Usage Policies

Usage policies

Billing Agreement: All customers are billed in advance as outlined and selected below. All customers are billed from the date they are activated till the next billing cycle. The first month of service is prorated after that the billing period is from the 1st to the 1st no refunds or credits are issued on partial months there after. If you are billed via Credit Card your card will be billed the prorated amount followed by our normal billing period which is the 1st till the 1st of the following month. If you wish to terminate service you must contact us before the next billing cycle begins . If not, no credit will be issued but your account will remain active till the start of the next billing cycle, At which time your card will not be billed and your account will be discontinued. Discontinued accounts will be deleted from our server along with any associated emails stored there and further emails will be refused. Final Communications will not be held responsible for loss of data deleted from the service for late or lack of payment.

FINAL COMMUNICATION will maintain a customer service department to handle any billing disputes which are submitted by a subscriber whether by telephone, in writing or by e-mail. Once notice of changes have been displayed over the service, FINAL COMMUNICATION reserves the right to adjust this agreement, price structure, operating regulations and/or may cease or revise any or all aspects of the service without prior notice. Unless otherwise agreed, subscriber’s rights to use the service or to appoint users is not transferable and is subject to any limits established by FINAL COMMUNICATION, or by a subscriber’s credit card company if billing through a credit card. Subscribers shall pay, in accordance with the provisions of the Billing Option selected by the subscriber, any registration or monthly fees, connect time charges, minimum charges and other charges incurred by the subscriber or its designated users at the rates in effect for the billing period in which these occurred, including but not limited to charges for any purchases made through the Service and any surcharges incurred using any supplemental networks or networks or services other than the Service. Subscribers shall pay all applicable taxes relating to use of the Service by member or its designated users. Subscribers shall be responsible for all use of the Service accessed through the subscriber’s or its designated user’s password(s).

Warranty: Subscribers will be responsible for and must provide all equipment including but not limited to computer, modem, telephone, etc. necessary to access the service. Subscribers nor their assigned users may reproduce, retransmit, redistribute, transfer, publish or commercially capitalize on any information, software or general content which they receive via the service. Neither FINAL COMMUNICATION nor any of its content providers, licensers, employees or agents warrant that the service will be uninterrupted or error free; make any warranty as to the results to be obtained from the use of the service. The service is distributed on an “as is” basis without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. Neither FINAL COMMUNICATION nor anyone else involved in creating, producing or delivering the service shall be liable for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages developing out of use of the service. Subscribers expressly acknowledge that the provision of this agreement shall also apply to the third party content.

Business Accounts: If member’s account is a qualified business account and approved by FINAL COMMUNICATION for corporate billing, charges for the services provided under this Agreement will be accumulated and identified by User ID and will normally be invoiced prior to the beginning of the period in which the service is provided. Terms of payment on all charges are net ten (10) days. If payment due hereunder is not made by the member within ten (10) days after the invoice date, late charges of one and one-half percent (1.5%) per month shall be due and payable with respect to such payment. FINAL COMMUNICATION may, in addition, at its sole discretion and without notice to the member, (a) suspend its performance under this agreement and the member’s and its designated users’ access to and use of the Service, or (b) terminate this agreement and member’s and its designated users’ access to and the use of the Service. For accounts not approved by FINAL COMMUNICATION for corporate billing, member must provide payment by credit card, direct debit or personal check.

NON SUFFICIENT FUNDS: Checks returned for Non-Sufficient Funds will be debited against the customer’s account and a fee of $20.00 for each returned check will be charged against the customer’s account.

General

FINAL Communication Systems, Inc. offers Internet access and related services through its system to its subscribers. FINAL COMMUNICATION does not and cannot control the content, quality or accuracy of information available through its system(s) or over the Internet in general. These terms and conditions of sale set forth the basic rules which apply to  services and use of its system. FINAL COMMUNICATIONS may change these terms and conditions of sale in the future upon notice published on-line or otherwise provided by FINAL COMMUNICATIONS. By using FINAL COMMUNICATIONS services and system, a subscriber agrees to comply with the terms and conditions of sale as published online or otherwise available from FINAL COMMUNICATION from time to time. If any change to the terms or conditions of sale,  services, system or pricing is unacceptable to a subscriber, the subscriber may terminate its account in accordance with Section 5 below.

Lawful Use

FINAL COMMUNICATION services and system may only be used for lawful purposes and consistent with all rights of other parties. Without limiting the foregoing, FINAL COMMUNICATION services and system shall not be used in a manner which would violate any law or infringe any copyright, trademark, trade secret, right of publicity, privacy right or any other right of any person or entity or for the purpose of transmitting or storing of material which is obscene, libelous or defamatory. Use and access to other networks through FINAL COMMUNICATION must comply with the rules for such other networks.

Changes to Service

The services provided by FINAL COMMUNICATION is expected to change from time to time. FINAL COMMUNICATION reserves the right to change any service offered or the features of any service offered or its system without notice, including changes to access and use procedures, such as idle disconnections, and system hardware and software.

Payment Terms

A subscriber must pay fees per FINAL COMMUNICATION rate schedule in effect from time to time as a condition to obtaining access to FINAL COMMUNICATION. Rate changes will be effective when published on-line or otherwise provided to subscribers. Payment terms of monthly fees are net 10 days.  Payments not made within 10 days of billing date are considered delinquent. Delinquent accounts are subject to immediate suspension and/or termination without notice. Monthly charges will not be prorated. Balance Must be paid in full and a re connection fee will be charged to re-activate a account once service is terminated.

Termination and Suspension

FINAL COMMUNICATION may, at its sole discretion, terminate the subscriber’s account at any time with or without reason. FINAL COMMUNICATION may, at its sole discretion, suspend a subscriber’s account at any time with or without reason. Monthly charges will not be prorated. TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION DOES NOT RELEASE LIABILITY FOR CHARGES DUE.  FINAL COMMUNICATION may delete all data, files or other information that is stored in subscriber’s account upon termination.

Software

As a courtesy to subscribers, FINAL COMMUNICATION has accumulated a library of software which is “shareware” or “freeware”. FINAL COMMUNICATION is not the author of or otherwise responsible for any of such software or engaged in the sale or licensing of such software.  FINAL COMMUNICATION makes no warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, with respect to freeware or shareware available to subscribers. FINAL COMMUNICATION accepts no liability of any kind with respect to such software and/or damages resulting from use thereof. Subscriber and any other user assumes all risk of all kinds with respect to such software. Subscriber and not  FINAL COMMUNICATION must pay all shareware license fees. No subscriber or user will assert any claim against FINAL COMMUNICATION with respect to any shareware or freeware obtained through FINAL COMMUNICATION Systems.

No Warranty; Limitation of Liability

Use of  FINAL COMMUNICATION services and system and the Internet in general is at user’s sole risk. FINAL COMMUNICATION does not warrant that its services and system will be uninterrupted or error free; nor does FINAL COMMUNICATION make any warranty as to the results or information obtained from use of its service or system or the Internet in general.

FINAL COMMUNICATION services and system are provided on an “as is,” “as available” basis without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, all of which warranties are hereby expressly disclaimed except to the extent any warranty cannot be disclaimed under applicable law. Under no circumstances shall FINAL COMMUNICATION be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, including, without limitation, loss of profits. The maximum liability of FINAL COMMUNICATION to any subscriber or user for any and all loss, claim, damage or liability of any kind, including due to FINAL COMMUNICATION negligence, shall be limited to the amount paid by the subscriber or user to FINAL COMMUNICATION during the six month period preceding the claim.

Indemnity

The subscriber agrees to indemnify and hold harmless FINAL COMMUNICATION, its directors, officers, shareholders, agents, employees and its other subscribers from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, or expenses, including attorney fees, arising out of or resulting from any and all use of subscriber’s account whether or not authorized.

Non-Transferability

Subscriber’s account and right to use FINAL COMMUNICATION services and system is not transferable without FINAL COMMUNICATION’s consent. Subscriber agrees to protect its password and account and to keep them secure from unauthorized users and use.

Confidentiality

Electronic mail and other transmissions passing over the Internet and through FINAL COMMUNICATION’s system may not be confidential. Final  Communication Systems will not disclose any such information unless required to do so pursuant to a court order, subpoena, or similar legal request or otherwise on the advice of counsel.

Interpretation

These terms and conditions supersede all other written and oral communications or agreements with regard to the subject matter. A waiver or modification of these terms and conditions shall only be effective if in a writing signed by an authorized officer of FINAL COMMUNICATION. These terms and conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard to choice of law principles.

E-mail Usage

Sending unsolicited mail messages, including, without limitation, commercial advertising and informational announcements, is explicitly prohibited. A user shall not use another site’s mail server to relay mail without the express permission of the site.

UseNet (news groups)
UseNet News can be a wonderful communications tool – a medium of promoting group discussions between people from around the world on any of 10,000+ diverse topics! It can also be offensive and sometimes dangerous.These policies must conform to our backbone providers’ policies to ensure that our news service is maintained for all to use and enjoy. Please read carefully and understand this policy to protect your access to this optional service.

FINAL COMMUNICATION (and its subscribers) can not be part of the problem, and enforcement action will be taken seriously to ensure that we are not part of the problem.

Reasonable Use – Common Sense

Imagining again that conversation carried out over a period of hours and days, by people leaving messages and responses on a bulletin board – for all to read! An electronic radio talk show where everybody can put their two cents in and no one is ever on hold.

With a minimum of guidelines, it is wonderful – when those guidelines are followed by everyone – and the few bad apples that exist will be dealt with, UseNet will again be a good place to be.

Jumping into a Usenet discussion can be a liberating experience. Nobody knows what you look or sound like, how old you are, what your background is. You’re judged solely on your words, your ability to make a point.

But … interruptions with off-topic postings, advertisements, and personal derogatory remarks do not enhance communication, just destroy it! Although there is a proper time and place for it, even humor and insults can be severely lost by the medium.

Use the posting feature seldom, and in a considered manner. Consider whether you would say what you are attempting to one person in a group of 100 or 1,000 in person after considering the possible consequences! 🙂

If in doubt, don’t post!

Reasonable Use – Volume

Technically, Usenet messages are shipped around the world, from host system to host system, using one of several specific Net protocols. Each host system stores a copy of all received Usenet messages which everybody with access to the system can access. They contact other hosts to ensure that they also have all of the messages. A hundred thousand messages per day – on a slow day!

Every day, Usenet users worldwide pump over 2 billion characters a day into the system.

You can keep UseNet content-rich (also called the signal-to-noise ratio) by simply:

  • Think before you postand edit as below:
    • Does your posting further the conversation on your chosen topic?
    • Have you read all existing replies to ensure you are not duplicating what has already been said?
    • Removed all extraneous quoted text from your post or reply?
    • Trimmed the Newsgroups line to include only relevant groups?
    • Thought about whether your post is even necessary – or should be sent instead via e-mail to the original poster?
    • Trimmed the “Follow ups” line to a specific single newsgroup?

If in doubt, don’t post!

Why?

Because over 30,000 copies of this message will be stored on computer systems worldwide, and excessive posting of garbage only slows down the content that everyone does want to read! It is an unnecessary waste of resources. And, close to 30,000,000 people will have to determine whether to read this message, and may decide to never read anything else that you ever have to say!

Reasonable Use – Newsgroups

Cross-posting is a mechanism to allow a single message to be transported, yet appear in multiple newsgroups. It is a benefit to the entire net when used correctly. Simply list the 2 or 3 relevant newsgroups in the newsgroups line. Your message will appear in each group properly, and be seen by a larger audience.

Choose the groups carefully, and remember to set the follow ups line to a single specific group. Do not attempt to post the same message to a number of groups – in addition to wasting resources, you will get a large number of people very angry at you! Cross-posting to more than a very select few groups is also bad form and will generate more hate-mail than you will want to see!

Binaries have a place, when there is a specific need. A better method is to place it on your personal web page, so that those people who want it can download it directly. ONLY if there is a large audience for this binary should it be posted, and then, ensure that it is posted in as few pieces as possible – One is best, but keep the message under 30,000 lines. Smaller pieces can get lost, and only the entire set of messages is of any use to anyone! Also ensure you are posting to a binary group. This group will have the word: “binaries” as part of its name. Do not post or cross-post binaries to non-binary groups!

 Copyright Laws cover every printed medium, whether text, sound or picture. These laws normally prohibit distribution by any means by anyone other than the copyright holder. UseNet is a method of distribution and may not be used to post materials that are Copyright.

 Advertising (of any type) is not normally welcomed on UseNet. There are a tiny number of groups that do allow advertising. The better way is to use your personal web pages to advertise. Then an announcement to the relevant groups of the existence of your page may be of interest. Never post this type of notice more than twice per month – and ONLY to the 2 or 3 newsgroups that may be relevant.

If in doubt, don’t post!

FINAL COMMUNICATION support and technical staff can advise whether a particular posting is likely to be acceptable to the AUP and to the net in general. Contact our news support staff if you have further questions.

Abuse of the policy above will result in our contacting you to discuss proper procedures. Repeated abuse will result in service charges for time spent by our administrators in dealing with the situation, or termination of your account without refund, or both.

Forgery of messages, harassment of others, and postings that generate warranted complaints will result in service charges for time spent by our administrators in dealing with the situation, including tracing the postings to an account, or termination of your account without refund or both.

There is a sharing of information between most major providers regarding the above abuses, which may result in you being unable to acquire accounts on other providers as well!

Important!

UseNet News is a distributed shared service that is not determined on the basis of content – we do not censor on the basis of content. Complaints against FINAL COMMUNICATION  Server users are investigated if warranted, however FINAL COMMUNICATION is not responsible for any content posted by any UseNet News User, here or elsewhere on the global network.

Warning!

There is content within UseNet News that you will not be interested in, and that you will find offensive. Ignore it and do not read that newsgroup in the future. Don’t bother complaining about it – even though you may find a sympathetic ear somewhere – there are many other newsgroups that you won’t find offensive. If you want to filter out the offensive bits, there are commercial programs that will pre-read and censor the news for you, and provide you a digested version. Research and buy one of those if you feel you must.