Subject: Draft II: Acceptable Use Policy Introduction: As agreed at the last Board meeting, Jeff Bossert, NCF Treasurer, and Lisa Donnelly, NCF Executive Director, have worked on the the last draft of the Acceptable Use Policy submitted by Complaints Administrator Robert Pless. We did not think we would have time to complete the version before the Board meeting but Board Secretary, Richard Taylor, encouraged us to submit what we had in order to keep the policy development active and in the Board arena. In addition, we did not have time to confer with Robert Pless on this draft. Please accept our apologies for not having circulated this to all of you in advance. Jeff did the majority of the work, integrating the existing draft with samples from other FreeNets and other organizations, such as ONet. In addition, he has revised the Membership Agreement slightly, by adding explanatory words at the beginning of each item, and providing a series of new, suggested items. We decided this was necessary, as the two documents are very closely related and many suggestions for improvement can be more appropriately reflected as adjustments to the current Membership Agreement. Therefore, the AUP is written as the guidelines for determining the acceptability of any new, proposed uses of the NCF that are not sufficiently defined in the Membership Agreement. We did not include the administration or implementation details at this time. Instead, we recommend that the Board focus first on the actual policy. Administration and implementation are secondary operational issues that can be fully refined in August. ============================================================================= 18 July 1995 Draft II: NCF Acceptable Use Policy ------------------------- The intent of this Acceptable Use Policy is to clarify guidelines that apply to determining whether a given use is acceptable or not. These guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive and in no way suggest that the National Capital FreeNet is actively responsible for monitoring daily behavior and content on the system. The final authority for determining whether or not a use is acceptable is the NCF Board. Members are responsible for raising any questionable use to the NCF Board. Until a specified use is determined to be acceptable, it should be considered unacceptable. Uses consistent with one of the following descriptions are, in general, acceptable: 1. Uses consistent with the purposes of the NCF as described in the mission, position papers and By-laws. 2. Uses related to instruction, research, development, technology transfer and community outreach at not-for-profit organizations. 3. Uses by for-profit organizations in support of research, development and technology transfer. 4. Uses related to the administrative and other support of activities consistent with the purposes of the NCF. Uses consistent with one of the following descriptions are, in general, not acceptable: 1. Uses that unduly interfere with the work of other members of the NCF, or that seriously disrupts the NCF, or that results in the loss of a member's work, this inclues exploiting system weaknesses, breaking into other accounts and forging messages. 2. Uses related to commercial activities such as the unsolicited distribution of advertising material. Exceptions being areas on NCF clearly designated for such a purpose. 3. Uses that are considered by the NCF Board to be malicious, disruptive, annoying or unethical, including abusive or threatening language in both private and public messages. 4. Uses that violate federal, provincial or municipal laws. 5. Uses related to "chain letters" or broadcasting to lists of individuals in such a manner that may cause congestion of the NCF ( also known as "spams" or "spamming"). ============================================================================= National Capital FreeNet Membership Agreement (proposed) July 1995 In consideration for the use of the National Capital FreeNet Computer System (the "System"), and the efforts of National Capital FreeNet Inc. ("NCF") and its Board of Directors (the "Board") to develop and maintain the System, I understand and agree to the following: 1. Privilege of Use. That the use of the System is a privilege which may be revoked by the Board of Directors of the System at any time for abusive conduct or fraudulent use. Such conduct would include, but not be limited to, the placing of unlawful information on the system, the use of obscene, abusive or otherwise objectionable language in either public or private messages, or violation of this Agreement. The Board of the National Capital FreeNet will be the sole arbiter of what constitutes obscene, abusive, or objectionable language. 2. Objectionable Material. That the National Capital FreeNet reserves the right to review any material stored in files or programs to which other Members have access and will edit or remove any material which the Board, in its sole discretion, believes may be unlawful, obscene, abusive, or otherwise objectionable. 3. Private, Non-Commercial Use. That all information services and features contained on the National Capital FreeNet are intended for the private use of its patrons, and any commercial or unauthorized use or publication of those materials, in any form, is expressly forbidden. 4. Reference to Individuals. That all information contained on the National Capital FreeNet is placed there for general informational and entertainment purposes and is, in no way, intended to refer or be applicable to any specific person, case, or situation. 5. Performance. That the National Capital FreeNet and its Board does NOT warrant that the functions of this system will meet any specific requirements I may have; nor that it will be error free or uninterrupted; nor shall it be liable for any indirect, incidental or consequential damages (including lost data, information or profits) sustained or incurred in connection with the use of, operation of, or inability to use the system. 6. Adherence to NCF Rules and Regulations. To abide by such rules and regulations of system usage as may be set down from time to time by the Board of the National Capital FreeNet. 7. Release of NCF from Liability. In consideration for the privilege of using the National Capital FreeNet and in consideration for having access to the information contained on it, I hereby release the National Capital FreeNet, its Board of Directors and operators, and any institutions with which they are affiliated, for any and all claims of any nature arising from my use, or inability to use, the National Capital FreeNet. 8. Indemnification of NCF and NCF Board. To indemnify the NCF and its Board for any loss suffered to them by reason of my improper use of the System, and to compensate anyone harmed by my abusive use of the system. 9. Non-Professional Service. That the information provided on the System is offered as a community service and is not a substitute for individual professional consultation. Adequate professional guidance for making important personal decisions cannot be provided through an electronic format of this type. Advice on individual problems should be obtained personally from a professional. I agree: (1) that I understand this Agreement; (2) that by using the System, I am not seeking to establish a doctor/patient, lawyer/client, or similar relationship with any of the Information Providers or other Members; and (3) that the Information Providers and NCF can rely on my promises in this paragraph (and elsewhere on this form) as an inducement to provide information on the System. 10. Access to Member's Account. That I will not allow another person to use my Member ID and Password; nor will I attempt to obtain or use more than one Member ID, except as authorized in special circumstances by the National Capital FreeNet. 11. Provision of Accurate Information. All registered Members of the National Capital FreeNet must provide accurate information on their application forms. Pseudonyms, nicknames, 'handles' or false names are not allowed -- use your real name. Failure to provide accurate information may result in denial of system access. Willful misrepresentation or deliberate attempts to conceal or forge information may result in legal action against you. 12. Unsolicited Advertising. The National Capital FreeNet prohibits all unsolicited advertising, both direct and 'broadcast', except in the case of non-commercial advertisements posted only in the news groups reserved for such purposes. * * * Possible new items (in no particular order). 13. Reselling of Service. The NCF prohibits members from reselling access to any individuals or organizations. 14. No Liability for Loss or Disclosure of Information or Data. The NCF assumes no liability for the security or loss of information or data. 15. Un-solicited E-mail. The sending of unsolicited e-mail is prohibited. 16. Use of NCF to Support Unlawful Activities. Any use of the NCF in support of unlawful activities is prohibited. 17. Copyright on Information. In accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act, copying of any data or information from the NCF (other than that which is directed to a specific person or group of persons, i.e. e-mail, conferences), without permission of the originator, is prohibited 18. NCF Board Authority. The NCF Board has final authority for acceptable use policies and decisions regarding acceptability. Until the acceptability of a proposed use is determined, any use that is not defined as acceptable, is unacceptable. 19. Violations of Acceptable Use. Notification of any perceived violation of this Member Agreement or the Acceptable Use Policy, is to be directed to the NCF User Complaints Co-ordinator, via e-mail addressed to the "complain" alias. Complaints will be handled as per the Acceptable use policy by the NCF User Complaints Co-ordinator. If the NCF User Complaints Co-ordinator is unable to determine if a violation of the Acceptable Use Policy has occurred, the complaint will be escalated to the NCF Executive Committee and finally to the NCF Board if necessary. 20. Acceptable Use Policy. Where the acceptability of a proposed use of the NCF is not clearly defined in this Membership Agreement, the NCF Acceptable Use Policy shall be used by the NCF board to provide guidelines in determining the acceptability of a proposed use. ============================================================================== -- ?? Have You Met the Challenge ?? ** Type "go challenge" to find out how you can make a difference at NCF ** * * * * * * * * Lisa K. Donnelly, Executive Director, National Capital FreeNet