Our Appropriate Use Policy (AUP) is designed to help protect our customers, and the Internet community, from irresponsible or illegal activities. As good net citizens, we prohibit the impersonation of others, unsolicited commercial appeals, and any disruption of Internet services. Examples of such activities are given below:

Billing

• All bills are due by the due date on your invoice, You have an eight day grace period after the due date, If the invoice is not paid by the eighth day after the due date your account will be suspended until payment is received. If your account is disabled 3 or more times, you will be charged a $5 reconnect fee.
• All refunds will incur a $25 refund fee. Refunds will be charged our regular monthly fee for each month the account was used. The remainder after the monthly fees and refund fee will be refunded to you via check or credited to your debit/credit card.
• Accounts that have a returned check are charged a $25.00 fee and the account will be suspended until payment is recieved.

• Using US 1 Link services for illegal purposes or in support of illegal activities. In accordance with Section of the Internet Access Agreement, US 1 Link reserves the right to cooperate with legal authorities and/or injured third parties in the investigation of any suspected crime or civil wrong. Activities which are prohibited as potentially illegal include, but are not limited to:
  • Unauthorized copying of copyrighted material including, but not limited to, digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books, or other copyrighted sources, and copyrighted software.
  • Exporting software or technical information in violation of U.S. export control laws.
  • Posting or emailing of scams such as 'make-money-fast' schemes or 'pyramid/chain' letters.
  • Threatening bodily harm or property damage to individuals or groups.
  • Making fraudulent offers of products, items, or services originating from your account.
  • Attempting to access the accounts of others, or attempting to penetrate security measures of US 1 Link's or other entities' systems ("hacking"), whether or not the intrusion results in corruption or loss of data.
  • Harassing others by 'mail-bombing' or 'news-bombing'. 'Mail-bombing' constitutes sending more than ten (10) similar mail messages to the same email address. 'News bombing' constitutes sending more than 10MB of data to a newsgroup.
  • Sending unsolicited email messages where the recipient objects to the content of the message or to the receipt of the message in general is also prohibited under this Section.
• Member acknowledges that he/she/ is expressly prohibited from utilizing US 1 Link's service, US 1 Link's equipment or any US 1 Link's electronic mail address in connection with the sending of the same or substantially similar unsolicited electronic mail message, whether commercial or not, to a large number of recipients. This prohibition extends to the sending of unsolicited mass mailings from another service which in any way implicates the use of US 1 Link's service, US 1 Link's equipment or any US 1 Link's electronic mail address.
• A message is unsolicited if it is posted in violation of a USENET or newsgroup charter and /or if it is sent to a recipient who has not requested or invited the message. For purposes of this provision, merely making one's e-mail address accessible to the public shall not constitute a request or invitation to receive messages.
• Email accounts are limited to Ten Megs of server space per account. Email accounts that are greater then Ten Megs may at anytime have there Email deleted from the server without notice. It is the users responsibility to make sure that they don't have their settings set to leave Email on server.
• Violation of these policies may result in account termination without notice.

• Disk space:
  Personal homepages are limited to 10 MB of data. Additional space can be purchased at $1 / MB.
• Content:
  Homepages are intended for personal use only. Commercial content (advertising, sale of merchandise or services, etc.) is strictly prohibited, unless otherwise agreed to by US 1 Link.
• The User agree's to maintain a web site that will not include any questionable material (pornography - obscene language)
• This service will follow the general use policies put in place by US 1 Link.
• US 1 Link Internet only provides technical support for a user to be able to FTP into their Homepage directory.
• US 1 Link Internet does not help a user with creating their homepage, the user is responsible for creating and maintaining their homepage.

Network unfriendly activity:
Activities which adversely affect the ability of other people or systems to use US 1 Link services or the Internet is prohibited.

• Privacy violations:
  Attempts, whether successful or not, to gain access to any computer system, or customer's data, without consent is prohibited.
• Member specifically agrees that he/she/ will not utilize the US 1 Link service, US 1 Link's equipment or any US 1 Link electronic mail address in connection with the transmission of the same or substantially similar unsolicited message to 50 or more recipients or 15 or more newsgroups in a single day. Members responsible for these acts may be terminated at US 1 Link's discretion. US 1 Link at its sole discretion shall determine whether such a violation was unintentional or willful. Payment for dialup accounts under this provision shall not prevent US 1 Link from seeking to obtain other legal remedies against member, including other damages or an injunction.
• Revealing your account password to others or allowing use of your account by others (other than authorized users in your household).
• At no time can there be simultaneous use of the same username and password combination. Unless agreed upon by US 1 Link Internet.
• Forging any message header, in part or whole, of any electronic transmission, originating or passing through US 1 Link services.
• Distributing viruses to or from US 1 Link systems.
• Use of software or any device that would allow your account to stay logged on while you are not actively using US 1 Link services or use the account for the purpose of operating a server of any type.
• Cross-posting advertisements for products, items, or services to ten (10) or more unrelated USENET newsgroups.
• Posting articles to any USENET or other newsgroup, mailing list or similar forum which are off-topic according to the charter or other public statement of the forum.
• Disrupting any newsgroup with frivolous, excessively vulgar, or repetitious postings.
• Posting of binary, or excessively large, unrelated text files to non-binary news groups that have specifically requested such material not be posted in the group's FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
• Installation of 'auto-responders', 'cancel-bots' or similar automated or manual routines which generate excessive amounts of net traffic, or disrupt net newsgroups or email use by others.
• Engaging in any of the above activities using the service of another provider but channeling such activities through an US 1 Link account or re-mailer, or using an US 1 Link account as a mail drop for responses.
• US 1 Link Assumes No Liability

  US 1 Link has no practical ability to restrict all conduct, communications or content which might violate this Policy prior to its transmission on US 1 Link's systems, nor can US 1 Link ensure prompt removal of any such communications or content after transmission or posting. Accordingly, US 1 Link does not assume liability to subscribers or others for any failure to enforce the terms of this Policy.

• Revisions to this Policy

  US 1 Link reserves the right to modify this Policy at any time. Notice of modifications to this Policy may be given to subscribers by posting such changes to the US 1 Link homepage (http://www.us1link.net), by electronic mail, or by conventional mail.

Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

• The use of IRC bots is prohibited, as is the violation of any accepted policies on IRC servers. If US 1 Link is banned from a server, the offending account will be terminated.

Privacy

• It may be necessary for US 1 Link's employees to examine system accounting logs and other records to resolve system problems. US 1 Link reserves the right to access an account's mailbox to resolve system problems or mail system errors.
• In addition, US 1 Link 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.

• US 1 Link makes no guarantee and assumes no liability for the security of any data on on transmitted through 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 computer systems, and should not be considered a secure means of communication unless encrypted. Even then, information is only as secure as the encryption method.

Rationale

• This document provides a general understanding of US 1 Link's policy on the Appropriate Use of US 1 Link services. Common sense and judgment are a necessary part of any system of rules, and this AUP is no exception. Of course, flagrant or repeated violations of the Policy are viewed in a very different light than minor infractions.
• 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 US 1 Link customers access to everything the Internet has to offer with minimal or no interference. Our belief in Free Speech is a firm commitment to our customers. However, Free Speech does not include the right to shout "Fire" in a crowded theater. In an analogous manner, certain activities are considered inappropriate by the Internet community at large, and cannot be permitted under the guise of Free Speech.
• US 1 Link does not censor the content of any newsgroups. We believe such choices should be left to the individual. We do advise our users that tools, such as Cyber Patrol, Cyber Sitter, Net Nanny are available to screen an account's access to newsgroups and web sites one considers offensive. It is the account owner's responsibility to make use of such tools if desired.
• US 1 Link 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 US 1 Link service, we will respond.
• If a US 1 Link account is used to violate the AUP, we reserve the right to terminate service without notice. Our preferred course of action would be to advise the account owner of the inappropriate behavior and corrective action necessary. However, flagrant violations of the AUP will result in immediate termination of service.
• In the event that an account is temporarily inactivated as a result of any prohibited activities, the account may be subject to reactivation charges and/or deposit requirements to be determined by US 1 Link.