Catholic Access Network - Deus Lumen Est (CANDLEü) (tm) BBS Network By-Laws Version 3.0 (11 April 1994) Copyright 1993 CANDLEü BBS Network (Note: Recent changes are indicated by "|" in the left margin) I. PREFACE. The Catholic (tm) International Message Exchange (CANDLEü) BBS Network (known hereafter as the "Net" or "CANDLEü") is a multi-tier telecommunications network comprised of one "Network Hub," or "NetHub", multiple "Regional Hubs" or "RHs," and "Nodes." II. CANDLEü is owned and operated as a public service organization by a Board of Directors referred to as the "Steering Committee," or "SC," whose membership is listed in Appendix A. The SC reserves the right to admit or refuse any BBS SYSOP as a participating node or RH to CANDLEü; the SC further reserves the right to remove or suspend network access of any individual or node or RH for grevious misconduct considered detrimental to the spirit and intent of CANDLEü and these bylaws. The Steering Committee will consist of five (5) individuals, one of whom must be a "User" (not a Sysop) who will represent the User's interests before the SC. III. The SC shall appoint an individual to act as Chief Operating Officer (COO) to run the day-to-day operations of CANDLEü and to coordinate node and RH membership applications. IV. CANDLEü requires each participating node to provide to its end-users a Common link which may be a conference, door, or other software device to ensure that all nodes have a Common channel available throughout CANDLEü. The SC will define and provide the framework and access mechanism for this Common channel. A BBS is not considered part of CANDLEü until and unless it provides this Common channel and notifies its users of the scope, intent, and any special rules of the Common channel. At the present time this conference is designated as COMMON. However, "Administrative Nodes," i.e., nodes which are used solely for CANDLEü's administration purposes, are exempt from carrying this Common channel. Examples of administrative nodes are (a) the NetNode for maintaining a central file library, (b) a node that may be transferring messages between multiple networks IE: (CANDLEü Network and Intelec network). It is understood that CANDLEü's overall objectives and goals are dedicated to provide an information service to its most important participant, the BBS user community. In addition there is a second required conference, CANDLEü USERS, which is carried by each node on CANDLEü. We ask that you specifically name this conference USERS. Announcements will be placed in the NETADMIN conference. You, as a sysop/conference host/co-sysop shall have access, no user access is permitted and SYSOPS shall keep this conference private and confidental. V. SCOPE AND PURPOSE A. Purpose. The purpose of CANDLEü is to provide participating RHs and nodes a means of communicating with each other through conference areas which are "echoed" via the central NetHub. CANDLEü's primary purpose is considered social in nature. For full details of the networks purposes, consult the _Mission Statement_. B. Terminology. 1. "RH" and "Node" refer the mode of operations of each BBS Sysop who participates in CANDLEü, whether they are a Regional Hub or an end-user Node. 2. "Echo" is used to describe the transfer of conference messages from one node (BBS) to another node via an RH. 3. Network. a. A "Regional Hub", or "RH is comprised of one Hub and two or more nodes. A BBS Sysop "hosts" an RH and this host BBS is one of the RH's nodes. To be considered an RH, a hub has to have at least two nodes "relaying" through it. b. The Steering Committee, STEERCOM is composed of 5 voting members. All decisions of STEERCOM will be by simple majority, unless unusual circumstances mandate unanimity. C. Size. The physical size of CANDLEü may be no more than the number of nodes and RHs as prescribed by STEERCOM. Each RH may have non-CANDLEü-relayed nodes. However, such nodes may not be authorized to carry CANDLEü without proper application and approval. D. Software 1. All member nodes and RHs in CANDLEü need to use legally purchased or obtained .QWK/.REP software. 2. All member nodes and RHs in CANDLEü need to use legally purchased, obtained, and/or registered BBS software which are compatible with the .QWK/.REP format as used by CANDLEü. 3. Exceptions to (1) and (2) above will be determined on a case-by-case basis, with the final decision remaining within the discretionary powers of the Network Administrator or COO. E. CANDLEü maintains the capability and capacity to send and receive messages that are "Receiver-Only" or "Private". Messages so flagged are not to be considered by any user as actual "private" messages. The purpose of the "R/O" and "Private" flags are intended solely to provide a means to limit the possible number of users that may have access to the messages for display purposes. 1. Therefore, pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, 18 USC 2510 et. seq., all BBS SYSOPs participating within CANDLEü must be aware that there are no facilities provided by CANDLEü for sending or receiving confidential electronic communications. 2. All participating node and RH SYSOPS need to agree, as a condition of network membership and participation, that they will notify anyone reading or exchanging messages within all CANDLEü conferences on their BBSs of all applicable by-laws rules and that CANDLEü has no facilities for exchanging confidential electronic communications. A suitable bulletin and/or news display should be placed in a prominent place within the the individual CANDLEü BBS indicating that there are no confidential communications capabilities within CANDLEü. 3. All messages posted in relayed conferences are deemed to be public. All nodes and RHs shall deem all messages posted within CANDLEü's conferences to be readily accessible to the general public at all times. If any person posts a message within any CANDLEü conference, his/her acceptance of this policy is heretofore implied. 4. CANDLEü and all member nodes and RHs assume absolutely no accountability or liability whatsoever for any violations of this policy by any and all users of CANDLEü. VI. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES A. The individual node SYSOP is responsible for enforcing the following rules: (1) No illegal activities, (2) No BBS Ads (except in an authorized BBS Ad Conference), and (3) No aliases. It is not the intent of CANDLEü or STEERCOM to interfere with any SYSOP's authority on his/her own BBS. Yet, all "echoed" conferences on nodes and RHs are considered subject to the jurisdiction of these by-laws. B. The Regional Hub (RH) SYSOPs have the freedom to solicit, but not grant CANDLEü membership, to prospective nodes within their region. 1. RH SYSOPs who solicit prospective nodes need to advise applicants: (a) of CANDLEü's four basic rules: No illegal activities, No Ads, No Aliases. No systems may echo CANDLEü to another unapproved system. (b) that the purchase of .QWK/.REP software does not automatically give any BBS a priority on an RH's vacancy availability list. RHub's are required to grant access to any node which has been approved by the SC. (c) That the RHub SYSOP will provide to STEERCOM an admission application form which details the the applicant's particulars such as: applicant's name, voice and BBS telephone numbers, address, BBS name, and the first year's membership fee. The individual node has the option to apply directly to the CEO. (d) All applicant Nodes must be "24 hour" boards; part-time boards are not allowed except with the approval of STEERCOM. 2. The RHs are responsible for enforcing these by-laws within their region. An RH must echo mail a minimum of five times a week unless it is technically infeasible to do so. STEERCOM will resolve any problems regarding the potential overlapping of regions. No RH should intentionally shut down for more than 24 consecutive hours without first making provisions for continued relaying to its nodes. 3. RHs should make every feasible effort to accommodate all conference requests for their nodes as their equipment and configuration allow. 4. When an RH has been notified by STEERCOM to remove the access of a node, the RH should remove the node's access as soon as possible. In the event that the RH does not comply with an STEERCOM-directed node-access-removal request, the RH's access may be removed at the NETHUB level. 5. The RH has the authority to remove the access of one or more of its nodes for one day if the situation warrants such action. Immediately following any access removal, the RH needs to notify the COO or any member of STEERCOM by voice. 6. RH's may *not* "T-Can", "censor", or "remove" any messages from his/her message bases *until* making sure that all Nodes using his/ her system as a Hub have received their mail. This is necessary due to the nature of the .QWK/.REP software's use of the BBS's message bases for both Network and Local usage. Use of software specifically designed to "purge" unwanted messages after all Node's have connected is permissable. C. Conference Coordinator(s) (CC) and Conference Hosts (CH). 1. The Conference Coordinator is the SC's designated representative. Duties include: (a) administrate conferences and designates Conference Hosts, (b) maintain conference lists, (c) advise STEERCOM regarding conference problems. STEERCOM will appoint the Conference Coordinator for any length of term. The Conference Coordinator job may be split among several persons, such as a Coordinator in charge of Conference Moderations, a Coordinator in charge of Conference Setups, a Coordinator in charge of Marketing and a Coordinator in charge of Statistical Analysis. 2. Conference Hosts are designated by the Conference Coordinator. Conference Hosts are responsible for their conferences and guide the discussion areas. Their duties include: (a) provide bulletins to nodes carrying their conference for the purpose of clarification and/ or information; (b) define what should and should not be discussion areas within the conference; and (c) provide guidance to all concerned with legal responsibilities and/or disclaimers. The Host may be responsible for providing to the Conference Coordinator a description of the conference, it's aims, and the scope of the conference. 3. The Conference Host for the COMMON Conference, or any conference or device used by CANDLEü as a net-wide E-Mail and message distribution channel which services all nodes within CANDLEü, is an STEERCOM member. A non-STEERCOM member may be appointed to act as Common Conference Assistant Host. D. Network Librarian. 1. STEERCOM will appoint one individual, either User or Sysop, to act as the Network Librarian. This individual will be responsible for coordinating text-file acquisitions, ensuring that new files are made available to all Nodes, and providing lists of available files to each new Node who joins the network. 2. Additionally, the Network Librarian will be responsible for requesting "allfiles" listings from each Node and advising the Sysop of that Node of files which are absent. E. NetHub Operations. 1. The NETHUB CONFERENCES and the trademarks "CathNet" "CIME" and "CANDLEü" are registered trademarks and Servicemarks and are Copyright 1993 Candle/Cathnet/CIME. They are the the property of the Network and are reserved for sole and exclusive use by the CANDLEü Network. 2. STEERCOM will make available a conference for the general administration affairs of CANDLEü. This conference is open to sysops, co-sysops, the Conference Coordinator and conference hosts. 3. The NETHUB Sysop coordinates the primary mail time-window. Only RHs may relay through the NetHub. NetMail exchanges should normally take place during the time period designated by NetHub. All RHub's should begin dialing simultaneously, using "contention resolvement" methodology which will minimize NetHub's "user unavailablity". F. Amendments 1. Though STEERCOM is ultimately responsible for implementing changes to these by-laws, any CANDLEü node or RH Sysop, Co-Sysop, Conference Host or the Conference Coordinator may petition STEERCOM for by-laws changes at any time. However, such requests and petitions and any and all discussions thereof MUST be conducted in the designated general CANDLEü administration conference, as specified in IV above. VII. RULES AND REGULATIONS A. No Illegal Activities. Illegal activities, including promotion of illegal acts and promotion of software copyright infringement, will not be allowed in CANDLEü. Such activities constitute a grievous reason for the potential removal of the node from CANDLEü, and may necessitate compensatory action against the violator for any legal liabilities such activities may cause CANDLEü. B. No offensive or abusive language. The use of any word, group of words, expression, comment, suggestion, or proposal which is profane, obscene, lewd, lascivicious, filthy, indecent, or is ethnically or racially demeaning or demeaning to any group or individual user of CANDLEü no matter their specified religious orientation, Gender or sexuality is strictly prohibited within CANDLEü. C. No BBS Ads. Participating node SYSOPs will not relay nor allow to be echoed messages that contain information that advertise BBSs EXCEPT for BBS ads serving as seed messages. The placement of BBS telephone numbers within a message to advise recipients of a contact telephone number is not considered a BBS ad so long as the intent of the message is clearly evident without the telephone number. It is clearly understood that a user might disregard this rule. It is the expectation of CANDLEü that the SYSOP will take appropriate action to prevent this occurrence. It is also understood that if an ad is echoed unintentionally, and the SYSOP takes the appropriate responsible action, this does NOT constitute a grievous reason for removal of that node. Flagrant continual disregard does, however, constitute a potential grievous reason for possible removal of that node. 1. BBS Tag Lines that contain telephone numbers and BBS names are permitted as long as such tag lines are a requirement for networking and reader software whose tag lines cannot be disabled. 2. There may not be more than 2 tag lines within any message (one of these tag lines must be the required CANDLEü node tag line). Tasteless tag lines are discouraged. More than 2 tag lines is considered discourteous to those node Sysops having to relay long distance and may be considered as grievous reason for removal of access if used continuously. D. No aliases. Participating SYSOPs within CANDLEü should not allow messages to be echoed within CANDLEü from individuals who are using aliases. 1. An alias is defined as a name used by a caller whose intention is to prevent identification of the caller by the SYSOPs and CANDLEü. SYSOPs of each participating BBS are responsible for ensuring that only validated BBS members are allowed to exchange messages within conferences that are echoed within CANDLEü. 2. An alias is also defined as a true derivative or true name of a participating member who changes his/her name to circumvent another node's TCan list. 3. It is CANDLEü's understanding that each node SYSOP is responsible for the names used on his/her own BBS. If the SYSOP grants a user the right to use an alias, for what the SYSOP deems is a valid reason, such as security, and that alias is not apparently an alias (such as Dr. Midnight, which is) then there is no need to inform CANDLEü of that alias. 6. Duplicate names within CANDLEü, such as three John Smiths, will be handled by the node SYSOPS of the involved boards in a manner which would not cause an alias to be echoed (example, John Smith, Johnny Smith, J. Smith or Johnnie Smith) E. There are some National Conference Names (such as COMMON) which needs to be used on all participating nodes to prevent possible confusion. The current list of conferences which must be called by their National Conference Name which is contained in Appendix C. F. Messages contained in conferences echoed through the NETHUB are considered in the public domain. However, STEERCOM needs to authorize the "sharing" of conferences with non-CANDLEü-participating BBS systems. A "shared" conference is one that is echoed to or between other networks or BBS systems that have the capability of responding to such "shared" conference mail. G. It is understood that node and RH SYSOPS take vacations. CANDLEü requests that a vacationing SYSOP delegate to another responsible Sysop the ability to monitor the BBS in his/her absence. In the event that any node does not relay within 3 consecutive days, the RH may decline to hold mail until the node SYSOP has contacted the RH. It is also understood that users may commit violations of CANDLEü's rules in the absence of a full time SYSOP and that immediate action may not be able to be taken by the appointed SYSOP. This type of event does not constitute a grievous reason for removal of a node. H. Conference message bases may not be sent to non-CANDLEü-relaying nodes on other than a provisional basis without the permission of STEERCOM. | I. Any individual sending messages via the CANDLEü Network who |identifies himself as an ordained Priest, Minister, Rabbi or as holding |any other ordainable or official status within any organized religion or |church, may, at the option of the Network Administrator or Steering |Committee, be required to furnish acceptable proof of that status in a |form designated by and acceptable to the Steering Committee or Network |Administrator. | | In the event that such evidence is not furnished within a |reasonable period of time when requested such individuals may be |summarily barred without notice from any further participation within |the Conferences of the CANDLEü Network. VIII. MISCELLANEOUS a. No node may charge its users specifically for access to the CANDLEü conferences beyond whatever subscription rate, if any, they charge anyone else. No RH may charge a node for admission to the CANDLEü Network. Appendix A Steering Committee Members Bro. Bill Leaming - Chief Operations Officer James W. White - Pepper Marts - Fr. Ken Peck - Sue Widemark - Network Librarian Martin Fontenot - Appendix B Authorized "Send" List The following files may be transmitted unsolicited to RHs. Conference Lists CathNet/CANDLEü NewsLetter Network Directory of BBSs User's Manual Appendix C National Conference Names That Must Be Used On Participating BBSs COMMON USERS ============================== END OF BY-LAWS =========================