********************************************************************** Fellow Sysops: This is an adaptation of Lance Rose's Sample Caller Contract - used with his permission. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you obtain a copy of his book, SYSLAW, and read it cover to cover. Covers legal issues regarding copyright issues, trademarks, what you can and cannot put online, and what your legal liabilities are as the result of your actions online. Available from the publisher at 1-800/321-8285. If you use this document verbatim, I request credit. If you change anything, then don't give me credit. Clint Bradford ATTENTION to Details RyBBS 5085 Trail Canyon Drive Mira Loma, CA 91752-1685 BBS - 714/681-6221 Voice - 714/681-6210 ********************************************************************** Hello, %USERNAME! As this is the first time that you've visited my BBS, I'd like to extend my WELCOME to you! Take a good look around - and don't be afraid to ask for help! If you ever have any ideas on how this system might be strengthened, please leave me a Message! We proudly introduce a little different concept in User / BBS relationships - A USER SERVICE AGREEMENT CONTARCT. Written by an attorney specializing in BBS Law, we firmly believe that EVERY Bulletin Board Operator needs to be "up front" with his/her Users - and explain what services are offered, and what is expected from you, the User. Such an Agreement also advises you of YOUR Rights and Responsibilities as a User. Our Contract follows. It will take a few minutes to read. Until it is read and acknowledged, you will be restricted in what you can perform here. The completion of the New User Questionnaire is indication to us that you agree with the Contract. Your Security Level will be raised within 24 hours to Level 10. The ATD RyBBS New Users Manual (available on the First Menu) explains this System's Security Levels. ANY QUESTIONS should be left as Messages addressed to SYSOP. If there are any portions of the User Contract that you feel are improper or unworkable - but would like to discuss with the System Operators - feel free to call (voice) 714/681-6210 during normal business hours, Monday-Saturday, Pacific Coast Time. ------------------------------------------------------------------- A. INTRODUCTION - The ATTENTION to Details RyBBS Services Agreement ------------------------------------------------------------------- We start every New Caller Relationship with a Contract. It spells out what you can expect from us, and what we expect from you. You might not have seen such an Agreement anywhere else - we feel that it is MANDATORY that every BBS Operator spell out EXACTLY what they will do for you. We also feel that the responsibilities of System Operators TO YOU has been too long ignored. We do not know each of you personally, so it is important to present what is expected FROM you, and what this System will do FOR you - the 'ground rules' - clearly in advance. If you agree to what you read in the following screens, WELCOME to our BBS! Your completion of the Questionnaire that follows indicates to us that you agree with our Contract. If you have any questions about any part of the Contract, please send Mail to the Sysop (SYStem OPerator). We will be glad to explain why these provisions are important for our system. We are willing to work with you on making changes if you can show us a better approach. SYSOPS: DO NOT INFRINGE UPON THIS DOCUMENT'S COPYRIGHT - CONTACT THE SYSTEM OPERATOR IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN IMPLEMENTING THIS CONTRACT ON YOUR BBS. Please remember - until you and we have an Agreement in place, you will not receive full access to our system. B. ACCESS & SERVICES -------------------- We will give you full access to all public file and message areas on our system. Currently, these include: * Public message areas - reading and posting messages. We will soon be a member of FidoNet, the largest conversation/information base in the world. You will be able to join in public discussions with callers of other bulletin boards around the world. * File transfer areas - uploading, downloading files, and browsing. * Complete program catalogues from MVP Software, Sunrise BBS Doors, Patriquin Utilities, Metz Windows Software, Wilson Windowware, and more software firms. * E-Mail - sending and receiving messages (please see the section on privacy, later in this agreement). We offer a variety of services to our callers, and are adding more all the time. Some of our current services include: * Free classified advertising for our callers - both for sale of merchandise and for electronic business card exchange. * QWK Mail service - allowing you to upload and download all messages that interest you in archived, QWK-compatible packets. * The leading magazine for BBSs and public networks, BOARDWATCH, is on-line for viewing. BOARDWATCH broadly covers current cultural, technical, and business issues, as well as legal and regulatory developments affecting BBSs. We carry other on-line publications as well. * Text Readers - including Stac Electronic's entire catalog of Stac-related Technical Bulletins. * A Viewer for the USBBS National Bulletin Board Listing Service. If you would like to set up a private discussion message area on our system for your group or association, we will be glad to do so for fees and terms to be discussed. NOTE: We may change or discontinue certain access or services on our system from time to time. We will try to let you know about such changes a month or more in advance. C. PRICE & PAYMENT ------------------ Currently, there are NO fees or charges for using our system, other than telephone connect charges you incur. Our existing Users will be notified two months in advance of any changes in this Policy. D. SYSTEM RULES --------------- The only thing we ask of you is that you follow the rules we set for use of the system. You will find our rules in two places: on the following screens here in the Contract, and in the Bulletins posted at various points in the system. Here are some of the basic rules for our system: * Respect other callers of the system. Feel free to express yourself, but do not do anything to injure or harm others. In particular, if you dislike someone else's ideas, you can attack the ideas - but not the person. * We want people to speak freely on our system. But if you misuse that freedom to abuse others, we will take the liberty of cutting that discussion short. * Do not use our system for anything that might be illegal. This system may not be used to encourage anything to do with illegal drugs, gambling, pornography, prostitution, child pornography, robbery, spreading computer viruses, cracking into private computer systems, software infringement, trafficking in credit card codes, or other crimes. * People sometimes have trouble figuring out whether certain activities are illegal. It's usually not that hard. If it's illegal out there, it's illegal in here! Using a bulletin board system to commit a crime does not make it less of a crime. In fact, if you use a bulletin board system to commit a crime, you're exposing the operators of the system, and its other callers, to legal risks that should be yours alone. * If you genuinely do not know whether something you'd like to do is legal or illegal, please discuss it with us before you proceed. Matters that are beyond the knowledge of the operators of this system will be referred to the attorney representing this system, at no charge to you. And, if we tell you we do not want you to pursue your plans on our system, please respect our decision. * Respect the security of our system. Do not try to gain access to system areas private to ourselves, or to other callers. Some callers try to crack system security just to show it can be done. Do not try to demonstrate this on our system. E. PRIVACY ---------- We offer private electronic mail on our system as a service to our callers. We will endeavor to keep all of your E-Mail private, viewable only by you and the person to whom you address it, except: * We, as system operators, may need to look at your electronic mail if we believe it is necessary to protect ourselves or other callers from injury or damage. For example, if we have reason to believe a caller is involved in illegal activities, which creates a risk that our system could be seized by the authorities, we will review his or her electronic mail for our own protection. We will not, however, monitor electronic mail unless we believe it is being misused. * We will not deliberately disclose electronic mail to other callers. If we believe certain electronic mail is connected with illegal activities, we may disclose it to the authorities to protect our system, ouselves, and other callers. * Remember that the person to whom you send electronic mail does not need to keep it secret. The sender or receiver of electronic mail has the right to make it public. * If the authorities ever search or seize our system, they may gain access to your private electronic mail. In that case, we cannot assure they will not review it. Remember that you have personal rights of privacy that even the government cannot legally violate, though you may have to go to court to enforce those rights. F. EDITORIAL CONTROL -------------------- We want our system to be a worthwhile place for all of our callers. This does not mean everyone can do whatever they choose on this system, regard- less of its effect on others. It is our job to accomodate the common needs of all callers while striving to meet our own goals for the system. We will not monitor all messages and file transfers. We want to keep the message and file traffic moving quickly and smoothly - this goal would be defeated if we monitored everything on the system. However, if we see (or hear about) messages or other activities that violate the rules, threaten the order or security of the system, or use the system in ways we do not agree with, we will take appropriate action. Our editorial control includes normal housekeeping activities like changing subject headers and deleting profanities in public messages and selecting among uploaded files for those we wish to make available for download. It also goes beyond that. If a caller persists in posting messages or transferring files that we previously warned him/her should not be on the system, those messages or files will be deleted, and he or she may be locked out. If we discover any caller violating the rules, especially the prohibition against illegal activities, we will act firmly and swiftly. Depending on the circumstances, the caller involved will be warned, or simply locked out. If the caller has done anything to put us or other callers in jeopardy, we may contact the authorities. We do not plan on doing any of these things. If all callers act with respect and regard for us and for other callers, there will never be any problems. But if problems arise, we will assert control over our system against any caller who threatens it. And, in this Agreement, you acknowledge that control. G. OWNERSHIP OF MATERIALS ------------------------- You shall retain all rights to all original messages you post and all original files you upload. Likewise, you must respect the ownership rights of others in their own messages and files. You may not post or upload any messages or files unless you own them, or you have full authority to transmit them to this system. We own certain things you will find on this system, including the "look and feel" of the system, the name of our system, and the collective work copyright in sequences of public messages on our system. This is not a complete list - other things on the system are also our property. Before you copy anything from our system with plans of reproducing it or distributing it, contact us about it. H. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY ---------------------------------------- The great danger for us, and for all operators of bulletin board systems, is that we might be held accountable for the wrongful actions of our callers. If one caller libels another caller, the injured caller might blame us, even though the first caller was really at fault. If a caller uploads a program with a computer virus, and other callers' computers are damaged, we might be blamed even though the virus was left on our board by a caller. If a caller transfers illegal credit card information to another caller through private electronic mail, we might be blamed even though we did nothing more than unknowingly carry the message from one caller to another. We did not start this system to take the blame for others' actions, and we cannot afford to operate it if we must take that blame. Accordingly, we need all callers to accept responsibility for their own acts, and to accept that an act by another caller that damages them must not be blamed on us, but on the other caller. These needs are accomplished by the following paragraph: You agree that we will not be responsible to you for any indirect, consequential, special or punitive damages or losses you may incur in connection with our system or any of the data or other materials transmitted through or residing on our system, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damage or loss. In addition, you agree to defend and indemnify us and hold us harmless from and against any and all claims, proceedings, damages, injuries, liabilities, losses, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees) relating to any acts by you or materials or information transmitted by you in connection with our system leading wholly or partially to claims against us or our system by other callers or third parties. I. CHOICE OF LAW ---------------- Our bulletin board system can be reached by callers from all fifty states, and around the world. Each of these places has a different set of laws. Since we cannot keep track of all these laws and their requirements, you agree that the law of our own state, California, will apply to all matters relating to this Agreement and to our bulletin board system. In addition, you agree and consent that if you ever take legal action against us, the courts of our own state, California, will have exclusive jurisdiction over any such legal actions. J. GENERAL ---------- This Agreement is the entire understanding between you and us regarding your relationship to our bulletin board system. If either you or we fail to notify the other of any violations of this agreement, this will not mean that you or we cannot notify the other of future violations of any part of this Agreement. ---end of Contract---