COMPUSERVE INFORMATION SERVICE OPERATING RULES The Operating Rules are designed to protect the data and communications offered by CompuServe Incorporated (CompuServe), information providers, and members. The rules are also provided to make online information usage and communications a positive and secure experience for members. Members agree during the online sign up procedure to the terms and conditions outlined in the Operating Rules. INTRODUCTION These Operating Rules are part of the terms of your Service Agreement with CompuServe, and you are bound by them. CompuServe may modify these rules at any time by publishing the modified rule(s) over the Service. COMPUSERVE COPYRIGHT The entire contents of the Service is copyrighted as a collective work under the United States Copyright laws. The copying, reproduction, or publication of any part of the Service is prohibited, unless expressly authorized by CompuServe. Each member who places data, materials or other information, including communications, in the public areas of the service grants CompuServe the right to edit, copy, republish and distribute such data, materials, and other information to its members and other persons. Subject to this grant, each member who places data, materials or other information on the service retains any rights member may have in such data, materials or other information. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Copyrighted material must not be placed on the Service without the author's permission. Only the owner(s) or persons they specifically authorize may upload copyrighted material to the Service. Members may download copyrighted material for their own use. Any member may also non-commercially redistribute a copyrighted program with the expressed permission of the owner or authorized person. Permission must be specified in the document, on the Service, or must be obtained directly from the author. PUBLIC DOMAIN MATERIAL Any member may upload public domain programs to the Service. Any member may download public domain programs for their own use or non-commercially redistribute a public domain program. Member assumes all risks regarding the determination of whether a program is in the public domain. INFORMATION CONTENT & USES OF THE SERVICE Member agrees not to publish on or over the Service any information which violates or infringes upon the rights of any other person or any information which would be abusive, profane or sexually offensive to an average person, or which, without the approval of CompuServe, contains any advertising or any solicitation of other members to use goods or services. This paragraph, however, shall not be interpreted to restrict member from utilizing CompuServe Mail in the conduct of a legitimate business except that member may not, without the approval of CompuServe, send unsolicited advertising or promotional material to other CompuServe members. Member agrees not to use the facilities and capabilities of the Service to conduct any business or activity or solicit the performance of any activity which is prohibited by law or to solicit CompuServe members to become members of other competitive information services. EDITING OF PUBLIC INFORMATION CompuServe reserves the right in its sole discretion to edit any public information appearing on the Service, regardless of whether it violates the standards for information content. SERVICE TERMINATION CompuServe reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend or terminate Service to any member at any time. INDEMNIFICATION Member agrees to indemnify and hold CompuServe harmless from any claims and expenses, including reasonable attorney's fees, related to member's violation of the Service Agreement, including these rules. STANDARD PRICING PLAN Multiple members of the same household may share a single User ID Number. However, only one person is authorized to access the Service at any given time on one User ID Number. Common Questions: WHAT IS A COMPILATION COPYRIGHT? CompuServe has copyrighted the contents of the CompuServe Information Service as a compilation copyright, just as many magazines and newspapers reserve such a copyright on the contents of their publications. This copyright is held in accordance with the 1976 Copyright Act of the United States. A compilation copyright is granted when an organization collects information in a lawful way, adds value to it, and offers it to others. In this case, the CompuServe Information Service is a value-added product; CompuServe Incorporated has committed substantial financial resources to collecting more than 1700 areas on the service and offering them in an organized, structured way to a defined user base through a nationwide telecommunications network. The compilation copyright is intended to protect that substantial investment from unauthorized exploitation. This does NOT mean that CompuServe assumes ownership of individual programs and databases provided to the system by members or information providers. IF I UPLOAD A SOFTWARE PROGRAM I'VE DEVELOPED TO COMPUSERVE, DO I STILL RETAIN OWNERSHIP OF THE PROGRAM? Yes, you do. CompuServe's compilation copyright does NOT supersede individual ownership rights or copyrights to any of the material furnished to the Service by members or information providers. For example, a member who creates a program and uploads it to a CompuServe forum data library STILL OWNS that program, and may upload it to other information services and bulletin board systems. It should be noted, however, that CompuServe cannot grant any redistribution rights for materials copyrighted by the author, unless specifically authorized to do so, CompuServe does not own the material or the copyright. These rights must be obtained directly from the author. WHAT IS COMPUSERVE'S STANCE TOWARD COPYRIGHTED, PUBLIC DOMAIN, AND SHAREWARE PROGRAMS? Each of these types of property have special characteristics, and deserves separate explanation: COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL CompuServe does not allow copyrighted material to be placed on the CompuServe Information Service without the author's permission. Only the owner(s) or persons they specifically authorize may upload copyrighted material to the Service. Any member may download copyrighted material for their own use. Any member may also non-commercially redistribute a copyrighted program with the expressed permission of the owner or authorized person. Permission must be specified in the document, on the Service, or must be obtained directly from the author. See menu choices 5,6 and 7 for more information about redistribution guidelines. PUBLIC DOMAIN Any member may upload public domain programs to the Service. Any member may download public domain programs for their own use or non-commercially redistribute a public domain program. See menu choices 5,6, and 7 for more information about redistribution guidelines. SHAREWARE Only the owner or an authorized person may upload shareware programs. Any member may download shareware programs for their own use, subject to the terms provided by the owner. Any member may non-commercially redistribute a shareware program subject to the provided terms explicitly displayed in the software itself, or with permission of the owner or authorized person. See menu choices 5,6 and 7 for more information about redistribution guidelines. AS A COMPUSERVE MEMBER, CAN I DOWNLOAD PUBLIC DOMAIN INFORMATION AND SHAREWARE PROGRAMS FOR MY OWN USE FROM COMPUSERVE FORUM DATA LIBRARIES? Yes, you can. Public domain information and shareware programs are uploaded to CompuServe data libraries by their authors for use by other CompuServe members. MAY I DOWNLOAD PROGRAMS FROM COMPUSERVE FORUM DATA LIBRARIES AND SHARE THEM WITH A FRIEND, OR UPLOAD THEM TO ANOTHER BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM? In keeping with the spirit of the development of public domain information and shareware, it is not CompuServe's current policy to prevent casual redistribution of this type of information -- this is low volume and low frequency use or redistribution of information where no commercialism is involved. This means that a member may download a file and share it with others for no commercial gain -- either via a bulletin board service, diskette, or other means. A member may not, however, download a large number of files for redistribution via any means, nor is it acceptable for a member to update another bulletin board regularly with files obtained from CompuServe. It's important to note that CompuServe cannot grant redistribution rights for programs clearly copyrighted by the author, unless specifically authorized to do so. Such permission must be obtained directly from the author of the program. MAY I DOWNLOAD AND RESELL A PROGRAM FROM A COMPUSERVE FORUM DATA LIBRARY? Commercial exploitation of material contained on the CompuServe Information Service is specifically prohibited by the CompuServe Service agreement, to which each member agrees before being permitted to access the Service. Therefore, members cannot lawfully download and redistribute public information or shareware programs for personal gain. In addition, mass redistribution of public domain information or shareware is also prohibited. Mass distribution is defined as high frequency and/or high volume transfers. WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING THE COMPILATION COPYRIGHT OR SERVICE AGREEMENT PROVISIONS? When a situation involving exploitation is brought to CompuServe's attention, we investigate and, if warranted, remind the violator of the Service Agreement Terms. If subsequent violations are reported, access to the CompuServe Information Service may be terminated for the violator and, in extreme cases, a letter is sent from our legal counsel asking that he or she cease and desist, or risk further legal action. This is done as a positive step to protect the value and use of the material for CompuServe Information Service members, and to discourage unauthorized redistribution of that material. COMPUSERVE INFORMATION SERVICE AGREEMENT TERMS 1. The CompuServe Information Service (the "Service") consists of the computing and communications services, software, databases, data, information and all other material (collectively "Information") available through CompuServe Incorporated ("CompuServe"). These terms and any Operating Rules published over the Service constitute the entire agreement (collectively "Agreement") between CompuServe and Customer with respect to the Service and supersede all other communications. 2. Upon notice published over the Service, CompuServe may modify this agreement, the Operating Rules or prices. CompuServe may discontinue or revise any or all other aspects of the Service at its sole discretion and without prior notice. 3. Unless otherwise agreed, Customer's right to use the Service or to designate Users is not transferable and is subject to any limits established by CompuServe, or by Customer's credit card company if billing is through a credit card. 4. Customer agrees to indemnify CompuServe against liability for any and all use of Customer's account. 5. Customer is responsible for and must provide all telephone and other equipment and services necessary to access the Service. 6. Customer shall pay, in accordance with the provisions of the Billing Option selected by Customer, any registration or monthly fees, connect time charges, minimum charges and other charges incurred by Customer or its designated Users at the rates in effect for the billing period in which those charges are incurred, including but not limited to charges for any purchases made through the Service and any surcharges incurred while using any supplemental networks or services other than the Service. The Customer shall pay all applicable sales and use taxes relating to its and the Users' use of the Service. The Customer shall be responsible for all use of the Service accessed through Customer's or its designated Users' password(s). 7. CUSTOMER EXPRESSLY AGREES THAT USE OF THE SERVICE, WHICH INCLUDES THE CONTENTS THEREOF AND ANY STORAGE OR USE OF INFORMATION, IS AT CUSTOMER'S SOLE RISK. NEITHER COMPUSERVE NOR ANY OF ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, LICENSORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DOES COMPUSERVE OR ANY OF ITS INFORMATION PROVIDERS, LICENSORS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICE. THE SERVICE IS DISTRIBUTED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR INFORMATION. NEITHER COMPUSERVE NOR ANYONE ELSE INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING OR DELIVERING THE SERVICE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF USE OF THE SERVICE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR OUT OF ANY BREACH OF ANY WARRANTY. THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION 7 WILL SURVIVE ANY TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT. 8. Except as expressly permitted in the Operating Rules, neither Customer nor its designated Users may reproduce, redistribute, retransmit, publish or otherwise transfer, or commercially exploit, any Information which they receive through the Service. 9. The provisions of paragraphs 7 and 8 are for the benefit of CompuServe and its Information Providers, Licensors, Employees, and Agents; and each shall have the right to assert and enforce such provisions directly on its own behalf. 10. This agreement is, and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the State of Ohio applicable to agreements, made and performed in Ohio. Any cause of action of Customer or its designated Users with respect to the Service must be instituted within one year after the claim or cause of action has arisen or be barred. 11. If Customer's account is a qualified business account and approved by CompuServe for corporate billing, charges for the services provided under this agreement will be accumulated and identified by User ID number and will normally be invoiced following the end of the month in which the service is provided. Terms of payment on all charges are net, ten (10) days in the currency in which billed. If any payment due hereunder is not made by the Customer within thirty (30) days after the invoice date, late charges of one and one-half percent (1 1/2%) per month shall be due and payable with respect to such payment, and CompuServe may, in addition, at its sole discretion and without notice to the Customer, (a) suspend its performance under this agreement and the Customer's and its Users' access to and use of the Service, or (b) terminate this agreement and Customer's and its Users' access to and the use of the Service. For accounts not approved by CompuServe for corporate billing, Customer must provide payment by credit card or electronic funds transfer. 12. This Agreement contains the full understanding of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and no waiver, alteration, or modification of any of the provisions hereof shall be binding on either party unless in writing and signed by duly authorized representatives of the parties. Neither the course of conduct between parties nor trade practice shall act to modify the provisions of this Agreement.