Frequently Asked Questions:
- Why all the legalese in the Terms of Service Agreement?
- How is Unlimited Interactive Access defined?
- What if I just want to download a large file?
- What constitutes activity and inactivity?
- Why do I get disconnected after 20 minutes?
- Why can’t I treat my SNiP dial-up account like a dedicated connection?
- Are you saying I can not stay connected to SNiP 24 hours a day if I want?
- Are there any limitations on using my web browser?
- After reading paragraph 14 of the Terms of Service Agreement, I have some questions regarding my use of e-mail.
- What is spamming?
- How can I alter my E-mail Identity when I post messages to newsgroups so I don’t get spammed?
Back to Policy Information.
Why all the legalese in the Terms of Service Agreement?
Answer:
The Terms of Service Agreement is a Legal Contract. Therefore, our Legal Department requires the wording to be such that it will stand up in a Court of Law. The goal of the revised Terms of Service Agreement is to provide SNiP with the tools required to deal with the network abusers that adversely affect all our valued Members.
How is Unlimited Interactive Access defined?
Answer:
Unlimited Interactive Access simply means unlimited access as long as the SNiP dial-up member is actively using the Internet. This includes, but is not limited to "surfing the web", chatting, sending and receiving e-mail and gaming. Leaving an active Internet connection unattended for extended periods of time is not considered interactive. (Please see the following question regarding file downloads).
What if I just want to download a large file? Can I leave my computer unattended during the time it takes for the download?
Answer:
An unattended download of a large file is not a problem. During an unattended download, please ensure that there are no other programs running such as a mail or chat client, that may mechanically keep the connection active after the unattended download is complete. When the download is complete, the SNiP network will disconnect you after 20 minutes of inactivity.
What constitutes activity and inactivity? If I am at a Web site, reading through different pages, does that register as being active or only when I go from site to site? What happens when I am reading e-mail? What happens when I minimize my browser?
Answer:
Activity is registered when there is a transfer of data between the Internet and your PC or visa versa. There is no limit on the amount of time that you spend at each site.
For the most part, if you are actively "surfing" you don't usually remain idle for that long. While you are reading a document at a Web Site, there is no data transfer between your PC and the Internet. If it takes longer than 20 minutes to read a Web page, you will be disconnected.
If disconnected, the "Connect To" window will come up automatically when you go to read another page, or check e-mail. Once re-connected, you are right back where you left off. There is no need to shutdown the Browser or Mail program to re-connect.
The only activity that occurs when using e-mail is when you actually send or receive e-mail. Once your mail has been downloaded, you can disconnect. You can also write all of your mail when you are disconnected from the network, then connect to the Internet to send your completed e-mail messages.
When you minimize your browser, there is no Internet activity, therefore you will be disconnected after 20 minutes.
Why do I get disconnected after 20 minutes?
Answer:
A dial-up connection will get disconnected after 20 minutes when there is no activity. All dial-up connections are monitored for activity by the POP Network HUBs. When there is no activity, the HUB monitor times out and closes the dial-up connection. See the following explanation regarding a shared modem pool.
Why can’t I treat my SNiP dial-up account like a dedicated connection?
Answer:
To provide a consumer affordable service, requires connecting to the Internet by dialing into a "pool" of modems that are shared across many users. Statistically, humans have a limited attention span and also need to eat and sleep among other things. This normal human behavior allows Internet Service Providers to share each modem across several users.
SNiP maintains an industry leading 8:1 (or better) User to Modem ratio. In fact during most of the day only half of our modems are being used. As we sign up new customers, we continuously add modems and phone lines to our POPs to maintain this ratio.
To maintain this consumer affordable service requires shared access to spread the real costs. While a SNiP dial-up member is connected to the Internet, they are exclusively tying up a modem. This modem cannot be used by another dial-up member at the same time. If a SNiP member is dialed in and is not actively using their connection, then an expensive resource (modem and phone line) is going to waste.
The cost of true Dedicated Access, which requires a 1:1 User to Modem ratio, is substantially higher reflecting the cost of the resources (dedicated modem and dedicated phone line) required to provide it. The charges for this service range from $150/month to $1350/month plus setup fees. For the typical non-business user, the cost of Dedicated Access is prohibitive.
Members that monopolize a dial-up modem without interactive use effectively disrupt the "shared modem pool" model and will in the end drive up the costs of providing Internet access.
Are you saying I can not stay connected to SNiP 24 hours a day if I want? I have an extra phone line. I like to get my email as soon as it comes in.
Answer:
You can be connected to SNiP for as long as you can maintain an interactive connection; that is, you are actively at your computer "surfing the web", chatting, sending and receiving e-mail, gaming, etc.
You can check your mail as often as you like during that interactive session. However, you can not use the persistent checking of mail to maintain a connection when you are not interactively using the Internet. You can dial in as often as you like to check mail. Some e-mail clients can be set up to automatically dial into the network on a regular basis to send and receive e-mail and then disconnect.
Are there any limitations on using my web browser? In other words, can I access any Web site that I choose and am I allowed to bookmark these sites?
Answer:
There are no limitations on where you surf on the World Wide Web. If the URL (address of the site) exists, you are welcome to visit where you please. Some sites may have specific conditions or membership terms that you must abide by to proceed further into their site. As for personal bookmarks, yes they are permitted.
After reading paragraph 14 of the Terms of Service Agreement, I have some questions regarding my use of e-mail.
1) Can I send and receive e-mail to and from any place in the world?
2) Are there limitations to the e-mail - if yes then what are they?
Answer:
You can send e-mail anywhere you please. The Internet has no borders. The limitations to e-mail can be physical file size. This is limited to 2MBs mainly because many mail clients and servers cannot efficiently handle mailings larger than this. Your mailbox on the SNiP Mail Server is limited to a maximum of 10MBs. This should not present any problems if you regularly receive your mail. Spamming is the major limitation to e-mail. We would also prefer that you follow the daily limits noted in Paragraph 14.
What is spamming? My daughter frequently forwards mail to her many friends and e-mail pen pals. How many addresses constitute "spamming"?
Answer:
A definition of spamming is "Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE)". Unsolicited is defined as "sending mail to someone to which you have not had any prior relationship".
With that in mind, for the most part, personal e-mail is typically sent to friends and family - people that you have had a prior relationship with. Also, there is e-mail that is sent as a result of day to day business and living. In no way are either of these examples considered to be spamming.
Regarding numbers of e-mail sent in a day, we prefer that you remain under the limits quoted in Paragraph 14.
How can I alter my E-mail Identity when I post messages to newsgroups so I don’t get spammed? Is there an acceptable way to do this?
Answer:
We understand your concern with respect to spamming. Altering your identity to prevent automated spamming is allowed as long as your username and ISP domain can be identified manually. An example would be to embed your e-mail address inside a fictitious alternative e-mail address. For example, if your e-mail address were "johndoe@snip.net", an acceptable fictitious e-mail address would be "NO_johndoe@snip.net_SPAM".
We do not condone the sending of e-mail or the posting of news to newsgroups with identity changes such that identification of the sender is impossible.
If you have any other questions or concerns regarding the SNiP Dial-Up Terms of Service Agreement, please send e-mail to policy@snip.net
Back to Policy Inofrmation.
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