Acceptable Use Policy

All customers should read this document. You are responsible for the policy written here, and your account WILL BE DISABLED WITHOUT WARNING if you violate it.

This Internet Access Service sets forth an Acceptable Use Policy with the intent of protecting our service, our customers, and other users of the Internet from potentially abusive actions taken by our customers. The following policy is non-exclusive; any action about which there is doubt should be referred to Community Connections, Inc. for evaluation. We may alter this policy from time to time as need dictates.

Statement of Responsibility

Each Internet account on this service has a password that is the key to gain access to the account. The customer who registered the account is solely responsible for all access and actions taken with regard to the account. It is the account owner's responsibility to safeguard the account password and to ensure that Acceptable Use Policies are honored. We will hold the account owner responsible for any violations of the AUP.
Any customers directly attached to this Internet Access Service are expected to adhere to the Acceptable Use Policies. The individual who agreed to direct-connect service is responsible for educating site users on acceptable use policies. Violations of the AUP by directly attached sites will be referred to the connection purchaser for resolution. The connection purchaser will be held responsible for any violations of the AUP.
This Internet Access Service enforces these policies with respect to our customers only. We are not responsible for abusive actions which originate from other sites or networks on the Internet.
Each customer agrees that the Internet Access Service and any entity or person connected or affiliated therewith may release the customer's electronic communications and/or account access records to the authorities in connection with a criminal investigation or in response to a subpoena or court order, should that information be requested and is available.

Acceptable Use: Network

Acceptable use of the this Internet Access Service network facilities does NOT include:

Attempting to circumvent user authentication or security of any host, network, or account on this Internet Access Service systems or the Internet at large ("cracking").
Use of this Internet Access Service systems or networks (willfully or negligently) in a manner that encumbers disk space, processors, bandwidth, or other system resources so as to interfere with others' normal use of services on this Internet Access Service or other systems and networks ("denial of service" attack).
Activities which violate local, state, or federal statutes.

Acceptable Use: Domain Names

This Internet Access Service provides domain name service for web page customers. Keeping registry information updated and accurate is the responsibility of the domain holder and not this Internet Access Service. Acceptable use of this domain name service does NOT include:

Falsifying or omitting valid domain contact information, including the administrative, technical, zone, and billing contacts.

Acceptable Use: Email

Acceptable use of Email does NOT include:

Sending unsolicited mass mailings of any nature, including those with a "negative option" for continuation. The negative option is inviting those who do not wish to receive more email to reply to you.
Sending a large number of email messages, or singularly large email messages, to a single address in order to flood someone's mailbox.
Forging email headers to obscure the true originator of the message.
Creating or participating in pyramid schemes or chain letters.
Sending harassing email, either by language, size, or frequency. This includes sending email (or real time) messages to a person who has asked explicitly that you do not.
Activities which violate local, state, or federal statutes.

Acceptable Use: Usenet

Acceptable use of this Internet Access Service Usenet News service does NOT include:

Posting unsolicited messages to a large number of Usenet newsgroups either by cross-posting or posting to individual groups ("spamming").
Attempting to cancel, supersede, or otherwise interfere with Usenet posts other than one's own.
Blatant posting of articles which violate the named charter for specific newsgroups.
Publishing someone's real-world data (such as phone number, address, social security number, etc.) in such a way as to cause the person trouble or to incite others to do so.
Forging Usenet header information to obscure the true originator of the message.
Activities that violate local, state, or federal statutes.

Acceptable Use: Internet Access

Dial-up connections to this Internet Access Service that are idle for 30 minutes or longer will be disconnected. Idle time is defined as a period during which no input or output is sent or received across the modem connection.
Dial-up connections to this Internet Access Service may be disconnected after several hours of continuous access. "Unlimited Access" does not mean "continuous access". This policy is enforced to keep dial-up access affordable to all subscribers.
Multiple simultaneous logins to a single dial-up account to this Internet Access Service are prohibited.
Use of this Internet Access Service dial-up service as a dedicated modem connection through use of redialers and idle-time traffic generators is prohibited.
Hi-speed access services such as DSL and wireless shall be assigned changing (dynamic) IP addresses unless otherwise specified in customer agreement. We reserve the right to change these IP numbers.
Customer is forbidden from using Internet access for resale purposes or from supplying this Internet access to other locations, customers, people, businesses or entities.
Bandwidth speeds for dial-up and hi-speed access services will not exceed limits set by F.C.C. regulations and are the maximum available download speeds for that particular level of service. Actual speeds will vary depending on service package selected and factors such as customer's computer configuration and performance, overall Internet traffic, weather and/or other factors.

Acceptable Use: Web Sites

Acceptable use of this Internet Access Service web space does NOT include:

Distribution of pornographic or otherwise indecent or offending materials.
Distribution of restricted software or materials in violation of copyrights or distribution licenses.
Distribution of materials which violates local, state, or federal statutes.

This Internet Access Service reserves the right to restrict or terminate service without refund in the event of an AUP violation. This Internet Access Service also reserves the right to take action on abuse which is not specifically named in this AUP at the sole discretion of this Internet Access Service. Use of this Internet Access Service systems and network constitutes understanding and agreement of this policy.

Reports of Abuse

This Internet Access Service provides an email address for use in reporting abusive activities originating from our customers as outlined in this Acceptable Use Policy. Please note, abuse originating from customers other than our own cannot be handled by us. Report those instances to the provider/site who has authority over the abusive user.

When reporting email or Usenet abuse, include a FULL copy of the message, including headers. This information is required in order for any action to be taken.
When reporting other types of abuse, include details such as log files documenting the incident. We cannot act on your word alone, we must have documented proof of an incident.
Send your report in email to abuse@heartland.net. Due to the number of reports submitted pertaining to a single abuse incident, it is not always possible for us to respond to each and every report.

NOTE: The action taken on abuse reports will be at the sole discretion of this Internet Access Service. Our intent is NOT to be The Net Police, but to simply do our part to insure quality access and use of the Internet to all of our customers and to the Internet community at large.