First, a quick overview of WHY we have rules for The KEEP BBS and our ISP Services, and some of the most common mis-conceptions.
Even though The KEEP is an online community it is unique as a community in that is is NOT a democracy.
Almost every real-life community is one that has merits and weak spots. This occurs because so many different people have so many different opinions about how things should be. The community that YOU ulimately choose is the one that seems to "ring true" with your own beliefs.
This is the same paradigm or "model", if you will, that The KEEP operates under. We've carefully cultivated policies that tend to be for the good of the community, whether you as an individual may agree with them or not.
We strongly feel that our policies and rules are VERY straight-forward and reasonable to reasonable people. After all, it's REASONABLE people that are our "TARGET CONSUMER" for this system. Included in these rules are rules that we SYSOPS must conform to, so it's not all on your shoulders. ;)
That said, on to the nitty gritty!
The KEEP agrees to provide and User agrees to receive access to The KEEP
Internet dial-up service according to the following terms and conditions:
* The benefits or rights conferred by this agreement are nontransferable. Use of The KEEP accounts is expressly limited to the individual or business whose name appears on the account.
* User agrees to use the service in manner consistent with any and all applicable laws. In the event that this account is not used in accordance with all Applicable Laws including, but not limited to Local, State or
Federal Laws, The KEEP reserves the right to cooperate with all or any law enforcement agencies.
* Reselling of your homepage web space is prohibited.
* Sexual images and illegal material on your homepage are prohibited.
* User is responsible for all use of User's account and confidentiality of password. The KEEP will suspend access or change access to User's account immediately upon notification by User that his her password has been lost, stolen or otherwise compromised. The KEEP is not liable for any usage and or charges prior to The KEEP making the necessary account alteration.
* User is responsible for all local and long-distance telephone charges for connecting to The KEEP.
* User agrees to pay The KEEP all charges relating to the use of User's account according to rates and prices stated online at the time of commencement.
* User is responsible for charges at the time the service is used and The KEEP may apply the amount due to User's credit card at any time.
* The KEEP reserves the right to change prices on 30 days notice published Online.
* The KEEP reserves the right to suspend access to service for User's account upon an indication of credit problems including delinquent payments or rejection of any credit card charges.
* The KEEP service is provided on an "as is, as available" basis. No warranties, Expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, those of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, are made with
respect to The KEEP or any information or software therein. This in no way includes any reimbursement for losses of income due to disruption of service by The KEEP or its providers.
* Neither The KEEP nor its Information Providers are responsible for any damages arising from User's use of The KEEP or by User's inability to use The KEEP service.
* The KEEP reserves to right to change without notice The KEEP service, including, but not limited to, access procedures, hours of operation, menu structures, commands, documentation, vendors and services offered.
* The KEEP is not responsible for User's personal files residing on The KEEP. User is responsible for independent backup of his her data stored on The KEEP.
* The KEEP reserves the right to delete User's personal files after one or both parties terminates agreement.
* The KEEP reserves the right in its sole discretion to delete any information entered into The KEEP by User. The KEEP and its authorized representatives shall have the right, but shall not be obligated, to edit publicly viewable information.
* User hereby agrees that any material submitted for publication on The KEEP through user's account does not violate or infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, statutory, common law or proprietary rights of others,
or contain anything obscene or libelous. Software intended to facilitate any such violations or infringements may not be stored on The KEEP.
* The KEEP, at its sole business judgment, may terminate this membership Agreement immediately or suspend User's access to the service upon any breach of this membership Agreement by User, including, but not limited to, refusal or failure to pay for services provided or by sole judgment of The KEEP that User may be performing activities harmful to The KEEP or its Users, employees, vendors, business relationships or any other users of the Internet.
* The following violations of "netiquette" are grounds for immediate suspension of service pending investigation by The KEEP and will result in termination of the account the investigation determines to have originated or transmitted these types of traffic.
(a) Posting a single article or substantially similar articles to an excessive number of newsgroups (i.e., 20 or more) or continued posting of articles which are off-topic (e.g., off-topic according to the newsgroup charter or the article provokes complaints from the regular readers of the newsgroup for being off-topic).
(b) Sending unsolicited mass emailings (i.e., to more than 25 users) which provoke complaints from the recipients.
(c) Engaging in either (a) or (b) from a provider other than The KEEP and using an account on The KEEP as a mail drop for responses. (d) Continued harrassment of other individuals on the Internet after being asked to stop by those individuals and by The KEEP. (e) Impersonating another user or otherwise falsifying one's user name in email, Usenet postings, on IRC, or with any other Internet or BBS service. (This does not preclude the use of nicknames in IRC or the use of anonymous remailer services.)
(f) Use of IRC "bots" on The KEEP, whether on our IRC server or any other. Such software may not be stored on The KEEP. Users whose accounts are terminated for any of the above infractions are also responsible for the cost of labor to cleanup and respond to complaints incurred by The KEEP.
* This document and the rights and duties of the parties shall be governed by and interpreted according to the laws of the State of Oregon.
* The KEEP may modify these terms and conditions upon notice published Online via The KEEP. User's use of The KEEP services after such notice shall constitute User's acceptance of the modifications to this Agreement.
* Non-enforcement of any section of this Agreement does not constitute consent and The KEEP reserves the right to enforce this Agreement at its sole discretion.
* If any one or more paragraphs in this Agreement is found to be unenforceable or invalid, User's and The KEEP's agreement on all other paragraphs shall remain valid.
* Monthly Dues must be paid on a timely basis to maintain User's membership privileges. Monthly dues charged to Credit Card AUTO-BILLING will continue regardless of your use unless and until you expressly
cancel the auto-billing, which you may do at any time, unless bound by a specific term or agreement.
* When paying by check, 900# or Credit Card, User expressly authorize The KEEP to collect from User a penalty fee of up to $25 for a returned check, unpaid 900# charge or Credit Card chargeback.
* The User is in default of this Contract if:
1. Any User covered by this contract fails to obey any present or future The KEEP rule or regulation; or
2. We do not receive a monthly payment on or before its due date; or
3. Any material statement by the User in this contract is false.
Failure to use this account(s) does not relieve the User of payment obligations, except as specifically provided in this contract.
* In the event the User defaults on this contract, The KEEP may suspend or revoke the User's membership privileges and the User may have to reapply for membership at the price The KEEP is charging to new members.
* The User agrees to pay The KEEP's reasonable attorney's fees and court costs, where permitted, in collecting the amount due in athe User's contract or subscription agreement, including the collection of 900#
chargebacks, returned checks and charged back credit card transactions.
* Communication systems are subject to degradation of service from phenomena such as so-called "Line-Noise" interference and other causes beyond the reasonable control of The KEEP.
* The KEEP may assign this order, its rights here under and its ownership of said service and commitment at anytime without notice.
* In addition to any price specified herein, User shall pay the gross amount of any present or future sales, use, excise, value added or other similar taxes applicable to the price, sales or delivery of any products or services furnished here under or to their use by customer.
* The KEEP reserves the right to terminate or change priority of any process started by said user.
* The KEEP reserves the right to collect damages (software, hardware & man hours) if any harm is done to The KEEP which requires repair or reconfiguration of any kind.
* The KEEP may offer credits to users who refer additional users who sign up for and keep The KEEP accounts through at least one billing cycle, provided that the new users signing up mention at the time of signup
the login name or accounting ID number of the user who referred them.
* The KEEP unlimited interactive usage dialup connections are not intended to be full-time dedicated connections and will be disconnected after 10 minutes of inactivity. User agrees not to use any automatic method to avoid disconnection, to keep the connection active only when the User is actively using it, and not to provide public information services over the connection. The KEEP reserves the right to impose a restriction
on accounts it deems to be in violation of these conditions.
Here are some of the basic rules for our BBS:
* RESPECT OTHER CALLERS
Feel free to express yourself, but do not do anything to injure or harm others. In particular, if you dislike someone else's ideas, you can attack the ideas, but NOT the person.
Please refrain from insulting other callers. The KEEP is not a place to make anyone feel demeaned, threatened, or in any other way unwelcome. If we receive complaints about a caller's behavior, that caller can be barred from the service entirely WITHOUT REFUND.
Remember that the views and opinions held by CALLERS and STAFF of this BBS are strictly their own, and are in no way to be construed as the opinions of the Sysop, or any other operator of this system. If anyone
says or posts anything that you find objectionable you may either disagree with them (in a CIVILIZED manner), or simply ignore them.
* THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE
Our Mission Statement says that we welcome people from ALL walks of life. This is a matter of integrity for us, and we HEAVILY enforce this rule. If you are a BIGOT and think that you're going to spread your hate
on or through our system, you are terribly wrong. We'll delete you faster than you can blink. ;> Is that clear enough?
* NO SUCH THING AS FREEDOM OF SPEECH HERE
We want people to speak freely on our system. But if you misuse that freedom (by abusing others), we will restrict your access to the system without refund.
There is currently no profanity filter installed on The KEEP However, if foul language becomes a problem here, it CAN be be re-installed. We here at The KEEP have nothing against adult language from the mouths of
adults when used discriminately Unfortunately, some people aren't so discriminating. We would like to foster a friendly, family atmosphere here, where any person of any persuasion or age would feel welcome.
To that end , please refrain from using excessive profanity. --- Don't be surprised if a STAFF Person or Sysop asks you to "tone down" rude or insulting language, or to take it to a PRIVATE area.
* DO NOT USE OUR BBS FOR ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE ILLEGAL.
This system may NOT be used to encourage anything to do with illegal drugs, gambling, pornography, prostitution, child pornography, robbery, proliferating computer viruses, cracking into private computer systems, software infringement, trafficking in credit card codes, or other crimes.
Upon discovery of such activity, we WILL inform the appropriate authorities.
People sometimes have trouble determining whether certain activities are illegal. It's usually not that hard. If it's illegal "out there," it's illegal "in HERE"! Using our BBS to commit a crime doesn't make it any less a crime. In fact, if you use a BBS to commit a crime, you're exposing the operators of the system and its other callers, to
legal risks that should be yours alone. If you genuinely do not know whether something you'd like to do is
legal or illegal, please discuss it with a SYSOP before you proceed. And if we tell you we do not want you to pursue your plans on our system, please respect our decision.
* RESPECT THE SECURITY OF OUR SYSTEM
Do NOT try to gain access to system areas private to ourselves, STAFF, or other callers.
Some callers try to "crack" system security just to show it can be done. Don't try to demonstrate this on our system or you'll find us demonstrating our delete key.
* YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION
All information you enter will be kept in STRICT confidence, available only to the System Operators, except that your age (as calculated from your birthdate) your gender and city/state information will be available
to all other callers.
* ACCESS
Access to a few Message Areas is restricted due to the sensitive nature of discussion (system-related discussion among System Staff, for example). Also, the designated Forum-Op of any Forum may give or with-hold access as they choose. If you feel that your access to a Message Area has been unjustly with-held, you may appeal to the Sysop. The Sysop's decisions are final.
* ACCOUNT
We are willing to give only ONE account per person.
Violations of this policy will result in legal action and/or a pretty INVOICE being mailed to you (and to our attorney).
* PASSWORDS
Remember when you first signed up, that we said that we would never give out your password under any circumstances? Well, we lied. If you do lose your password, we will give it to you if we can establish with 100% certainty that you are the person registered on the account. In most cases, this will require a personal meeting with a System Official and presentation of photo I.D.
* NO UN-ATTENDED SCRIPTING!
If you aren't at your terminal, you should not be online. SCRIPTING can get out of hand, bog the system down and isn't fair to OTHER game players. It also does NOT service our mission statement, which stresses
interpersonal communications.
* NO RESELLING OF YOUR ACCOUNT
This is closely related to the above policy. Your UNLIMITED Account is meant to be FOR YOU to be used BY YOU. If you are dialing into us to provide internet services to a BBS, a network of computers, you are
overstepping the scope of your dialup account, and must have us quote you for a commercial or business account.
* ONLY ONE HUMAN PER ACCOUNT.
Do NOT use someone else's account or let anyone else use yours for ANY reason! This will be strictly enforced, and violations will result in the removal of BOTH accounts WITHOUT REFUND!
* NO PONZI SCHEMES, SPAM, OR CHAIN LETTERS.
This includes, but is not limited to: "David Rhodes" letters, Make Money Fast letters, multi-level money scams & other pyramid schemes. We do NOT want our customers falling prey to hoaxes. This ALSO APPLIES to USENET SPAMMING or EXCESSIVE CROSSPOSTING to USENET Groups. We're a big happy
internet community, and The KEEP does its part to make it a safe and fun one.
* CHANGES & STATUS
We reserve the right to make ANY changes to to the system in ANY way without prior notice. This includes but is not limited to our rates, services offered, access numbers & online availability.
* OUR RIGHTS
We reserve the right to delete ANY ACCOUNT regardless of Member status. This is to give us power over trouble-makers who are affecting the online sessions of other users. (Fair enuff?)
A SURE way to get deleted or suspended is to ABUSE, BASH or in any other way HARASS other users, thereby affecting their online enjoyment. And you'd also get NO REFUND of unused time.
* FUN!
Have LOTS of fun! If you aren't then just leave us some Email right away to tell us how we can make this service better serve you!
We offer private Electronic Mail as a service to our callers. We will endeavor to keep all of your e-mail private, viewable only by you and the person to whom you address it, except:
* We, as System Operators, may need to look at your electronic mail if we believe it is necessary in order to protect ourselves or other callers from injury or damage. For example, if we have reason to believe a caller is involved in illegal activities which create ANY risk that our system could be seized by the authorities, we
will review their electronic mail for our own protection. We will not, however, monitor electronic mail unless we believe it is being misused.
* If we believe certain electronic mail is connected with illegal activities, we may disclose it to the authorities to protect our system, ourselves, and other callers. We will not deliberately disclose private electronic mail to other callers.
* Remember that the person to whom you send electronic mail does not need to keep it secret. The sender or receiver of electronic mail has the right to make it public.
* If the authorities ever search or seize our system, they may gain access to YOUR private electronic mail. In that case we cannot assure they will not review it. Remember that you have personal rights of privacy that even the government cannot legally violate even though you may have to go to court to enforce those rights.
We want our system to be a worthwhile place for all our callers.
This does NOT mean everyone can do exactly as they please on this system without regard to its effect on others. It is our job to accomodate the common needs of all callers while striving to meet our own goals for the
system.
We will NOT monitor all messages and file transfers. We want to keep the message and file traffic moving smoothly and quickly -- we couldn't do this if we had to monitor everything on the system. However, if we
see (or hear about) messages or other activities that violate the rules, threaten the order or security of the system, or use this system in ways we do not agree with, we will take appropriate action.
Our editorial control includes normal house-keeping activities like changing subject headers and selecting among uploaded files for those we wish to make available for download. It also goes beyond that.
If a caller repeatedly insists on posting messages or transferring files that we previously warned them should not be on the system, those messages will be deleted, and he or she may be locked off the system. If we discover *ANY* caller violating any of OUR rules, especially the provision against illegal activities, we will act firmly and swiftly. Depending on the circumstances, the caller involved will be warned, or simply locked out.
If the caller has done anything to put us or other callers in jeopardy, we may contact the authorities.
We do not plan on doing any of these things. If all callers act with respect and regard for us and for other callers, there will never be any problems. But if problems do arise, we will assert control over our
system against any caller who threatens it. And in this Agreement, you acknowledge that control.
You shall retain all rights to all original messages you post and all original files you upload. Likewise, you must respect the ownership rights of others in their own messages and files. You may not post or upload any messages or files unless you own them, or you have full authority to transmit them to this system.
We OWN certain things you will find on this system, including the name of our system, the "look and feel" of our system (except those portions owned by Galacticomm, Inc.) and the collective work copyright in
sequences of public messages on our system. You cannot reproduce any message thread from our system or website, either electronically or in print, without our permission and the permission of all the participants
in the thread. This is not a complete list - other things on the system are also our property. Before you copy * ANYTHING * from our system with plans of reproducing it or distributing it, you must contact us about it.
The great danger for us, and for all operators of Bulletin Board Systems, is that we might be held accountable for the wrongful actions of our callers. If one caller libels another caller, the injured caller might blame us, even though the first caller was really at fault. If a caller uploads a program with a computer virus, and other callers' computers are damaged, we might be blamed even though the virus was left on our system by a caller. If a caller transfers illegal credit card information to another caller through private electronic mail, we might be blamed even though we did nothing more than unknowingly carry the message from one caller to another.
We did not start this BBS to take the blame for others' actions, and we cannot afford to operate it if we must take that blame. Accordingly, we need all callers to take responsibility for their own acts, and to accept that an act by another caller that damages them must not be blamed on us, but on the other caller.
These needs are accomplished by the following paragraph:
You agree that we will not be held responsible to you for any indirect, consequential, special or punitive damages or losses you may incur in connection with our system or any of the data or other materials
transmitted through or residing on our system, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damage or loss. In addition, you agree to defend and indemnify us and hold us harmless from and against
any and all claims, proceedings, damages, injuries , liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees) relating to any acts by you or materials or information transmitted by you in connection with our system leading wholly or partially to claims against us or our system by other callers or third parties.
Our bulletin board system can be reached by callers from all fifty states, and around the world. Each of these places has a different set of laws. Since we cannot keep track of all of these laws and their requirements,
you agree that the law of our own state, Oregon, will apply to all matters relating to this Agreement and to our bulletin board system. In addition, you agree and consent that if you ever take legal action against us, the courts of our own state, Oregon, will have exclusive jurisdiction over any such legal actions.
Thank you for taking the time to read our policies! We hope they make clear the rules of our system, and that you now know what you can expect of us, and what we expect of you. If there is anything contained in these
pages that you do not understand, please contact us, and we will try to explain.
(c)1997, Gregory McGill; The KEEP Information Services,