Terms and Conditions

About This Agreement

(October, 1996)

It is the intent of Dueling Modems to permit the open discussion of issues in all of its content areas. However, in order to maintain proper decorum in the use of Dueling Modems services, to protect the integrity, good will and mass appeal of Dueling Modems, and to prevent violation of the legal rights of others, it is necessary for Dueling Modems to have and to ensure compliance with certain criteria relating to the use of Dueling Modems.

Those usage guidelines are set forth in the on-line Dueling Modems Service Policies and Guidelines files which are available for subscriber access. These Policies and Guidelines are subject to change by Dueling Modems at its discretion. In addition to the on-line Dueling Modems Service Policies and Guidelines, individual content area managers may also establish supplemental usage guidelines for application with respect to the use of the specific Dueling Modems content areas which they manage, provided that such supplemental guidelines are not inconsistent with the Dueling Modems Service Policies and Guidelines which are then in effect. Such supplemental guidelines must also be adhered to.

It should be noted that Dueling Modems is not a communications common carrier service, and that Dueling Modems is not legally obligated to allow its facilities to be used for the wholly unrestricted expression of ideas. Dueling Modems reserves to itself and to its content area managers discretion with respect to what is permitted to appear in open files and libraries on the service. It is intended, however, to have this discretion exercised in a reasonable and responsible manner, in accordance with the stated usage policies and guidelines.

Nicholas Grabien
President, Dueling Modems

Dueling Modems
Service Terms and Conditions Agreement

(October, 1996)

The following criteria apply to the use of Dueling Modems:

Dueling Modems provides "content areas" consisting of newsgroups, web pages and chat server channels/rooms. The orderly management of each content area on Dueling Modems is the responsibility of the manager/sysop retained to administer that area. Subject to such management responsibility, the following usage policies apply with respect to content area usage:

1. SERVICES AND FEATURES:

   Dueling Modems provides the following services and features to its Subscribers:

   a. Bulletin Board services via non-propagated Use-net style newsgroups

   b. World Wide Web (WWW) site hosting

   c. Real-time Conferencing via Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

   d. POP3 Internet e-mail accounts

   e. File libraries via WWW pages

   f. Other services as and when they become available

2. CONDITIONS OF SERVICE:

   a. The Services are supplied on condition that the Subscriber will not use or permit the use of the Services for any illegal purpose.

   b. The Subscriber shall not persistently send messages without good reason causing any threat, harassment, annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to any person whatsoever.

   c. Unless otherwise agreed in writing between the parties, the Subscriber's right to use the Services is not transferable and is subject to any limits established by DM as notified to the Customer in writing from time to time.

   d. Subscribers less than 18 years old must have a parent or legal guardian agree to these Terms and Conditions to indicate their acceptance of the financial obligations connected with use of Services, and knowledge of the terms and conditions of the agreement between the Subscriber and DM. If the Subscriber is less than 18 years of age, he or she must disclose this fact to DM before accessing the Services. If no disclosure has been made, the Subscriber warrants to DM that he or she is older than 18 years of age.

   e. The Subscriber shall not use DM system resources or Services in any way which disrupts the normal use of the system for other members of DM. Prohibited actions include, but are not limited to; the use of e-mail or newsgroups in a way which results in excessive mail to the Subscriber or to DM, the spawning of an excessive number of processes, consuming excessive memory, central processor time, hard disk storage space, excessive inactive connect time to the system, use of software to gain unauthorized access to Services on DM's computer system, or to gain unauthorized access to other computers whether or not connected to the Internet.

3. CONTENT AND USAGE RESTRICTIONS:

   a. The content of any statement or information which is transmitted for posting in a content area on DM should be suitable for publication and should not violate the legal rights of others. The posting of such statement or information will not be permitted if it is reasonably considered to fall within any of the following categories or to be otherwise harmful to Dueling Modems' business interests:

   (1) Material which is obscene, indecent, or a blatant expression of bigotry, racism or hatred.

   (2) Material which is otherwise grossly repugnant to online community standards.

   (3) Defamatory or abusive statements.

   (4) Unauthorized copies of copyrighted material.

   (5) Threats to harm oneself or others.

   (6) Statements made for the purpose of harassment.

   (7) Statements which advocate conduct or action which would be illegal or harmful to Dueling Modems Services or others.

   (8) Statements made in furtherance of an illegal or fraudulent scheme or activity.

   (9) Statements which are inconsistent with decorum and good taste.

   (10) Advertising statements, except in specifically designated areas of the Service.

   b. DM is a closed, commercial on-line environment. As such, there are no First Amendment guarantees extended to the membership. Notwithstanding that, however, DM supports complete freedom of expression as much as is possible in such an environment.

   c. DM acknowledges that online communities establish their own language and behavior standards. Each content area on DM will have its own policy, as set by the manager/sysop, consonant with that online community.

   d. Subscribers will, however, be required to maintain a civil atmosphere in all areas where they can post. Personal attacks, and attacks on DM are strongly discouraged.

   e. Pornography, defined as "graphic images depicting human sexual genitalia (not including breasts) and text files depicting sexual activity not otherwise protected by First Amendment privilege (specifically, "erotica" is protected and will be acceptable), will NOT be permitted on DM. DM Management will be the final arbiter of any specific case and reserves the right to redefine "pornography" at any time, upon notice to the member of DM.

   f. All information posted to DM or stored by DM is to be considered private, and not copied outside DM without the poster's or uploader's permission.

   g. Postings in each content area should be limited to information which is relevant to that content area. A sysop may exclude irrelevant information from his/her content area; may move a posting to a more appropriate part of his/her content area, or may direct a subscriber to another, more appropriate content area.

   h. Moreover, the use of offensive or threatening nicknames or "handles" to identify the submitters of postings will not be tolerated.

   i. Threats of harm to oneself or others, and other statements concerning illegal conduct, may be reported to appropriate law enforcement authorities for investigation.

4. SOFTWARE UPLOADS.

   Subscribers are not permitted to electronically upload the following types of material to Dueling Modems:

   a. Unauthorized copies of copyrighted photographs, drawings, graphics or other writings, computer programs, recordings or designs.

   b. Computer programs which contain viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or other contaminating or destructive features.

   c. Sexually explicit material which describes or depicts, in a licentious manner, genital organs or sexual acts.

   d. Items which would not qualify for posting in a content area, as described above.

5. EMAIL ACCOUNTS.

   Dueling Modems Email accounts are provided for private communication by or with service subscribers, although it may also be used by sysops and Dueling Modems personnel for the performance of administrative functions. Dueling Modems Email accounts may not be used for the transmission of unsolicited or "junk" mail, such as chain letters, pyramid scheme offerings, or merchandise or service offerings. It is also not permissible to use Dueling Modems Email accounts to transmit messages which harass or threaten others, or which the recipient might reasonably find offensive.

   Enforcement of these usage restrictions is based on complaints which may be made by subscribers to whom offending material is addressed. Dueling Modems does not engage in the routine monitoring of the content of Dueling Modems Email account messages. Except in the case of messages which are transmitted to or from accounts which are assigned for the performance by sysops or Dueling Modems personnel of administrative functions, the contents of Dueling Modems Email account messages will not be inspected or disclosed without the consent of the addressee thereof, or as may be required or authorized by applicable law.

   It should be understood that Dueling Modems Email account messages which are not retrieved from the addressee's mailbox within a specified period of time, or which have not been retrieved prior to termination or suspension of the addressee's service account, are routinely expunged from the system, and are not saved, notwithstanding that they were not retrieved by the addressee.

6. ENFORCEMENT OF POLICY.

   In the case of content area usage, primary responsibility for enforcing compliance with this Dueling Modems Service terms and Conditions Agreement, and with any applicable supplemental usage policies and guidelines, resides with the sysop for such content area. Sysops are empowered to take any and all action which is reasonably determined by the sysop to be necessary or appropriate in the circumstances to ensure compliance with these and any applicable supplemental usage standards. Dueling Modems itself, however, also reserves the right to immediately terminate or suspend the subscriber's access to the service if it determines that the subscriber's non-compliance with such policies and guidelines was intentional and is likely to cause serious commercial or other harm to it or to another subscriber.

   If you should disagree with the action or decision of any sysop in applying the usage standards in a particular case, you may request review of the sysop's action or decision by submitting a written request for such review to FEEDBACK@DM.NET. Your request should include both a statement of the facts of the case and of your reason for believing that the sysop's action or decision was erroneous or excessive. FEEDBACK will acknowledge your request and will initiate a review of the matter. Unless the sysop's action or decision is found to have been arbitrary or capricious, however, the sysop's judgment will be upheld. Dueling Modems' management will not substitute its own judgment for the sysop's judgment so long as there was a reasonable basis for the sysop's decision.

Dueling Modems
Billing Procedures and Policies

(October, 1996)

Explanation of Billing Procedures and Payment Responsibilities:

1. SUBSCRIPTION FEE. Dueling Modems subscription fees are posted to your Dueling Modems account on or about the 20th day of every month and are non-refundable--regardless of frequency of access. The current Dueling Modems Subscription Fee will always be available via the appropriate RATES page on the Dueling Modems World Wide Web site.

2. BILLING SCHEDULES. The Dueling Modems subscription fee will be posted to your Dueling Modems account on or about the 20th of the month previous to the usage. It will be billed, combined with any usage or other fees from the previous month, to your designated method of payment in that same month. As an example, your March subscription fee will be posted to your Dueling Modems account on or about February 20. This be billed to your designated method of payment and will include March's subscription fee and any supplemental February usage and/or fees which may have been posted to your Dueling Modems account during February. After that, we continue the policy of billing your designated method of payment for the current month's subscription fee combined with any supplemental usage or fees from the previous month.

3. BILLING ACCURACY. In order to expedite any concerns or disagreements you may have with your Dueling Modems billing, please advise us promptly. Concerns not presented within 90 days of billing indicate acceptance of charges as billed. Concerns may be reported either by calling Dueling Modems Client Services at 1-650-692-2279, by sending electronic mail to BILLING@DM.NET, or via U.S. Mail to Dueling Modems, 451 Broadway, Millbrae, CA 94030.

4. ACCOUNT OWNERSHIP. The individual who accepts financial responsibility is the Dueling Modems Account Owner. If you provide your credit card or your checking account for use by another individual, you assume responsibility for any and all charges incurred on the account.

5. UNPAID BILLING. In the event that there is a problem in processing your monthly Dueling Modems billing, your account may be temporarily suspended until the outstanding balance has been satisfied and a new method of payment has been provided, if necessary. You may satisfy your outstanding balance by sending remittance in the form of a check or money order to Dueling Modems, 451 Broadway, Millbrae, CA 94030 or by requesting electronic re-billing. Please note that re-bills are posted to your Dueling Modems account along with your current month's billing and will be billed the following month.

   If for any reason the charge we bill your credit card or checking account is returned unpaid (for insufficient funds/exceeds limit) you will be billed an additional $10.00 for each occurrence, at the discretion of Dueling Modems.

6. SUBSCRIPTION CANCELLATION/TERMINATION.Should you decide to cancel your subscription, notify Dueling Modems by Email at BILLING@DM.NET or by written notification sent to Dueling Modems, 451 Broadway, Millbrae, CA 94030. Any account cancellation will take effect on the first day of the month following the cancellation, unless specifically indicated otherwise in the cancellation request.

   Account terminations by Dueling Modems shall be effective immediately upon transmission of a Termination of Subscription notice via Email from Dueling Modems management to the affected subscriber.

   In no event shall the monthly subscription fee for the month the cancellation notice was received be refunded. Annual subscription accounts shall be refunded on a pro-rated basis, with each month's service used being calculated at the current monthly subscription fee. Any unused balance will be refunded within 90 days of the effective date of termination.

Dueling Modems
Disclaimer of Warranty and Applicable Law

(October, 1996)

Applicable Law: This Agreement shall be interpreted in its entirety in accordance with the laws of the State of California.

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