SAMPLE INTERNET POLICIES

Purpose

Revision History

Related Documents

The Basic Idea

We don't want to be the next America On-Line, whose uninformed users stumbled onto the Net and made their ignorance of the way things were done all too visible. As a result, posting to the Internet from aol.com carries with it an instant negative first impression. Many people hate and resent AOL for the way their users behave(d). We don't want that to happen to .com.

Company X's Internet connection is to be used for Company X business only. Employees wishing to purchase personal Interent accounts through a local provider should speak to Jon Acheson for references; they are easily available and cheap.

Monitoring The Internet Connection

If, however, a problem or possible problem with one of our employees becomes known to us, Company X reserves the right to inspect that employee's e-mail and other files. Be aware that "deleted" e-mail can be retrieved from backup archives.

Requirements For Company X Internet Users

Netiquette

"Netiquette" means "Net Etiquette," and there's only one real way to learn it: look before you post. The various beginner's guides to the Internet books and our own Beginner's Guide to Netiquette will teach you some basics, but appropriate behaviour has to be learned by observing what others are doing and how they respond to you. That means you should be cautious at first, and conservative in how you post. It's no crime to be a newbie, but as the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression.

Courtesy

On the Net, you are a representative of Company X, Inc., and your behavior reflects back on everyone else. Don't post anything you wouldn't say to one of our affiliates, and remember that gossip gets around on the Internet just as well as anywhere else.

We don't care what you may have read in My Weekly Golden News Rag about how the Internet is a seething cauldron of bad-boy verbal abuse and everybody does it. The fact is, a lot of people are rude, but that's not an excuse. The Net users that count are polite to people and try to increase the amount of information and pleasing conversation on the Net with what they post.

It is entirely possible that somone may be rude to you. You should not respond in kind, but rather respond politely to the actual content of their message, or ignore them if they are only making noise.

Disclaimers

When you present your opinions on the Net, you should make it clear that they are your opinions, not the official positions of Company X, Inc. This can be done by placing a disclaimer like the following at the end of your posts:

Disclaimer: the opinions presented herein are my own and in no way represent the official
positions of Company X, Inc.

This kind of disclaimer is pretty common on the Net, at least in the technical areas, and is a standard part of many users' signature files.

Sharing Limited Resources

There is a limited amount of information that can be sent out over Company X's link at any given time. The current link can handle almost any amount of e-mail traffic, but FTPing files, reading newsgroups or running Mosaic puts a far heavier load on the system, and only a few sessions can slow things down to a crawl. Please be considerate to other employees in your use of Company X's limited Internet facilities.

Unacceptable Behavior

Anonymous Postings

Employees may not remove their name or domain information from postings or use an anonymous remailer to conceal their identity.

Breach of Confidentiality

Do not post or e-mail any potentially confidential information without the approval of your superior at Company X. This includes financial spreadsheets, files from confidential documents, company computer passwords, and company credit card numbers.

Remember that e-mail may be read by persons other than the recipients of the mail. Once you let information go out to someone else, it's out of your control.

Hacking

Anyone found using Company X's Internet facilities to compromise the security of another company, individual or legal entity's computer systems, files, e-mail, or internet domain name in any way will be subject to immediate discharge.

Hate Mail/Online Harassment

Harassing someone online is just the same as harassing them in person, and will be treated according to Company X's policies on harassment. We don't care if it was "just a joke."

Lending Out Your Account

Employees are expressly forbidden from allowing non-employees to access the Net through Company X's facilities.

Online Pornography

See Hate Mail/Online Harassment and Wasting Time During Work Hours.

You might actually need to send e-mail to playboy.com as part of your legitimate business dealings, but you don't need to download the Epidermis of the Day JPEG.

Some companies have already been sued for sexual harassment because of what was appearing on people's screens. It also creates problems when visitors tour the facilities.

Private Business Usage

Employees and contractors may not run private businesses from their Company X e-mail account.

"Spamming"/Inappropriate Solicitation

Spamming is the automated sending of messages to large numbers of newsgroups or people simultaneously. (This is different from a legitimate e-mail mailing list: spamming is indescriminate and unasked for). This is not all that hard to do, but it's an incredibly bad idea. People on the Net hate spammers, and have been known to send the offender 10,000+ e-mail flames a day, fill their fax machine with hate mail, complain to the company that provides them with an internet connection, and do everything possible to drive them off the net. One good spamming could easily destroy the usability of our Internet connection.

Be cautious about posting ads to newsgroups. Ads should only be posted to newsgroups where you have seen similar ads appearing.

E-mail solicitations should only be sent to people who have somehow demonstrated an interest in our product.

Wasting Time During Work Hours

The Internet should not become a distraction that prevents employees from getting their work done. If enough people slack off because of the availability of the Internet connection, the connection will be cut off.