Discuss mailing list

[Quinn Wood <woodq11 AT gmail.com>]

On Sun, Jul 15, 2012 at 11:54 PM, info AT servermx.it <info AT servermx.it> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> ok mabe... but which part of the ToS is restrictive for you?
>
TL;DR: I hope the fact that I can write this long of an email shows
that your ToS could use some relaxation. Though that doesn't mean it
would be for the best; that would have to be something you decide. I
hope you don't mind me posting this to the mailing list, as I don't
usually reply to off-list replies unless they seem to be of a private
nature.

In general, if you're providing the service you'll want to protect
yourself as best you can from any legal hassles, and I suspect that's
where the points I feel to be too restrictive come from. If I were to
use your service, I would say that:
- you are responsible for the contents of email and information sent,
received and stored using the service;
- you are responsible for the consequences of email and information
sent, received and stored using the service;
- you will not use the service for sending junk mail, spamming,
phishing or any other type of unsolicited email;
- you will not use the service to send, receive or store viruses,
worms, spyware, adware, trojan horses or other harmful, disruptive, or
destructive files;
- you will not use the service in such a way as to deny access to the
service to other users of the service;
- you will not use the service in a way that degrades the performance
of the service for other users.

are completely acceptable and expected. They are issues which directly
affect your ability to provide the service to
users, and for users to utilize it. Others, however, would make me
uncomfortable, such as:
- you will not use the service to stalk, harass, monitor or eavesdrop
on another person, business or entity;
- you will not forge or alter the header or address information
contained in any email or communication which you send from the
Service;

These points address legitimate concerns, but tread on a dangerous
ground of "How can you enforce this without monitoring my emails?" and
are best left to a court order to determine. Were I a potential user,
I would find the following unacceptable and would move on:
- you will not use the service in an illegal manner or email any
materials from the service or your Account which are offensive,
unlawful, harassing, libelous, defamatory, abusive, threatening,
harmful, vulgar, obscene or otherwise objectionable;
- you will not use the service to send, receive or store information
derived from or relating to keylogging software, keylogging hardware
or any other method to monitor keystrokes or computer usage;
- you will not use the service to send, receive or store computer
software or information relating to hacking tools, exploit code,
software serial numbers or any content that may infringe upon another
party's intellectual property rights;

While all of the last bullets address concerns any communications
platform must worry about, telling users they are agreeing not to
email materials which are <vague term> (esp. "otherwise
objectionable") tends to bring up the question, "What can I tell my
lawyer, doctor, priest, wife, friend that you would classify as
offensive, vulgar, obscene, otherwise objectionable? If I am not
allowed to discuss anything relating keylogging software, how can I
email my local IT guy about some weird device I found hooked up
between my keyboard and computer after walking away to grab a coffee
at a local shop? A similar "Hmm..." can be found in reference to the
hacking tools and exploit code statements. Lastly, while the copyright
and intellectual property concerns are an international concern
network-wide, this has been a push for many things at least one
OpenNIC member has set out to slow or stop if possible. Though that is
admittedly the most opinionated part of this unintentionally
novel-length essay.