TurNet International Message Network Operating Policy Manual (c) 1993 TNI (TurNet International Message Network, TurNet International and TNI are copyrighted by TNOC and may not be used without the express permission of TNOC. All rights reserved) 1 Purpose This Policy Manual establishes the operating policies for sysops that are active members of the TurNet International Message Network. This Policy Manual will also establish the guidelines which all users of the TurNet International Message Network are expected to abide by. This Policy Manual will cover the entire TurNet International Message Network, regardless of the geographical region in which the TurNet International Message Network is active. Seperate policies may be invoked for regional and/or local nets, however they may not superceed nor contradict this Operating Policy. 1.1 Language The official language of TurNet International Message Network is English. All documents pertaining to same must be in English. This manual is written in straight ASCII format, and must be distibuted as such. Translation into other languages is encouraged. 1.2 Definition of terms TNI: TurNet International Message Network Zone 11 TNOC: A limited, non-profit partnership that owns the TurNet International Message Network, the TNI and TurNet International logos and issues licenses for the use of TNI Turboard Software, copyrighted by Shawn Rhoads, independent of TNI, but the software which is currently used by TNI TNOC: TurNet Operating Committee SysOp: System Operator User: A non-SysOp user of TNI Zone: Each continent is deemed to be a zone. The USA is Zone 11, Europe is Zone 22, etc. Region: A group of states or provinces within a defined geographical area Net: A local TNI net within a region, usually defined by an area of convenient telephone calling. Host: Usually the Regional coordinator, may also denote a net host. Hub: A SysOp that collects and distributes TNI mail within a net and is generally responsible for the operations of the local net. Node: The lowest level of the network, meaning that the node is not a hub or a host (A Node is an ESSENTIAL, important part of TNI, however.) Independent Node: A node that is geographically isolated within a region or zone, and is not within the bounds of a local net. Address: The TNI identification and routing address of each host, hub or node. Node #: Same as an address. : Turboard BBS System, copyrighted by Shawn Rhoads and Software @ Work Software TNAM: TurNet Administrative Moderator, appointed by the TNOC and a non-voting member of the TNOC Moderator: An individual appointed by the TNAM, and charged with enforcing the rules as pertains to behavior in the various conferences. 1.3 Introduction TNI is a an amateur electronic mail system consisting of TB Sysops that wish to provide their users with a means of communicating with others around the world. All participation in TNI by individual Sysops is strictly on an unpaid volunteer basis and is provided as a public service to the BBS community. TNI is not a common carrier, and as such all services are provided to the users free of financial encumberance. TNI is administrated by the TNOC, which has the final decision in regards to all matters pertaining to the operation of TNI. 1.4 Commercial Use TNI is an amateur E-mail network ONLY. It is not intended for, nor may it be used to promote the commercial aspirations of any business or industry. It may not be used for the business communications of any business or industry. The only exception is those individuals offering for sale, trade or barter items of interest to the users, and then only in the appropriate conference(s). This may include those individuals that operate a part-time business out of their home, as long as the appropriate conference(s) and the users are not subjected to constant and consistent advertisements by such part-time endeavors. 2 Network Behavior TNI is a family oriented network. As such, the use of obscene, abusive or otherwise annoying behavior is not allowed. Those individuals that engage in such behavior will not be allowed to use TNI, regardless of their status within TNI. Common sense and mature judgement should, and must prevail. (See section 5) 3 Network Structure TNI is structured in several levels. The lowest level is the End Node. The end node is a TB BBS system that allows netmail to be entered and read by the indivdual users of the BBS. The Sysop of the end node is free to operate their system as s(he) wishes, but the policy governing TNI must be strictly adhered to by both the Sysop and the users of the end node system. The next higher level is the Local Hub, which collects and distributes TNI mail from the local end nodes and the regional host. It is feasible that the local hub may use a regional host other than their own if such action is deemed warrantable by the Net Administrator. The local hub is also free to run their system as s(he) wishes, however the TNI policy will be strictly enforced. The third TNI level is the Regional Coordinator. The regional coordinator is responsible for TNI operations within their region, and may also act as a TNI collection and distribution site for the local hubs in their region. Again, the regional coordinator is free to operate their BBS as s(he) wishes, but the TNI policy will be strictly enforced. The highest level is the TNOC. The TNOC consists of 7 members, all of which serve for life, or until they resign or are removed for cause. The TNOC consists of the Net Administrator, the Net Secretary, and 5 members with various responsibilities. An eighth member, but without the power of voting is the Administrative Moderator. Each Zone will maintain their own TNOC, but the USA TNOC will have supreme authority over all TNI operations, regardless. 4 Net Administration Zone 11 TNOC is the parent governing body of TNI. The TNOC of all zones shall be given license to operate TNI in their respective zones by Zone 11 TNOC, and shall be responsible to Zone 11 TNOC for the adherence to the TNI policy. No E-mail network may use the TurNet International Messaging Network, TurNet or TNI logos without license from Zone 11 TNOC. The day-to-day operations shall be the responsibility of the Net Administrator. The net administrator shall be responsible for maintaining the orderly transfer of mail, promotion of TNI, arbitration of minor disputes that may occasionaly arise between hosts, assign independent nodes to various regional coordinators and perform other duties required for the smooth operation of the net. The net administrator shall act in accordance with the policy manual and within the bounds of their authority as determined by the TNOC. In the USA, the net administrator is also the International Coordinator. The international coordinator shall be responsible for maintaining compliance with the policy manual of all zones. The international coordinator shall also review all zone, regional and local policies to verify compliance with TNI policy. The international coordinator shall maintain relations with all zone TNOC units, and maintain a co-operative atmosphere between all zones. There shall be only one international coordinator. The Net Secretary shall be responsible for maintaing a current node list, shall maintain the current conference list, shall record the decisions of the TNOC and make periodic reports to the general membership as pertains to TNI business and policy. The net secretary is a vital member of the TNOC and as such, shall have a seperate, high security conference. This conference shall be maintained by the net secretary, and shall not be used for idle chit-chat or discussion of non TNI business related subjects. The net secretary will determine the subject content of any and all discussions that may take place within the conference. The TNOC of each zone shall appoint a net secretary for their respective body. The net secretary of each zone other than zone 11 shall be responsible for informing the zone 11 net secretary of pertinent information relative to their respective zone. Ideally, each net secretary will report the number of active nodes and their addresses, any changes to their respective policies etc. to the zone 11 net secretary on a monthly basis. 5 Rules and Regulations 5.1 Each participating BBS must carry the conferences deemed necessary to maintain their participation. 5.2 Each participating BBS shall display the following rules to their callers upon entering the netmail area(s). Furthermore, all participating Sysops shall make every effort to enforce these rules to the best of their ability. 5.2.1 Users with alias's shall reveal their real identity within the text of the message. 5.2.2 Users will refrain from using profanity and abusive language within the text and subject of their messages. 5.2.3 Users will refrain from promoting any illegal activities such as hacking, cracking or phreaking on any and all net-mail message bases. 5.2.4 TurNet is intended to be a friendly, family-oriented Net-Mail system. Please make all efforts to maintain this goal. 5.2.5 There is no facility within TurNet to provide any means to send or receive "private" mail within the Net. 5.3 The Net cannot, and will not, allow illegal activities to take place within the realms of the net, this includes, but is not limited to, promotion of activities commonly referred to as "hacking", "cracking" or "phreaking" that are deemed illegal by U.S. and individual State Statutes. 5.4 Sysops of TNI will, to the best of their ability, regulate the content of their user's messages using any and all means available to them to contain, or limit the use of offensive and abusive language in the Net. 5.5 Aliases, or pseudonyms, will be allowed to appear in the header of outgoing mail from any node. However, BBS's that allow aliases must inform their users that a real name must appear in the text of the message or they risk loss of access to the message bases in question. 5.6 File transfers for the benefit of users or Sysops will not be allowed within the Net except when they constitute a necessary function of TNI business and are approved by The TNOC. 5.7 Under no circumstances will any entity of the Net be allowed to levy any cost on any other party, user or node BBS, for the purpose of providing this service. Agreements between a Host and it's Local Node BBS's to share the long distance charges incurred in retrieving mail packets will be allowed and encouraged as long as this relationship is maintained equitably between all parties. Host BBS's will always be required to pay (at a minimum) it's fair share, and should the need arise, the TNOC will demand proof of fairness by reviewing actual telephone bills and amounts paid by all parties. 5.8 Pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, 18 USC 2510 et. seq., all BBS Sysops participating in the Net must advise their users that their is no facility to send "private" mail via TurNet. 6 Membership and Members Rights 6.1 TB sysops wishing to become a member of TNI must display to the hub/host in the proper net/region that s(he) is able to properly use the TNS and has demonstrated same to the hub/host before being allowed to come on-line at the national level. 6.2 Valid members of TNI shall be allowed full access to all available conferences. The exception shall be those conferences used by the TNOC to conduct it's business. Valid members shall be allowed to carry as many sanctioned conferences as they desire so long as the minimum number of conferences are carried as defined in section 5.1. Users shall be allowed access to all conferences maintained on a members BBS with the exception of those conferences deemed as high security conferences only. 7 Mail Transfers 7.1 The transfer of mail packets may be accomplished using a script for those systems not operating under a front-end mailer, or may be accomplished using a front-end mailer. Further, PKZIP is the only means by which the mail packet may be archived in preparation for the transfer. 7.2 In order to effect the orderly and timely transfer of mail, the local hub, regional host, etc. shall maintain a window for the transfering of mail by the dependent nodes. The hubs, hosts, etc. shall assign a time to each dependent based upon the nodes speed abilities and the time required for each dependent to transfer the packets. This window shall be marked as non-public and shall be for the exclusive use of nodes transfering mail packets. At least one packet transfer per 24 hour period shall take place between all members of TNI. Local hubs may elect to transfer mail amongst their dependent nodes multiple times during a 24 hour period. If this option is chosen, steps MUST BE TAKEN to insure that any mail meant to be included in the national packet is not lost. All mail transfers will normally be made during the evening and/or nightime hours in order to take advantage of lower telephone rates. (Long Distance callers) 8 Conference Moderators 8.1 TurNet Administrative Moderator The TNAM is a non-voting member of the TNOC, appointed by the TNOC. The TNAM shall appoint various conference moderators, review and approve guidelines for various conferences as issued by the various moderators and settle disputes between moderators, sysops and users that cannot otherwise be resolved as pertains to conference use. In those instances in which the TNAM is unable to settle said disputes, the TNAM shall refer the matter to the TNOC, and the decision of the TNOC shall be final and binding. 8.2 Conference Moderator Conference Moderators are appointed by the TNAM. The conference moderator is responsible for maintaining an orderly conference, free of annoying behavior and/or illegal activity. The conference moderator may issue rules for the use of their respective conference, however any such rules that are not in conformance with the general moderators guidelines shall first be approved by the TNAM. The conference moderator shall have the power to recommend the removal of those users that knowingly and repetively violate the rules of the conference. Disputes that cannot be resolved by the conference moderator shall be referred to the TNAM for arbitration. Such arbitration shall be binding on all parties concerned. 8.3 General Conference Guidlines for Moderators 8.3.1 The following guidelines shall be used when dealing with violators of the conference rules. These guidelines may be changed and/or ammended from time to time by the TNAM. 8.3.1.1 Upon re-directing an off-topic message to the proper conference, first warnings should be "gentle" and explanatory. In other words, not just a "Take it to Religion" but rather.."This thread has drifted to the point where it applies to the religion conference much more than this conference." 8.3.1.2 Users that continue to violate the rules should be dealt with via private, routed mail. 8.3.1.3 When a problem user refuses to respond favorably to the moderators admonisments, the sysop of the offenders BBS should be notified and their help in correcting the problem should be solicited. When the sysop is notified of said violations, the TNAM should also be notified that said action has been taken. Should the sysop of the BBS in question refuse to, or be unable to control the offending user, the problem should be referred to the TNAM. Should the TNAM be unable to resolve the issue, the TNAM shall refer the matter to the TNOC. The decision of the TNOC shall be final. 8.3.1.4 Generally speaking, the moderator has the authority to discipline violators of the conference rules. However, it shall be deemed prudent that the moderator will use common sense and a degree of tolerance when dealing with minor offenses. A moderator shall NEVER resort to flaming or character assassination, regardless of the prevaling circumstances. Moderators should also consider that due to the structure of the net, messages may take several days to arrive at the intended destination, and should also take into consideration the response time required. In other words, make reasonable time allowances for action to be taken. 8.3.1.5 The TNAM should be consulted by individual moderators whenever problems appear insurmountable. 9 TNI Conferences 9.1 A current TNI National conference list is maintained by the net secretary. A current list shall be maintained by each TNOC member, regional coordinator, host and hub and shall be made available to all members of TNI. 9.1.1 All members are required to carry at least 3 conferences as defined by section 5.1. 9.1.2 Conference Additions 9.1.2.1 Any member in good standing, Sysop or user, of TNI may request the addition of a conference subject into the TNI national conference list. The request shall be made of any TNOC member. The request shall include a short description of what the requested conference subject would embrace. You shall also indicate at the time of request wether or not you are willing to appointed as the conference moderator, subject to the appointment process maintained by the TNAM. 9.1.2.2 The TNOC may reject the conference addition request at any point during the approval process. The TNOC will vote on the conference addition request in a timely manner, usually within ten (10) days of the original application. At any point during the approval process, the TNOC may request additional information concerning the request. Should this occour, the approval process may or may not require additional time to process. 9.1.2.3 In the event that the request is approved by the TNOC, the requesting member will be contacted by a designated member of the TNOC. At that point, the person(s) requesting the addition shall be given permission to seek support for the conference from TNI hosts, hubs and nodes. Once this permission is given, the requesting party will have 45 days in which to gather the necessary support of hosts, hubs and nodes. At no time shall a person(s) solicit support for the conference request prior to the submission of the proper request to the TNOC, and/or prior to approval thereof. (See section 9.1.2.6) 9.1.2.4 Denial of the request for a conference addition may be issued by the TNOC at any time during the approval process. Denials may be issued for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to subject matter being too close to an already established conference or subject matter deemed to be detrimental to TNI. 9.1.2.5 If the approved conference support results are not reported to the TNOC within 45 days of the issuance of the initial approval, the conference addition request shall be deemed null and void by the TNOC, and the initial approval shall be rescinded. 9.1.2.6 A minimum of five (5) hosts and/or hubs and ten (10) nodes indicating support for the conference addition shall be sufficient for inclusion in the TNI national conference list. Once the required support for the conference addition has been obtained, the original applicant shall notify the designated member of the TNOC that the requirments have been met. Said notification shall include a list of the supporting hosts and/or hubs and nodes. Should there be cause to question said support, the designated member of the TNOC may elect to verify the stated support. When the required notification of support has been sanctioned by the designated TNOC member, an inclusion date shall be selected by the net administrator and the newly approved conference shall be made available in the TNI national listing. At that point, any TNI member in good standing may request the addition of the new conference to their dossier. 9.1.2.7 All communications between the person(s) requesting the new conference and the TNOC shall be accomplished through any of the three (3) conferences required to be maintained by all members of TNI. (See section 5.1) 9.1.2.8 Announcements as to the implementation of all new conferences shall be made by the net secretary in the Net Secretary's conference and the Universal Messaging conference. The announcement may also be made in the Turboard Support conference should the net secretary deem it necessary. ONLY the net secretary, the net administrator or the TNOC may make conference addition announcements. 9.2 Conference Deletions 9.2.1 The TNOC shall conduct a semi-annual review of individual conference traffic. This review shall be conducted by the net administrator and the results shall be reported to the TNOC. 9.2.2 The TNOC shall review the results of the reported traffic of each conference and shall vote as to whether a conference shall remain in the TNI national conference list. 9.2.3 A conference that is reported as having ten (10) messages or less passing through the TNI national host within the previous six (6) months shall be recommended for deletion from the TNI national listing. 9.2.4 Conference deletions and effective dates of deletion from the TNI national conference listing shall be posted by the net secretary in the three required conferences. (See section 5.1) 9.2.5 All decisions pertaining to the deletion of conferences by the TNOC shall be final. ONLY the TNOC, the net secretary or the net administrator shall make conference deletion announcements. 9.3 ANSI and High ASCII Messages & Origin/Tag Lines ANSI of any type, including but not limited to messages, signature, origin and tag lines are allowed ONLY in the ANSI and BBS Adds conferences. There shall be NO exceptions. ANSI signature, tag and origin lines are limited to two (2) lines maximum. High ASCII, such as box quotes, WILL be allowed. Discretion should be used. High ASCII origin, tag and signature lines are limited to a maximum of two (2) lines each. Violators of these restrictions are subject to discipline. (See section 10.1) 10 Network Discipline 10.1 Membership in or use of TNI is a privilege, not a right, that is granted by the sole authority of Zone 11 TNOC. Therefore, Zone 11 TNOC cannot and will not tolerate any behavior that is determined to be annoying or detrimental to TNI and it's published guidelines and rules. Disciplinary action against repeated violators of the guidelines and rules may include, but not be limited to restriction, suspension or revocation of the users and/or member privileges as to the use of TNI. 11 Zone 11 TNOC and TNI 11.1 Zone 11 TNOC,it's officers and the TNI Policy and Operations Manual are the sole authority for the operation of TNI. The tenure of all members of TNI is at the discretion of Zone 11 TNOC, as well as the perpetuation of TNI as a viable E-mail system and network. No officer of Zone 11 TNOC receives or is allowed to receive remuneration of any kind. In addition, no member or user of TNI shall accept remuneration insofar as pertains to their involvment in TNI, with the exceptions noted in sections 1.3 and 5.7. There shall be NO exceptions. 11.2 The TurNet International Messaging Network Policy and Operations Manual is copyrighted by Zone 11 TNOC. All modifications to the Policy and Operations Manual shall be made only by Zone 11 TNOC. The distribution of the Policy and Operations manual must be made in it's entirety and in an un-altered form. Revisions to the Manual may, and will be made by Zone 11 TNOC from time to time as net circumstances dictate. Further, Ideas for improvement of TNI from individual members in good standing are encouraged by Zone 11 TNOC. TNI is operated for the sole purpose of providing communications between people from all walks of life, and from any country of origin. Ethnic or religous considerations are not made by Zone 11 TNOC. If a user has the means and the will, TNI welcomes the involvment. Make friends, discuss your pet likes or your pet peeves, your favorite software or hardware, religion, politics, Aunt Sophia's home made pumpkin bread, keep in touch with distant relatives, the kids away at school, what have you. But most of all, ENJOY!! 12 Zone 11 TNOC Partners 12.1 Zone 11 TNOC is comprised of the following partners: Danny Covington(Temp), Net Administrator, International Coordinator and NorthWest Regional Coordinator To Be Voted On, Net Secretary and Northern Plains Regional Coordinator Open, SouthWest Regional Coordinator Open, NorthEastern Regional Coordinator Open, Central States Regional Coordinator Open, Central Plains Regional Coordinator Danny Covington, SouthEastern Regional Coordinator(Temp) Open, TurNet Administrative Moderator