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This Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) sets forth provisions of acceptable use of Apparatus networks and services. All users of Apparatus networks and services are required to comply with this policy and all applicable laws and regulations in full, in addition to all terms and conditions of applicable agreements and any additional policies that may be applicable to a specific service offered by Apparatus. Apparatus strives to provide its customers with the highest quality Internet service available while at the same time respecting the standards that have been created both within the Internet community and by legislation. To that end, inappropriate or abusive activities and conduct will not be tolerated on Apparatus networks. Apparatus reserves the right to modify this AUP without notice from time to time. Users of Apparatus networks are encouraged to review this AUP often for changes or new information. Please send questions, comments, or complaints regarding this AUP to abuse@apparatus.net.

Each user is responsible for complying with this AUP and for providing assistance to Apparatus in investigating and resolving any issue as Apparatus may request from time to time. Additionally, Apparatus customers and users are required to determine the conditions of, and to comply with, the acceptable use policies or equivalent documents of all network(s) their data transits. Users will be held responsible for the actions of any third party agent that acts on behalf of, or for the benefit of, any end user, and such end users shall be held directly accountable for any violations of this AUP by third party agents.

Apparatus does not control the content of data traversing Apparatus networks; accordingly, Apparatus assumes no responsibility for the content of any data or communication that may be transmitted over Apparatus networks.

All systems that are connected to Apparatus networks shall be configured in accordance with industry standards, applicable laws, and regulations, specifically to conform to approved "Request for Comments" standard documents, which are published from time to time by the Internet Engineering Task Force.

Customers of Apparatus are responsible for immediately reporting to Apparatus any issue that could compromise the stability, service, or security of any user or system connected to Apparatus networks.

Resellers of Apparatus services are responsible for informing their customers of this AUP and for enforcing its restrictions with regard to their customers' actions. Breach or non-compliance of this AUP by a reseller’s customer or end-user shall be considered a violation of this AUP.

These lists are not meant to be exhaustive but merely illustrative of inappropriate and improper conduct, which are prohibited on Apparatus networks.

ILLEGAL USE

Apparatus networks may be used only for lawful purposes. The transmission, distribution, or storage of any data or material in violation of any applicable law or regulation is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, material or data that:

Infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property right.
Violates export control laws or regulations.
Violates any party's confidentiality rights.
Constitutes use or dissemination of child pornography.
Is illegal or unlawful.

The following general actions are considered "abuse" and are strictly prohibited:

Any conduct that is inconsistent with generally accepted norms and expectations of the Internet community (whether or not detailed in this AUP). Apparatus reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to make a determination whether any particular conduct violates such norms and expectations.
Using Apparatus networks to transmit material that Apparatus believes to be illegal, obscene, or inappropriate.
Forging of message headers or identity information, or taking any action with the intent of bypassing restrictions or limits on access to a specific service or site. This prohibition does not restrict the legitimate noncommercial use of pseudonymous or anonymous services.
Falsifying identity or contact information (whether given to Apparatus, to the InterNIC, or to other parties).

Users of Apparatus networks must configure their systems in a secure manner. Should a user's system be exploited by unauthorized persons, the user is responsible for both reporting the violation (where applicable) and then fixing the exploited system. For instance, should the security of a mail server be compromised to distribute unsolicited emails, the user is responsible for immediately reconfiguring the system to prevent further unauthorized use.

Users are prohibited from interfering with or attempting to interfere with services ("Denial of Service Attacks"), whether intentionally or through neglect, of any other user, host, or network. The prevention of "unintentional attacks," such as infection and subsequent propagation of computer viruses, is the responsibility of every user: antivirus software should be installed on every system that connects to Apparatus networks.

Users are prohibited from injecting, intentionally or negligently, false or unauthorized network control data into Apparatus networks (e.g., in the form of incorrect routing or DNS information).

Email
Users are prohibited from engaging in improper use or distribution of electronic mail ("email"). Users are strictly prohibited from engaging in any of the following activities:

Sending unsolicited mass or commercial email ("spamming") for any purpose whatsoever.
Having third parties send out commercial emails on any user's behalf. Using Apparatus facilities to receive replies from unsolicited emails (commonly referred to as "drop-box" accounts).
Configuring any email server in such a way that it will accept:
1) third party emails for forwarding (commonly known as an "open mail relay"). If a site has roaming users who wish to use a common mail server, the mail server must be configured to require some form of user identification and authorization.

2) Mass or commercial email may be sent only to recipients who have expressly requested receipt of such emails by sending an email request to the person performing the mass or commercial mailings. This exchange of requests, acknowledgements, and final confirmations (commonly referred to as a "double opt-in" process) must be adhered to in its entirety for Apparatus to consider any mass or commercial email to be "solicited."

3) Users that send mass or commercial email are required to maintain complete and accurate records of all email subscription requests, specifically including the email and associated headers sent by every subscriber, and to immediately provide Apparatus with such records upon request. Subscriptions that do not have a specific recipient generated email request associated with them are invalid and are strictly prohibited.

4) In the absence of positive, verifiable evidence to the contrary, Apparatus considers complaints by recipients about emails to be de-facto proof that the recipient did not subscribe or otherwise request the email(s) about which the complaint was generated.

Usenet (also known as Netnews or Newsgroups)
Apparatus recommends that users not post to any newsgroup until they have familiarized themselves with the subjects, established guidelines, and restrictions of such newsgroups. All Usenet guidelines and restrictions are incorporated herein by reference, and users of Apparatus networks agree to adhere unconditionally to such guidelines.

Without limitation of the foregoing, it is strictly prohibited to engage in any of the following activities:

Making any posting for commercial purposes (including without limitation the pointing to specific URLs for commercial purposes), except where such postings are expressly permitted under the charter and/or Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) of an applicable newsgroup.
Posting binary files to newsgroups whose charter or name does not include allowances for such files.
Canceling newsgroup postings other than your own, or using auto-responders or cancel-bots (except in cases of official newsgroup moderators performing their duties).
"Excessive Cross-Posting" (ECP) or "Excessive Multi-Posting" (EMP), or "Usenet spam." Apparatus retains the exclusive right to define these and other terms; however, we generally defer to the definitions found at http://www.cybernothing.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq.html
Disrupting newsgroups with materials, postings, or activities that are (as determined by Apparatus at its sole discretion) excessive or repetitious, unless such materials or activities are expressly allowed or encouraged under the newsgroup's name, FAQ, or charter.
Performing any unauthorized creation, cancellation, or removal of newsgroups.

The legitimacy of a given post or cancellation is generally determined by the official newsgroup or mailing-list moderator; Apparatus therefore usually defers to their judgment on these issues. However, Apparatus retains the exclusive right to make these determinations.