Wednesday Nov 19, 2008

Accepable Use Policy Please read the following policy carefully. By accepting our service(s), you agree you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions set forth herein. ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY NIC Systems Group, Inc. (hereinafter “NIC”) has formulated this Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") in order to encourage the responsible use of NIC’s network(s), system(s), web site(s) and product(s) (collectively, “SYSTEM") by our customers and other USERS of NIC ("USERS"), and to enable us to provide USERS with a secure, reliable and productive SYSTEM. By using SYSTEM, USERS consent to be bound by the terms of this AUP. NIC reserves the right to modify this AUP in its sole discretion at any time. Such modifications will be effective when posted. Any use of SYSTEM after such modification shall constitute acceptance of such modification. GENERAL CONDUCT SYSTEM must be used in a manner that is consistent with the intended purpose of the SYSTEM(s) provided, and may be used only for lawful purposes. USERS shall not use SYSTEM in order to transmit, distribute or store material in violation of any applicable law or regulation, including export or encryption laws or regulations or that may expose NIC to criminal or civil liability. USERS are further prohibited from assisting any other person in violating any part of this AUP. PRIVACY NIC’s Privacy Policy is posted on NIC’s web site at http://www.nicsys.net. RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTENT NIC takes no responsibility for any material created or accessible on or through SYSTEM. NIC is not obligated to monitor or exercise any editorial control over such material, but reserves the right to do so. In the event that NIC becomes aware that any such material may violate this AUP and/or expose NIC to civil or criminal liability, NIC reserves the right to block access to such material and suspend or terminate any USER creating, storing or disseminating such material. NIC further reserves the right to cooperate with legal authorities and third parties in the investigation of alleged wrongdoing, including disclosing the identity of the USER that NIC deems responsible for the wrongdoing. INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT USERS shall not use SYSTEM to transmit, distribute or store material that is inappropriate, as reasonably determined by NIC, or material that is indecent, obscene, pornographic (including child pornography), defamatory, libelous, threatening, abusive, hateful, or excessively violent. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Material accessible through SYSTEM may be subject to protection under privacy, publicity, or other personal rights and Intellectual Property rights, including but not limited to, copyrights and laws protecting patents, trademarks, trade secrets or other proprietary information. USERS shall not use SYSTEM in any manner that would infringe, dilute, misappropriate, or otherwise violate any such rights. If you use a domain name in connection with any of SYSTEM, you must not use that domain name in violation of the trademark or other rights of any third party. HARMFUL CONTENT USERS shall not use SYSTEM to transmit, distribute or store material that contains a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other component harmful to SYSTEM, any other network or equipment, or other USERS. FRAUDULENT/MISLEADING CONTENT USERS shall not use SYSTEM to transmit or distribute material containing fraudulent offers for goods or services or any advertising or promotional materials that contain false, deceptive, or misleading statements, claims, or representations. In addition, USERS are prohibited from submitting any false or inaccurate data on any order form, contract or online application, including the fraudulent use of credit cards. AGE QUALIFICATION NIC will provide the SYSTEM only to individuals who are eighteen (18) years of age or older. By agreeing to this AUP you certify that you are eighteen (18) years of age or older. If NIC learns that you are not at least eighteen (18) years of age or older, NIC maintains the right, in its sole discretion, to immediately terminate use of the SYSTEM without prior notice to you, and without a refund of any fees paid. RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIRD PARTY FEES AND CHARGES Your Internet access enables you to purchase goods or incur charges to third parties. Unless otherwise mutually agreed upon in an Addendum, Exhibit, Attachment, or Agreement, you are solely responsible for all activities and charges resulting from the use of your account, all charges (such as telephones charges, fees, taxes, etc.) associated with connecting to the SYSTEM by any means, all equipment necessary to access the SYSTEM, including telephone, computer and modem, and determining whether the method or access number you use to connect to the SYSTEM will obligate you to pay additional charges to any third party. USE OF ACCOUNT AND SECURITY You will receive a login identification code and password upon completing the registration process for the SYSTEM. You are solely responsible for all use of your account and for the security of your login identification, your password and any security lock code that you use to protect access to your data, your file names and files, network and user access, and any information you disseminate through use of the SYSTEM or through other Internet Services. You agree to immediately notify NIC of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security and ensure you exit from your account at the end of each session. NIC will not be liable for any loss or damage resulting from your failure to comply with this section. EMAIL AND UNSOLICITED MESSAGES USERS shall not use SYSTEM to send unsolicited email messages, including, without limitation, bulk commercial advertising or informational announcements ("spam"). Further, USERS are prohibited from using the SYSTEM of another provider to send spam or to promote a site hosted on or connected to SYSTEM. In addition, USERS shall not use SYSTEM in order to send email messages which are excessive and/or intended to harass or annoy others, continue to send email messages to a recipient that has indicated that he/she does not wish to receive them, send email with forged TCP/IP packet header information, send malicious email, including, without limitation, "mailbombing", send or receive email messages in a manner that violates the use policies of any other Internet Service Provider, or use an email box exclusively as a storage space for data. MODIFICATIONS TO SYSTEM NIC reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the SYSTEM (or any part thereof) with reasonable notice. You agree that NIC shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of the SYSTEM. NO RESALE OF SYSTEM You agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the SYSTEM, use of the SYSTEM or access to the SYSTEM. You may not assign your Agreement or any of its rights or obligations without the prior consent of NIC, and any such attempted assignment will be void. Subject to the above, all Agreements will be binding upon the parties' respective successors and permitted assigns. COMMERCE ON THE INTERNET OR THE WEB All transactions relating to merchandise or services offered by or to you through the SYSTEM, and any correspondence or business dealings with, or participation in promotions of, advertisers found on or through the SYSTEM, including but not limited to purchase, payment and delivery terms of such goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such sellers, purchasers or advertisers. NIC and its affiliates make no warranties or representations whatsoever with respect to such goods and services, or with respect to any third party seller, purchaser or advertiser. You agree that NIC shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings or as the result of the presence of such sellers, purchasers and advertisers on the SYSTEM. LINKS The SYSTEM may provide, or third parties may provide, links to other World Wide Web sites or resources. Because NIC has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that NIC is not responsible for the availability of such external sites or resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any Content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from such sites or resources. You further acknowledge and agree that NIC shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such Content, goods or services available on or through any such site or resource. PROPRIETARY RIGHTS You acknowledge and agree that the SYSTEM and any necessary software used in connection with the SYSTEM contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. You further acknowledge and agree that content contained in NIC advertisements or information presented to you through the SYSTEM or advertisers is protected by copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized by NIC or advertisers, you agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the SYSTEM or the Software, in whole or in part. NIC grants you a personal, non-transferable and non-exclusive right and license to use the object code of its software on a single computer; provided that you do not (and do not allow any third party to) copy, modify, create a derivative work of, reverse engineer, reverse assemble or otherwise attempt to discover any source code, sell, assign, sublicense, grant a security interest in or otherwise transfer any right in the software. You agree not to modify the software in any manner or form, or to use modified versions of the software, including (without limitation) for the purpose of obtaining unauthorized access to the SYSTEM. You agree not to access the SYSTEM by any means other than through the interface that is provided by NIC for use in accessing the SYSTEM. THIRD PARTY RULES USERS may have access through SYSTEM to search engines, subscription web services, chat areas, bulletin boards, web pages, USENET, or other services that promulgate rules, guidelines or agreements to govern their use. USERS must adhere to any such rules, guidelines, or agreements. USERS who post messages to USENET newsgroups are responsible for becoming familiar with any written charter or FAQ governing use of such newsgroups and complying therewith. Regardless of such policies, USERS may not post the same message, or a series of similar messages, to one or more newsgroups (excessive cross-posting or multiple-posting, also known as " USENET spam"), cancel or supersede posts not originally posted by such USER, unless such USER does so in the course of his/her duties as an official newsgroup moderator, post any message with forged packet header information, or post messages that are excessive and/or intended to annoy or harass others, including, without limitation, chain letters. SYSTEM AND NETWORK SECURITY USERS are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of SYSTEM, including, without limitation, accessing data not intended for such USER or logging into a server or account which such USER is not authorized to access, impersonating NIC personnel, attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization, attempting to interfere with, disrupt or disable SYSTEM to any USER, host or network, including, without limitation, via means of overloading, "flooding", "mailbombing", "denial of system" attacks or "crashing", forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or newsgroup posting, taking any action in order to obtain the SYSTEM to which such USER is not entitled, or attempting to utilize another USER'S account name or persona without authorization from that USER. USERS are also prohibited from attempting any action designed to circumvent or alter any method of measuring or billing for NIC’s SYSTEM. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. NIC will investigate occurrences which may involve such violations and may involve, and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting USERS who are involved in such violations. SUSPENSION / TERMINATION Any USER which NIC determines to have violated any element of this AUP may be subject to a suspension or termination of SYSTEM, and if NIC deems it necessary, immediate suspension or termination of such USER'S SYSTEM account without notice. NIC may take such further action as NIC determines to be appropriate under the circumstances to eliminate or preclude repeat violations, and NIC shall not be liable for any damages of any nature suffered by any Customer, USER, or any third party resulting in whole or in part from NIC's exercise of its rights under this AUP. Violations of this AUP may be reported at abuse@NICsys.net. Among other things, the AUP prohibits sending unsolicited email messages including bulk commercial advertising or informational announcements ("Spam") and NIC will immediately terminate any account which it believes, in its sole discretion, is transmitting or is otherwise connected with any Spam. In addition, because damages are often difficult to quantify, if actual damages cannot be reasonably calculated then you agree to pay NIC liquidated damages of five dollars ($5.00) for each piece of spam or unsolicited bulk email transmitted from or otherwise connected with your account, otherwise you agree to pay NIC's actual damages, to the extent such actual damages can be reasonably calculated. NIC may elect to send notice of any violations to the USER before termination, but is not required to do so. When an account has been terminated or suspended, the reactivation of the old account or the acquiring of a new account will only be allowed by express approval of NIC. The account may be held responsible for any charges associated with installation or activation, whether it is for a new account or an existing suspended or terminated account. ACCOUNT USAGE AND PASSWORD You agree that you will be the only USER of your USER name and password and that you will not transfer or disclose either your USER name or password to any other person, except that you may, at your own risk and responsibility, permit other members of your family or business associates to access the SYSTEM using your USER name and password. You shall ensure that any other such USERS comply with this AUP and you will be responsible for all usage of the SYSTEM and any other service accessed through the SYSTEM on your account whether or not authorized by you. You acknowledge that you are aware that certain content that may be accessible through the SYSTEM may contain material that is unsuitable for minors. You agree to supervise usage of the SYSTEM through your account by any minors. STORAGE SPACE AND OTHER LIMITATIONS Using a personal account for commercial, high volume, or any excessive use is prohibited. If your use impacts NIC's ability to provide SYSTEM or network resources, your use of the SYSTEM can be terminated immediately. The amount of mailbox storage space per USER is limited to ten (10) megabytes. When a mailbox reaches the limit the USER will not be able to receive email. Email that exceeds the limits will not be delivered. The SYSTEM is also subject to idle time-outs. An idle time-out is the disconnection of a session when a dial-up account is idle for a specified period of time and no interactive, human generated data appears to be received from the remote user's computer system. Automated data is not considered interactive or human generated and is also subject to idle time-out. Examples of automated data include, but are not limited to data generated by an automatic re-dialer, script or other program that runs on the user's computer system for the purpose of avoiding inactivity disconnects. In using NIC’s SYSTEM, you will not resell the SYSTEM in whole or in part, nor permit more than one log-on session to be active at one time on analog dial-up accounts. MONITORING THE SYSTEMS NIC has no obligation to monitor the SYSTEM, but may do so and disclose information regarding use of the SYSTEM for any reason if NIC, in its sole discretion, determines that it is reasonable to do so, including but not limited to: satisfy laws, regulations, or governmental or legal requests; operate the SYSTEM properly; or protect itself and its customers. You have the responsibility to monitor your accounts for access to newsgroups and Web Sites that may contain improper material. You will notify NIC of the continual receipt of email that you view as illegal or that is unsolicited. You must not design or provide systems used for the collection of information about others without their explicit knowledge and consent. PERSONAL WEB PAGE If you use the personal Web page feature of the SYSTEM, this section shall apply to you in addition to the other provisions of this AUP. You acknowledge and agree that the use of your personal Web page and any content, information, and all other aspects of your personal Web page will not violate the AUP, any applicable law, or any rights of another, that you are solely responsible for the content, quality, performance, and all other aspects of the information or other content contained in or provided through your personal Web site, and that NIC has no proprietary, financial, or other interest in any of the content or information that may be described in or made available through your personal Web site. NIC may, without prior notice, terminate or suspend your personal Web page if NIC, in its sole discretion, believes that you have violated this Section. If NIC provides you with a domain name that has the names or marks of NIC embedded therein ("NIC Domain Name"), you may use the NIC Domain Name only for the duration of this AUP. NIC shall own the NIC Domain Name and the NIC Domain Name may be subject to change by NIC or applicable domain name registry. Other than for identifying the location of your personal Web site, you may not use the name or any marks of NIC or any of its affiliates in any press release, promotional materials, or other manner without the express written approval of NIC. You shall own all graphics, text or other information or content supplied by you for incorporation into or delivery through your personal Web site. NIC shall own any software developed or modified by NIC and all graphics, text or other information or content materials supplied by NIC for incorporation into your personal Web site ("NIC MATERIALS"). You may only use the NIC MATERIALS in association with your personal Web page and only for the duration of this AUP. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY You acknowledge and agree that NIC exercises no control over, and accepts no responsibility for, the content of the information passing through NIC’s host computers, network hubs, switches, and points of presence (“NETWORK”) or the Internet. NEITHER NIC, ITS EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, THIRD PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS, MERCHANTS, LICENSORS OR THE LIKE MAKE ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT FOR THE SYSTEM OR ANY EQUIPMENT NIC PROVIDES. NEITHER NIC, ITS EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS, MERCHANTS, LICENSORS OR THE LIKE, WARRANT THAT THE SYSTEM WILL NOT BE INTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO ANY OF THEM MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SYSTEM OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION SYSTEMD OR MERCHANDISE CONTAINED IN OR PROVIDED THROUGH THE SYSTEM. NIC IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE CONTENT OF ANY DATA TRANSFERRED EITHER TO OR FROM YOU OR STORED BY YOU OR ANY OF YOUR CUSTOMERS VIA THE SYSTEM PROVIDED BY NIC. INDEMNIFICATION You will indemnify, defend and hold harmless NIC and its employees, officers, directors and agents (collectively “INDEMNIFIED PARTIES”) from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, suits, actions, demands, proceedings (whether legal or administrative) and expenses (including but not limited to reasonable attorneys’ fees) threatened, asserted, or filed by a third party against any of INDEMNIFIED PARTIES arising out of or relating to the use of the SYSTEM, including any violation of the AUP. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IN NO EVENT SHALL NIC, OR ITS EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS, MERCHANTS, LICENSORS OR THE LIKE BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR USE, BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT OR STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF NIC HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. In no event will NIC’s liability for any damages, losses and causes of actions whether in contract or tort (including negligence or otherwise) exceed the actual dollar amount paid by you for the SYSTEM, which gave rise to such damages, losses and causes of actions during the one (1) month period prior to the date the damage or loss occurred or the cause of action arose. GENERAL TERMS This AUP constitutes the complete agreement between you and NIC with respect to the SYSTEM and supersedes any prior agreements, written or oral, between you and NIC concerning such subject matter. If any provision of this AUP is held to be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable. This AUP shall be governed by Illinois State law, without reference to conflicts of law principles. The failure of NIC to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this AUP shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. You hereby consent to personal jurisdiction in the federal and state courts in the state of Illinois for any action arising out of or relating to your use of the SYSTEM, which courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all such actions. The prevailing party in any such action shall recover its attorneys’ fees and costs. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the SYSTEM or to this AUP must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. All terms of this AUP which, by their nature, are intended to survive termination of this AUP, including this provision, shall survive any such termination. PROHIBITED/ABUSE ACTIVITIES For purposes of the Prohibited Activities, the term "information" means material of any type capable of being posted or transmitted on or through the SYSTEM, including material in print, graphic or pictorial form. When using the SYSTEM you agree to the following: Defamation You agree not to post or transmit any information in violation of any applicable law. Fraud You agree not to post or transmit any fraudulent information on or through the SYSTEM. This means any information that you know or have reason to know is false, and that you intend for others to rely on. False Advertising You agree not to post or transmit on or through the SYSTEM any advertising or promotional materials that contain false, deceptive, or misleading statements, claims, or representations. Unsolicited Advertising You agree not to post or transmit any unsolicited advertising, promotional materials, or other forms of solicitation to other Subscribers, individuals, or entities, except in those areas (e.g., the classified areas) that are designated for such a purpose. Copyright Violations You agree not to post or transmit on or through the SYSTEM any information that infringes another person's or entity's copyright in all or any part of the information. Trademark, Service Mark, and Trade Dress Violations You agree not to post or transmit on or through the SYSTEM any information that infringes another person's rights in its trademark, trade dress, or service mark. Trade Secret Violations You agree not to post or transmit on or through the SYSTEM any information that reveals trade secrets belonging to another person, business, SYSTEM, or other entity. Obscenity You agree not to post or transmit any obscene or sexually explicit images or other content on or through the SYSTEM. Harassment, Threats and Abuse You agree not to use the SYSTEM to harass, threaten, abuse, embarrass, or cause distress, unwanted attention, or discomfort to any person or entity, by any means, including the use of vulgar, hateful, racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable information. False Pretenses You agree to not use the SYSTEM to impersonate any person, including but not limited to, a Focal Communications official or an information provider, guide, or host, or communicate under a false name or a name that you are not entitled or authorized to use in all forms of online communication, including, but not limited to, screen names, subscriber profiles, chat dialogue, and message posting. Chain Letters You agree to not post or transmit chain letters, or letters or messages that offer a product or SYSTEM based on the structure of a chain letter, on or through the SYSTEM. Inappropriate Content You agree not to post or transmit on or through the SYSTEM information that is patently inappropriate material, e.g., information or topics not related to the topics focused on by the participants in a particular news group or mailing list. Scrolling You agree not to cause the screen to "scroll" faster than other Subscribers or USERS are able to type to it, or any action to a similar disruptive effect on or through the SYSTEM. Disruptive Activities You agree not to use the SYSTEM to disrupt the normal flow of online dialogue, or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other Subscribers, USERS, individuals, or entities. Violations of SYSTEM Providers' Rules You agree to not use the SYSTEM to violate any operating rule, policy, or guideline of any other online SYSTEM provider or interactive SYSTEM. Multiple Access You agree that this AUP is not transferable. Dialup users agree not to simultaneously access the SYSTEM for more than one session at any time. Abuse of NIC Procedures You agree not to make false or unverified complaints against any NIC member, or otherwise abuse any of NIC Complaint Response Procedures. Systems Abuse You agree not to abuse NIC’s SYSTEM by causing any harm to the system so that it inhibits other USER’S ability to effectively use the SYSTEM. SPAM You agree not to post or cross post, regardless of content, of the same message to 20 or more newsgroups/email. Email You agree not to send messages or attachments over ten (10) megabytes in size. You agree not to allow your mailbox to exceed ten (10) megabytes of storage capacity. Personal Web Sites You agree that your personal web site cannot be used for commercial purposes nor be used to store or distribute unregistered or illegal software. Any such software will be deleted without warning. Relay Servers You agree that any unauthorized use of any email server located throughout the Internet for the purposes of relaying or distributing messages is prohibited. Fraudulent Addressing You agree that the purposeful distribution of any email message where the return address, originator's address, or any other identifiable aspect of the message has been purposefully altered, is prohibited. USER may not purposefully misrepresent the origination information of any email messages sent while using the NIC SYSTEM. NOTICES Notices to you may be made via either email or regular mail at the most current address you have registered with NIC. NIC may also provide notices of changes to the SYSTEM or to the terms of this AUP, or of other matters, by displaying notices or links to notices to you generally on the SYSTEM. NO LIMITATION OF NIC REMEDIES Nothing contained in this AUP shall be construed to limit NIC actions or remedies in any way with respect to any of the foregoing activities, and NIC 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 SYSTEM and levying cancellation charges to cover NIC costs in the event of termination for the causes outlined above. In addition, NIC reserves at all times all rights and remedies available to it with respect to such activities at law or in equity. NIC COMPLAINT RESPONSE PROCEDURES NIC dedication to customer SYSTEM means that NIC takes seriously and responds to all complaints about its subscribers' use of the Internet. This means complaints by both NIC subscribers and complaints by other Internet USERS. NIC believes that its customers should be able to enjoy full use of the Internet without interference by persons who use the Internet in an improper or unlawful manner. NIC will respond to any complaint that involves online activities that are Prohibited Activities under the NIC’s Policies. NIC will follow the Complaint Response Procedures described below to respond to complaints from USERS and others about SYSTEM USERS. Under these procedures, Internet USERS, including SYSTEM USERS, are responsible for monitoring use of the Internet by others. NIC will issue warnings to its USERS, suspend USER accounts and even cancel USER accounts when it learns of continuing improper activities. If you wish to register a complaint with NIC’s SYSTEM Abuse Department, please submit the following information in an email to abuse@nicsys.net: 1. The online username of the SYSTEM USER involved, and if possible, any other information about the USER, such as his or her name and address. 2. A detailed description of the activities involved. 3. If possible, the specific category or categories of Prohibited Activity you believe is involved in the activities. 4. The dates the activities took place, e.g., the date information was posted.