Why is Whip City Fiber providing this Policy to me?
Westfield Gas + Electric (herein known as “Whip City Fiber”) seeks to provide and foster an on-line community that can be used and enjoyed by all its telecommunications customers. To further that goal, Whip City Fiber has developed an Acceptable Use Policy. Although much of what is included here is common sense, Whip City Fiber takes these issues very seriously and will enforce its rules to ensure enjoyment by all of its members. Whip City Fiber reserves the right to suspend or cancel a subscriber’s account for engaging in inappropriate conduct. (Subscribers, of course, also remain legally responsible for any such acts.) All Whip City Fiber customers (the “customer,” “user,” “you,” or “your”) and all others who use the Service must comply with this Policy. Your failure, or others’ failure, to comply with this Policy could result in the suspension or termination of your or their Service accounts. Therefore, you should take steps to ensure that others you permit to use your Service are aware of this Policy and agree to abide by it. If you are unwilling to comply with this Policy, you must immediately stop all use of the Service and notify Whip City Fiber so that your account could be closed. In using the telecommunication services provided over Whip City Fiber’s fiber optic network, subscribers accept this list of restrictions as well as those set forth in Whip City Fiber’s Terms and Conditions and agree to use the Services only for lawful purposes and not to use or allow others to use the Services in violation of the guidelines.
What uses and activities does Whip City Fiber prohibit?
In general, the Policy prohibits uses and activities involving the Service that are illegal, infringe the rights of others, or interfere with or diminish the use and enjoyment of the Service by others. For example, these prohibited uses and activities include, but are not limited to, using the Service, Customer Equipment, or the Whip City Fiber Equipment, either individually or in combination with one another.
Technical restrictions
a) Access any other person’s computer or computer system, network, software, or data without his or her knowledge and consent; breach the security of another user or system; or attempt to circumvent the user authentication or security of any host, network, or account. This includes, but is not limited to, accessing data not intended for you, logging into or making use of a server or account you are not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other hosts, networks, or accounts without express permission to do so;
b) Use or distribute tools or devices designed or used for compromising security or whose use is otherwise unauthorized, such as password guessing programs, decoders, password gatherers, keystroke loggers, analyzers, cracking tools, packet sniffers, encryption circumvention devices, or Trojan Horse programs. Unauthorized port scanning is strictly prohibited;
c) Copy, distribute, or sublicense any proprietary software provided in connection with the Service by Whip City Fiber or any third party, except that you may make one copy of each software program for back-up purposes only;
d) Distribute programs that make unauthorized changes to software (cracks);
e) Use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises local area network (“Premises LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, email, web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;
f) Use or run programs from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises LAN, except for personal and non-commercial residential use;
g) Service, alter, modify, or tamper with the Whip City Fiber equipment or service or permit any other person to do the same who is not authorized by Whip City Fiber;
Network and usage restrictions
a) Use the Service for any purpose other than personal and non-commercial residential use (except for your individual use for telecommuting); Use the Service for operation as an Internet service provider or for any business, other legal entity, or organization purpose (whether or not for profit);
b) Restrict, inhibit, or otherwise interfere, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, with the ability of any other person to use or enjoy the Service (except for tools for safety and security functions such as parental controls, for example), including, without limitation, posting or transmitting any information or software which contains a worm, virus, or other harmful feature, or impede others’ ability to use, send, or retrieve information;
c) Restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or otherwise disrupt or cause a performance degradation, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, to the Service or any Whip City Fiber (or Whip City Fiber supplier) host, server, backbone network, node or service, or otherwise cause a performance degradation to any Whip City Fiber (or Whip City Fiber supplier) facilities used to deliver the Service;
d) Re-sell the Service or otherwise make available to anyone outside the Premises the ability to use the Service (for example, through WiFi or other methods of networking), in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, with the sole exception of your use of Whip City Fiber -provided WiFi service in accordance with its then-current terms and policies;
e) Connect the Whip City Fiber Equipment to any computer outside of your Premises;
f) Change, disable or tamper with any of the provided equipment;
g) Interfere with computer networking or telecommunications service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, denial of service attacks, flooding of a network, overloading a service, improper seizing and abusing operator privileges, and attempts to “crash” a host; or access and use the Service with anything other than a dynamic Internet Protocol (“IP”) address that adheres to the dynamic host configuration protocol (“DHCP”). You may not configure the Service or any related equipment to access or use a static IP address or use any protocol other than DHCP unless you are subject to a Service plan that expressly permits you to do so.
What obligations do I have under this Policy?
You are responsible for your own compliance with this Policy. You are also responsible for any use or misuse of the Service that violates this Policy by anyone else you permit to access the Service (such as a friend, family member, or guest) with one exception: In cases where you permit others to access your Whip City Fiber -provided, WiFi-identified Internet Service with their own login information, those users are responsible for complying with all then-current terms and policies that apply to their access. You can learn more about Whip City Fiber -provided WiFi access at Whip City Fiber recommends against enabling file or printer sharing unless you do so in strict compliance with all security recommendations and features provided by Whip City Fiber and the manufacturer of the applicable file or printer sharing devices. Any files or devices you choose to make available for shared access on a home LAN, for example, should be protected with a strong password or as otherwise appropriate.
In all cases, you are solely responsible for the security of any device you connect to the Service, including any data stored or shared on that device. It is also your responsibility to secure the Whip City Fiber Equipment and any other Premises equipment or programs not provided by Whip City Fiber that connect to the Service from external threats such as viruses, spam, bot nets, and other methods of intrusion.
What requirements apply to personal web pages and file storage?
As part of the Service, Whip City Fiber may provide access to personal web pages and storage space through personal web pages and online storage features (collectively, the “Personal Web Features”). You are solely responsible for any information that you or others publish or store on the Personal Web Features. You are also responsible for ensuring that all content made available through the Personal Web Features is appropriate for those who may have access to it. For example, you must take appropriate precautions to prevent minors from receiving or accessing inappropriate content. Whip City Fiber reserves the right to remove, block, or refuse to post or store any information or materials, in whole or in part, that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be in violation of this Policy. For purposes of this Policy, “material” refers to all forms of communications including text, graphics (including photographs, illustrations, images, drawings, logos), executable programs and scripts, video recordings, and audio recordings. Whip City Fiber may remove or block content contained on your Personal Web Features and terminate your Personal Web Features and/or your use of the Service if we determine that you have violated the terms of this Policy.
Why does Whip City Fiber manage its network?
Whip City Fiber manages its network with one goal: to deliver the best possible experience to all of its customers. High-speed bandwidth and network resources are not unlimited. Managing the network is essential as Whip City Fiber works to promote the use and enjoyment of the Internet by all of its customers. The company uses reasonable network management practices that are consistent with industry standards. Whip City Fiber tries to use tools and technologies that are minimally intrusive and, in its independent judgment guided by industry experience, among the best in class. Of course, the company’s network management practices will change and evolve along with the uses of the Internet and the challenges and threats on the Internet.
The need to engage in network management is not limited to Whip City Fiber. In fact, all large Internet service providers manage their networks. Many of them use the same or similar tools that Whip City Fiber does. If the company didn’t manage its network, its customers would be subject to the negative effects of spam, viruses, security attacks, network congestion, and other risks and degradations of service. By engaging in responsible network management including enforcement of this Policy, Whip City Fiber can deliver the best possible broadband Internet experience to all of its customers.
What happens if you violate this Policy?
All Whip City Fiber customers (the “customer,” “user,” “you,” or “your”) and all others who use the Service must comply with this Policy. Your failure, or others’ failure, to comply with this Policy could result in the suspension or termination of your or their Service accounts. Therefore, you should take steps to ensure that others you permit to use your Service are aware of this Policy and agree to abide by it. If you are unwilling to comply with this Policy, you must immediately stop all use of the Service and notify Whip City Fiber so that it can close your account.
How does the Whip City Fiber enforce this Policy?
Whip City Fiber does not routinely monitor the activity of individual Service accounts for violations of this Policy, except for determining aggregate data consumption. However, in the company’s efforts to promote good citizenship within the Internet community, it will respond appropriately if it becomes aware of inappropriate use of the Service. Whip City Fiber has no obligation to monitor the Service and/or the network. Whip City Fiber and its suppliers reserve the right at any time to monitor bandwidth, usage, transmissions, and content in order to, among other things, operate the Service; identify violations of this Policy; and/or protect the network, the Service and Whip City Fiber users.
Whip City Fiber prefers to inform customers of inappropriate activities and give them a reasonable period of time in which to take corrective action. Whip City Fiber also prefers to have customers directly resolve any disputes or disagreements they may have with others, whether customers or not, without Whip City Fiber’s intervention. However, if the Service is used in a way that Whip City Fiber or its suppliers, in their sole discretion, believe violates this Policy, Whip City Fiber or its suppliers may take any responsive actions they deem appropriate under the circumstances with or without notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, temporary or permanent removal of content, filtering of Internet transmissions, and the immediate suspension or termination of all or any portion of the Service. Neither Whip City Fiber nor its affiliates, suppliers, or agents will have any liability for any of these responsive actions. These actions are not Whip City Fiber’s exclusive remedies and Whip City Fiber may take any other legal or technical actions it deems appropriate with or without notice.
Whip City Fiber reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of this Policy, including the gathering of information from the user or users involved and the complaining party, if any, and examination of material and data on Whip City Fiber’s servers and network. During an investigation, Whip City Fiber may suspend the account or accounts involved and/or remove or block material that potentially violates this Policy. You expressly authorize and consent to Whip City Fiber and its suppliers cooperating with (i) law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected legal violations, and (ii) system administrators at other Internet service providers or other network or computing facilities in order to enforce this Policy. Upon termination of your Service account, Whip City Fiber is authorized to delete any files, programs, data, email and other messages associated with your account (and any secondary accounts).
If Customer uses the Service in violation of the restrictions referenced above, that is a violation of this Policy. In these cases, Whip City Fiber may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your Service account or request that it subscribe to a different version of the Service if it wishes to continue to use the Service at higher data consumption levels. Whip City Fiber may also provide versions of the Service with different speed and data consumption limitations, among other characteristics, subject to applicable Services Agreements. Whip City Fiber’s determination of the data consumption for Service accounts is final.
Customer shall promptly notify Whip City Fiber of any event that would be reasonably likely to give rise to any such interference, impairment, affect, exposure, reselling, or service usage violation. If Whip City Fiber reasonably determines that Customer is using the Service(s) in violation of the Acceptable Use Policy section above, Whip City Fiber may immediately terminate the Service(s). Customer accepts liability for any damages resulting from Customer failure to comply with Acceptable Use Policy service usage restrictions. Customer and Whip City Fiber each agree to cooperate with and support each other in complying with any requirements applicable to their respective rights and obligations hereunder imposed by any governmental or quasi-governmental authority.
The Company reserves the right to change this Acceptable Use policy at any time without prior notice. In the event that any changes are made, the revised terms and conditions shall be posted on this website immediately. Please check the latest information posted herein to inform yourself of any changes.
REVISED MARCH 2018
