purchase is
required.
- Use the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise) material that is hateful, vulgar, racially objectionable,
ethnically objectionable, or otherwise objectionable, as determined by us
in our sole discretion.
- Use the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise) any material that threatens or encourages bodily harm or
destruction of property.
- Use the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise) any material that:
(i) harasses or intimidates another,
(ii) constitutes slander, libel, or defamation, or
(iii) violates the privacy rights of any person.
- Use the Services to collect, or attempt to collect, personal information
about third parties without their knowledge or consent.
- Use the Services to make fraudulent offers to sell or buy products,
items, or services, or to promote any type of financial scam such as
"pyramid schemes," "Ponzi schemes," and "chain letters."
- Resell the Services, either in whole or in part, without our
authorization.
- Offer the Services, either in whole or in part, for free to third
parties other than Authorized Users of your own account.
- Use the Services to operate mail services, mail forwarding capabilities,
mail accounts, or autoresponders for third parties other than Authorized
Users of your own account. Note: this section does not prohibit offering
a third-party's electronic mail and/or hosting service, such as
Everyone.net, via your account.
- Resell access to CGI or similar scripts that run from your
account.
- Use the Services in connection with any other disruptive or abusive
activity, including, but not limited to:
- Using the Services to cause Denial of Service (DOS) or similar attacks
against network hosts or users or to otherwise degrade or impair the
operation of the servers and facilities of network hosts or users.
- Using the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise) any material, message, or software program that consumes excessive
CPU time or storage space.
- Using the Services to operate, transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting,
or otherwise), advertise, or promote any software, services, or other
material related to:
(a) pirated software, (b) hacker programs or archives,
(c) warez, or
(d) illegal MP3.
- Using the Services to operate services related to:
(a) chat rooms, (b) IRC or IRC bots, or
(c) games servers. EXCEPTION: Parachat chat rooms are permitted and are
not covered by the prohibitions of this section.
- Using the Services to bypass, circumvent, or compromise, or assist
others in bypassing, circumventing, or compromising, the security or
integrity of any systems, facilities, or equipment.
- Using the Services to gain, or attempt to gain, unauthorized access
to the accounts, systems, or networks of any company or person, whether
or not such access results in the corruption or loss of data.
- Using the Services to provide passwords or access codes to persons not
authorized to receive such information by the operator(s) of the system(s)
requiring said passwords or access codes.
- Using the Services to engage in "Internet scamming" (tricking others
into releasing their passwords), password robbery, security hole scanning,
etc.
- Using the Services to:
(a) forge the signature or other identifying means of any other person,
(b) impersonate or assume the identity of any other person, or
(c) engage in any activity in an attempt to deceive or mislead other persons
regarding your true identity. In accordance with this section, you may not
add, remove, or modify identifying network header information (such as
in e-mails) in an effort to conceal your identity or deceive others.
This section does not forbid the use of anonymous re-mailers or Internet
nicknames, nor the use of deliberately altered headers or e-mail addresses
in news postings in order to avoid spam (or similar) e-mail address
collection programs or bots.
- Using the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise) any virus, worm, Trojan horse, or computer code intended to
disrupt services, destroy data, destroy or damage equipment, or disrupt
the operation of the Services or any other systems, facilities, or
equipment.
- Using the Services to conduct port scans or other invasive procedures
against any network or server, except for any network or server for which
you are an authorized system administrator.
- Using the Services to operate, transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting,
or otherwise), advertise, or promote software or services that encourage
or facilitate unsolicited commercial e-mail or unsolicited bulk e-mail,
whether or not said e-mail is commercial in nature.
- Using the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise), solicit or collect, advertise or promote, e-mail address lists
for the purpose of encouraging or facilitating unsolicited commercial
e-mail or unsolicited bulk e-mail, whether or not said e-mail is
commercial in nature.
- Using the Services in any manner that might:
(a) subject us to unfavorable regulatory action,
(b) subject us to any liability for any reason, or
(c) adversely affect our public image, reputation, or
goodwill.
- Using the Services in any manner to interrupt or interfere with use
of the Services or use of the Internet by other persons.
- Use the Services to transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or
otherwise), solicit or collect, advertise or promote any material or
information pertaining to the creation of any services, software, code,
material, or other content that is prohibited by this AUP.
- Use the Services as the originating, intermediary, or destination
location or address involved in the transmission (by e-mail, uploading,
posting, or otherwise) or reception (by e-mail, downloading, posting, or
otherwise) of any services, software, code, material, or other content
that is prohibited by this AUP.
- Use the Services to store any software, code, material, or other
content that is prohibited by this AUP.
- Use the Services to link to any services, software, code, material,
or other content that is prohibited by this AUP, regardless of the
destination of such link.
- Additional Restrictions and Limitations
In addition to the items listed in Section 2 of this AUP, the
following are not permitted:
- Sites with banners, graphics, or cgi or similar scripts running from
their domain and used on other domains not hosted by
CheaperWebHost.com, not including the occasional downloading
of such items by others provided such downloading does not otherwise
violate this AUP.
- Sites with picture galleries where 50% or more of the files
transferred are graphics files.
- Sites offering download files or archives, where 50% or more of
monthly traffic is from file downloads.
- Sites using 30% or more of system resources for longer than
60 seconds.
- Sites running multimedia files, including, but not limited to,
QuickTime, Real Audio, Real Video, and MP3.
- Additional Notices Regarding Unsolicited E-Mail, Newsgroup
Postings, and Mailing Lists
A message is considered unsolicited if it is posted (by e-mail, uploading,
or otherwise) in violation of a newsgroup charter or if it is sent to a
recipient who has not requested or invited the message. This description
includes, without limitation:
- The use of distribution lists that include people who have not given
specific permission to be included in such distribution process, and
- Posting commercial ads to newsgroups that do not permit it, and
- The e-mailing of age-inappropriate communications or content to anyone
under the age of eighteen (18).
Prohibitions regarding unsolicited bulk e-mail extend to the sending
of unsolicited bulk e-mail from another service which in any way
implicates the use of our Services, network, or other resources.
An acceptable mailing list will be focused at a target audience that has
voluntarily signed up to receive your e-mail information or that has made
their e-mail address available for distribution of information from you.
Your own list servers for which your customers have signed up in the past
constitute a valid mailing list. If one of your list members asks to be
removed, you should remove them from the list as soon as feasibly possible.
Internally created mailing lists are valid as long as your customers agree
to receive the e-mail you send using them. Purchased mailing lists are
generally a violation of this AUP because you have not received authority
from the recipient to send them an e-mail.
NOTE: Merely making one's email address accessible to the public will
not constitute a request or invitation to receive messages.
- Violations and Remedies
- Disclaimer
Kudzu Corner, Inc. disclaims any obligation to actively monitor its
Customers and other Users with respect to violations of this AUP.
Kudzu Corner, Inc. has no liability or responsibility for the actions
of any of its Customers or other Users or any content any Customer or User
may transmit (by e-mail, uploading, posting, or otherwise) or receive
(by e-mail, downloading, posting, or otherwise) using the
Services.
- Reporting Violations of this AUP
Violations of this AUP can be reported by e-mail to abuse@cheaperwebhost.com. Please be
sure to include information regarding the offender (such as name, e-mail
address, web site address, etc.), the type (such as spam, illegal act,
harassment), date, and time (including Time Zone) of the alleged violation,
and evidence of the alleged violation.
- Actions taken regarding Violations
We may take any one or more
of the following actions in response to complaints or observations
regarding violations of this AUP:
- Issue warnings, written and/or verbal; and/or
- Remove the offending content; and/or
- Suspend the offending user's account; and/or
- Terminate the offending user's account; and/or
- Bill the offending account for administrative costs and/or account
reactivation charges; and/or
- Bring legal action to enjoin violations and/or to collect damages,
if any, caused by violations.
In accordance with this policy, any account that is deactivated as a
result of a violation of this AUP will be charged the following reactivation
fees, provided we give approval to reactivating the account:
- First Offense - US$ 100.00
- Second Offense - US$ 250.00
On a third offense, the account will be charged US$ 1000.00 but it will
not be reactivated, service will be permanently terminated.
For each instance of "spam" verified as originating from your account,
or for which you knowingly permitted your account to be used as an
intermediary, the offending account will be charged US$ 1000.00 for
each day of occurrence plus US$ 5.00 for each spam message.
If your actions cause any of our Services, servers, IP addresses,
domain names, or other resources to be placed on ANY blackhole lists
or other mail filtering software systems, the offending account will
be charged administrative fees consisting of a minimum of US$ 1000.00
plus US$ 200.00 per hour incurred to remove and protect our Services,
servers, IP addresses, domain names, or other resources from such lists
or systems.
- Reservation of Rights
We may use technical or other means to monitor communications and other
transmissions into, out of, and through the Services and the supporting
network to help prevent the introduction of hostile code, to prevent
intrusions, and to otherwise enforce this AUP and each User agrees that
we are authorized to monitor these communications and transmissions for
such purposes.
- End of Acceptable
Use Policy -
All brand names and trademarks
are property of their respective owners.
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