TERMS OF SERVICE AND ACCEPTABLE USE POLICIES

Thank you for choosing Pinellas Internet Services as your Internet Service Provider. When using Pinellas Internet Services's service, please be aware that the following Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policies apply at all times. These Terms and Policies have been developed in order to ensure that you and all other Pinellas Internet Services customers have a high quality service that is being used appropriately by all customers. By establishing and using your Pinellas account, you agree to all of the Terms and Policies set out in this document.

1. General Terms and Policies. Pinellas Internet Services is a private company providing a commercial gateway to the Internet. Pinellas Internet Services's equipment and facilities may be used to send electronic mail, conduct commercial transactions, access bulletin boards, newsgroups and private networks, engage in on-line chat sessions, transfer files, and otherwise enjoy all legal aspects of the Internet, subject to these Terms and Policies (referred to in this document as "the Service.")

This service is provided to authorized persons or organizations (referred to in this document as "Subscriber" or "you"). Any use of the service is subject to any restrictions listed below. By using the Service, you agree to be bound by all of theses Terms and Policies. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms and Policies, you must cancel your account immediately and may not thereafter use or attempt to use the Service.

Pinellas Internet Services grants you a non-exclusive right to access, use and display the Service on any computers or other electronic display devices of which you are a primary user. You may not assign, sub-license or transfer any rights or obligations of the Service without the express written consent of Pinellas Internet Services.

2. Coverage. If you are an individual Subscriber, these Terms and Policies apply to all persons who gain access through your account. If you are a commercial Subscriber, these Terms and Policies apply to all your employees, agents and/or customers. In either instance, a violation of these Terms and Policies by anyone using your account will be imputed to you.

3. Prices and Charges. Pinellas Internet Services charges are as follows:

Basic Service Residential___________ $__20.00/per month.
Basic Service Commercial__________ $__20.00/per month.
Custom Service Comm or Residential__ $__50/per month and Up.

Unsolicited Bulk E-mail ("spam") cleanup:

$250 + $2 per message sent + $5 per complaint received by Pinellas Internet Services.

--AND--

$75 per hour spent by Pinellas Internet Services personnel

Charges are due within 3_ days of the date on Pinellas Internet Services's invoice. Payments received after that date are subject to a late payment charge of [1.5]% of the total amount past due.

Any checks returned by the issuing institution will be charged a processing fee of $20_.

If you fail to pay for your account for 7 days after the date of the invoice, Pinellas Internet Services may without further notice terminate your account. Termination does not remove your responsibility to pay all fees incurred up to the date that Pinellas Internet Services terminates your account. If Pinellas Internet Services incurs any fees or costs in collecting any past-due amounts, including costs of legal counsel or a collection bureau, those fees and costs will be added to the amount you owe.

4. Term. The Service is provided to you on a month-to-month basis. Pinellas Internet Services must receive written notice of termination (which may be by first-class mail or by e mail) from you at least 7 days prior to end of a month, or the Service will be provided and charged to you for the following month.

---OR---

The Service is provided to you for a term of One Month. If you want to terminate the Service prior to the end of this term, you must provide Pinellas Internet Services with written notice of termination (which may be by first-class mail or by e-mail.) All fees are paid in advance and are non refundable.

5. Grounds for Suspension and Termination. You agree to comply with these Terms and Policies, as well as the applicable rules, regulations and policies of any network, bulletin board, newsgroup, web site or Internet Service Provider accessed through the Service. Any violation of either these Terms and Policies or the other rules, regulations or policies noted above may serve as cause for Pinellas Internet Services to suspend or terminate your account. You agree that Pinellas Internet Services has the right, with or without notice, to suspend or terminate your account upon the first or subsequent occurrence of any of the following:

a. Using the Service in a way which constitutes violation of any applicable statute, law, court order, tariff, regulation, or treaty (including, but not limited to, intellectual property, communications, privacy, criminal and international law);

b. Using the Service in a manner intended to abuse or violate the privacy or property rights of others, including but not limited to sending of unsolicited bulk e-mail ("spamming"); the suspension or termination which will result from spamming is entirely separate from and in addition to the fees which will be placed on your account due to such activity;

c. Using the Service in an attempt to break security, or so as to actually break security of any computer network (including the Service itself), or to access an account of which you are not the owner or a communication on which you are not the sender or intended receipient;

d. Using the Service in such a way as to forge headers/addresses in electronic mail or USENET postings, or using any other method to disguise the sender's identity;

e. Excessively using the Service in such a way as to limit the bandwidth or access available to others, including, but not limited to, download traffic of fifty (50) megabytes or more per day for the Subscriber's web page or site, sending e mail traffic in excess of fifty (50) megabytes per day, or using ping, e-mail check, excessive IRC logging, or any automated program with the sole intent of creating a continuous connection;

f. Posting commercial messages to a USENET group where the posting is not approved by the specific USENET group in its charter, or mass postings to large numbers of USENET groups;

g. Using the Service to operate server programs, including but not limited to mail servers, IRC serves, ftp servers or web servers.

h. Using the Service to promote or solicit competing Internet services;

i. Using the Service for unauthorized relays through any third party systems. This includes but not limited to email:

j. Attempting, in any way, to interfere with or deny service to any user or any host on the Internet;

k. Using the Service for mail-bombing, which is defined as the sending of mass amounts of e-mail to one recipient, with the intent to render that recipient's account and/or the electronic system serving that account dysfunctional;

l. Using the Service to engage in any form of Denial of Service attacks, which are defined as overburdening a recipient computer system by sending a high volume of spurious data which effective impedes or totally disables functionality of the recipient system(s) or the ir connectivity, including but not limited to syn flood attacks and smurfing,

m. Using the Service to add or attempt to add addresses to any mailing list without the explicit positive consent of the addressee(s);

n. Using the Service to forward or post "chain letters" (multiple forwarding) of any type;

o. Attempting to cancel, supersede, or otherwise interfere with e-mail or USENET posts other than your own;

p. Engaging in harassment, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages;

q. Furnishing false data on your sign-up form, contract, or online application, including providing fraudulent credit card or other payment information.

6. Security. You agree not to access or attempt to access private areas of the Service. You agree to notify Pinellas Internet Services as soon as you become aware of an unauthorized use of your account and/or any breach or attempted breach of security on the Service.

7. Intellectual Property. Pinellas Internet Services does not undertake to examine or review messages, files, or other materials which are accessible through, pass through, or reside on the Service. If Pinellas Internet Services is informed of an alleged copyright or trademark infringement on the Service, Pinellas Internet Services will attempt to notify the affected Subscriber(s) of those allegations and secure a response. Pinellas Internet Services may, at its sole discretion, remove on a temporary or permanent basis materials which Pinellas Internet Services believes may create, constitute, or contribute to copyright or trademark infringements. You agree not to assert any claims against Pinellas Internet Services for any such removal.

8. Liability. You agree that use of the Service is at your own risk. Except for information, products, or services clearly identified as being supplied by Pinellas Internet Services, neither Pinellas Internet Services nor any of its affiliates controls, provides, operates, or is in any way responsible for any information, products, or services accessible through the Service. Pinellas Internet Services neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy of such material, and you agree that Pinellas Internet Services is not responsible for any loss or damage caused by your use of, or reliance on, such material.

You understand and agree that you have sole responsibility for your posting of any material to any site or newsgroup on the Internet, including but not limited to postings to web sites, whether residing on Pinellas Internet Services's equipment or not, postings to newsgroups, and participation in any on-line chat sessions. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Pinellas Internet Services and its officers, directors, employees, and other customers and subscribers from and against any claims, losses, costs, liability, damages or expenses arising out of your postings.

You agree to be liable for any damages or loss of service which results in damages to Pinellas Internet Services as a result of any spamming or other violations of Section 5 above. These damages include, but are not limited to, system shut downs, retaliatory attacks or data flooding, and loss of peering arrangements. You agree that Pinellas Internet Services may pursue any such claims against you in District Court in Pinellas County, Florida.

9. Warranty. Pinellas Internet Services MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, REGARDING THE SERVICE, OR ANY SOFTWARE OR OTHER MATERIAL AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE. NO ORAL ADVICE OR INFORMATION GIVEN BY Pinellas Internet Services OR ITS EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY.

THE SERVICE AND ANY SOFTWARE PROVIDED TO YOU BY Pinellas Internet Services ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS, AS AVAILABLE" BASIS; Pinellas Internet Services DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THEY WILL BE ERROR-FREE AND/OR UNINTERRUPTED, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. Pinellas Internet Services DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE SECURITY OR BACK-UP OF YOUR DATA STORED ON THE SERVICE.

10. Content. You understand and agree that information and access available through the Service may include controversial, sexually explicit, or other material that may be offensive to you or users for whom you are responsible. Pinellas Internet Services has no responsibility for or control over such materials, and you take sole responsibility for using any available screening software or other methods of limiting access (specifically including the access of minors) to any material you may find objectionable.

11. Dial-up Connection. Pinellas Internet Services may terminate a dial-up Subscriber's connection following 20 minutes of inactivity as determined by Pinellas Internet Services.

12. Privacy. Pinellas Internet Services commits to follow the controlling Federal and state laws respecting Subscriber privacy and data access. Pinellas Internet Services will not provide names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, or other personally identifiable information on any Subscriber to any third party without prior permission from that Subscriber, or under an appropriate court or administrative directive. Pinellas Internet Services may access and use individual Subscriber information in the operation of the Service and as necessary to protect the Service. Pinellas Internet Services may provide aggregate data on Subscribers to third parties.

13. Disputes. You agree that any dispute between you and Pinellas Internet Services arising out of your use of the Service on in any way based upon your subscription to and/or use of the Service which cannot be resolved between you and Pinellas Internet Services will be submitted by the aggrieved party for binding arbitration under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association. Any demand for arbitration under this Section must be filed with the American Arbitration Association's office in Tampa, Florida. The arbitration must be held in Pinellas County, Florida, and the arbitrator must be a person with experience in online services operation or law.

14. Changes. These terms of service and acceptable use policies may be changed at any time and for any reason by Pinellas Internet Services. Revised terms and policies will be posted at www.pinellas.com. Revised terms and policies are binding on you as soon as they are posted. If you do not wish to continue subscribing to the Service under any revised terms and policies, inform Support at once, and your account will be closed.

15. Expressly Prohibited Uses.. The following uses of Pinellas Internet Services' systems, services and products as described in subsections A through E are expressly prohibited:

1. Prohibited Actions: General Conduct
   1. Transmitting on or through any of Pinellas Internet systems, services, or products any material that is, in Pinellas Internet sole discretion, unlawful, obscene, threatening, abusive, libelous, or hateful, or encourages conduct that may constitute a criminal offense, may give rise to civil liability, or otherwise may violate any local, state, national or international law.
   2. Transmission, distribution, or storage of any information, data or material in violation of United States or state regulations or law, or by the common law.
   3. Violations of the rights of any Person protected by copyright, trade secret, patent or other intellectual property or similar laws or regulations.
   4. Actions that restrict or inhibit any Person, whether a customer of Pinellas Internet Services or otherwise, in its use or enjoyment of any of Pinellas Internet Services systems, services or products.
   5. Resale of Pinellas Internet Services services and products, without the prior written consent of Pinellas Internet Services.
   6. Deceptive on-line marketing practices.
   7. Furnishing false data on the signup form, contract, or online application, including fraudulent use of credit card numbers (such conduct is ground for immediate termination and may subject the offender to civil or criminal liability).

2. Prohibited Actions: System and Network Security
   1. Attempting to circumvent user authentication or security of any host, network, or account ("cracking"). This includes, but is not limited to, accessing data not intended for the customer, logging into a server or account the customer is not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other networks (such as running a SATAN scan or similar tool).
   2. Effecting security breaches or disruptions of Internet communications. Security breaches include, but are not limited to, accessing data of which customer is not an intended recipient or logging onto a server or account that customer is not expressly authorized to access. For purposes of this section, "disruption" includes, but is not limited to, port scans, ping floods, packet spoofing, forged routing information, deliberate attempts to overload a service, and attempts to "crash" a host.
   3. Using any program/script/command, or sending messages of any kind, designed to interfere with a user's terminal session, by any means, locally or by the Internet.
   4. Executing any form of network monitoring which will intercept data not intended for Customer.

3. Prohibited Actions: E-Mail
   1. Harassment, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages, is prohibited.
   2. Sending unsolicited mail messages, including the sending of "junk mail" or other advertising material to individuals who did not specifically request such material ("e-mail spam"). Customers are explicitly prohibited from sending unsolicited bulk mail messages. This includes, but is not limited to, bulk-mailing of commercial advertising, informational announcements, and political tracts. Such material may only be sent to those who have explicitly requested it. If a recipient asks to stop receiving e-mail, the Customer must not send that person any further e-mail.
   3. Creating or forwarding "chain letters" or other "pyramid schemes" of any type, whether or not the recipient wishes to receive such mailings.
   4. Malicious e-mail, including, but not limited to, "mailbombing" (flooding a user or site with very large or numerous pieces of e-mail).
   5. Unauthorized use, or forging, or mail header information.
   6. Using a Company or a customer account to collect replies to messages sent from another provider.
   7. Use of unsolicited e-mail originating from the Pinellas Internet Services network or networks of other Internet Service Providers on behalf of, or to advertise any service hosted by Pinellas Internet Services, or connected via the Pinellas network.
   8. Willful failure to secure open SMTP ports so as to prevent the unauthorized use of customer resources for the purposes of sending unsolicited e-mail by a third party.

4. Prohibited Actions: Usenet Newsgroups
   1. Positing the same or similar messages to large numbers of Usenet newsgroup ("Newsgroup spams or USENET spam").
   2. Posting chain letters of any type.
   3. Posting encoded binary files to newsgroups not specifically named for that purpose.
   4. Cancellation or superseding of posts other than your own, with the exception of official newsgroup moderators performing their duties.
   5. Forging of header information. This includes attempting to circumvent the approval process for posting to a moderated newsgroup.
   6. Solicitations of mail for any other e-mail address other than that of the poster's account or service, with intent to harass or to collect replies.
   7. Postings that are in violation of the written charters or FAQ's for those newsgroups.
   8. Posting of Usenet articles from the Pinellas Internet Services network or networks of other Internet Service Providers on behalf of, or to advertise any service hosted by Pinellas Internet Services, or connected via the Pinellas Internet Services network.
   9. Failure to secure a news server so as to prevent the unauthorized use of customer resources by a third party which may result in Usenet posts which violate this policy.
   10. Advertisements posted in newsgroups whose chargers/FAQ's explicitly prohibit them. The poster of an advertisement or other information is responsible for determining the etiquette of a given newsgroup, prior to posting to it.

5. Prohibited Actions: Individual Accounts (Dial-up Users Only)
   1. Utilizing multiple logins.
   2. Attempting to circumvent the 'idle daemon' or time charges accounting, or attempts to run programs while not logged in by any method, are prohibited.
   3. Consuming excessive resources, including CPU time, memory, disk space, and session time. The use of resource-intensive programs which negatively impact other system users or the performance of Pinellas Internet Services systems or networks is prohibited, and Pinellas Internet Services staff may take action to limit or terminate such programs.
   4. Sharing of passwords or accounts with others.

Pinellas Internet Services
PO Box 17836
Clearwater, FL 33762

Complaints will be accepted via e-mail at abuse@pinellas.com, so long as a valid return address is included. Pinellas Internet must be able to independently verify each instance of abuse, and so each complaint must include the COMPLETE TEXT OF THE OBJECTIONABLE MESSAGE, INCLUDING ALL HEADERS . Please do NOT send excerpted parts of a message; sending a copy of the entire message, including headers, helps to prevent misunderstandings based on incomplete information, or information used out of context. Full headers demonstrate which path the message has taken, and enable us to determine whether any part of the message has been forged. This information is vital to our investigation.

17. Enforcement. Pinellas Internet Services may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate a customer's service for violation of any of AUP at any time and without warning. As a general matter, Pinellas Internet attempts to work with customers to cure violations and educate them so as to ensure that there is no re-occurrence of the violation prior to terminating service. The one exception is the wanton abuse of the AUP. Pinellas Internet Services also reserves the right to refuse service to anyone without cause or reason.

These Terms and Conditions are effective immediately. Each Customer is required to read and abide by these conditions. If you do not agree, you must leave immediately, and e-mail stating so. These rules are in effect upon using this site.