Terms of Service

We will surrender logs we have on subpoena. We do not keep logs of the web traffic for very long due to the size of these logs and the volume of traffic, but we do utilize logs to analyze traffic patterns. Logs are now on a seven day rotation. The only information we know about a poster is the IP address along with date and time they accessed the page. We do not share any details of this information without a US subpoena.

There are some exceptions to this. If you send a bomb threat or death threat we will just hand over your information to the proper authorities. We do NOT tolerate the use of our service in this manner!

Usenet Net abuse FAQ

Q: Someone is forging me, will you block that user from posting?

A: Simply having the same nick or moniker in the from line is not a forge.

Q: Will we terminate someone's account because they posted something you found offensive?

A: No. Usenet is a global unmoderated discussion group, there will always be something someone finds offensive in this type of environment. The answer to this is to use your kill files. Kill file what you find offensive.

Q: Someone is using our service to troll, will we terminate their account?

A: No. It takes two parties to troll, one to post a troll message and one to reply. Both those that post the initial message and those that reply are responsible for the trolling. Nearly every time we have investigated a complaint it is near impossible to tell who is trolling who, so we do not involve ourselves in these situations.

If you have a troll the best action is to ignore it. An ignored troll WILL go away. Everyone that says this is not true has a troll that people are responding too. You feed your troll you keep them. If you succeed in costing it an account, it will come back with two. Kill filtering is the only way to stop it.

Q: A user is taunting me, will you terminate their posting abilities?

A: No. Use your kill file. Discussions often degenerate into name calling on Usenet when there are disagreements. If the user is venturing into actionable harassment seek legal solutions, we will comply with a subpoena in legal situations and provide you with the IP that posted the offending post. If the user violates any other of our policies we will take action.

Q: The user is posting off topic, will you kill their ability to post?

A: No. First, we are not the topic police and have no idea of what is or is not on-topic for your newsgroup. There are newsgroups with as many as three charters, all claiming to be the only real charter. Second, in every newsgroup that has complained about off topic posts there have been "regulars" who routinely post off topic discussions. Singling out one particular user is unfair.

Q: This user is posting hateful racist messages, isn't it your responsibility to stop that?

A: No. Although many find some views offensive, it is just a viewpoint. If it was illegal in the US to have this viewpoint then white supremacists, black militants, extreme nationalists, etc. would all be in jail. It is when that view becomes an action that it should not be tolerated.

If you are being attacked and it has crossed into a legal issue, then you should be pursuing this in a legal forum, we will comply with a subpoena for our logs.

Q: But this is against our charter, aren't you going to stop it?

A: For the most part charters are a guide. Especially in the alt hierarchy.

Q: But this user is morphing, using other services, etc. just to avoid our kill filters. Kill filtering does not work!

A: This shows that they do work. He's annoyed and trying to get noticed. Quietly keep kill filing. Kill filter him on our service too.

Q: This user is slandering me, I'm suing you and him for slander if you don't stop this!

A: First, slander is spoken, it's libel that is printed. Second, if the user is libeling you then you should seek legal action against that user. We have no way of determining whether you have a civil libel case or not. We will comply with a subpoena for our logs. But if you are seeking legal action you should act quick, it will only hurt your case to wait. If it violates any of our other policies we will take action.

Q: Isn't it totally unfair of you to expect me to take responsibility for a user who is annoying me?

A: No. Again, this is why kill files exist. If you don't like what someone says kill file them. It is 100% your responsibility to police your usenet use by the use of kill filters and ignoring what you find offensive. What you find offensive is not necessarily what another would find offensive, and it could be that they find your opinion offensive to them, therefore they have as much right to their opinion as you have to yours. If a user has crossed the line into actionable harassment or libel, then it is your responsibility to pursue this is a legal forum. We will comply with a subpoena for logs. We will also act if they violate any of our other policies.

Q: My news reader does not have a kill file, therefore isn't it your responsibility to accommodate my poorly chosen software?

A: No. There are many freeware news readers with kill filter abilities, install a different news reader.

Q: Why are your policies so against me?

A: They aren't. For the most part, Usenet is a global unmoderated discussion forum, you chose to participate in it, you need to understand the workings of it, it will not conform to your desires. Someone will always have an opinion that differs from yours. Someone will always have an opinion you find offensive. Someone will always use some kind of language you find offensive. If you are opinionated someone will always taunt you for it. Learn the use of a kill file, this is why they exist. Only you know what you do and do not find offensive, exercise your right to decide what you view through the use of a kill filter.

Q: If I threaten to sue you, will you react faster or more favorably?

A: Definitely not! If you threaten to sue then we will not even respond to you. By threatening to sue you place us in a position of being a defendant. By you doing this we have no option but to ensure that all correspondence goes through your lawyer. It is then up to you to have your lawyer contact us. It is not up to us to have our lawyer contact you.

The same is true for criminal issues. If this is a criminal issue we will only accept correspondence from law enforcement. If you tell us it is a criminal issue we cannot even respond to you. If you have any questions about usenet practice, see the what is Usenet FAQ. If they feel something in our policies is wrong, we will adjust it.