Acceptable Use Policy
All users of this system must abide by the following guidelines.
The primary goal of the Huntington County Community Network is to provide an electronic
means to display and disseminate public information about Huntington County and give the
people of Huntington County ready access to the wealth of information to be found on the
Internet.
The resources of the Internet in transmitting and sharing information and ideas are
without equal. Information found on the Internet is constantly changing and evolving.
Educational opportunities abound for all age levels and interest groups. Electronic pen
pals representing a different culture or country allow children to reach out, share
information and learn concepts. Internet access to the great museums, libraries and scenic
wonders of the world stretches the imagination and facilitates creative thought.
Cooperative interaction of professionals enhances a synergy conducive to problem solving.
Users of the Internet have access to information and news, public domain software and
shareware of all types, and discussion groups on an inexhaustible list of topics. The
Huntington County Community Network seeks to provide local, community-building information
that will both enrich the international information resources of the Internet and serve
the needs of Huntington county residents.
With all of these opportunities also comes responsibility. Since the Internet is a
global electronic network, there is no control of its users or content. Users of the
Huntington County Community Network must govern themselves. Laws both international and
domestic must be obeyed.
Users must be aware that there are many services available on the Internet that could
potentially be offensive to certain groups or individuals. HCCN cannot eliminate access to
such services, nor could it even begin to identify all of them. Thus individual users must
take responsibility for their own actions in navigating the local network and the
Internet. Parents must assume responsibility for their children's use of the network
whether at home or at a public access station.
In the interest of free speech, commercial, political and religious communication shall
not be censored by the Huntington County Community Network. However, HCCN reserves the
right to designate appropriate forums for such communication and the right to establish
fees for the dissemination of information that is primarily commercial in nature.
The Huntington County Community Network, by design, is a free and open forum for
expression, including viewpoints that are strange, unorthodox, or unpopular. HCCN will
neither endorse nor sanction the expression of personal opinion on the network. Any
statement of personal belief is implicitly understood to be representative of the author's
individual viewpoint and not the view of HCCN, its Board of Directors, or its other users.
Individuals users must take full responsibility for their communications and furthermore
must be aware that other community members may be openly critical of such opinions.
Personal attacks are not an acceptable use of the network at any time. In the interest
of public safety, any community member who receives threatening or unwelcome
communications should bring the matter to the attention of local law enforcement
authorities.
Community standards of conduct and communication must be respected at all times.
Profanity and obscenity run contrary to such standards and are not acceptable in network
communications.
Community members must respect the rights of others, both in the local community and in
the worldwide electronic community.
Network members must respect all copyright laws. The unauthorized copying or transfer
of copyrighted material will result in the immediate loss of network privileges.
Re-posting of personal communications without the original author's prior consent is
prohibited. Such an action is deemed a violation of the author's privacy. However, all
messages posted in a public forum, such as a listserve or newsgroup, may be copied in
subsequent communications, so long as proper attribution is given.
Use of the network for illegal activities is prohibited. Illegal activities include,
but are not limited to, tampering with computer hardware or software, unauthorized entry
into computers or accounts, or vandalism or malicious destruction of computer files. Such
activities are punishable by state and federal law.
The deliberate dissemination of computer viruses is prohibited. Viruses are programs
that have been developed as pranks and can destroy valuable programs and data. Users must
follow proper procedures to check for viruses before using data obtained from remote
sources, and before loading data to the HCCN server. Deliberate attempts to degrade or
disrupt system performance of the Huntington County Community Network or any other
computer system or network by spreading computer viruses is punishable by state and
federal law.
Each user has full responsibility for the use of his or her account. All violations of
this acceptable use policy can be traced to individual accounts. End users will bear sole
responsibility for inappropriate uses of their account. Under no circumstances should end
users give their account name or password to any other individual.
Impersonation is not permitted. End users must identify themselves by their real name;
pseudonyms are not allowed.
Anonymity is not permitted on the Huntington County Community Network. As a community
network, all participating individuals must take responsibility for their own actions and
words.
All users must display exemplary behavior at all times. When "visiting"
remote sites, users must remember that they do so as members of the Huntington County
community, and accordingly must adhere to the highest standards of conduct.
This policy was drafted by a committee chaired by Kathy Holst of the Huntington
City-Township Public Library and adopted by the HCCN Board of
Directors.
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