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The following violations of "netiquette" are grounds for immediate suspension of service pending investigation by VVM and will result in termination of the account(s) the investigation determines to have originated or transmitted these types of traffic.
1.Posting a single article or substantially similar articles to an excessive number of newsgroups (i.e., more than 10) 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, also known as SPAMMING).
2.Also Sending unsolicited mass emailings (i.e., to more than 10 users) which provoke complaints from the recipients.
3.Engaging in SPAMMING from a provider other than VVM and using an account on VVM as a mail drop for responses.
4.Harassment of other individuals on the Internet after being asked to stop by those individuals and by VVM.
5.Impersonating another user or otherwise falsifying one's user name in email, Usenet postings, on IRC, or with any other Internet service. (This does not preclude the use of nicknames in IRC or the use of anonymous remailer services.)
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Any attempts to penetrate VVM security or to access another persons account or files
will result in the termination of the account holder's account without notice and possible
criminal prosecution.
(See also Shell Accounts.)
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IMPORTANT: All new e-mail accounts are setup with a feature to block unwanted junk e-mail and viruses.
Please make sure you visit the Spam Filter and login with your newly obtained username and password. You may change the settings by clicking on the Preferences button on the left hand side while using the Spam Filter.
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VVM does not provide complete assurance that data stored on VVM computer systems will be maintained. In event of a corrupted mailbox in which attempts to repair have been unsuccessful VVM retains the right to delete the file providing notification of the customer. In the event of a system failure that results in files being lost, VVM may be unable to restore these files (in the event of a hard drive crash it is possible during the repair process that fragments of files may become damaged..since we cannot perform a full backup every 30 seconds or so, even with RAID/Mirroring systems, it is possible that data could be lost
The subscriber understands this and agrees to take precautions to back up information on some other computer system, or in some other manner. VVM makes available (ftp,pop .etc.) utilities for moving data from/to our computer system. Subscriber is solely responsible for determining the accuracy of any files transferred using these utilities. VVM is NOT responsible for your data. (the file transfer process is a highly fault tolerant one; however, since there is a component of the connection not controlled by VVM we cannot take responsibility for any data errors incurred during the transfer) Examples include the transmission of an e-mail message over the internet from another provider or line spikes that corrupt data bits on the telephone line.
VVM makes no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, regarding the quality, accuracy, or validity of the data and/or information residing on computer systems accessed through VVM (We do however, strive to maximize the quality, accuracy and validity of the data that we do provide at all times and are constantly working on ways to improve the service)
VVM makes no representations regarding system availability. VVM reserves the right to discontinue service periodically for maintenance, particularly during non-peak periods such as nights and weekends. Subscribers should plan accordingly. VVM will attempt to provide 24 hour a day, 7 day per week service, but we cannot guarantee any specific level of service. Again, the nature of this technology requires some downtime but it is our goal to have it at a minimum.
VVM will NOT be held responsible for consequential damages resulting from use or nonuse of VVM Services provided by VVM are used by subscriber at subscribers sole risk, and we do not guarantee any specific level of service.
VVM will under no circumstances be held responsible for long distance telephone charges incurred through the use of VVM services. VVM is not responsible for information provided by VVM staff or VVM websites that is inconsistent with local phone companies' policies or procedures. It is always the responsibility of the subscriber to ensure that they are dialing a local phone number with their phone company. The subscriber understands that they are responsible for determining whether a VVM telephone number is within the subscriber's local calling area, as well as for any long-distance charges subscriber may incur in connecting to VVM's internet services.
Subscriber agrees to indemnify and hold harmless VVM from any claims resulting from subscriber's use of the service which causes direct or indirect damage to the subscriber or another party.
Account holder agrees to indemnify and hold harmless VVM from any and all lawsuits, judgments, decrees, costs and expenses, any attorney fees arising from the subscriber's use of the services provided by VVM
Subscriber understands that VVM receives all USENET discussion groups and that some of the discussion groups contain language and subjects that are appropriate only for adult audiences. If the subscriber is less than 18 years of age, the account setup request form must be signed by a legal guardian. VVM cannot be held liable for information made available from the customers account.
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1. Please direct any problems to the administration or ircadmin@vvm.com.
2. Bots are allowed, as long as they remain within the user@host constraints.
3. No more than three connections per user@host.
4. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
5. Flooding/cloning will result in your immediately being killed.
6. Abuse of the server or repeated violation of the policies can result in your being banned from the server, the incident(s)being reported to the system administrator , and possibly suspension or termination of your account.
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News groups in the "alt.vvm" structure are meant for discussions by VVM subscribers only, and advertising of goods and services offered by other service providers is strictly prohibited. VVM reserves the right to delete inappropriate articles from these groups.
Newsgroups are a collection of discussion topic lists. Each newsgroup is created on a
different computer somewhere in the world. Some computers have more than one newsgroup
that they
create. These newsgroups are then propagated to every computer system through the internet
that accepts newsfeeds (such as our computer at VVM). When a person connects to any of
these news servers they can view all the newsgroups that are available throughout the
world.
When they post a message to one particular newsgroup, that message gets propagated to
every newshost within a few hours, sort of like a radio broadcast. So, newsgroups are like
international CB channels where anyone can talk and anyone can listen. The difference is
that on this CB, you are not limited to sending your voice, you can also send and receive
pictures and even very short videos (30 secs max). Some newgroups are moderated (meaning
the owner of the newsgroup filters the messages and discards those he feels are not
appropriate for the group) and some are not moderated. Currently, there are 13,600+
newsgroups at VVM and new ones are being added
daily.
VVM would like to make it clear that we do not in any way condone or support nor are we responsible for the statements, pictures or any other material found within the newsgroup community. We do not have the capacity, resources or manpower to monitor newsgroup activity on 13,600+ newsgroups 24 hours a day due to the fact that there are several GBytes of information posted to newsgroups on a daily basis. However, what we can do is warn users that there may be controversial information or material available on these groups.
As a special note to parents, please monitor the activity of your children and do not allow them unsupervised access to newsgroups or the internet. Thank you and please send us your comments and suggestions on this matter, we welcome any assistance on this complicated issue.
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VVM allows for two types of access accounts. Dial-Up (Non-Dedicated) and
Dedicated.
Dial-up accounts are designed for customers who wish to dial-up to the internet
and use the service and then disconnect when finished. Dedicated accounts are
for customers who wish to get connected and stay connected without having to
disconnect even when they are not using the service. VVM can use two methods of
monitoring this.
A. Honor system. For the most part we use the honer system. That is that we trust that customers will not abuse the service by staying connected even when they are not using it. This is only polite and allows other customers to get connected. It also helps keep your monthly fee low.
B. If too many customers abuse this service then we may have to set timeouts. Timeouts say that if a customer is connected for x amount of time (12 hours for example) then disconnect the customer. We do not like to use this method as it is possible to disconnect a customer while they are in the middle of something important.
As a general rule dial-up accounts should follow these simple rules.
1. Disconnect when not in use.
2. ISDN users should set BOD (Bandwidth On Demand)
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1. VVM provides shell accounts for free as a courtesy for those customers with special needs that absolutely require shell/ASCII based access.
Shell accounts WILL NOT be activated for IRC-based applications such as eggdrop bots. These applications require too many system resources and commands, lessening security.
Due to the vulnerable nature of shell accounts, security will always take precedence over customer convenience regarding shell accounts.
VVM reserves the right to remove or add any service at any time on the shell service once it has been determined that doing so will improve security in any way. We will not be held responsible for any damages incurred or loss of service due to efforts on our part to heighten security on the system.
VVM will not be responsible for informing shell customers of these security changes. The customer may inquire as to why service has been suspended, but due to security issues VVM is not required to make this information available.
Due to the nature of shell accounts, VVM cannot and will not guarantee uninterrupted
service for shell access. VVM reserves the right to disconnect the shell server at any
time we feel a security situation might arise.
(See Also Security.)
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Account holder agrees to use VVM only for lawful purposes. Transmission of any material in violation of any U.S. or state statute or regulation is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to copyrighted material, material legally judged to be threatening or obscene, or unauthorized transmission of material protected by a trade secret.
Subscriber will be billed in advance for all services, either by credit card or directly. Payments are due as soon as services are made available. If VVM does not receive payment for services within 10 days, VVM reserves the right to suspend or revoke access to VVM services.
VVM customers who want to cancel service MUST give 30 days notice on cancellation of services. Written notice of cancellation is also required (email, fax or letter). No refunds on prepaid accounts.
These Terms and conditions supersede all previous agreements and represent the only set of conditions relating to usage of VVM services by subscriber. VVM reserves the right to modify the terms and conditions as necessary. Subscribers will be notified by e-mail of any changes in usage policies.
VVM services are supplied to paid subscribers only. VVM reserves the right to terminate services to non-paid subscribers at any time.
The use of profanity or verbal abuse when addressing VVM employees will not be tolerated. We feel that no circumstances, whether we are to blame or not, warrants the humiliation and/or emotional or physical abuse of any of our employees.
Users whose accounts are terminated for any infractions are also responsible for the cost of labor to cleanup and respond to complaints incurred by VVM.
To maintain efficiency of VVM's network which is designed to provide access to the Internet for its customers, this Acceptable Use Policy has been created.
VVM, the Internet Service Provider (ISP), hereinafter referred to as the 'Provider' strives to provide end users of its various products reasonable access to the Internet at all times. To effectively provide high quality Internet access, it is imperative that abuses of these products are minimized through the cooperation of all users. To this end, abuses by any user (Subscriber) which impairs the operation of the Provider in its efforts to deliver satisfactory service levels to each of its various Subscribers, may result in temporary reductions in service up to and including complete termination of access to the Internet through the Provider's system.
It is important to note that all services of Provider are made available only for lawful purposes. Consequently, any service sold by Provider, which is used in a manner that violates existing law, that Subscriber is subject to immediate termination. Additionally, use of Provider's Internet access made available by Provider requires acceptance of this policy by the Subscriber.
In addition to the above provisions, the following guidelines are a non-exclusive list of restrictions which also apply, and of which any violation may also result in reduction or termination of Subscriber's access to the Internet through Provider's systems, or to any of the Provider's systems or services.
Provider's access to
the Internet is for personal, non-commercial use only, unless a commercial grade
service has been specifically contracted.
Provider's
access to the Internet may not be used in a manner that interferes with
Provider's ability to provide its services to other Subscribers, not limited
to, but including excessive bandwidth usage.
Use
of Provider's access to the Internet to attempt breaches of any system's
security, computer, data, software, programs, or any other media to which the
Subscriber does not have duly authorized access is strictly forbidden.
Additionally, use of any Subscriber account to create, distribute, transmit, or
participate in the propagation of any malware, virus, or other harmful acts
which may inhibit the security of any system within or outside of Provider's
control is strictly prohibited.
Forging of an IP
address or client ID, headers of e-mail or TCP/IP packets or improper use of
postings to newsgroups or blogs, or attempts to determine weaknesses of any
network or system via the access afforded through Provider's connection to the
Internet is prohibited.
Engaging in any
acts, actions, transmission or posting of any content which violates child
pornography laws is expressly forbidden.
Engaging in the
uploading, transmission or posting of any content that infringes upon the rights
of others is prohibited. This may include the infringement of intellectual
property rights, copyrights, trade secrets, or the private personal information
of individuals without their consent. Additionally, use of Provider's systems to
engage in inappropriate behaviors including threats of physical violence, hate
crimes, offensive or inappropriate sexually oriented material and any
unsolicited bulk e-mail (spam) is also prohibited.
Use of any access
through Provider to engage in any fraud, including but not limited to chain
letters, spamming newsgroups, pyramid schemes, fraudulent investment schemes, or
any phishing scam/schemes is expressly forbidden.
Engaging in any
conduct which interferes with Provider's ability to efficiently operate its
systems, facilities, or the reasonable use of Provider's services by other
Subscribers is prohibited. Provider does and may use various tools and methods
to manage its services and systems. These tools and methods may include
processes which detect abnormal usage, malicious traffic, aberrant behaviors of
Subscriber connections, and the monitoring of traffic patterns, P2P traffic, and
other traffic which may constitute an interference with the overall ability of
Provider to maintain network efficiencies.
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Important Notice: VVM does not endorse any ads that are placed in publications regardless of whether or not the person or persons are using a VVM e-mail address. The views or opinions associated with any ads or publications produced and/or distributed by our customers do not necessarily reflect those of VVM management or staff. Merely having an associated e-mail address in an ad or publication that has used the VVM domain (i.e. @vvm.com) does not imply any association between the ads contents and the service provider, it is simply an address denoting the location of an e-mail mailbox. Thank You.