Introduction

Without exception, OpenSRS decries the practice of mass mailing unwanted email of any type, regardless of content, and we will do everything within our power to reduce the flood of this type of traffic across the Internet.

We have the following policies (please see our definitions below):

1. OpenSRS prohibits the use of our systems in any manner associated with the transmission, distribution, or delivery of spam.
2. Any OpenSRS Email user who sends spam may have their account disabled and be disallowed further service.
3. The reseller must take reasonable steps to ensure that it issues email accounts only to those who do not intend to use them for spam.
4. The reseller must respond in a timely manner to any complaints about spam, and must make the needed contact information publicly available.

If we believe that it is warranted, OpenSRS operations personnel have the option to immediately disable any account in order to forestall further abuse or damage to email systems. Should this occur, the reseller shall be notified as soon as possible.

Spam sent from other networks which references an email account hosted at OpenSRS shall be treated as if it originated from the account referenced, unless there is sufficient reason given for OpenSRS operations staff to believe that the message truly originated with some unrelated party.

Likewise, postings made to Usenet newsgroups or other online forums, such as blogs which reference email accounts hosted at OpenSRS, and are deemed to be inappropriate according to the local ethical standards of those forums, may be treated in the same manner as spam.

Filtering of Incoming Email

As the owner of the equipment and other resources utilized to provide services, OpenSRS has the legal right to block electronic communications from other entities on the Internet.

Resellers should be aware that such blocking or filtering may take place if deemed necessary by designated members of the OpenSRS operations staff (or a third party chosen by OpenSRS and made known to the reseller).

Whenever possible, the party being blocked shall be made aware of such action before it occurs.

Mass Mailing

OpenSRS does not support outbound mass mailing as a standard offering. As standard practice we limit users from sending mail to a large number of recipients per 24 hour period. This limit is restrictive on the first day of usage, and becomes more lenient over time. Users who reach this limit will experience error messages such as “Daily maximum exceeded”.

This limit is subject to change without notice, should our service be compromised. In order to protect our resellers we do not publish the numeric limit publicly.

A reseller can request through the OpenSRS support organization that this limit be overridden temporarily for a particular user. Each request will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The procedure for submitting a “Mass Mailing” request is given on the OpenSRS.com web site.

File Sharing

OpenSRS allows our Email Service customers to share files by uploading the files to OpenSRS File Storage and then sharing the links to those files. Customers who participate in file sharing must adhere to the policies outlined in this document.

OpenSRS prohibits the uploading, sharing, or disseminating of any information, data, or material that is defamatory, child pornography, or hate literature, as well as any that is in violation of local, federal, or international regulation or law, or that is prohibited by common law. This includes, but is not limited to, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, or any other statute.

OpenSRS also prohibits the posting, storing, transmitting, or disseminating of any information or software that contains a virus, trojan horse, worm, defect, or any other harmful, contaminating, or disruptive components.

OpenSRS reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to lock any account this is found to be in violation of this policy.

Illegal Activities

Services offered may only be used for lawful purposes. Transmission, distribution, or storage of any information, data or material that is in violation of federal or state regulation or law, or by common law, is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, or any other statute.

OpenSRS reserves the right to cooperate with law enforcement and other legal authorities in investigating claims of illegal activity.

OpenSRS will not release any information regarding our resellers (excepting that which is public knowledge, such as the InterNIC’s WHOIS database) or their users to any third party, except upon presentation of a valid court order from a government or legal entity with proper jurisdiction. The reseller agrees that OpenSRS judgment as to the validity of any such order shall be considered proper and final.

Right to Damages

OpenSRS considers most instances of spam to be a theft of services, and reserves the right to prosecute originators in a court of law.

OpenSRS reserves the right to collect damages (to cover software, hardware, and man hours) if any harm is done to our network or equipment that requires repair or reconfiguration of any kind. If deemed appropriate by OpenSRS, the reseller will be billed not less than USD $500 per individual complaint received by OpenSRS staff.

In addition, OpenSRS reserves the right to collect punitive damages in recompense for any perceived loss of brand reputation. Nothing contained in this document shall be construed to limit action that OpenSRS may take or remedies that are available to us with respect to any of the described conduct. OpenSRS reserves the right to take any additional actions we may consider appropriate with respect to such conduct, including, without limitation, taking action to recover costs and expenses of identifying offenders and removing them from our network or systems, and levying cancellation charges to cover costs in the event of disconnection for the causes outlined in this policy document. In addition, OpenSRS reserves at all times all rights and remedies available to us with respect to such conduct at law or in equity. Non-enforcement of any policy or rule herein does not constitute consent or waiver, and OpenSRS reserves the right to enforce such policy or rule at its sole discretion.

Definitions used in this document

“Spam” refers to any messages sent to multiple recipients who have not agreed to receive such messages.

“Reseller” refers to the business entity which has contracted with OpenSRS for email services. Each reseller may have multiple email domains and each domain may have one or more users.

“User” refers to the person, persons, or entity using a specific email account (designated by a unique email address) within a domain controlled by the reseller and operated by OpenSRS.

Selected Bibliography

• RFC 1855 “Netiquette Guidelines” (the “unwritten” rules)
• Fight Spam on the Internet! (the central site for the anti-spam activist community; includes filtering methods, example policies, and much more)
• Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (the world’s largest online organization)
• The Net Abuse FAQ (mainly deals with Usenet)

©2010 OpenSRS