Terms of Service

Every online service / ISP has policies. Here's ours! Reading through the rules can sometimes be tedious. We've done our best to come up with a set of policies that protects you and us. We think you'll find that they are all pretty sensible and necessary. If you ever have ANY questions about them, please don't hesitate to let us know!

ACE INTERNET agrees to provide and User agrees to receive access to the ACE INTERNET Internet service according to the following terms and conditions:

• The benefits or rights conferred by this agreement are nontransferable. Use of ACE INTERNET 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, ACE INTERNET reserves the right to cooperate with all or any law enforcement agencies.
  
  
• Reselling of your web space is prohibited unless expressly contracted with ACE INTERNET.
  
  
• Sexual images and illegal material on your web pages are prohibited.
  
  
• User is responsible for all use of User's account and confidentiality of password. We will suspend access or change access to User's account immediately upon notification by User that his or her password has been lost, stolen or otherwise compromised. ACE INTERNET is not liable for any usage and or charges prior to ACE INTERNET making the necessary account alteration.
  
  
• User is responsible for all local and long-distance telephone charges for connecting to ACE INTERNET.
  
  
• User agrees to pay ACE INTERNET all charges relating to the use of User's account according to rates and prices stated online at the time of commencement of that subscription term.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET reserves the right to change prices/rates at any time.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET 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 ACE INTERNET 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 ACE INTERNET or any information or software therein. This in no way includes any reimbursement for losses of income due to disruption of service by ACE INTERNET or its providers.
  
  
• Neither ACE INTERNET nor its Information Providers are responsible for any damages arising from User's use of ACE INTERNET or by User's inability to use ACE INTERNET service.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET reserves to right to change without notice the ACE INTERNET service, including, but not limited to, access procedures, hours of operation, menu structures, commands, documentation, vendors and services offered.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET is not responsible for User's personal files residing on ACE INTERNET. User is responsible for independent backup of his or her data stored on ACE INTERNET.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET reserves the right to delete User's personal files after one or both parties terminates agreement.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET reserves the right in its sole discretion to delete any information entered into ACE INTERNET by User. ACE INTERNET 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 ACE INTERNET 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 ACE INTERNET.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET, at its sole business judgment, may terminate this Agreement immediately or suspend User's access to the service upon any breach of this Agreement by User, including, but not limited to, refusal or failure to pay for services provided or by sole judgment of ACE INTERNET that User may be performing activities harmful to ACE INTERNET or its Users, employees, vendors, business relationships or any other users of the Internet.
  
  
• The following violations of "netiquette" are grounds for immediate termination of service. When these violations occur, it puts our company at risk with our own provider(s) and with other ISPs. Due to their serious nature, and the work it takes for us to "undo" the damage, there is a PENALTY assessed for each violation in the amount of $ 100.00 per occurrence.
  
  (a) Posting a single article or substantially similar articles (SPAM) to an excessive number of newsgroups 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 commercial 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 ACE INTERNET and using an account on ACE INTERNET as a mail drop (or website) for responses.
  
  (d) Continued harrassment of other individuals on the Internet after being asked to stop by those individuals and by ACE INTERNET.
  
  (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 ACE INTERNET, whether on our IRC server or any other. Such software may not be stored on ACE INTERNET.
  
  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 ACE INTERNET.
  
  
• This document and the rights and duties of the parties shall be governed by and interpreted according to the laws of the State of South Australia.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET may modify these terms and conditions upon notice published Online via ACE INTERNET. User's use of ACE INTERNET 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 ACE INTERNET 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 ACE INTERNET'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 (if applicable) 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 cheque or Credit Card, User expressly authorizes ACE INTERNET to collect from User a penalty fee of up to $25 for a returned cheque, 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 ACE INTERNET 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, ACE INTERNET may suspend or revoke the User's membership privileges and the User may have to reapply for membership at the price ACE INTERNET is charging to new members.
  
  
• The User agrees to pay ACE INTERNET'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 returned cheques 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 ACE INTERNET.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET 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.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET reserves the right to terminate or change priority of any process started by said user.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET reserves the right to collect damages (software, hardware & man hours) if any harm is done (due to USER'S negligence) to ACE INTERNET which requires repair or reconfiguration of any kind.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET may offer credits to users who refer additional users who sign up for and keep ACE INTERNET 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.
  
  
• ACE INTERNET dialup connections are not intended to be full-time dedicated connections and we reserve the right to disconnect a user for inactivity or for using what we consider an excessive amount of time online.
  
  
• User may not run publically accessible "services" such as SMTP, HTTP, MUD or IRC servers.
  
  
• Unless specifically contracted for a full-time dialup connection, User may not remain connected when not at his/her computer.

BBS Specific Rules

We have some easy and understandable policies regarding the use of our BBS. Note that some of them relate to policies set out above.

RESPECT OTHER CALLERS
Feel free to express yourself, but do not do anything to injure, insult or harm others. In particular, if you dislike someone else's ideas, you can attack the ideas, but NOT the person.

DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions held by members and staff are strictly their own, and are in no way to be construed as the opinions of the Sysop, or any other operator of this community. 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 community, 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 in our community, but if you misuse that freedom (by abusing others), we will restrict your access.

We 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 US FOR ANYTHING THAT MIGHT BE ILLEGAL.
This community 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 us to commit a crime doesn't make it any less a crime. In fact, if you use us 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.

SYSTEM 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.

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 ACE INTERNET 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!

Legalities

The world is a funny place, and we ALL must be sure we cover our butts. Below are some miscellaneous legalities that will apply when you are a member of our community.

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.

EDITORIAL CONTROL
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.

OWNERSHIP OF MATERIALS
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, 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.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY
The great danger for us, and for all operators of ISP/BBS, 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.

CHOICE OF LAW
Our bulletin board system can be reached by callers from all Australian 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, South Australia, 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, South Australia, will have exclusive jurisdiction over any such legal actions.