Acceptable Use Policy

As a provider of web site hosting, Sohlius, Inc. offers its customers, and their customers and users, the means to acquire and disseminate a wealth of public, private, commercial, and non-commercial information. Sohlius respects that the internet provides a forum for free and open discussion and dissemination of information, however, when there are competing interests at issue, Sohlius reserves the right to take certain preventative or corrective actions. In order to protect these competing interests, Sohlius has developed an Acceptable Use Policy, which supplements and explains certain terms of each customer's respective service agreement and is intended as a guide to the customer's rights and obligations when utilizing Sohlius's services.

One important aspect of the internet is that no one party owns or controls it. This fact accounts for much of the internet's openness and value, but it also places a high premium on the judgment and responsibility of those who use the internet, both in the information they acquire and in the information they disseminate to others. When clients obtain information through the internet, they must keep in mind that Sohlius cannot monitor, verify, warrant, or vouch for the accuracy and quality of the information that clients may acquire. For this reason, the subscriber must exercise his or her best judgment in relying on information obtained from the internet, and also should be aware that some material posted to the internet is sexually explicit or otherwise offensive. Because Sohlius cannot monitor or censor the internet, and will not attempt to do so, Sohlius cannot accept any responsibility for injury to its clients that results from inaccurate, unsuitable, offensive, or illegal internet communications.

When clients disseminate information through the internet, they also must keep in mind that Sohlius does not review, edit, censor, or take responsibility for any information its clients may create. When users place information on the internet, they have the same liability as other authors for copyright infringement, defamation, and other harmful speech. Also, because the information they create is carried over Sohlius's network and may reach a large number of people, including both clients and non-clients of Sohlius, clients' postings to the internet may affect other clients and may harm Sohlius's goodwill, business reputation, and operations. For these reasons, clients violate Sohlius policy and the service agreement when they, their customers, affiliates, or subsidiaries engage in the following prohibited activities:

Spamming: Sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the internet. It is not only harmful because of its negative impact on consumer attitudes toward Sohlius, but also because it can overload Sohlius's network and disrupt service to Sohlius clients. Also, maintaining an open SMTP relay is prohibited. When a complaint is received, Sohlius has the discretion to determine from all of the evidence whether the email recipients were from an "opt-in" email list.

Intellectual Property Violations: Engaging in any activity that infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of others, including copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, software piracy, and patents held by individuals, corporations, or other entities. Also, engaging in activity that violates privacy, publicity, or other personal rights of others. Sohlius is required by law to remove or block access to customer content upon receipt of a proper notice of copyright infringement. It is also Sohlius's policy to terminate the privileges of customers who commit repeat violations of copyright laws.

Obscene Speech or Materials: Using Sohlius's network to advertise, transmit, store, post, display, or otherwise make available child pornography or obscene speech or material. Sohlius is required by law to notify law enforcement agencies when it becomes aware of the presence of child pornography on or being transmitted through Sohlius's network.

Offensive Materials: Disseminating or hosting material that is unlawful, libelous, slanderous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, indecent, lewd, harassing, racially or otherwise offensive, hateful, bigoted or intolerant, threatening, harmful, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, abusive, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable.

Harmful Content: Disseminating or hosting harmful content including, without limitation, viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots or any other computer programming routines or harmful or damaging code, software program, email or other technology that may damage, interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, program, data or personal information.

Defamatory or Abusive Language: Using Sohlius's network as a means to transmit or post defamatory, harassing, abusive, or threatening language.

Forging of Headers: Forging or misrepresenting message headers, whether in whole or in part, to mask the originator of the message.

Illegal or Unauthorized Access to Other Computers or Networks: Accessing illegally or without authorization computers, accounts, or networks belonging to another party, or attempting to penetrate security measures of another individual's system (often known as "hacking" or "cracking"). Also, any activity that might be used as a precursor to an attempted system penetration (i.e. port scan, stealth scan, or other information gathering activity).

Distribution of Internet Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, or Other Destructive Activities: Distributing information regarding the creation of and sending Internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses, pinging, flooding, mailbombing, or denial of service attacks. Also, activities that disrupt the use of or interfere with the ability of others to effectively use the network or any connected network, system, service, or equipment.

Facilitating a Violation of this policy: Advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available any software, program, product, or service that is designed to violate this policy, which includes the facilitation of the means to spam, initiation of pinging, flooding, mailbombing, denial of service attacks, and piracy of software.

Export Control Violations: Exporting encryption software over the internet or otherwise, to points outside the United States.

Usenet Groups: Sohlius reserves the right not to accept postings from newsgroups where we have actual knowledge that the content of the newsgroup violates the policy.

Other Illegal Activities: Engaging in activities that are determined to be illegal, including advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, fraudulently charging credit cards, and pirating software.

Other Activities: Engaging in activities, whether lawful or unlawful, that Sohlius determines to be harmful to its clients, operations, reputation, goodwill, or customer relations.

As we have pointed out, the responsibility for avoiding the harmful activities just described rests primarily with the subscriber. Sohlius will not, as an ordinary practice, monitor the communications of its clients to ensure that they comply with Sohlius policy or applicable law. When Sohlius becomes aware of harmful activities, however, it may take any action to stop the harmful activity, including but not limited to, removing information, shutting down a web site, implementing screening software designed to block offending transmissions, denying access to the Internet, or take any other action it deems appropriate.

Sohlius also is concerned with the privacy of on-line communications and web sites. In general, the internet is neither more nor less secure than other means of communication, including mail, facsimile, and voice telephone service, all of which can be intercepted and otherwise compromised. As a matter of prudence, however, Sohlius urges its clients to assume that all of their on-line communications are insecure. Sohlius cannot take any responsibility for the security of information transmitted over Sohlius's facilities.

Sohlius will not intentionally monitor private electronic mail messages sent or received by its clients unless required to do so by law, governmental authority, or when public safety is at stake. Sohlius may, however, monitor its service electronically to determine that its facilities are operating satisfactorily. Also, Sohlius may disclose information, including but not limited to, information concerning a subscriber, a transmission made using our network, or a web site, in order to comply with a court order, subpoena, summons, discovery request, warrant, statute, regulation, or governmental request. Sohlius assumes no obligation to inform the subscriber that subscriber information has been provided and in some cases may be prohibited by law from giving such notice. Finally, Sohlius may disclose subscriber information or information transmitted over its network where necessary to protect Sohlius and others from harm, or where such disclosure is necessary to the proper operation of the system.

Finally, Sohlius wishes to state that in using it's services, clients indemnify Sohlius for any violation of the service agreement, law, or Sohlius policy, that results in loss to Sohlius or the bringing of any claim against Sohlius by any third-party. This means that if Sohlius is sued because of a subscriber's activity, the subscriber will pay any damages awarded against Sohlius, plus costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. In addition, Sohlius reserves the right to bill the subscriber for any system services required to rectify the violation.

We hope this policy is helpful in clarifying the obligations of internet users, including Sohlius and its clients, as responsible members of the internet.