Terms of Service
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Agreement to these Terms of Service are required of every Keystone Connect accountholder, and take effect upon the purchase of any services from Keystone Connect. These policies are made for your protection as well as ours, and help us to ensure that we continue to be able to offer reliable services to all of our customers. Please be sure you read and understand them prior to opening an account with us.
Terms of Service
Keystone Connect will provide services on its host computing systems to individual
customers in exchange for payment of fees and compliance with the terms and conditions of
this document. Keystone Connect services are defined as the use by Customer of computing,
telecommunications, software, and information services provided by Keystone Connect. These
services also include the provision of access to computing, telecommunications, software,
and information services provided by others via the world-wide computer network known as
the Internet or any online services, if customer connects to said service via Keystone
Connect's network.
Keystone Connect will make every reasonable attempt to ensure that customer services are
provided on a reliable basis, to include Internet connectivity, proper IP routing, and
transfer of email to and from the customer. Should any problems occur, Keystone Connect
will make every effort to ensure that services are restored in a timely manner.
Account and Agreement Term
This agreement shall remain in effect until Customer terminates his/her account or
Keystone Connect cancels Customer's account. Keystone Connect may occasionally require new
registration and account information by Customer to continue this service. In addition,
Customer shall notify Keystone in writing or by e-mail of any changes in the account
information, such as address or phone number. Keystone Connect also requires updated
credit card information from those customers choosing this method of payment one month
prior to the card expiration date. We strongly recommend you send this information by
mail.
All accounts described below are for personal, access. Note that signing on with more than
one concurrent user session through our modem pool is explicitly prohibited, as is lending
or giving your account password to others, outside of your immediate family living in the
same place of residence. The person who opens the account is the Primary Accountholder and
is responsible for the actions taken by any user of the account. Keystone Connect
recommends that any authorized user of an account read and understand these Terms of
Service before using said account.
Keystone Connect reserves the right to change the terms and conditions by notifying
Customer in writing or by email at least 30 days in advance of the effective date of the
change. Use by the Customer after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the new
terms and conditions. If the customer does not agree to the new terms and conditions,
Customer may cancel this agreement at any time by giving Keystone Connect proper written
notice in accordance with the terms and conditions stated herein. Any customer who
terminates his/her account will receive a refund of the unused portion of the fee paid,
determined by the number of days left in the current subscription period.
Keystone Connect also reserves the right to terminate an account at any time for any
reason. If the account is terminated by reason of misuse, Keystone Connect may keep any
monies previously paid, or any portion thereof, as payment for damages. If the account is
terminated by Keystone Connect for reasons of malicious use or spamming of email or
newsgroups, a $250/per hour service fee will also be accrued to the customer for reparation of any
associated damages. In the event that damage reparation involves less than 2
hours of staff time, a minimum fee of $500 will be accrued.
Account Privacy
Keystone Connect will not sell or distribute our customer's information to any third
parties, for any reason, without the express consent of the customer(s) involved. Simple
use of our services DOES NOT constitute such consent. We will, however, supply,
without Customer consent, any
information required by subpeona or court order to law enforcement agencies as required.
Billing Terms
Keystone Connect will bill Customer monthly subscription and connection fees as set forth
in Keystone Connect's current rate schedule. This schedule may be modified by Keystone
Connect upon 30 days notice in writing or by email to Customer.
An account with Keystone Connect can only be opened by someone 18 years of age or older.
Keystone Connect does not recommend sending cash through the mail; we are not responsible
for the loss of your funds. Although we accept cash, checks, and money orders for payment
on accounts, we prefer payment via VISA, MASTER CARD.
If you use a credit card, your subscription will automatically be charged to your
credit card on a monthly basis. Billing is done on the 1st and 15th of each month, your
billing date will be determined by the date the account was opened. We will automatically
bill your credit card, each month, on your assigned billing date until Keystone Connect is
notified in writing of your request to cancel service. The request must come from the
Primary Accountholder. We also accept Checks and money orders as well as purchase orders
from qualified firms.
If you pay by check or money order, you will be invoiced via your accounts'
email at least 10 days prior to your due date. If payment is not received by the 5th day
past your due date, your account will be suspended until payment arrangements are made.
There is a $25.00 service charge for each returned check.
Service payments will be submitted in advance of receiving services. Delinquent accounts
are those that remain unpaid at the beginning of the next accounting cycle. If an account
is deliquent for 5 days, Keystone Connect reserves the right to suspend the account until
payment is received. If an account is deliquent for 30 days, a $10 fee will be charged to
re-instate the account. If an account is deliquent for 45 days, Keystone Connect reserves
the right to delete the account and all associated files. Once deleted, all record and
files in your account are never accessible or recoverable.
The Customer must notify Keystone Connect at least 15 working days before the next
payment is due if Customer wishes to change the method of payment. Customer must notify
Keystone Connect at least 10 days before the next payment is due if Customer wishes to
change type of account.
Keystone Connect will invoice all accounts paid by a means other than credit card. You are
responsible for remitting payment to Keystone Connect before the next billing cycle to
extend your subscription. Note that if your account expires due to non-payment, it will be
held inactive for 30 days; if you renew before that time, your files and any incoming mail
will remain intact, BUT YOUR RENEWAL WILL BE FROM THE EXPIRATION DATE, not the date of
receipt of your payment. That is, if your account expires on March 15th, and we receive
payment on March 30th for one additional month, your new expiration date will be April 15,
NOT April 30.
Account Termination
Termination requests for Keystone Connect accounts must be received in writing via
email, or postal service at Keystone Connect's main office. Accounts will be terminated
within 5 working days after the receipt of such requests. Ongoing charges for an account
will cease upon our receipt of a termination request. Customer remains responsible for any
fees accrued prior to the termination date. If the account had been paid past the
termination date, Keystone Connect will issue a pro-rated refund based upon the unused
time that had been paid for.
If you wish us to archive files to floppy disk when your account expires, you must deliver
to us within 30 days the media necessary (sufficient floppy disks and a $20.00 processing
charge).
Keystone Connect will archive the files, including your mailbox, and return them to you
via US Post. Note that we must RECEIVE the media, payment and request prior to the 30 day
period or we will have automatically deleted your account -- making recovery of the data
impossible.
If you terminate your account and you do not intend to renew, we offer a mail-forwarding
service where we will forward your email to your new account for 60 days. If you desire
this service, you must advise us of such with your termination request. You must have the
consent of the system administrators at the new forwarded site before we will install the
forwarding address. Note that only mail which arrives after the forwarding is installed
will be sent onward to you, you will be given retrieval access to your Keystone Connect
email account to access any remaining messages on our server. If forwarding is desired
beyond 60 days, a $5 per month charge will be made to continue the service.
Customer is responsible for all fees up to the date of termination of the service, except
where Keystone Connect is unable to provide services under this agreement through its own
negligence.
Security of Accounts
Keystone Connect Email, Internet PPP/SLIP, personal webspace, and Dedicated Dial-in
accounts are for individual users and their immediate family living in the same place of
residence, unless prior written arrangement are made, and Customer therefore agrees not to
share the password or use of the account with others. Only one login session per account
is allowed at any time. Customer acknowledges that Keystone Connect may terminate the
account without notice if the customer does not comply. Customer agrees not to use any
Keystone Connect services to obtain the passwords or other account details of customers or
users on Keystone Connect or other systems. Customer agrees not to use Keystone Connect
services to make unauthorized attempts to access the systems and networks of others.
Use of Material
Customer agrees not to use Keystone Connect services to violate copyright or other
intellectual property rights of any author or publisher. For example, Customer may not
upload or download commercial software in violation of software license agreements.
Abuse of Internet Services
Customer agrees to:
Use the services provided by Keystone Connect only as permitted by applicable local,
state, and federal laws.
Not use these services to conduct any illegal business or activity, or solicit the performance of
any activity that is prohibited by law.
Refrain from mass posting of the same message to many inappropriate Usenet newsgroups
(spamming).
Refrain from mass, unsolicited emailings(spam).
Refrain from harrassement of other internet users, whether by behavior on IRC or other
chat forums, unsolicited email, or other activities.
Post commercial advertisements only where appropriate, and venues that specifically
encourage or allow advertising.
Respect the conventions of the newsgroups, lists and networks to which the customer is
posting, including rules more restrictive than, but not limited to, the above.
Abide by Keystone Connect's interpretation of the above. Keystone Connect technical staff
are available for assisting the Customer with the interpretation or application of any of
these rules by emailing your inquiry to tech@keyconn.net.
Abuse of Keystone Connect Services
Any use of Keystone Connect system resources that disrupts the normal use of the system
for other Keystone Connect customers is considered to be abuse of system resources and is
grounds for administrative intervention. Some examples of system abuse include spawning
dozens of processes, consuming excessive amounts of memory or CPU for long periods of
time, and staying attached to modems while not really "active" on the line.
Automated functions that keep a connection alive while the computer is unattended are
prohibited.
Depending on the nature and the severity of the abuse, the user may receive an email
warning, have their processes halted, connection terminated, or have their account
suspended by Keystone Connect technical support. If the misuse is unintentional, the
suspension may be rescinded following discussion with Keystone Connect technical support.
If the misuse is intentional, the suspension may be rescinded at the discretion of the
Keystone Connect management and may require the payment of a service re-connection charge.
Occasionally, unintentional misuse is misclassified as intentional misuse. Customers who
believe their activity has been misclassified may appeal to Keystone Connect management.
Discovering and Reporting Abuse
Violations of the Keystone Connect Terms of Service are unethical and may in some cases be
criminal offenses. You are asked to report to Keystone Connect any information you may
have concerning instances in which the conditions of use have been or are being violated.
When Keystone Connect becomes aware of possible violations, we will initiate an
investigation. At the same time, in order to prevent further possible unauthorized
activity, Keystone Connect may suspend access to services to the individual account in
question. This is done to protect the account owner in case the account security has been
compromised. Confirmation of violations may result in cancellation of the individual
account and/or criminal prosecution. The account suspension may be rescinded at the
discretion of the Keystone Connect management following payment of a re-connection charge.
If it is found that the account security was breached by no fault of the Customer, the
account will be deleted and a new one created at no additional charge.
Although Keystone Connect does not normally monitor account activities, we reserve the
right to monitor Customer account activities when it is necessary to determine whether or
not the account is being used in violation of the Terms of Service.
Offensive or Adult Materials
Keystone Connect exercises no control over the content of materials accessed through
Keystone Connect. Some materials located on the Internet may be offensive or adult in
nature. The primary accountholder understands that authorized minor users may have access
to such materials and accepts responsibility for monitoring and/or controlling such
access. Keystone Connect is not responsible for inappropriate content
accessed in the course of using Keystone Connect services.
Although Keystone Connect is not responsible for content placed on it's
servers by other parties, we reserve the right to remove any such content
that we become aware of and determine to be offensive and/or illegal. Such
determination to be made at the discretion of Keystone Connect management.
If Keystone Connect removes server content for this reason, it's owner will
be notified of the removal, and reasons thereof, within 3 working days if
possible. Any such removal may be appealed by the affected customer, at
which time the decision to remove will be reconsidered by Keystone Connect
management. Customer will be notified of the appeal decision within 5
working days from receipt of the appeal. The appeal decision by Keystone
Connect management will be the sole and final decision regarding the
permissibility of said content on Keystone Connect servers.
Warranties
Keystone Connect makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for its
services. Keystone Connect specifically disclaims any implied warranties of
merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Keystone Connect will not be
responsible for any losses or damages resulting from delays, nondeliveries, misdeliveries,
service interruption, or Customer's errors or omissions. Keystone Connect will not under
any circumstances be responsible for consequential damages. Under no circumstances will
Keystone Connect's liability to the customer amount to more than that customer's monthly
fee.
Jurisdiction
The validity, construction and performance of this agreement shall be governed by the laws
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Severability
If any provision of this agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be
contrary to law, the remaining provisions of this agreement will remain in full force and
effect.
Effective date
This agreement shall become effective when Customer Internet access is enabled.
These Terms of Service were last modified on March 25, 2003