COMMUNITY WEB AND EMAIL SERVER

ACCEPTABLE USAGE POLICY (AUP)

LAST UPDATED: 19 MAY 2006

The City of Ballarat provides a community based web and email server (Community Server) for use by community groups in the Ballarat area for non-profit activities. In order for such groups to be able to use the Community Server they have agreed to comply with this AUP as part of their agreement with the City of Ballarat for their use of the Community Server. The City of Ballarat may vary this AUP by written notice to community groups from time to time. A reference in this AUP to a community group includes its officers, employees, members, affiliates, participants, agents and contractors.

The City of Ballarat reserves the right to suspend or withdraw any community group's access to the Community Server where it believes that the group has breached this AUP or the Community Server is being abused. A community group that is permitted to use the Community Server is solely and fully responsible for all content, data and other information which the group stores on, or transmits, using the Community Server. A community group breaches this AUP and its agreement with the City of Ballarat when that group uses the Community Server to engage in any of the following prohibited activities:

Commercial or for profit activities

The use of the Community Server for commercial or profit activity which the City of Ballarat determines is more appropriately hosted or conducted through the services of a commercial Internet Service or Web Hosting provider.

Obscene Material

The use of the Community Server to store or transmit content, data or other information which is obscene, offensive, pornographic or unsuitable for persons under 18 years of age is prohibited. This includes sites that may infer sexual content or links to adult content elsewhere. The City of Ballarat will be the sole arbiter in determining violations of this provision.

Defamatory, Abusive and Discriminatory Material

Using the Community Server to store or transmit content, data or other information which is defamatory, harassing, abusive, threatening, upsetting, discriminatory, vilifying or denigrating.

Forging of Headers

Forging or misrepresenting message headers, whether in whole or in part, to mask the originator of the message.

Spamming

Any unsolicited commercial e-mail is considered spamming if it breaches the Spam Act 2003 (Cth). Spamming not only affects Internet users' attitudes toward the City of Ballarat but also disrupts the services provided to others who use the Community Server and consumes bandwidth resources dedicated to the communities of the Ballarat area. The City of Ballarat may, at its discretion, suspend or withdraw a community group’s access to the Community Server where it believes that the group has engaged in spamming.

Intellectual Property Violations

Infringing or misappropriating the intellectual property rights of others, including copyrights (e.g. software piracy), trade marks, trade secrets, patents, designs, and semiconductor and circuit layout rights held by individuals, corporations, or other entities. Also, violating privacy or other personal rights of others. The City of Ballarat will remove or block access to content stored on the Community Server upon receipt of a proper notice of copyright or other intellectual property right infringement. It is also the City of Ballarat's policy to withdraw a community group’s access to the Community Server where the group has committed repeat violations of copyright or other intellectual property laws, or repeat violations of the privacy or other personal rights of others.

Illegal or Unauthorized Access to Other Computers or Networks

Accessing illegally or without authorization computers, accounts, or networks belonging to another person, or attempting to penetrate security measures of another person's system (often known as "cracking"). Also, any activity that might be used as a precursor to an attempted system penetration (i.e. port scan, stealth scan, or other information gathering activity).

Distribution of Internet Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, or Other Destructive Activities

Distributing information regarding the creation of, and the sending of, Internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses, malicious programs, pinging, flooding, mailbombing, or denial of service attacks. Also, activities that disrupt the use of, or interfere with the ability of others to effectively use, the Community Server.

Illegal or Unlawful Conduct

Any conduct relating to, or connected with, the use of the Community Server by a community group that is unlawful or illegal or which the City of Ballarat considers to be potentially unlawful or illegal.

Facilitating a Violation of this Acceptable Use Policy

Advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available any software, program, product or service that is designed to violate this AUP, which includes the facilitation of the means to spam, initiation of pinging, flooding, mailbombing, denial of service attacks, and piracy of software.

Other Activities

Engaging in activities, whether lawful or unlawful, that the City of Ballarat determines to be harmful or contrary to the interests and well being of the community of the Ballarat area and/or to the broader population.

Reporting Violations or Breaches of this Acceptable Use Policy

You may report violations or breaches of this AUP to:

The Co-Ordinator
cBallarat Limited
c/o Suite 14A Greenhill Eneterprise Centre
University Drive
Mount Helen
Victoria 3350

Phone: 03 53 302 880
Fax: 03 53 302 881
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