Last Updated: March 29, 2002

This agreement represents the complete agreement and understanding between Advanced Net, (hereinafter called Advnet) and the account holder and supersedes any other written or oral agreement. Upon notice published on-line, Advnet may modify these terms and conditions, amplify them, and/or modify the prices, as well as discontinue or change the services offered.

If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please notify our office so we may initiate a closure of your account.

1.0 Provision of services

1.1 Advnet will provide services on its computing and network systems to individual account holders in exchange for payment of fees and compliance with the terms and conditions of this document.

1.2 Advnet services are defined as the provision to the account holder of computing, telecommunications, network software, and information services provided by Advnet. These services also include, but are not limited to, the provision of access to computing, telecommunications, software, and information services provided by others via the global Internet.

1.3 Because of the nature of the Internet, it is not possible for Advnet to block access to sites which may contain material which some might find objectionable. As a result, Advnet services include access to all publicly available resources on the Internet. Some of the information available may contain language or pictures about subjects intended for Adult audiences. Some information available over the Internet may even be illegal to transmit or posses. Account holders less than 18 years old must have a parent or legal guardian agree to these conditions to indicate acceptance and knowledge of this.

1.4 Advnet will publish a notice of fee increases 30 days before such increases take effect.

2.0 Use of Material

2.1 Public Domain materials (e.g., images, text, and programs) may be downloaded or uploaded using Advnet services. Account holders may also re-distribute materials in the public domain. The account holder assumes all risks regarding the determination of whether the material is in the public domain.

2.2 As provided by United States federal law and by International treaties, copyrighted materials (e.g., images, text, programs, or other data) may not be uploaded using Advnet services without the permission of the copyright holder. Copyrighted materials may be downloaded as long as this act does not violate any licenses or applicable laws. Except as expressly permitted, materials under copyright may not be distributed to others. Copyrighted material may not be modified nor can the author attribution notices nor the copyright notices be modified.

2.3 Note that some materials available on the global Internet are called "SHAREWARE." These materials may be downloaded and used, but they are copyrighted materials. The copyright holder usually gives permission to use the materials for examination. If you choose to continue using the materials, the copyright holder requests that you register your usage and may ask that you pay a license fee.

2.4 Copying, uploading, downloading, or distribution through Advnet resources of commercially licensed software may be a violation of the software's license, and if so, is forbidden. Advnet will cooperate fully with law enforcement agencies in prosecuting software piracy offenders.

3.0 Use of Services

3.1 Advnet network accounts are for account holder and the account holder therefore agrees to neither share the account, nor use the account to share Advnet sensitive information with others. The account holder acknowledges that Advnet will terminate the account without notice if the account holder does not comply. The account holder is defined to be the person, persons, or entity who established the contract for services.

3.2 The account holder agrees to maintain a secure password to the account. Secure passwords are those that are between 6 and 8 characters long, and contain a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers or other characters, and can not be found in direct or reverse order in any dictionary, regardless of the language of the dictionary.

3.3 The account holder agrees not to use any process, program, or tool for attempting to guess or obtain the passwords of account holders on Advnet or other systems. The account holder agrees not to make unauthorized attempts to access Advnet systems or the systems and networks of others, or to deny authorized users access to any systems. The account holder agrees not to use any process, program, or tool for the purpose of gaining any level of access to systems to which they are not entitled.

3.3a The account holder agrees to use Advnet dial-up services only in an interactive mode. The account holder further agrees not to use any process, program, or tool for the purpose of maintaining a dial-up connection in a non-interactive mode, or to defeat any system which Advnet may have in place to assure interactive-only access, or to start any process which may remain active after the user has disconnected from Advnet's services. The account holder also agrees not to start any "background" process whose intent or primary purpose is to share Advnet's resources with users who are not Advnet subscribers. In addition, Advnet stipulates that software uploads and downloads will be defined as interactive sessions. Advnet reserves the right to terminate any connection it deems to be a non-interactive session.

3.4 The account holder agrees not to use any process, program, or tool via Advnet services for the purpose of annoying other users at Advnet systems or any other systems on other portions of the Internet. This includes, but is not limited to, flash-bombing, denial of service attacks, mail-bombing, and subscribing other people to mailing lists.

3.5 The account holder agrees to use the services provided by Advnet as permitted by applicable local, state, and federal laws. The account holder agrees, therefore, not to use these services to conduct any business or activity or solicit the performance of any activity that is prohibited by law.

3.6 The account holder agrees not to use Advnet services for the purpose of obtaining or disseminating pictures, images, data files, text files, or any other method of transporting information, which may be considered obscene, indecent, or profane. Additionally, the account holder agrees to refrain from the use of indecent or profane language on Advnet systems.

3.7 The account holder acknowledges that Advnet is a commercial entity and may be used by account holders to conduct legal businesses, if the user has registered with Advnet as a business or corporate entity. These businesses should, however, not impinge upon the use of Advnet services by other account holders. Advnet services should not be used to send unsolicited advertising or promotional materials to other network users. Electronic mail and appropriate USENET newsgroups may be used in the conduct of legitimate businesses.

3.8 The account holder agrees to not, under any circumstances, post messages to newsgroups, mailing lists, or similar public forums if any of said forums pertain to subjects not directly related to the main topic of the posting or if the posting would be considered inappropriate for any other reason. This applies to both business and non-business oriented postings. Such postings will be considered abuse of Advnet systems services. (See 7.0)

3.8a The account holder agrees to not, under any circumstances, send unsolicited mass emailings from any Internet account (at Advnet or elsewhere), nor to use Advnet services for the collection or distribution of address lists to be used for such purposes. The account holder agrees to not, under any circumstances, associate Advnet with any such mass mailings. The account holder acknowledges that any use of Advnet's network for such unsolicited emails (also known as 'SPAM') may result in immediate termination of the user's account. Additionally, the account holder agrees to pay a $300 account clean-up fee per email for each instance of unsolicited mass emails, or for each instance of unsolicited commercial solicitations, which will be charged to the account holder's preferred method of payment when such instances are discovered. Additionally, the use of outside parties of Advnet's email system to deliver unsolicited mass or commercial emails will result in the same $300 account clean-up fee to be charged to the originator of the email, if the originator can be determined.

3.8b The account holder agrees not to use, without specific permission from Advnet, any software program or suite of programs, who's purpose is to send mass-mailings of any type (i.e. a 'mailing list' program). Advnet's system will allow the use of a limited number of 'Carbon Copies' from standard email programs, but any number of messages or copies of messages above that amount will be considered a 'mailing list'. Users wishing to operate a mailing list should contact the Sysop at Advnet.

3.9 User accounts established as personal accounts may only use the systems facilities for personal or non-business enterprises. Failure to register as a commercial entity, may result in surcharges, interruption of service and/or termination of accounts. Users found to be operating commercial enterprises in violation of this agreement understand that they will be charged in accordance with our corporate fee schedule.

3.10 All Advnet services, both personal and commercial are not intended for resale. Resale of Advnet services without making specific arrangements with Advnet is not permitted and may result in surcharges, interruption of service and/or termination of accounts.

3.11 Advnet reserves the right to take actions it deems appropriate against users that violate the spirit and intent of its terms and conditions.

4.0 Indemnification

4.1 The account holder acknowledges that Advnet makes an honest effort to keep the information available on Advnet's systems accurate. However, Advnet can make no warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, regarding the quality, accuracy, or validity for the data and/or information available. Use of information obtained from or through Advnet is at the risk of the account holder.

4.2 The account holder also acknowledges that the information available through the interconnecting networks may not be accurate. Advnet has no ability or authority over the material. Advnet can make no warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, regarding the quality, accuracy, or validity of the data and/or information residing on or passing through these networks. Use of information obtained from or through Advnet services is at the risk of the account holder.

4.3 The account holder agrees to indemnify and hold Advnet harmless from any claims, including attorney's fees, resulting from the account holder receiving Advnet services which cause direct or indirect damage to another party.

5.0 Payment of fees

5.1 The Advnet accounting cycle begins on the day the account holder's account is activated. Accounts will be billed monthly or annually, based on the account's activation date and the payment option selected. Additionally, accounts which are turned over for collection will be charged a collection fee.

5.2 New accounts wishing to discontinue service within the first 30 days may do so, and will be charged only for the first month of service. Any accounts established longer than one month are responsible for fees as normal and will not be refunded.

5.3 Service payments will be submitted in advance of receiving services.

5.4 Delinquent accounts are those that remain unpaid at the beginning of the next accounting cycle.

5.5 Accounts that are delinquent by fifteen (14) days are sent a two week notice of the delinquent account. Accounts that are delinquent by twenty-one (21) days are sent a three week notice of the delinquent account. Accounts that are unpaid for thirty (30) days are sent a disconnection notice. Accounts that are unpaid for more than forty-five (45) days are closed. Advnet accounts continue to accrue charges while they are delinquent.

5.6 The account holder acknowledges responsibility for the account until payment in full is made.

5.7 A $25.00 returned check fee will be assessed for any check returned for any reason. Accounts paid by a returned check may be suspended until their balance is paid in full, including returned check fees.

6.0 Account Cancelations

6.1 Cancelation requests for Advnet accounts must be received in writing via email, fax, or postal service at Advnet's main office. Such requests must be received before the end of the 30 day accounting cycle.

6.2 All Advnet accounts must be paid in full before the transaction will be considered complete.

7.0 Abuse of Services

7.1 Any use of Advnet system resources that disrupts the normal use of the system for other Advnet customers, or the use of other systems by their respective users is considered to be abuse of system resources and is grounds for administrative intervention. (See section 3.)

7.2 Modification, alteration, reverse engineering, decompilation, disassembly or creation of derived works based on Advnet proprietary network protocols or software is an abuse of Advnet services.

7.3 Depending on the nature and the severity of the abuse, the user may receive an E-mail warning or have their account suspended by Advnet Staff. If the misuse is unintentional, the suspension may be rescinded following discussion with Advnet Staff. If the misuse is intentional, the suspension may be rescinded at the discretion of the Operations Manager. Occasionally, unintentional misuse is misclassified as intentional misuse. Customers who believe their activity has been misclassified may appeal to the Operations Manager.

7.4 Violations of any of the Advnet conditions of use are unethical and may be criminal offenses. You are expected to report to Advnet any information you may have concerning instances in which the conditions of use have been or are being violated. When Advnet becomes aware of possible violations, we will initiate an investigation. At the same time, in order to prevent further possible unauthorized activity, Advnet may suspend access to services to the individual account in question. Confirmation of violations may result in cancelation of the individual account and/or criminal prosecution. The account suspension may be rescinded at the discretion of the Operations Manager, following payment of a reconnection charge.

7.5 Advnet accounts which are locked or terminated as a result of violations of this agreement or any applicable laws will not be eligible for any monetary refund, and may be subject to additional administrative charges.

8.0 Exceptions to this Policy

8.0 Advnet reserves the right to make agreements with individuals or groups on a case-by-case basis to suspend certain parts of this Policy. However, Advnet will in no case suspend parts of this Policy which violate any law, or which would institute any condition which would be illegal, unethical, or immoral. Individuals wishing permission to utilize services or procedures which would otherwise violate the terms of this Policy should submit those requests in writing to

President
Advanced Net
335 Huron Ave
Port Huron, MI 48060

or email such request to:admin@advnet.net for formal review. Such agreements may incur additional costs.