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Before any of these policies come into effect, we like to speak with our cutomers and resolve any issues in a amicable way. This we feel is better for all concerned. The following Acceptable Use Policy is only the 'final line', which we must include for legal reasons. It is rare that customers contravene any of the policies here and rarer still that we ever have to take any action.
Terminology
The terms 'We', 'The Company' and 'Avenues Computers' and refer to the staff responsible for the running of Avenues Computers.
The terms 'The Customer', 'The Client' and 'You' refer to customers of Avenues Computers.
1. Acceptable Use Policy
Acceptance of these Terms & Conditions also indicates acceptance of our Acceptable Use Policy.
2. Payment
Use of Avenues Computers's hosting services is dependent upon the receipt of payment, which must be made upon ordering services and on any appropriate anniversary date thereafter. Failure to pay will result in termination of service. Payment is made in UK £ sterling.
Customers are expected to ensure that payment for services is made once a year when a reminder e-mail is recieved as detailed in the ordering information if the customer wishes to remain hosted with us. If this annual payment process does not occur without prior consultation, the hosting account will be immediately suspended.
3. Cancellation
If you cancel within the first 14 days you may be entitled to a refund at Avenues Computers discretion. If there are discrepancies with payment for services your account may be suspended. If in any doubt please e-mail us at
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4. Violation Procedures
Avenues Computers tries to deal with accidental violations as amicably as possible, but the basis for dealing with violations is as follows -
4.1 Serious Violations
Avenues Computers reserves the right to withdraw services and delete accounts without notice in the event of serious violations. Avenues Computers holds the decision as to what constitutes a 'serious' violation at its discretion but, typically, such things would be: anything illegal, anything that subjects Avenues Computers to charges by third parties, SPAM, security violations, hacking and distribution of viruses. Any violation that Avenues Computers deems to be 'serious' subjects the customer to a charge of between £250 and £500 immediately and a subsequent charge of £175 per hour for the time it takes to deal with the violation. The customer also agrees to pay any additional costs (legal or otherwise) incurred in dealing with the violation. All refund policies are retracted for customers who are subject to Serious Violations.
4.2 Minor Violations
Minor violations are dealt with in the first instance by issuing a warning to the customer to allow them to rectify the problem themselves without further penalty. If this is not acted upon, the violation becomes a Serious Violation as specified above. We much prefer to sort out violations amicably if possible and fully understand that accidents sometimes do happen!
5. Uptime
Avenues Computers strives to maintain 99.9% uptime or better, but the customer must accept that services can be interrupted for reasons for which we can not be held responsible. If our uptime drops below 98% for reasons of our own making, Avenues Computers will make appropriate recompense to its customers at its discretion (such as a free period of hosting or additional services). Such recompense is made entirely without liability.
Please note that (unlike some hosting companies) when we quote downtime we are talking about all downtime, without exclusions for 'scheduled' downtime or downtime that is 'not our fault'. We appreciate that as far as you - the customer - is concerned, downtime is downtime! Please also note that this is very rare amongst hosting companies (most do not use independant, undoctored 3rd party stats) and we ask you to consider that when comparing our uptime to that of other hosts.
6. IP Addresses
Avenues Computers does not allocate IP addresses to customers as we simply do not have enough available to do so. If you require a dedicated IP address for your website you are advised to look into hosts that offer such a feature.
7. Back Ups
Avenues Computers backs its servers up every 24 hours, but this is to allow us to restore an entire server should the 'worst' happen. You must back up your own data for your purposes. Avenues Computers offers no guarantee with regard to its ability to restore data and does not restore individual sites on request.
8. Support
Avenues Computers provides support for its customers via e-mail. Please note that Avenues Computers gives real support. When you contact Avenues Computers support, you contact someone who can resolve your problems (hopefully!), not a 'call centre' whose job it is to simply answer support questions with "investigating" to give only an impression of true 24 hour support.
8.1 Avenues Computers's official support guarantee means you will recieve an answer to your question within 48 hours at the worst case senario, but it will be more like a few hours in the majority of cases.
8.2 Avenues Computers employs people to monitor its servers 24x7 and responds to serious failures detected at any time. We aim to ensure that you can always access your web site and e-mail.
8.3 Avenues Computers supports only its hosting facilities and any support we provide for scripts or services beyond that is purely at our discretion.
9. Responsibility For Content
You are responsible for the content of your web site(s). If you host web sites for others, you are responsible for the content of their web sites too.
10. Shared SSL
SSL shared or otherwise is not provided on our servers.
11. Third Party Software
Any third party software supplied by Avenues Computers is subject to the terms and conditions specified here IN ADDITION to any terms and conditions applied by the third party software supplier. Avenues Computers is NOT responsible for third party software.
12. Law
Our services are provided subject to English Law and, where appropriate, the law of other countries.
13. The Avenues Computers Web Site
13.1 Copyright
All material on this web site is copyright owned by Avenues Computers and/or its contributors. No part of this web site may be reproduced without prior permission from Avenues Computers.
13.2 Trademarks
The trademarks, logos, and service marks (collectively the "Trademarks") displayed on this site are registered and unregistered trademarks of Avenues Computers and others. Your use of the trademarks displayed on this web site is strictly prohibited without our written permission.
13.3 Links And References To Third Party Sites
Avenues Computers is not responsible for the content of third party web sites, even if they are linked to, referred to or recommended on Avenues Computers's web site.
13.4 Emails Or Documents
Emails, forum posts and other documents sent to Avenues Computers become the property of Avenues Computers unless otherwise agreed. We may use the content of said emails, forum posts or documents in anyway we wish, save for breaching your privacy.
13.5 No Endorsement: Reference to any product, process, publication, or service of any third party by trade name, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise does not constitute or imply the endorsement or recommendation of such by Avenues Computers unless expressly stated.
14. Your Details
You agree to e-mail us and let us know about any changes to your details as we must by law retain acurate and up to date information about all our customers. Your e-mail address, telephone number and postal address must always be current and correct. Please let us know if they are not so that we can change them. If we cannot contact you for some reason, you may find that any problems we encounter result in account suspension.
15. Final Adjudication
Final adjudication on all matters relating to Avenues Computers and its business rests with the officers of Avenues Computers. Avenues Computers prides itself on being a co-operative, honest, helpful and fair company, but customers entering into any contract of sale for Avenues Computers's products and/or services must accept that Avenues Computers's adjudication on all matters is final.
16. Liability
ANY SERVICES OR PRODUCTS SUPPLIED BY Avenues Computers ARE PROVIDED TO THE CUSTOMER "AS IS" AND Avenues Computers MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THESE SERVICES, PRODUCTS AND/OR ASSOCIATED MATERIALS PROVIDED TO THE CUSTOMER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR AGAINST INFRINGEMENT. Avenues Computers DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES OR PRODUCTS IT PROVIDES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF ANY SERVICES OR PRODUCTS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SERVICES OR PRODUCTS WILL BE CORRECTED.
Avenues Computers IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIMS OR DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING PROPERTY DAMAGE, PERSONAL INJURY, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT, LOSS OF PROFITS, OR INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS, OR FOR ANY SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, HOWEVER CAUSED, WHETHER ARISING OUT OF BREACH OF WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE.
Acceptable Use Policy
Before any of these policies come into effect, we like to speak with our cutomers and resolve any issues in a amicable way. This we feel is better for all concerned. The following Acceptable Use Policy is only the 'final line', which we must include for legal reasons. It is rare that customers contravene any of the policies here and rarer still that we ever have to take any action.
Terminology
The terms 'We', 'The Company' and 'Avenues Computers' and refer to the staff responsible for the running of Avenues Computers.
The terms 'The Customer', 'The Client' and 'You' refer to customers of Avenues Computers.
Acceptance of this Acceptable Use Policy also indicates acceptance of our Terms & Conditions.
2. Banned Activities
The following activities are banned on all Avenues Computers hosting accounts -
2.1 Spam and unsolicited e-mail. We run a zero-tolerance policy on spam (See also point 3).
2.2 Bulk e-mail distribution, even if 'opt-in' (See also point 3).
2.3 Email or news bombing.
2.4 Anything illegal in UK or US law.
2.5 Adult Content (see also point 6)
2.6 Security violations.
2.7 Hacking (or sites related to it).
2.8 Attempting to interfere with a service.
2.9 Attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a service or system.
2.10 Threatening behaviour.
2.11 Harassment.
2.12 Fraudulent activity (including chain letters, pyramid schemes and similar).
2.13 Forgery or impersonation.
2.14 Copyright or trademark infringement.
2.15 Collection of personal data without the permission of the persons concerned.
2.16 Distribution of viruses.
2.17 Use of unlicensed software.
2.18 IRC services or anything that connects to other IRC services or networks.
2.19 Anonymous FTP.
2.20 Abusive or insulting behaviour towards Avenues Computers staff.
2.21 Activities that would bring Avenues Computers's reputation into disrepute.
2.22 Deliberate misuse of Avenues Computers's support facilities.
Violation of the above listed banned activities will be dealt with according to Avenues Computers's Violation Procedures specified in the Terms & Conditions.
3. Spam and Bulk E-Mail
3.1 - Spam
The sending of spam - or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail) - through our servers is completely prohibited.
'Spam' is defined as e-mail sent for the puposes of:
- advertising,
- soliciting sales,
- soliciting services,
- commercial gain,
- harassment,
- enlisting participants in pyramid schemes,
- requesting donations,
- requesting link exchanges,
- encouraging site visits to increase 'hit count',
... where the recipient has not previously agreed to receive e-mail specifically relating to the content of said e-mail.
For purposes of this provision, merely making one's email address accessible to the public will not constitute a request or invitation to receive messages. If an 'opt-in' clause is used, the site owner must explicitly state that signing up may place the user on a list to which commercial e-mail may be posted. The user must always be able to opt-out and opting-in must require activity from the user (i.e. the default should be to opt-out).
3.2 - Bulk E-mail
The sending of bulk e-mail from our servers is prohibited even if such mail is sent as a result of 'opt-in' lists. Avenues Computers will determine what constitutes 'bulk' e-mail at its discretion but, as a guideline, please note that the number of e-mails sent from any customer is limited by the server to a maximum of 100 per hour and 400 per day. The downloading of POP3/Imap mail is limited to 60 times per hour.
The way we're most likely to deal with non-commercial (that's not for business purposes), 'opt-in' bulk e-mail is that if we don't know about it (i.e. nobody complains and system resources don't get hit hard) then we are unlikely to bother you. If we get complaints or the system's resources get hit hard, then we'll investigate and take any necessary action.
SPAM is a different matter - we don't tolerate SPAM at all.
4. Resource Usage
4.1 Customers are expected to stay within the limits of the resources (data transfer, disk space and other resources) allocated to them.
4.2 In the event of over-usgae by a small margin, you will be e-mailed by our support team to warn you of this fact. The e-mail will also include upgrade options so that you will not over-use in the future.
4.3 If you continue to exceed limits, or exceed them by a large margin, we will suspend your account. We will of course invite you again to upgrade your account to prevent over-usage.
4.4 Avenues Computers reserves the right to suspend an account or remove programs which cause serious resource contention. This may not be limited to bandwidth and disk space usage; some programs/sites can use extensive CPU, memory and/or database resources and we must necessarily protect other users on the server from degradation. We always try to come to an amicable solution to these situations, but we must reserve the right to temporarily suspend accounts that cause problems.
4.5 It is difficult to quantify excess resource usage as much depends upon the type of site in question and its concurrent user base. The following are basic guidelines of what we may class as resources abuse:
- Sites with more than 50 concurrent users on a regular basis (although this is very finger in the air - well-written software can handle many more concurrent users than that with minimal resource usage).
- Sites that consistently use more than 10% CPU and/or 10% memory.
- Sites that regularly use more than 30% CPU and/or 30% memory.
- Sites that use more than 12 concurrent MySQL connections.
- Sites that regularly cause loads to exceed 1.00 for single CPU boxes or 2.00 for dual CPU boxes.
- Sites that spawn more than an acceptable number of threads from a particular parent process (the precise number varies depending upon what the parent process is).
In general, we recommend that sites with more than 50 regular concurrent users should really be going for a dedicated server, which we do not provide here at Avenues Computers. We will of course advise you if this ends up applying to you. We have monitors in place that will limit the amount of memory, CPU and MySQL connections used by individual processes, but we begin to get concerned when loads on our boxes are regularly above 1.00 for single processor machines or 2.00 for dual processor machines.
4.6 Avenues Computers reserves the right to throttle, limit or otherwise contain any site that uses excess resources. If we can effectively do this we prefer to take this option rather than suspending an account.
5. Banned Scripts
The following scripts are banned from our servers as they have been found to monopolise server resources and/or provide some sort of security exposure:
5.1 FormMail scripts that do not confirm that the mail is being sent by the site on which the FormMail script resides.
5.2 FormMail scripts named as such (i.e. formmail.pl, FormMail.cgi).
5.3 Scripts that emulate shells (SSH, Telnet etc.).
5.4 Anonymizers.
5.5 YABB forum.
5.6 IRC scripts.
5.7 Eggdrops.
5.8 Proxy servers.
5.9 Ikonboard forum.
5.10 Bit Torrents and related software.
6. Adult Content
No pornographic or "adult" content of any kind is permitted on our servers. This is too difficult to police effectively, and there are numerous national and international laws to take account of.
In addition, adult hosting servers seem to attract more hackers.
We feel it is the best interests of our customers, both in terms of legality and security not to allow such materials on our servers.
7. Shell Access
Shell access is never granted, so don't ask! Not providing shell access greatly enhances the security of our servers and thus reduces the risk of your website getting hacked.
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