Terms and Service Agreement

THIS AGREEMENT is entered into between Ashland Computer Systems ("ACS") and the person or entity who makes use of ACS's Internet services and/or products ("Customer") and is subject to acceptance by ACS. Customer's acceptance is limited to the terms and conditions of this offer. No additions or subtractions by Customer are acceptable unless and until expressly and mutually agreed upon in writing.

ACS provides Internet service ("Service") subject to Customer compliance with the terms and conditions below. PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCESSING THE SERVICE. BY ACCESSING THE SERVICE, CUSTOMER AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BELOW. IF CUSTOMER DOES NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, CUSTOMER MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICE.

PLEASE READ EACH SECTION CAREFULLY BEFORE CONTINUING.

1. ACS shall provide and Customer shall accept Internet Service at the applicable rates and charges, subject to the terms and conditions specified in this agreement.

The Internet installation disk (if used for installing Internet Explorer and/or Connection Manager) contains software from one or more companies. All software products are copyrighted by their respective companies, and are provided by ACS for the express purpose of accessing the Service.

The software on the installation disk is licensed to Customer as the end user. The software is not sold to Customer.


ACS reserves the right to revise, at its sole discretion, the rates, terms, and conditions of its agreement with Customer. ACS may modify rates, terms, and conditions of this agreement from time to time by placing a notice of such modification in the "updates" area of web site http://www.acs-isp.com, or by other means to users and/or non-users, and Customer's continued use of the Service following notice of such modification shall be deemed to be Customer's acceptance of any such modification. If Customer does not agree to any modification of this agreement, Customer must immediately stop using the Service.

ACS reserves the right to assign designate or change access account ID(s) and access phone number(s) when, in its sole discretion, such assignment designation or change is reasonable or necessary in the conduct of its business.

Service is subject to transmission limitations caused by atmospheric, topographical and any other like conditions. Additionally, service may be temporarily refused, limited, interrupted or curtailed due to government regulations or orders, system capacity limitations, limitations imposed by an underlying communications carrier, or because of equipment modifications, upgrades, repairs or reallocations or other similar activities necessary or proper for the operation or improvement of ACS's Internet System.

Customer accepts full responsibility for the use of personal and/or business accounts.   An account is to be used by one business or household, and not subject to use at multiple locations at the same time.

1.1  Idle Time --Customer has access to service as long as they are actually using the Internet to send and receive data. This excludes the use of keeping the connection alive through the use of automation while customer is asleep or away.

The Internet Service Account is intended for periodic, active use of email, file transfers, Internet chat, games, and browsing the Internet.  Members may stay connected so long as they are actively using that connection for the above purposes. Members may not use the Services on a standby or inactive basis in order to maintain a connection.   Page refreshing or redundant data transfers do not constitute active data transfers.  Ashland Computer Systems has the right to terminate any member's connection following any extended period of inactivity as determined by Ashland Computer Systems.   Excessive violations will result in termination of service. The definition of excessive violations is determined solely by ACS.

Multiple Dial-ins at the same time by Customer using a single account are prohibited.   Should Customer engage in multiple dial-ins, each instance will be met with a 8-hour ban, with excessive violations resulting in termination of service.  The definition of excessive violations is determined solely by ACS.

Should Customer's connection be idle (see section 1.1) for up to 20 (twenty) minutes ACS will terminate their connection.

ACS's network is engineered to support, but does not guarantee, modem speeds up to 56K. ACS does not guarantee uninterrupted service nor uninhibited access to service. Busy signals may occur which may prohibit access to the service.

2. USE OF SERVICE, EQUIPMENT, AND THE INTERNET. Service and equipment are furnished for use by Customer for lawful purposes only. Customer warrants that Customer is at least 18 years old.

Customer understands that access to the Internet in general may be gained through ACS service and that all merchandise, information and services offered or made available or accessible through ACS service or on the Internet generally are offered or made available or accessible by third parties who are not affiliated with ACS or its affiliates. CUSTOMER ASSUMES TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR USE OF ACS SERVICE AND THE INTERNET. NEITHER ACS NOR ITS AFFILIATES MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, REPRESENTATIONS OR ENDORSEMENTS WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR NONINFRINGEMENT, OR THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH REGARD TO ANY MERCHANDISE, INFORMATION OR SERVICE PROVIDED THROUGH ACS OR ON THE INTERNET GENERALLY, AND THEY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY COST OR DAMAGE ARISING EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM ANY SUCH TRANSACTION. IT IS SOLELY CUSTOMER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO EVALUATE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND USEFULNESS OF ALL OPINIONS, ADVICE, SERVICES AND OTHER INFORMATION, AND THE QUALITY AND MERCHANTABILITY OF ALL MERCHANDISE, PROVIDED THROUGH ACS SERVICE OR ON THE INTERNET GENERALLY.

CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDS FURTHER THAT THE INTERNET CONTAINS UNEDITED MATERIALS SOME OF WHICH ARE ILLEGAL, SEXUALLY EXPLICIT, OR MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO CUSTOMER. CUSTOMER ACCESSES SUCH MATERIALS AT HIS/HER OWN RISK. ACS HAS NO CONTROL OVER AND ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR SUCH MATERIALS.

3. Applications, including activation, a change or discontinuance of service, will be accepted only from Customer in writing via facsimile transmission, or via US mail, or over the phone with verification of USER ID, and Security Code.



4. CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDS THAT ALTERNATIVE AND COMPETING INTERNET COMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS ARE AVAILABLE TO CUSTOMER; OCCASIONAL INTERRUPTION OR IRREGULARITIES IN THE SERVICE MAY OCCUR; ANY POTENTIAL HARM FROM INTERRUPTIONS OR IRREGULARITIES IN THE SERVICE IS SPECULATIVE IN NATURE; ACS CANNOT OFFER THE SERVICE AT RATES WHICH REFLECT ITS VALUE TO EACH CUSTOMER; AND ACS ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY OTHER THAN THAT CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT. ACCORDINGLY, CUSTOMER AGREES THAT EXCEPT AS LIMITED BY LAW, ACS SOLE LIABILITY FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE ARISING OUT OF MISTAKES, VIRUSES, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELAYS, ERRORS, OR DEFECTS IN THE SERVICE OR TRANSMISSION OF SERVICE PROVIDED BY ACS OR ANY UNDERLYING COMMUNICATIONS CARRIER, OR FOR LOSSES OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE FAILURE OF ACS OR ANY UNDERLYING COMMUNICATIONS CARRIER TO MAINTAIN PROPER STANDARDS OF MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION SHALL BE AS FOLLOWS:



ACS shall in no event be liable for service or equipment interruptions or delays in transmission, errors or defects in service or equipment, when caused by acts of god, fire, war, riots, government authorities, default of supplier, or other causes beyond ACS or any underlying communications carrier's control.

4.1 Customer acknowledges that Internet systems use public access facilities to transmit voice and data communications and that the service may not be completely private. ACS is not liable to Customer for any claims, loss, damages or cost that may result from lack of privacy on the system.

4.2 Customer acknowledges that Internet systems may carry material, which may be considered abusive, profane, or sexually offensive and that ACS is not liable to Customer for any claims, loss, damages or cost that may result from such material.

4.3 Customer hereby agrees to indemnify and save ACS harmless against claims for libel, slander, or infringement of copyright from the material in any form over its facilities by Customer or those using Customer's equipment; against claims for infringement of patents arising from combining or using apparatus or systems of Customer with the facilities of ACS or any communications carrier; and against all other claims arising out of any act or omission of Customer in connection with the facilities or service provided by ACS.

5. NO SERVICE WARRANTIES. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE..


UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL ACS, ITS AFFILIATES OR ITS CONTRACTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, THAT RESULT IN ANY WAY FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR TO ACCESS THE INTERNET OR ANY PART THEREOF.

If customer is dissatisfied with the service or with any terms, conditions, rules, policies, guidelines, or practices of ACS in operating the service, Customer's sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using the service.


6. Customer agrees not to publish on or over the Internet content that violates or infringes upon the rights of any other. If ACS is challenged by any third party regarding the suitability of Customer's content, ACS may at ACS's sole discretion delete Customer's content from the Internet service. Customer agrees not to send unsolicited electronic mail to ACS's subscribers without ACS explicit written permission for each instance of communication.

While using the Service, Customer may not:

6.1 restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Internet;

6.2 post or transmit any unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, profane, or otherwise objectionable information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law, including without limitation the U.S. import and export control laws and regulations;


7. CUSTOMER IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SECURITY OF ITS OWN COMPUTER SYSTEM, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DEFECTS (i.e. "BUGS/VIRUSES") WHICH ARE IMPORTED TO ITS SYSTEM THROUGH THE INTERNET.


7.1 CUSTOMER IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING, MANAGING, EDITING REVIEWING, DELETING AND OTHERWISE CONTROLLING THE CONTENT OF MESSAGES OR INFORMATION IN CONNECTION WITH SERVICE. ACS IS ACTING AS A PASSIVE CONDUIT ONLY. ACS GIVES CUSTOMER COMPLETE DISCRETION OVER THE CONTENT TO BE ACCESSED OR DISTRIBUTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE.

8. RATES AND CHARGES. Unless otherwise agreed by ACS, Customer will be billed in advance for monthly access base rate charges. Unless otherwise agreed by ACS Customer will be charged a minimum of one minute of connect time for each connected call. Chargeable connect time is measured from the time of channel seizure to channel termination for connected calls and shall be rounded up to the next one minute increment.

8.1 Payment is due to ACS each month or upon receipt of bill by the Customer. Payment is to be made through a check, draft, or other negotiable instrument.

9 Customer shall be responsible for payment of charges for all services furnished by ACS. Rates and charges shall be based on prices in effect at the time Service is furnished.


Customer agrees to defend, indemnify and hold ACS and its affiliates harmless from any and all liabilities, costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, related to any violation of this agreement by you or authorized or unauthorized users of your account, or in connection with the use of the service or the Internet or the placement or transmission of any message, information software or other materials on the Internet by you or authorized or unauthorized users of Customer's account.



This agreement between Customer and ACS shall be governed in accordance with the laws of the state of Alabama.