News Acceptable Use Policy

1. Introduction

Electronic mail (email) is a highly efficient form of modern communication media. Used appropriately, email provides peoples with a means to communicate across different time zones and country borders, thus facilitating social and business contact.

However, this convenience also tempts users to experiment or take advantage of this media, resulting in email of unwelcome types (collectively known, along with other unwelcome activity, as Net Abuse). It is not the intent of Pacnet Internet to judge the merit of email content. For content which may be illegal or which relates to criminal activity such as fraud, Pacnet Internet may alert the legal authorities to such content if brought to our knowledge.

In order to maintain email service levels and customer satisfaction, certain activities will result in action being taken by Pacnet Internet as described in Section 3 of this document. Pacnet Internet reserves the right to change this Acceptable Use Policy for email services at their sole discretion and without prior notice. Any decision made by Pacnet Internet. in relation to this service shall be final on all matters.

2. What Constitutes Net Abuse?

Net Abuse is an abuse of Internet services and not necessarily abuse on the Internet. To qualify as Net Abuse, an act must interfere with the net-use of an individual or group of individuals in some specific way. Net Abuse also includes activities that are illegal or dishonest.

Under the terms of this AUP, Net Abuse includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Chain Letters and Ponzi Pyramid-Selling SchemesSuch messages work in much the same way as the conventional postal version. The most common example of this in email is the infamous “MAKE-MONEY-FAST” scam. In addition to being a waste of resources, such messages are illegal in certain countries.
• Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE)Unsolicited Commercial Email is advertising material received by email without the recipient either requesting such information or otherwise expressing an interest in the material advertised.

  Many Internet users use a dial-up connection and pay for their online and telephone time, it costs them money to receive email. Receipt of unsolicited commercial advertising therefore costs them money and is particularly unwelcome.

  It should be noted that a user has not expressed an interest by the mere act of posting a news article in any particular newsgroup, unless a specific request for information to be emailed to them had been made.

  Sending unsolicited (ie. unwanted) mails to a large list of recipients (guideline of 100 names) and which provoke complaints from the recipients is considered as UCE.

• Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE)Similar to the above UCE but not attempting to sell anything. Its purpose is usually to annoy.
• Forged headers and/or addressesForging headers or messages means sending mail such that its origin appears to be another user or machine, or a non-existent machine.

  It is also forgery to arrange for any replies to the mail to be sent to some other user or machine. However, in either case, if prior permission has been granted to you by the other user or the administrators of the other machine, then there is no problem. Pacnet Internet takes a serious view when an identity is forged and may terminate the account on the first offence without warning.

• Mail BombingMail bombing is the sending of multiple emails, or one large email, with the sole intent of annoying and/or seeking revenge on a fellow Internet user. It is wasteful of shared Internet resource as well as serving no value to the recipient.

  Due to the time taken to download it, sending long email to sites without prior agreement can amount to denial of service, or access to email at the receiving site. Note that if binary attachments are added to mail this may increase the size considerably.

• Denial of Service attacksDenial of Service is any activity designed to prevent a specific host on the Internet making full and effective use of their facilities. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Mail bombing an address in such a way to make their Internet access impossible, difficult, or costly.
  • Opening an excessive number of mail connections to the same host.
  • Intentionally sending email designed to damage the receiver’s systems when interpreted; for example, sending malicious programs or viruses attached to an email.
  • Using a smarthost or SMTP relay without authorisation to do so.

Due to the destructive nature of these activities, Pacnet Internet may choose to terminate the account on the first offence without warning and/or seek compensation from the perpetrator via legal suits to recover financial losses.

• Mailing List SubscriptionsYou must not subscribe anyone to a mailing list or similar service without their permission.
• Illegal ContentPacnet Internet will cooperate with the legal authorities should any illegal activity occur using Pacnet Internet email services.
• Breach of Copyright or Intellectual PropertyYou must not send copyrighted material or intellectual property via email unless with express permission to do so.

Administrator’s Email

All customers are required to accept and read email addressed from postmaster.sg@pacnet.com and abuse.sg@pacnet.com, and to respond to the email should a reply be requested. Mail sent from the Postmaster and Abuse Response Team (ART) must not be “bounced” or ignored.

3. What Pacnet Internet will do

All abuse cases involving Pacnet Internet Customers will be investigated. In order for investigations to proceed, an Abuse Response Team (ART) staff may contact the Customer and the Customer should cooperate by responding to the email, phone call, or fax. Pacnet Internet may at its discretion suspend/terminate an Account should the Customer fail to respond within the grace period given by the ART staff.

All Abuse Response Team mails shall come from abuse.sg@pacnet.com.

Pacnet Internet may carry out the following actions and any other measures deemed necessary upon completing an investigation:

• Suspension of AccountThe offending Account is suspended and access will not be available. The Customer will be contacted by a member of the ART or Technical/Customer Support team and given notice. The Customer may also take initiative to contact a member of the ART when the Account is suspended.

  The Customer is required to write to:

  Abuse Response Team

  c/o Systems and Network Engineering

  Pacnet Internet (S) Pte. Ltd

  10 Eunos Road 8,

  #08-01 Singapore Post Centre

  Singapore 408600

  or send a fax to fax number: 773-6812

  providing an explanation and assurance of no further breaches of the Terms and Conditions of Use and Acceptable Use Policies from the Account. Pacnet Internet may take further actions should the Customer fail to furnish an explanation within the given grace period.

  NOTE: In no circumstances will any refund be made for the period the Account is suspended under this AUP.

• Termination of AccountThe offending Account may be terminated in accordance with section 8 of the Terms and Conditions of Use. A formal notification of termination will be served to the Customer.

  NOTE:  No refund of monies paid for the Account will be made, except as specified in the Terms and Conditions of use.

• DefinitionsART: Abuse Response Team, a team in Pacnet Internet dedicated to handling investigations into cases of Net Abuse.

  ACCOUNT: A single billing entity, comprising all services being supplied by Pacnet Internet to the Customer. This may range from a single host to a complete network, depending upon the services purchased.

  CUSTOMER: The registered holder of the Pacnet Internet Account from which the Net Abuse originates.

  NET ABUSE: Any and all email items that are in breach of the Pacnet Internet EMAIL-AUP.

  EMAIL-AUP: This document.

  SENDER: The author of the Net Abuse. This may or may not be the same as the Customer. However, Customers are ultimately responsible for all Emails originating from their Account.