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Privacy and Accountability
Updated: 10/08/2001
We offer Pseudo-Anonymous services. We support Freedom of Speech. We protect privacy, none of our services
brand an IP to any outgoing data. We shield from those who would use that information to harass when they do not agree with the speech.
We are here to protect people from those who attempt to squelch opposing
viewpoints via attacks on the individual or attacks on the ISP to shut off service to that individual. We shield
an individuals identity from those who would use that information against them.
Our accounts are privacy shielded, not anonymous. If a user pulls a bonehead
move that gets them in legal trouble they will have to deal with the consequences. We do keep access logs. They
are on a seven day rotation.
We will surrender logs we have on subpoena. The only information we know
is the originating IP address along with date and time they accessed the page. We do not share any details of
this information without a subpoena. We will notify our user upon receipt of subpoena and allow them 14 days to
quash prior to turning over information (Please see note below regarding US Government subpoenas).
There are some exceptions to this:
- If a user sends a bomb threat, death threat, or threat of bodily
harm we will just hand over the information to the proper authorities and we will not notify the user.
We do NOT tolerate the use of our services in this manner!
Note: It
is possible that if a user gets into trouble with the US government that we may be gagged and unable to notify
them for 90 days about an active investigation or pending subpoena (we will still notify our user before actually turning over requested information).
If concerned about this, do not use these services.
We reserve the right to modify these policies at our
discretion, but changes will always be announced and will not be retroactive (meaning you won't get termed over
something done before the policy change), while our policies below cover most kinds of abuse there is always a
possibility we forgot to cover something.
Webmail & Usenet
Posting:
We are strict on spam and will terminate an account for spamming. We
really don't appreciate someone taking advantage of our services to increase our cost for their own financial
gain. Please respect what we are doing and do not use our services in that manner. E-mail spam is as little as
one unsolicited commercial message. Usenet spam is defined in the Usenet FAQ below.
If a user is requested to stop sending e-mail to another person and they
continue, we will terminate the account. If you are requesting one of our users to stop sending you mail, you must
mail them the request and copy abuse@cotse.com with that request. If any more mail is sent to you after that point,
we will term the account.
If those requesting are worried about that user knowing their e-mail
address (we have had a number of these), the user has to know it to know who to stop sending mail.
We do not back up users mail, but we also do not remove it. It is up
to the user to properly maintain their e-mail.
Spam runs will be charged $1000/incident.
Please see below for issues relating to Usenet posting.
Usenet abuse FAQ
NOTE: Fraudulent complaints received may copied to the account
that is the target of the complaint. By mailing a complaint about a user that does not violate our policies you
agree to the user receiving a copy. If the user is violating our policies, the account will be termed without
warning.
Table of Contents
Q: Will
we terminate an account for spamming?
A: Yes, if it
is really spam. Our definition of spam is lots of messages essentially saying the same thing. We judge against
the Breidbart
Index. We will terminate an account for BI 20.
We will not take action because a user posted something someone thinks
violates a FAQ and therefore have labeled the post spam. We will take action if the user is flooding a newsgroup.
If the user is posting a URL or advertisement:
We will take action if it is posted to many groups. We will also take
action if it is a commercial advertisement posted to groups where the general topic of the group is completely
unrelated. Affiliate links count as unrelated.
Regarding commercial advertisements, while we judge these against the
BI, please be aware that we are not making any money off this service. It is in poor taste if you are capitalizing
at our expense to make money for yourself.
Users:
If you are selling something and want to ask the newsgroup you hang in if they want it, prefix it with FS: in the
subject.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for forging?
A: Yes. If it
really is a forge. A forge is not having the same name, it is having the same e-mail address. If a user is posting
with your e-mail address in their from line we will terminate the account.
In extreme circumstances (it must be obvious and it is our judgment that is used) we will terminate an account
if a user is deliberately spoofing you to cause trouble, but we will first warn that user to stop.
Please note that we do not act on third party complaints for spoofing.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for posting something someone found offensive?
A: No. Usenet
is a global unmoderated discussion forum, there will always be something someone finds offensive in this type of
environment. The answer to this is to ignore what you find offensive. There is such a vast range on who finds what
offensive that it is impossible to judge without it being subjective.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for using filthy language?
A: No. It is
a subjective term that becomes even more so in a global environment.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for trolling?
A: No. It takes
two parties to troll, one to post a troll message and one to reply. Both those that post the initial message _AND_
those that reply are responsible for the trolling. Nearly every time we have investigated a complaint it is near
impossible to tell who is trolling who, so we do not involve ourselves in these situations.
If you have a troll the best action is to ignore it. An ignored troll
WILL go away. Everyone that says this is not true has a troll that people are responding too. If you feed your
troll you keep them. If you succeed in costing it an account, it will come back with two. Completely ignoring it
is only way to stop it.
Q: Do
we condone trolling?
A: No. But we are
unable to judge it. The most common occurrence on usenet is someone calling anyone who disagrees with them a troll.
It is not possible to judge this without being subjective and effectively taking sides. We will not take sides.
Please respect this and do not use our service to deliberately troll.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for posting binary messages in a non-binary group?
A: We will first
ask them to stop. If they refuse we will terminate.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for posting child pornography or links to advertise child pornography?
A: Yes.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for name calling?
A: No. Use your
kill file. Discussions often degenerate into name calling on Usenet when there are disagreements. We cannot take
sides in a flamefest.
If the user is venturing into actionable harassment seek legal solutions,
we will comply with a subpoena in legal situations and provide you with the IP that posted the offending post.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for posting personal information about another?
A: Yes. While
it is not illegal to post publicly available info, if they are doing it as a means to harass and attack we will
terminate the account. Please note that personal info means name and address or phone, not name alone. E-mail address
does not count as personal information.
Please note that we do not act on third party complaints regarding personal
information.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for posting off topic?
A: No. We are
not the topic police and have no idea of what is or is not on-topic for your newsgroup. There are groups with as
many as three charters, all claiming to be the _only_ real charter.
Also in every newsgroup that has complained about off topic posts there
have been "regulars" who routinely post off topic discussions. Singling out one particular user is unfair.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for posting racist messages?
A: No. One of
the things we promote is freedom of speech. Although many find some views offensive, it is just a viewpoint. It
is when that view becomes an action that causes harm that it should not be tolerated. Harm does not mean someone
getting converted to that view.
If you are being attacked or harmed, it has crossed into a legal issue,
then you should be pursuing this in a legal forum, we will comply with a subpoena for our logs.
There are instances, however, that we feel cross bounds and we will act on, that is deliberately posting racist
messages to ethnic or religious groups just to stir things up rather than debate.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for posting against the charter?
A: No. For the
most part charters are a guide. Especially in the alt hierarchy. We are more strict regarding the big 8.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for forging approval headers or cancels?
A: You can't forge
these headers from within Cotse Webmail.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for excessive morphing to evade kill files?
A: We will first
warn them and if they do not stop, we will term the account. Please note that morphing involves changing the e-mail address. Simply changing the from name is not morphing. You should be kill filing on e-mail address, not name.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for libel?
A: If it is
proven in the court of law, yes. We are unable to judge whether something is libel. Only a court can judge libel.
We will comply with a subpoena for our logs.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for hacking?
A: If it originated
from our machines, yes. If the attack did not come from one of our machines, you should be pursuing this with the
ISP where the attack originated.
If the attack came from our machines please include all relevant logs
including your time zone information. We cannot act without proper logs.
If the crack originated from one of our machines we will give the admin
of the server attacked the IP that came to us.
Q: Will
we terminate an account for being annoying?
A: No. Usenet
spans all race, age, sex, ideological, and cultural boundaries. It is a place where children act like adults and
adults act like children.
This is why kill files exist. If you don't like what someone says, ignore
them. It is 100% your responsibility to police your usenet use by the use of kill filters and ignoring what you
find offensive.
What you find offensive is not necessarily what another would find offensive,
and it could be that they find your opinion offensive to them. They have as much right to their opinion as you
have to yours.
If a user has crossed the line into actionable harassment or libel, then it is your responsibility to pursue this
is a legal forum. We will comply with a subpoena for logs.
Q: My
news reader does not have a kill file, isn't it your responsibility to accommodate?
A: No. You should
just use your mental kill file and ignore it. If you need a software kill file, there are many freeware news readers
with kill filter abilities, install a different news reader. If you can't do this, then visit www.nfilter.org,
this is a free kill file program that will work in conjunction with most news readers giving them greatly enhanced
kill filter abilities.
Q: Why
are your policies so against me?
A: They aren't.
For the most part, Usenet is a global unmoderated discussion forum, those who chose to participate in it, need
to understand the workings of it, it will not conform to everyone's desires.
Discussions frequently break down to flamefests. Flamefest always become
encompassing. We cannot take sides in a flamefest. Everyone in it is responsible for keeping it going.
Q: If
I threaten to sue you, will you react faster or more favorably?
A: Definitely
not! If you threaten to sue then we can not even respond to you. By threatening to sue you place us in a position
of being a defendant. In this position we have no option but to ensure that all correspondence goes through proper
legal channels.
The same is true for criminal issues. If this is a criminal issue we can only accept correspondence from US law
enforcement. We will work with them regarding criminal issues.
Q: Why
do we copy our user on complaints that don't violate our policies?
A: Our policies
are comprehensive, they cover all forms of real abuse. If it is real abuse, the user won't see the complaint, because
they'll be termed. If it is a death threat, bomb threat, threat of bodily harm, or harassment, we should be dealing
with US law enforcement. You should be working through them, not directly contacting us.
What is left are subjective complaints about content. These types of issues must be worked out between posters.
Flamefests are rampant all over Usenet. In every one, both sides call the
other side trolls. If this is happening in your group and you are not involved in it, then you should be ignoring
all people involved in it
If you involve yourself by responding, you are contributing to it. If
you are ignoring it, but feel you must address it off-line, you should be taking it up with the poster. We can
not take sides.
There are also many people who will try to squelch another users opinion
by making fraudulent complaints in an attempt to get the ISP to terminate in a subjective fashion. We believe a
user has a right to know that this is happening and who is doing it.
Final notes:
If you have questions about the BI or feel that these policies are unfair
then visit news.admin.net-abuse.usenet. If they feel something in our policies is wrong, we will adjust it.
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