Interactive Features Guidelines

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Interactive Features Guidelines

Introduction
Welcome to Pacific Bell Internet Services! Pacific Bell Internet Services and Prodigy Internet ("Pacific Bell Internet Services", "Prodigy Internet" or the "Service") enable you to participate in many Interactive Features, which provide timely and engrossing experiences on the Service. These Interactive Features include Chat, E-mail, Mailing Lists, Newsgroups, Message Boards and Personal Web Pages. To make your Internet experience both rewarding and pleasurable, we established Guidelines for use of all Interactive Features through The Service. Please take a few minutes to read them.

Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability

Indemnification

A Special Warning to Parents and Members
Note to Parents: We strongly recommend you read A Special Warning to Parents and Members.

Interactive Features Guidelines
The Service enables you to participate in many exciting and engaging Interactive Features, including Chat, E-mail, Mailing Lists, Newsgroups, Message Boards and Personal Web Pages. Your participation in Interactive Features through The Service is subject to the Member Agreement and these Interactive Features Guidelines (the "Guidelines"). Use of The Service constitutes your acceptance of the Guidelines. Continued acceptance of the Guidelines is a condition of participation in the Interactive Features and of The Service membership.

Failure to observe the Guidelines can result in anything from a warning to suspension of privileges or termination of your membership. Decisions of The Service 19s staff or the moderator of the particular Interactive Feature regarding violations of The Service Guidelines are final. The Service may refer potential illegal matters to proper authorities and may cooperate in the investigation of any suspected crime or civil wrong.

Please keep in mind that except for the pages in the Member Center, all Newsgroups and all Bulletin Boards and Chat areas (except for those with the phrase "Pacific Bell Internet Services" or "Prodigy Internet" in its URL address) are solely controlled and operated by a third party, not by The Service. Please also remember that when you use any of these Interactive Features, not controlled by The Service, you are not just speaking with Pacific Bell Internet Services or Prodigy Internet Members, but with anyone on the Internet. The third party content is not protected behind a firewall provided by The Service, that is, it is not proprietary to The Service, and is therefore open to anyone to participate.

The search engine technology automatically produces search results that reference sites and information located worldwide throughout the Internet. Because neither The Service nor the third party service provider has control over such sites and information, there are no guarantees as to such sites and information, including as to:

the accuracy, currency, content, or quality of any such sites and information, or
whether a search may locate unintended and objectionable content.

Because some of the content on the Internet consists of material that is adult-oriented or otherwise objectionable to some people, the results of your search may automatically and unintentionally generate links or references to objectionable material. The Service has no control over, and can make no claim that such surprises will not occur. Computerized search technology does not give you search results limited to only the hits that you were seeking. There may be extraneous hits as well.

The Service recommends that to avoid any such surprises, you take advantage of the access controls that The Service offers, and be diligent in your supervision of any children you allow to use The Service.

Under the Member Agreement, you agreed not to use The Service to send, store or submit for public posting, any obscene, sexually explicit, or illegal material (including material the transmission of which violates any applicable law), or material which violates Internet standards or customs, or any material that is protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner. You are further not permitted to use, participate in, or engage in any of the following while participating in any Interactive Feature through The Service:

Inappropriate Language or Images - profane, vulgar, obscene, or sexually explicit language or images (including explicit descriptions of sexual acts), even if masked by other characters.
Grossly Repugnant Material - material that is grossly repugnant to community standards, including blatant expressions of bigotry, racism or hate.
Illegal Activity - use of any of the Interactive Features for illegal or fraudulent purposes in violation of applicable local, state, national, international or foreign law, or to threaten personal harm or property damage, including, for example:

submitting, copying, uploading, posting, transmitting, reproducing, or distributing information, software or other material which is protected by copyright without the express permission of the copyright owner;
e-mailing or posting on newsgroups of scams, such as "make-money-fast" pyramid schemes or chain letters;
forging any messages or message headers, in whole or in part, of any electronic transmission, originating or passing through The Service, for an unlawful purpose.

Impersonation of Pacific Bell Internet Services or Prodigy Internet Personnel - any attempt to impersonate a Moderator, a Pacific Bell Internet Services or Prodigy Internet employee, or a non-employee working in an authorized capacity.
Attempts to solicit another Member's password- this will be treated as an impersonation of Pacific Bell Internet Services or Prodigy Internet staff regardless of the name or account used, as will comments containing information apparently intended to interfere with The Service functions.
Disruptive Activity - any activity that is apparently intended to disrupt Members' enjoyment of the Interactive Feature, including:

scrolling - repeatedly entering either meaningless characters, three or more repeated blank lines, the same text three or more times, or consistently repeating text in a Chat room;
spamming - sending of large numbers of e-mail, and e-mail ads in particular, to numerous e-mail users; or blanket postings to the same newsgroups;
off-topic activities - posting notes or articles to any Chat room, Newsgroup, Mailing List or similar forum which are off-topic.

Harassment - targeting others, with the apparent intention of causing distress, embarrassment, or other discomfort. Examples of this include expressing personal attacks on members and nonmembers; sending more than ten similar messages to the same e-mail address; or sending more than 1M bytes of data to a newsgroup.
Abusing any "Alert" function available in connection with any of the specific Interactive Features.
Distributing computer viruses.
Including any material in Personal Web Pages that is prohibited by the special Personal Web Page Guidelines.
Using any software or device that allows your account to stay logged on while you are not actively using The Service or using your account for the purpose of operating a server of any type.
Engaging in any of the above activities or any activities which violate the Guidelines or the Member Agreement through the service of another Internet access provider but channeling such activities through an account with The Service or a re-mailer, or using a Pacific Bell Internet Services or Prodigy Internet- account as a mail drop for responses.

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Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability
Your participation in the Interactive Features through The Service is at your own risk!

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed by anyone in an Interactive Feature, including information providers under contract to Pacific Bell Internet Services or Prodigy Internet and non-Pacific Bell Internet Services or Prodigy Internet employee Moderators of any Interactive Feature, represent their own views and not those of The Service. You should not rely on such opinions, advice or other information in any Interactive Feature for important personal decisions, but seek professional advice. (See the Member Agreement for more information concerning The Service's disclaimer of warranties.)

The Service is not responsible to Members or others for any damages, crimes or losses that result from participation in any Interactive Feature through The Service. (See the member Agreement for more information concerning The Service's limitation of liability with respect to your use of any Interactive Feature.)

The Service has no ability to restrict all conduct, communications or content which violate The Service 19s Guidelines or the Member Agreement prior to transmission through The Service, nor can The Service ensure prompt removal of any such communications or content after transmission or posting. Accordingly, The Service does not assume liability to Members or others for any failure to enforce the terms of the Service Guidelines or the Member Agreement. (See the Member Agreement for more information concerning The Service's limitation of liability with respect to your use of any Interactive Feature.)

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Indemnification
In addition to the indemnification provisions agreed to by you under the Member Agreement, each Member agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Ameritech, Ameritech Interactive Media Services, Prodigy Communications Corporation, its officers, directors, employees and agents from any damages, costs, and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising out of or in connection with his breach of The Service 19s Guidelines. (See the Member Agreement for more information concerning your agreement to indemnify and hold The Service and others harmless for use of The Service and your use of any Interactive Feature.)

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A Special Warning to Parents and Members
If you allow your children to access The Service 19s Interactive Features, please remind them of the dangers involved when corresponding or communicating with strangers or new acquaintances on the Internet (especially in Chat and Newsgroup rooms, as well as when using e-mail). It may also be wise to carefully note all Internet pen pals with whom your child frequently corresponds. For more information about children's use of the Internet, see the Privacy Policy.

In response to our Members' concerns regarding the suitability for children of certain content available on the Internet, The Service offers Cyber Patrol, which enables you to block access to those areas of Chat, Newsgroups and the Web that you feel are not suitable.

Certain Web Sites are registered with the Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC). This organization provides Web surfers with information about the suitability of Internet content for themselves and their families. If the site is not registered or does not fit the categories selected by certain visitors who use the RSAC product on their computers, those visitors will not be able to access that site. (Please note that the RSAC software functions only with Microsoft® Internet Explorer™ browser. If you are using another browser, look at your browser's help area to find out more information about content suitability ratings.) RSAC may be used for rating Web sites only and does not rate Newsgroups, Chat, etc.

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