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Crosswind Policies
To determine and implement policies regulating and administrating customer services as provided by Crosswind, this document covers the following areas:
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Acceptable usage of PPP dialup accounts. Outlines restrictions and conditions for usage.
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Inactivity disconnect times and restrictions.
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Usenet policy and acceptable posting policy.
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Customer responsibility and cooperation.
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Acceptable Use of Web Servers and restrictions.
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Customer preclusions
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Spamming
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This document and related policies may change without notice and will be updated on a regular basis.
Acceptable Usage of PPP Accounts
PPP accounts are the most basic service Crosswind offers to customers. It is also the most heavily used account in terms of number of customers accessing this service and therefore is subject to the most abuse. PPP dialup accounts are used on a "dialup" basis, meaning they are used only as needed and in no way are intended to be operating 24 hours a day on an ongoing connection. Nor does this type of account support a static IP address. The account may be accessed as little or as much as a customer needs, however Crosswind has strict definitions of how that service is determined.
The service may be used for WWW viewing or uploading via a commercial web server.
The account may be used for reading or posting to Usenet newsgroups, sending or receiving and reading of electronic e-mail, transferring of files via the FTP protocol or telnetting to remote sites.
PPP accounts cannot be used as a commercial avenue or connection for a dedicated server site to the Internet.
PPP accounts cannot be accessed simultaneously by multiple users using the same username and has only one mailbox for incoming e-mail.
PPP account holders cannot use automated processes such as checking e-mail or pinging our host to maintain a constant connection.
PPP accounts cannot be used to run web servers, ftp servers, chat servers, or BBS servers.
Inactivity and Disconnect Policy
The account will be disconnected automatically within 20 minutes of inactivity. This time is general and subject to change as mandated by the System Administrator of Crosswind. Inactivity is defined as periods when no activity is detected by Crosswind through electronic means and the account is not being actively used by a dialup user. Electronic or mechanical means to avoid an inactivity disconnect are strictly prohibited. Electronic or mechanical means include: pinging the mail server; electronic or software autodialer features to maintain an active connection; repetitive checks for e-mail by auto-login to the mail server. Abuse of these conditions and others not identified can result in a customer having their account disabled until these processes are halted in agreement with Crosswind Appropriate Use Policy. Electronic means of auditing a suspected abused connection will be done by Crosswind with the above guidelines in mind and with respect for the customer's privacy. Continued abuse or violations of the above conditions my result in a customers account being permanently disabled and all previous agreements rendered null and void.
Usenet Policy and Acceptable Posting Procedures
Usenet access is provided to all dialup customers of Crosswind. Customers are free to subscribe to as many or as few newsgroups as they wish. In conjunction with established Usenet protocols, Crosswind advises customers not to post to newsgroups until the customer has familiarized themselves with the subjects and established guidelines of the newsgroup. Some restrictions of newsgroup postings have been established by Usenet and are respected by Crosswind. Customers unconditionally agree to these protocols and policies with their account. These include:
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Post articles to groups pertaining to the posting. Inappropriate postings are not appreciated by participants of newsgroups nor are they allowed under Usenet protocols.
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Some newsgroups do not allow commercial postings. Users are encouraged to verify this before making any such posting.
Irresponsible blanket postings to all or large numbers of newsgroups simultaneously with disregard to the newsgroups subject is forbidden.
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Chain letters are not allowed to be posted
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Irresponsible newsgroup postings which result in large numbers of complaints to Crosswind News Administrator may result in a customers account being disabled
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Only the Crosswind News Administrator may create new Usenet groups. Any abuse of this policy will result in a customers account being disabled and all other previous agreements rendered null and void.
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Any disregard for the above conditions may result in an account being disabled.
Customer Responsibility and Cooperation
All customers and subscribers of Crosswind agree unconditionally to not in any way intentionally or maliciously cause harm to the equipment, software, or processes operating Crosswind. Any violations of this agreement will result in civil and/or criminal penalties as prescribed by local, state and federal laws applicable in this area.
The Internet hosts some material deemed unfit for viewing and reading by minors under the age of 18. Some sites contain information both in text and graphical formats that may be considered obscene or harmful. Customers and subscribers of Crosswind's services will not hold Crosswind responsible for sites and postings which could be considered obscene, lewd, offensive and/or harmful. It is Crosswind policy that individuals are responsible for their own monitoring and viewing habits and those minors in their care. We currently do not filter or screen postings or sites on the Internet as a whole nor do we plan to in the foreseeable future. Customers and subscribers possibly offended by such material are encouraged to explore software options that block or filter sites that may be deemed unsuitable.
In addition to this, customers and subscribers are encouraged to use common sense and courtesy when creating postings and or sites on our WWW commercial server that may be considered offensive to others.
Acceptable Use of Crosswind Web Servers and restrictions
Users of Crosswind Web Services and the Virtual Domain Server will be subject to additional charges if their site is receiving excessive use.
We expressly reserve the right to disable web sites generating significantly excessive traffic (significantly excessive traffic is defined as any amount of activity that noticeably detriments performance on the server in question). We do not allow any form of pornographic material to be hosted on our servers. We also do not allow any links or references to sites containing pornographic material.
Customers Shall Be Precluded From Doing Any of the Following
Posting or transmitting any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, giving rise to civil liability, or otherwise violating any local, state, national or international law, including without limitation the U.S. export control laws and regulations;
Posting or transmitting any information or software which contains a virus, worm, cancelbot or other harmful component; Uploading, posting, publishing, transmitting, reproducing, distributing or participating in the transfer or sale, or in any exploiting any information, software or other material obtained through the Internet which is protected by copyright or other proprietary right or derivative which is protected by copyright or other proprietary right or derivative works with respect thereto, without obtaining permission of the copyright owner or rightholder;
Abusing or fraudulently using the Service in any way not specifically set forth above;
Customer understands further that the Internet contains unedited materials, some of which are sexually explicit or may be offensive to some people. Customer and Customer's authorized users access such materials at Customer's own risk. Moreover, Customer acknowledges that it will comply with all legislation, regulations, caselaw, and ordinances that regulate the transmission of information content over the Internet.
Spamming
 It is contrary to Crosswind policy for any user of any of these services to effect or participate in any of the following activities through Crosswind-provided service:
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To post a single article or advertisement to more than ten (10) Usenet or other newsgroups, forums, email mailing lists or other similar groups or lists;
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To post to any Usenet or other newsgroup, forum, email mailing list or other similar group or list articles which are off-topic according to the charter or other owner-published FAQ or description of the group or list;
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To send unsolicited mass emailings to more than twenty-five (25) email users, if such unsolicited emailings provoke complaints from the recipients;
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To engage in any of the foregoing activities using the service of another provider, but channeling such activities through an Crosswind account or remailer, or using an Crosswind account as a maildrop for responses;
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To falsify user information provided to Crosswind or to other users of the service in connection with use of an Crosswind service.
Crosswind considers the above practices to constitute abuse of our service and of the recipients of such unsolicited mailings and/or postings, who often bear the expense. Therefore, these practices are prohibited by Crosswind's terms and conditions of service. Engaging in one or more of these practices will result in termination of the offender's account and/or access to Crosswind services.
In addition, Crosswind reserves the right, where feasible, to implement technical mechanisms which block multiple postings as described above before they are forwarded. This policy addresses only the kinds of network abuse specifically enumerated above. In addition to these activities, Crosswind's terms and conditions of service also prohibit other forms of abuse such as harassment and the posting of illegal or unlawful materials, and Crosswind will respond as appropriate to these other activities as well.
Nothing contained in this policy shall be construed to limit Crosswind's actions or remedies in any way with respect to any of the foregoing activities, and Crosswind reserves the right to take any and all additional actions it may deem appropriate with respect to such activities, including without limitation taking action to recover the costs and expenses of identifying offenders and removing them from the Crosswind service, and levying cancellation charges to cover Crosswind's costs in the event of disconnection of dedicated access for the causes outlined above. The minimum fee Crosswind will charge to any person caught violating this policy is $5000.00, and collection of said fees will be pursued diligently.
If you have any questions regarding this Policy on Spamming, please contact
support@crosswind.net
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