Introduction
This section of your User agreement details some of the basic rules of participation in the Internet community and constitutes part of our terms of Service. By your use of the Service, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Acceptable Use Policy. TDS Internet Service (TDS) reserves the sole and unconditional right to refuse, suspend or terminate Service to anyone who violates these rules as determined by TDS, in its sole discretion.
Rules
- Illegal Use -- You agree not to use the Service for or in the pursuit of illegal purposes. TDS cooperates with local and federal authorities in investigations into illegal Internet use, and will take both criminal and civil legal action against Users who are determined to be using the Service in an unlawful way. You agree not to directly or indirectly allow a third party to use the Service in an illegal or unsuitable manner.
- Harassment -- You agree not to use the Service for harassment, threats, verbal abuse, and persistent unwanted contact of any kind. Harassment covers any use of the Service to directly or indirectly contact any other user (including users of another Internet service) in an unwanted fashion. Harassment can be active, in forms such as unwanted email, chat messages, or verbal declarations on a public forum, or can be passive in the form of defamatory information posted on web sites.
- Disruption/Hacking -- You agree not to make any attempt to disrupt or attack the systems or Services provided by TDS or any third party. This includes any deliberate attempt to interfere with another user's ability to take advantage of services offered online. This also includes any effort to secure access to hardware and services without the consent of the provider for those services. Hackers will be subject to the full extent of criminal law, and TDS reserves the right to seek damages or legal recourse against Users who abuse, attack, or hack their systems, servers, or Services.
- Fraud/False Advertising -- You agree not to post or transmit fraudulent information on or through the Service. This can include false advertising, identity theft, or misrepresentation of any kind including phishing, forged email headers or fictitious email addresses.
- Unsolicited Advertising/Spamming -- You agree not to post or transmit any unsolicited material through any active medium such as email, chat, messaging, chain letters, advertisements, jokes, etc. TDS does not tolerate unsolicited mass emailing (Spamming) of any kind, and the use of any of TDS' Services for this purpose is strictly prohibited. To assist TDS in preventing Spamming, TDS may limit the number of recipients allowed per email and/or limit the number of emails You can send over a short period of time. Content falling in this category is defined by the receiving user's desire to be contacted in the specified manner, so use good judgment if you are sending to mailing lists. You further agree not to collect or harvest account information without the expressed consent of those from whom you collect the information.
- Disruptive Content -- You agree not to post or transmit any disruptive content. Certain kinds of content broadcast or displayed on the Internet can generate a great deal of disruption and reaction from the Internet community as a whole. This can include, but is not limited to, material that is considered obscene, offensive, or extremely controversial. While TDS does not actively censor its Users, the reaction this material can generate can be expensive and time consuming, and as such makes the continued support of Users generating this kind of content of questionable business value to TDS. You understand and agree that TDS may suspend or terminate your Service should your usage result in significant complaint or constitute disruptive content, as determined by TDS in its sole discretion, from the Internet community at large.
- Extended Connections and Multiple Logins -- For Dialup services, You agree not to use the Service for extended periods of time or to login to an account more than one time simultaneously. You also agree not to use this Service in a standby or inactive mode. Use of programs intended to keep You online while your computer is unattended is prohibited. This Service is intended for personal, periodic, and active use of the World Wide Web, email, news groups, games and file transfers; You may stay connected so long as You are using the Service for this purpose. TDS reserves the right to terminate the Service at any time if it determines you are using the Service for extended connections and multiple logins.
- Use of Servers -- Unless you are a TDS Business Customer, You agree that You will not establish or operate a web server, email server, FTP server, file server or run any other server applications and/or software providing server-like functionality in connection with the Service. Interpretation will be at the sole discretion of TDS.
- Excessive Bandwidth --[Applies to TDS Telecom customers only]- Unless you are a TDS Business Customer, You agree that You will not use continued and sustained excessive bandwidth as defined by the TDS Terms of Service in connection with Your use of the Service. If TDS determines, in its sole discretion, that You are using a continuous and sustained excessive amount of bandwidth as defined by the TDS Terms of Service or You are violating any of the above terms, TDS may take some or all of the following actions, in its sole discretion: 1) seek a clarification of Your activity patterns; 2)Disconnect Your sessions during periods of such violations; 3) Require you to upgrade to a higher service; 4) Terminate your Service.
- Reselling or Reconfiguring the Service- You may not resell the Service or redistribute or reconfigure the Service to allow others to use the Service in an illegal, fraudulent or inappropriate manner. Interpretation will be at the sole discretion of TDS.
- Excessive Use of TDS Outbound SMTP Mail Servers -- Use of TDS outbound SMTP mail servers is restricted to 150 outbound mail messages per hour.
- Copyright Infringement -- TDS respects the intellectual property rights of others and expects You to do the same. It is a violation of this Acceptable Use Policy to use the Service to unlawfully transmit or store copyrighted material. If TDS has a reasonable belief, in its sole judgment, that You have violated this Acceptable Use Policy, TDS may take any action it deems appropriate, which may include, without limitation, notifying You of a suspected violation, suspending your account, or terminating your account. These actions are in addition to and not instead of any and all other remedies that we may have against You under the law.
Documentation
If you believe your work has been copied in any way that constitutes infringement, please provide our Copyright Agent with the following information:
- An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
- A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
- Identification of where the material (including the URL if possible) that you claim is infringing is located;
- Your address, telephone number and email address;
- A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
- A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.
Contact Information
Agent for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Notices and counternotices related to claimed copyright infringements should be directed to the following designated agent by mail or email:
By mail:
TDS Telecommunications LLC
525 Junction Road
Madison, WI 53717
Attn: Legal Department
By email: copyrightagent@tds.net
Reporting Other Abuse
To report other abuse of this Acceptable Use Policy (other than copyright infringement)-please email us at abuse@tds.net
Last Revised: January 23, 2018
