UCE / SPAM Policy
The abuse
and misuse of e-mail is a serious problem, and we will not tolerate it.
Definition of UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail), or SPAM:
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The bulk UCE, promotional material, or other forms of solicitation sent via
e-mail that advertise any IP address belonging to us or any URL (domain)
that is hosted by us.
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Unsolicited postings to newsgroups advertising any IP or URL hosted by us.
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The use of webpages set up on ISPs that allow SPAM-ing (also known as "ghost
sites") that directly or indirectly reference customers to domains or IP
addresses hosted by us.
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Advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available any software,
program, product, or service that is designed to facilitate a means to SPAM.
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Forging or misrepresenting message headers, whether in whole or in part, to
mask the true origin of the message.
For further
information on mail abuse, please visit the
Mail Abuse
Prevention System (MAPS) website.
Repercussions of SPAM:
Across the Web,
it is generally accepted that SPAM is an inconsiderate and improper business
practice.
SECURE-XP.NET:
SPAM is not
only harmful because of its negative impact on consumer attitudes toward us, but
also because it can overload our network and resources, especially on our shared
(virtual) server environments.
Our Providers:
Since it is
unsolicited, users who receive SPAM often become angry and send complaints to
our upstream providers. This upsets our providers who abhor SPAM for the same
reasons that we do - it causes negative consumer attitudes and drains resources.
We strive to maintain favorable business relationships in the Web community and
obviously will not allow any practice that threatens these relationships.
Punishment For SPAM:
We reserves the
right to terminate, without warning, any account that violates this policy.
Usage of our services constitutes acceptance and understanding of this policy.
We reserve the
right to decide what it considers "SPAM", "UCE", "mail bombing", or "bulk
e-mail", and to determine from all of the evidence whether or not the e-mail
recipients were from an "opt-in" e-mail list.
Should you
choose to e-mail from one of our servers, especially if you use mailing lists,
you must read and adhere to the following guidelines, which are offered as a
statement of Internet standards and best current practices for proper mailing
list management and preventing e-mail abuse.
Basic Mailing List Management Principles for Preventing Abuse
Mailing lists
are an excellent vehicle for distributing focused, targeted information to an
interested, receptive audience. Consequently, mailing lists have been used
successfully as a highly effective direct marketing tool.
Unfortunately,
some marketers misuse mailing lists through a lack of understanding of Internet
customs and rules of the forum pertaining to e-mail. Others fail to take
adequate precautions to prevent the lists they manage from being used in an
abusive manner.
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The e-mail addresses of new subscribers must be confirmed or verified before
mailings commence. This is usually accomplished by means of an e-mail
message sent to the subscriber to which s/he must reply, or containing a URL
which s/he must visit, in order to complete the subscription. However it is
implemented, a fundamental requirement of all lists is the verification of
all new subscriptions.
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Mailing list administrators must provide a simple method for subscribers to
terminate their subscriptions, and administrators should provide clear and
effective instructions for unsubscribing from a mailing list. Mailings from
a list must cease promptly once a subscription is terminated.
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Mailing list administrators should make an "out of band" procedure (e.g., a
means of contact by which messages may be sent for further correspondence
via e-mail or telephone) available for those who wish to terminate their
mailing list subscriptions but are unable or unwilling to follow standard
automated procedures.
Mailing list administrators must ensure that the impact of their mailings on
the networks and hosts of others is minimized by proper list management
procedures such as pruning of invalid or undeliverable addresses, or taking
steps to ensure that mailings do not overwhelm less robust hosts or
networks.
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Mailing list administrators must take adequate steps to ensure that their
lists are not used for abusive purposes. For example, administrators can
maintain a "suppression list" of e-mail addresses from which all
subscription requests are rejected. Addresses would be added to the
suppression list upon request by the parties entitled to use the addresses
at issue. The purpose of the suppression list would be to prevent
subscription of addresses appearing on the suppression list by unauthorized
third parties. Such suppression lists should also give properly authorized
domain administrators the option to suppress all mailings to the domains for
which they are responsible.
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Mailing list administrators must make adequate disclosures about how
subscriber addresses will be used, including whether or not addresses are
subject to sale or trade with other parties. Once a mailing list is traded
or sold, it may no longer be an opt-in mailing list. Therefore, those who
are acquiring "opt-in" lists from others must examine the terms and
conditions under which the addresses were originally compiled and determine
that all recipients have in fact opted-in specifically to the mailing lists
to which they are being traded or sold.
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Mailing list administrators should make adequate disclosures about the
nature of their mailing lists, including the subject matter of the lists and
anticipated frequency of messages. A substantive change in either the
subject matter or frequency of messages may constitute a new and separate
mailing list requiring a separate subscription. List administrators should
create a new mailing list when there is a substantive change in either the
subject matter or frequency of messages. A notification about the new
mailing list may be appropriate on the existing mailing list, but existing
subscribers should never be subscribed automatically to the new list. For
example, if Company A acquires Company B, and Company B has compiled opt-in
mailing lists, Company A should not summarily incorporate Company B's
mailing lists into its own.
*This SPAM (UCE)
Accepted Use Policy and all other of our policies are subject to change without
notice.