PowerLink Usage and Conduct Policies

• 1.1 Except as specifically authorized by PowerLink, PowerLink accounts are to be used only by the person in whose name the account was created. Corporate accounts are to be used only by members of the group or organization named by the account.
• 1.2 All accounts are granted subject to compliance with this policy statement. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in account termination.
• 1.3 All Correspondence should be sent to the following address. Be sure to include your username and account number with all correspondence.
  
  

  PowerLink Services Ltd.
  243 - 1290 Esplanade
  Trail, B.C. V1R-4T2
  

  
  
• 1.4 Any bank charges incurred by PowerLink because of NSF cheques or similar circumstances will be charged back to the member's account, along with a service charge of $25.00.
• 1.5 Accounts incurring NSF, Stop Payment, or Credit Card Declines will be disabled until full payment is received.
• 1.6 PowerLink memberships confer upon their owners a set of privileges which vary according to membership type. These privileges are subject to change without notice.
• 1.7 A PowerLink account holder is responsible for ensuring that the account's billing data is current and accurate. Providing false data on a signup form, contract, or other application, including fradulent use of credit card numbers is grounds for immediate account termination.
• 1.8 PowerLink attempts to provide a spam free environment to its members. For that purpose PowerLink reserves the right to block mail from third parties and to filter spam from Usenet newsgroups. Regardless, it is impossible to guarantee that a PowerLink member will never encounter spam.
• 1.9 PowerLink customers are responsible for their overtime hours. Check your usage daily, using the Customer Web Site, to ensure and report discrepencies immediately to billing@wkpowerlink.com. Overtime invoices cannot be adjusted once paid. Additional Account Policies are available at http://www.wkpowerlink.com/services/policy.html

• 2.1 The types of conduct described in paragraphs 2.2 through 2.5 are grounds for immediate suspension of service pending investigation by PowerLink or any party PowerLink may designate, and may result in termination of the account or accounts the investigation determines to have been involved with such conduct.
• 2.2 General Conduct
  • Continued harassment of other individuals on PowerLink or the Internet after being asked to cease and desist.
  • Impersonating another user or otherwise falsifying one's user name in email, Usenet postings, on Internet Relay Chat (IRC), or with any other service. This does not preclude the use of nicknames in IRC, the use of anonymous remailer services, or postings to those PowerLink or Usenet newsgroups that permit pseudonyms.
  • Privacy violations: Attempts, whether successful or not, to gain access to PowerLink or any other system, or users' private data without express consent of the user.
  • Use of unauthorized IRC bots or clonebots on PowerLink, whether on IRC servers controlled by PowerLink or by other parties. An IRC bot is a program which runs and is connected to an IRC server 24 hours a day, automatically performing certain actions.
  • Using PowerLink or PowerLink services to encourage, facilitate, or engage in illegal activities.
• 2.3 Attempts to circumvent Security of Computer Systems and Networks
  • PowerLink account holders may not attempt to circumvent security or authentication systems on any host, network hardware, or user accounts. This includes but is not limited to the account holder logging into a server or account the account holder is not expressly authorized to access, or probing network security.
  • Attempts to interfere with the operation of PowerLink systems or networks, or activities which adversely affect the ability of other people or systems to use PowerLink services or the Internet, including, but not limited to:
    1. Denial of service attacks including, but not limited to, flooding of networks, attempts to overload a service, attempts to cause system crashes.
    2. Any use of this or any other system as a staging ground to interfere with the operation of other systems.
• 2.4 PowerLink and Usenet newsgroups
  1. Posting a single article or substantially similar articles to an excessive number of newsgroups, or crossposting to an excessive number of newsgroups.
  2. Continued posting of articles which are off-topic according to the newsgroup charter or the article provokes complaints from the regular readers of the newsgroup for being off-topic.
  3. Posting binary or encoded binary files to newsgroups not specifically designated for that purpose.
  4. Engaging in any of 1, 2, or 3 from a provider other than PowerLink and using an account on PowerLink as a mail drop for responses, or to draw attention to a service hosted within PowerLink networks.
  
  In addition, PowerLink reserves the right, where feasible, to implement technical mechanisms which block the activities described in 1, 2, 3, and 4.
  
  
• 2.5 Email
  1. Sending unsolicited bulk mail. er.
  2. Mail bombing, defined as sending or causing to be sent large volumes of unsolicited email to a single or multiple entities.
  3. Sending email to any person or process who does not wish to receive it. If a recipient asks to stop receiving email from a PowerLink member then that PowerLink member must not send that person further email.
  4. Engaging in either 1, 2, or 3 from a provider other than PowerLink and using an account on PowerLink as a mail drop for responses, or to draw attention to a service hosted within PowerLink networks.
  5. Subscribing a third party to a mailing list or other mail service without their consent.
  6. Using profanity in correspondence to any PowerLink staff memb
  
  
  In addition, PowerLink reserves the right, where feasible, to implement technical mechanisms which block the activities described in 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
  
  

• 3.1 All files, messages, and other information made available on PowerLink by a PowerLink member are the sole reponsiblility of that member. All files, messages, and other information posted via automated methods such as Usenet by non-members are the responsibility of those people.
• 3.2 Section 3.1 notwithstanding, information made available on PowerLink may not slander or persecute individuals or identifiable groups of people. Such information may be removed at the discretion of PowerLink management.
• 3.3 Public messages posted to PowerLink may not contain crude or offensive language except where such language is a necessary part of an artistic expression. Offensive messages may be removed at the discretion of PowerLink management.
• 3.4 Commercial messages may not be posted in a noncommercial PowerLink newsgroup without prior approval from PowerLink management.
• 3.5 Management reserves the right to remove any information made available on PowerLink systems at any time.

• 4.1 PowerLink exists to facilitate communication and we feel that censorship compromises that goal; hence PowerLink will not censor files or messages flowing through our facilities on the basis of morality, taste, desirability, or any other basis except legality.
• 4.2 PowerLink shall attempt not to distribute any file or message if doing so would be contrary to the laws of Canada or the laws of the province of British Columbia, and PowerLink members are reminded that they are responsible for information they make available and are bound by those same laws.
• 4.3 PowerLink reserves the right to remove from the system messages or e-mail deemed by our software to be unsolicited advertising. Messages and e-mail may also be removed by PowerLink for technical reasons.

• 5.1 This policy statement is subject to change without notice. Significant changes will be announced in an appropriate manner. A current policy statement is always available.
• 5.2 This policy statement is currently available on the World Wide Web at the URL http://www.wkpowerlink.com/policies.html".
• 5.3 This policy was last revised March 12, 1999.