FastQ Usenet Rules of Service

Supervision

FastQ expects parents and guardians to monitor the use of newsgroups by minors. FastQ does NOT have control over the content that is passed through these groups. Parents should obtain software to limit access to areas that they do not wish their family to use. It is a well known fact that some of the content in these groups is not in good taste. As such, monitoring of these groups use by minors is important.

Complaints

Any user who believes that a User of the FastQ newsgroups is acting improperly should forward complaints to abuse@fastq.com. We will investigate complaints and try to correct them whenever possible.

Usage

When you are using the newsgroups please be thoughtful of others. Rude actions on the part of any FastQ member can lead to termination of your ability to use this service. Rude activities include but are not limited to: spaming messages over the net, sending junk mail, sharing pornography with minors, using the groups to insult, demean or harass others, and any other activity that would be inconsiderate or unlawful. FastQ will do everything in its power to make the newsgroups a pleasant experience for clients. We ask that clients do the same for each other. It is Not Acceptable to use the news server in the following ways:

1. Post separate copies of substantially identical articles within the space of a month except for FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) documents which are posted more than 7 days apart.
2. Cross-post articles to more than 5 groups except with prior approval.
3. Post binaries (i.e. pictures, programs, or anything else requiring uucode, base64, or BinHex encoding) to any group without the word 'binaries' in the group name.
4. Post any material, especially binaries, to ANY group unless you have a demonstrable legal license to distribute the material. Note that ALL images are covered by copyright laws and no one except for the owner of the copyright on a photograph or other graphic image may distribute it without express written permission from the owner. Most software is similarly covered by copyright, however many 'shareware' programs can be freely distributed. Note that in the case of images, permission given as a part of the image (i.e. a 'distribute freely' message in the margins) is NOT a demonstration of a legal right to distribute as it is easily forged.
5. Post any message consisting of over 5000 lines or 320KB in any group. Any legitimate binary post which is larger than 320KB MUST be split into multiple parts. In addition, no binary post should be posted in more than 5 parts or in parts of less than 20KB.
6. Post any message which is made to appear as if it originates from another real user. Note that this includes all messages which have 'From' or 'Reply-To' headers that have deliverable e-mail addresses that are not your own. The administration reserves the right to implement without notice the addition of server-generated headers to identify the 'real' originator of a message.
7. Post messages in a quantity that floods any group or groups or engage in other posting practices (such as 'cascades' ) whose intent or effect is to make a group less useful for topical discussion.
   Post cancels for any messages which you did not write or which do not carry your e-mail address in the 'From' header, without prior approval for each and every such cancel from the administration and the use of standard 3rd-party cancel conventions.
8. Post advertisements to any group whose generally accepted charter explicitly forbids advertisement. In addition, all posts which promote any commercial product or service must be posted ONLY to groups with a clear topical connection to the advertised product or service and must be less than 25 lines and 2KB in size. The sole exception to the topicality requirement is advertisements included in a 'signature' footer on otherwise topical posts which is less than 4 lines and 320 characters in length.
   Post any message to a moderated newsgroup in such a manner as to evade the normal moderation process.
9. Post any message soliciting the reader to participate in a chain letter or pyramid-structured moneymaking plan. Note that while such posts are common in Usenet and commonly claim that they are legal, they generally ARE NOT and generally instruct you to participate in a manner which would violate our acceptable use standards.

FastQ reserves the right to cancel without warning any post which violates our standards, and to lock, or to remove the account(s) of any member violating these standards. In addition, we urge you to read the FAQ's available online relevant to Usenet and the generally accepted and generally despised forms of behavior in Usenet.