Except insofar as a separate written DSL or other Internet connectivity agreement applies between the account holder and Access US, this agreement (“Agreement”) represents the complete agreement and understanding between Access US and the account holder. To the extent of any conflict between this Agreement and any other written agreement between Access US and the account holder, the terms of this Agreement shall govern and supersede those of any such other agreements. The terms of this Agreement supersede the terms of any oral agreement between Access US and the account holder. Upon notice either published on-line on Access US’s web site or delivered by mail or email to an account holder, Access US may modify the terms of this Agreement and/or modify the prices, as well as discontinue or change the service offered.

1.0 provisioning of services

1.1 Access US will provide Internet connectivity to individual account holders in exchange for the payment of fees (either pursuant to a separate written agreement or in accordance with Access US’ then standard rates) and compliance with the terms and conditions (which can be found at www.accessus.net/terms-and-conditions/) of this Agreement.

1.2 Rendering of the Internet connectivity services shall commence for billing purposes when account holder’s login and password capability have been activated providing reasonable access to that account. Access US is not responsible for an account holder’s inability to access the account services because of any action or equipment failure outside the control of Access US. All account holders are responsible for ensuring their equipment meets the Access US’ minimum system requirements, as updated by Access US from time to time. Access US makes no representations or warranties regarding the service to be provided pursuant to this Agreement.

1.3 Access US Internet connectivity service may permit access to the complete USENET discussion groups (newsgroups). Some of the USENET content may contain language or pictures about subjects intended for adult audiences (“Adult Content”). Access US shall not be responsible for the content accessible via USENET or accessible via the Internet generally. The account holder shall be responsible for monitoring the use of USENET and the Internet to ensure that minors do not view Adult Content. If the account holder is under the age of eighteen (18), the account holder shall obtain parental consent before viewing any Adult Content.

1.4 Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement or any agreement between Access US and any account holder to the contrary, Access US may, whether via email or otherwise, offer to any account holder any products or services of Access US, any of Access US’ affiliates, or any entity with which Access US has a marketing agreement.

1.5 Access US dialup service is an auto-renewing service and will continue to renew itself at the end of the current period for another period of equal term. The service will continue to renew until the customer notifies Access US in writing that they wish to cancel. At which time Access US will cancel the service at the end of the current period and issue a confirmation number to the customer.
2.0 use of material

2.1 Public Domain materials (e.g.: images, text, and programs) may be downloaded or uploaded using Access US’ services. Account holders may also re-distribute materials in the public domain. The account holder assumes all risks with regard to the use or redistribution of any such materials.

2.2. Materials accessible via the Internet such as text, images, and programs may be subject to the intellectual property rights of third parties and accordingly subject to applicable laws or treaties. The use or distribution of such materials may be limited or prohibited. Account holders shall comply with all applicable laws and treaties governing the use, modification, or distribution of any intellectual property.
3.0 use of services

3.1 Access US user accounts are for individual users. The account holder therefore agrees not to share the password of the account with any third party.

3.2 The account holder agrees to maintain a secure password to the account. Secure passwords are those that are not easily guessed, include a combination of uppercase, lowercase, and punctuation characters, are at least 6 characters in length, and cannot be found in direct or reverse order in a dictionary without regard to the language of the dictionary.

3.3 The account holder agrees not to use any process, program, or tool via Access US’ Internet connectivity services for guessing the passwords of account holders on Access US or other systems. The account holder agrees not to use Access US services to make unauthorized attempts to access the systems and networks of Access US or other third parties.

3.4 The account holder agrees to use the services provided by Access US only as permitted by applicable local, state, and federal laws. The account holder agrees, therefore, not to use these services to conduct any business or activity or solicit the performance of any business or activity that is prohibited by law.

3.5 Access US’ services may be used by account holders to conduct legal businesses. These businesses, however, may not interfere with or adversely affect the use of Access US’ services by other account holders. Access US services may not be used to send unsolicited advertising or promotional materials to other network users or to any third parties. Subject to the limitations set forth herein, electronic mail and appropriate USENET newsgroups may be used in the conduct of legitimate businesses.

3.6 Access US does not guarantee that any dialup number will be charged as a local call on an account holder’s local telephone service plan. The account holder assumes the sole responsibility for determining whether or not an Access US dialup telephone number fits into their local calling plan with their local telephone service provider. The account holder shall be solely responsible for any long distance telephone charges that are incurred while using Access US’ dialup telephone numbers.

3.7 The account holder acknowledges that there are set limitations to the size of email messages being sent, to the number of email recipients on any one email message and to the amount of space allotted for storing email backup on Access US’ mail server. The account holder agrees to comply with these limitations. Access US reserves the right to change its limitation policies without prior notice. The current limitations are as follows:
(i) Any one email message cannot exceed 10 MB in size;
(ii) Any one email message cannot have more than 99 recipients; and
(iii) The maximum amount of space allotted for email storage on Access US’ mail server is 30MB.

Access US will not be responsible for notifying an account holder when the allotted storage limitation has been reached, and Access US may intercept, block, or cap the account holder’s use of Access US’ services if the foregoing limits are exceeded.
4.0 indemnification/representations

4.1 The account holder acknowledges the information accessible via Access US’ services may not be accurate. Access US makes no warranty of any kind, whether expressed or implied, regarding the quality, accuracy, or validity, of the data and/or information accessible via Access US’ services. Use of information obtained via the services provided by Access US or any of the Access US affiliates is at the risk of the account holder.

4.2 The account holder agrees to indemnify, defend and hold Access US, its affiliates, and the officers, directors, employees, agents, successors and assigns of any of them (collectively referenced herein as “Access US Affiliates”) harmless from any claims, causes of action or damages, whether direct or indirect, including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees, arising or resulting from the use of the services provided by Access US or any Access US affiliate to the account holder.

4.3 Neither Access US nor any Access US affiliates shall be held liable for any interruption or termination of any account holder’s service regardless of the cause or circumstances of such interruption or termination.

4.4 Notwithstanding any provision hereof to the contrary: (i) neither Access US nor any Access US Affiliates shall be liable to account holder, account holder’s affiliates, or to the officers, directors, employees, agents, successors, or assigns of any of them (if applicable) or to any other user of the account (collectively “Account Holder Party”) for any indirect or consequential damages of any nature; and (ii) Access US shall not, in any event or in any circumstance whatsoever, be liable to any Account Holder Party for any damages of any nature in excess of the amount paid by the account holder to Access US for its services during the prior twelve (12) month period.
5.0 payment of fees and penalties

5.1 Access US billing cycles vary depending upon the payment type arranged, as per the following:

Access US user accounts paid by credit card are billed monthly, quarterly (3 months), semi-annually (6 months) or yearly (12 months) in advance. These payments are automatically debited to the account holders’ credit card without prior notice.

Access US user accounts paid by check debit are billed monthly, quarterly (3 months), semi-annually (6 months) or yearly (12 months) in advance. These payments are automatically debited to the account holders’ checking account without prior notice.

Accounts requiring a paper invoice or use a non-automated method of payment will be charged a $2.00 fee per billing cycle.

5.2 Accounts more than 10 days past due will be charged a $5.00 late fee on any past due balance. A $5.00 fee will also be charged every 30 days thereafter on any remaining past due balances, provided that the applicable interest rate charged shall not, in any event, exceed the maximum rate legally permissible.

5.3 Account holders will be charged a $28.00 fee for every check returned due to insufficient funds or because of any holds placed on the account by either the account holder or the account holder’s banking institution. This fee will also be charged to any credit card or check debit accounts declined because of insufficient funds or because of any holds placed on the account by either the account holder or the account holder’s banking institution.

5.4 Accounts that become delinquent will be put on “accounting lock” and subsequently suspended from use. Access US accounts will continue to accrue charges while they are locked.

5.5 Accounts that are suspended due to an accounting lock will not be restored until the total balance is paid in full. Suspended accounts will only be unlocked during the hours of 8 AM – 5 PM Monday -Friday, Central Time.

5.6 All accounts that have been suspended due to either accounting lock or customer request, will be subject to a $10.00 reactivation fee, along with the back balance and the pre-paid fees for the new billing cycle. Accounts left in a suspended state will be cancelled after 60 days.

5.7 The account holder agrees to pay to Access US when due all applicable fees for the services provided by Access US.
6.0 account cancellations

6.1 Cancellation requests for Access US accounts must be received in writing via fax sent to 314-655-7701 ATTN: Cancellations Department, via email sent to cancel@accessus.net, or via postal service sent to Access US, ATTN: Cancellations Department, 712 N. 2nd Street, Suite 300, Saint Louis, MO 63102-2550.

6.2 Cancellation requests received will be first applied to the next complete, regularly billing month in accordance with the account holder’s regular billing cycle and anniversary date. Cancellation notices sent during a regularly occurring billing month shall not be effective until the start of the next regularly occurring billing month.

6.3 Annual billing accounts and semi-annual billing accounts are awarded a savings for signing up under these plans. If either an annual or semi-annual billing account is closed prior to its respective annual or semi-annual billing period, the customer agrees to pay the difference in the cost savings awarded when the account was opened.

6.4 Semi-annual billing accounts that are cancelled prior to the end of their billing cycle will be charged a $15.00 early termination fee.Accounts under contract are subject to the contractual obligations stated within the contract.The purpose of this fee is to accommodate the difference for the special savings awarded for annual paying customers and for the administration associated with processing an early termination on a semi-annual account.

6.5 DSL, T1, ISDN, Web hosting and frame relay accounts that are canceled are subject to the contractual obligations stated within the contract.

6.6 Access US reserves the right to pursue the collection of any unpaid fees, whether attributable to the period before or after the date of cancellation, regardless of the reason for cancellation.

6.7 Refunds for prepaid services are distributed once per calendar month and are subject to contractual obligations as well as to the cancellation requirements stated within the acceptable use policy.
7.0 abuse of services

7.1 Any use of Access US services that is unlawful or that disrupts the normal use of the network for other Access US users or users on other networks shall constitute an abuse of Access US services.

7.2 Personal dial-in accounts are for the use by ONE person individually with reasonable use. Reasonable use is defined as the use by one person sitting at a computer actually using the service in an interactive manner. Leaving connections idle, taking any action to maintain the connection other than continuous interactive use, leaving connections online for others’ use, and /or sharing accounts constitutes an abuse of Access US service.

7.3 Personal dial-in accounts are for the use of 150 or less hours per month. Any personal dial-in activity over 150 hours per month can be considered an abuse of Access US service. Access US reserves the right to impose additional service charges and/or discontinue service to customers who exceed reasonable use limits. Excessive commercial use or excessive use by other groups of individuals is strictly prohibited.

7.4 Access US defines any reference to the use of the word ‘unlimited’ to mean unlimited as to time predicated on all usage time to be done in an interactive matter during which the user is continually interfacing with their computer. This use is intended to be personal and periodic. The Service is not offered or designed to provide an “always on” or “always connected” capability. You agree that Access US reserves and is granted the right in its complete and sole discretion to establish general operating practices to maximize the operation and availability of its network for the greatest benefit of its customers or members, taken as a whole.

7.5 Access US retains the right at its sole discretion to make changes to Access US Services, including but not limited to its fees and billing methods and the amount of time a user may access the Internet for a specified fee, or to discontinue some or any of the Access US Services.

7.6 You acknowledge that Access US may implement prioritization practices in connection with accessing certain Internet Services and that your ability to establish and maintain a connection to the applicable Service may be limited. You also acknowledge that any limits established may differ for different portions of the Services and may be set at different levels for subscribers based on factors determined in Access US’ sole discretion which may include, but is not limited to; chosen service level, specific usage patterns, geographic location, or any other factors.

7.7 Without a separate hosting agreement with Access US, the use of World Wide Web pages for other than noncommercial use constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services. Unsolicited advertising, promotion of products, goods, services, companies, or persons constitute abuses of Access US’ services.

7.8 Use of materials in a manner that violates the intellectual property rights of others to such materials without the permission of the owner(s) of such intellectual property constitutes and abuse of Access US’ services.

7.9 Use of sexually explicit or obscene material on World Wide Web pages via Access US services including, without limitation, any such use that is in violation of applicable laws or treaties constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services.

7.10 Running IRC automation programs (commonly known as “bots”) on Access US systems or on other IRC servers via the Access US services constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services.

7.11 Distribution of e-mail to non-consenting third parties constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services.

7.12 Distribution of unsolicited commercial e-mail or other advertising constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services.

7.13 Advertising any Access US World Wide Web site or e-mail address via unsolicited communications to third parties including, without limitation, any non-consenting parties constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services.

7.14 Posting off-topic material to a USENET newsgroup constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services. The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions list) of each newsgroup determines the topic of the newsgroup.

7.15 Posting messages that have identical or similar content to more than 15 USENET newsgroups (commonly known as cross-posting) constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services.

7.16 Any profane language used or threatening remarks made while speaking to or writing to any Access US representative constitutes an abuse of Access US’ services.

7.17 Any breach by the account holder or any user of the account holder’s account of the terms of this Agreement shall constitute an abuse of Access US’ services.

7.18 Upon the occurrence of any abuse of Access US’ services as referenced above by the account holder or any person using the account of the account holder, Access US’ services to the account holder may be suspended and/or terminated without notice; and/or, at Access US’ election, a $250.00 service fee may be charged to the account holder.

7.19 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement or any other agreement between Access US and the account holder to the contrary, Access US may, in its sole and absolute discretion, terminate its services provided to any account holder at any time and for any reason or no reason, whether with or without notice and whether with or without cause.