Hagen Hosting Terms of Service

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

Abuse and Spam

The transmission of unsolicited or prohibited advertising or other content through electronic mail or inappropriate Usenet postings is forbidden. The use of Hagen Hosting for unsolicited mass mailings or postings (commonly known as "Spam") by any customer will cause that customer's services to be terminated immediately and without warning, and the customer will be held legally responsible for the damages to Hagen Hosting, both monetary and in reputation. The use of any other service to make such a mailing or posting, with any reference to Hagen Hosting services (including but not limited to mailboxes, autoresponders, and Web pages), shall also be grounds for account termination and/or other actions as described above.

Adult Content

Adult-oriented sites, designed for entertainment or commercial purposes, are generally not allowed on Hagen Hosting servers. Forbidden sites include those that provide access to pornographic materials (images or multimedia), whether for free or for payment, regardless of whether adult verification is used or not.

Hagen Hosting reserves the right to make exceptions for certain customers on certain high end accounts, and particularly for e-Classifieds customers.

Exceptions are also made for educational sites, sites providing only links to other sites, and text materials of an adult nature, although we reserve the right to make further restrictions at our own discretion.

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Web sites with adult content generate unusual usage patterns compared to most other types of web sites. These usage patterns are far more resource intensive and can be detrimental to other accounts sharing the same server. Therefore, we limit adult sites to those customers who are on higher level accounts in order to limit the number of such sites on any one server and compensate us for the reduced number of accounts that we can place on that server.

Interactive Chat

Interactive Web applications, of the specific type commonly known as "chat", are not allowed on Hagen Hosting's servers. For the purposes of this policy, a "chat" system is defined as a Web site or portion thereof that encourages visitors to post messages that are immediately viewable by other users, in order to engage in "real-time" conversation with other visitors at the same site.

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The Web is unsuited to this type of application, and the impact on servers can be immense. If there are N visitors participating, then the amount of work being done by the server is on the order of N squared. It is impossible for such an application to scale properly. Couple this with the fact that most such systems use CGI or another dynamic content method to deliver the messages, and the server slows down dramatically, regardless of how powerful it might be. "Chat" should only be accomplished through systems specifically designed for it. Hagen Hosting does not support any systems of that nature.

Misuse of Account Features

Operating any service that makes an account feature or files available to third parties for any use other than normal access to that account's Web site is forbidden. Operating any service that enables or assists anonymous or abusive behavior by third parties is forbidden. Operating any service that affects the stability or reliability of any Hagen Hosting server or network component, impacts other users or the company negatively, or degrades quality of service is forbidden. This includes but is not limited to third party access to CGI services, database hosting, counters, banner exchanges, autoresponders, mailboxes, mail forwarding, mail filtering, content publishing systems, and the offering of free home pages to outside parties. This policy also prohibits video or audio streaming, file storage, storage of non-local backups, file sharing, image repositories, software repositories, or any other storage of files that are not directly related to and included in the web site(s) hosted by that account, as well as any usage of these resources that is inappropriate or excessive for a shared web hosting environment, as determined solely by Hagen Hosting, even when it is directly related to the web site(s) hosted by that account. All account features are to be used solely in order to develop and implement the Web site(s) associated with that account. Resellers may make reasonable use of account features shared between multiple accounts they are being billed for.

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This means that, for example, you cannot:

• Resell autoresponders to third parties
• Run a service like hotmail.com
• Run a service like pobox.com
• Run a service like tripod.com
• Run a service like myspace.com
• Run a service like linkexchange.com
• Run a service like thecounter.com
• Run a service like youtube.com
• Run a service like download.com
• Run a service like xdrive.com
• Run a service like flickr.com
• Run CGI scripts for other sites
• Host a remailer

This does not prohibit you from running such services on outside servers, such as using the free e-mail services offered by Everyone.net, for example. The goal is to prevent the hosting of such services on our servers due to the excessive load that these can place on the server and the anonymous and potentially abusive behavior that these types of services can engender. Customers who need these types of services must make arrangements with Hagen Hosting to move to an appropriate hosting plan, such as our Premium, Corporate, or Enterprise plans, or to a dedicated server if necessary, and obtain written permission from Hagen Hosting before engaging in or offering any of the above types of services. Even when the Customer has made the appropriate arrangements and has obtained written permission to offer such services, Hagen Hosting reserves the right to monitor such services and to terminate them without advance notice if, in the sole judgment of Hagen Hosting, they pose any risks to the stability and reliability of Hagen Hosting's network, servers, or any other aspects of our service.

Resource Usage

Any website that uses a high amount of server resources (such as, but not limited to, CPU time, memory usage, and network resources) will be given an option of either paying extra (which depends on the resource needed) or reducing the resource used to an acceptable level. Hagen Hosting shall be the sole and final arbiter of what is considered to be a high server usage level.

Users may not, through a cron job, CGI script, PHP script, interactive commands, remote program, or any other means, take the following actions on Hagen Hosting servers:

• Run any process that requires more than 8MB of memory space.
• Run any program that requires more than 30 CPU seconds to complete.
• Run any CGI, PHP, or other type of script that forks or calls itself recursively and launches multiple processes per second.
• Run any process or program either locally or remotely that initiates POP3 logins at the rate of more than one per second.
• Run any process that uses 10% or more of system resources for longer than 30 seconds.
• Perform more than 36,000 MySQL queries per hour or make more than 3,600 connections per hour.
• Run any program that "fork bombs" or otherwise uses child processes in a manner that disrupts performance of the server, or in order to attempt to circumvent resource restrictions.
• Use the find command, or any similar tool which recursively explores directory structures, anywhere except in their own directories.
• Send out mail to more than 100 addresses in one batch, whether sequentially or in parallel. Such batches must "sleep" for at least three seconds between each delivery attempt.
• Send prohibitively large messages to any receiving system that cannot or does not wish to receive them. Large file transfers should be accomplished through FTP, not electronic mail.
• Run their own mailing list software, whether custom or packaged.
• Run any interactive chat application.
• Run a banner exchange, remotely-accessible Web counter, or any other service that performs CGI services for sites outside our network. Please see the policy on misuse of account features.

Resource limits may be enforced by automatic monitoring systems.

Exceptions to the CPU and RAM restrictions may be granted for analog, logresolve, and other supported log analysis tools.

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System resource limits are intended to prevent runaway CGI scripts. Also, processes with large memory footprints or hungry CPU requirements will incur swapping and other system slowdowns that reduce server performance.

If we find that you are performing bulk mail delivery, regardless of whether it is Spam or not, we may choose to deactivate your account and investigate. Please send such mailings through your local ISP's mailserver, or any other mailserver that you are authorized to use. Such mailservers are configured specifically to handle an extremely high volume of outbound mail.

CGI Resource Usage

CGI scripts and programs are subject to resource limitations as set forth by this policy. These limits may be enforced automatically by the system. The present limits are:

• Size of Core Files - 0 MB
• CPU Time Used - 30 seconds
• Memory Size - 16 MB
• Number of Open Files - 32
• Number of Simultaneous Processes - 8

Details of what these limits mean are available on the man page for setrlimit - use "man setrlimit" to read more.

CGI scripts are to be run only by users with the appropriate account types - Basic or higher for use of the System CGI, and Professional or higher account levels for custom CGI scripting. No user may run CGI scripts for the benefit of external sites or services.

These limits are subject to change and variation as necessary, at the sole discretion of Hagen Hosting.

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System resource limits are intended to prevent runaway CGI scripts. Also, processes with large memory footprints or hungry CPU requirements will incur swapping and other system slowdowns that reduce server performance.

Resource limits are enforced by automatic monitoring systems.

Database Resource Usage

MySQL databases are provided at no additional cost to owners of the following account types: Basic, Standard, Professional, Commerce, Premium, Corporate, and Enterprise. Hagen Hosting reserves the right to require changes to database designs or usage methods in any case where such designs or methods are found to have an adverse impact on a database server and/or other databases on that server. Hagen Hosting reserves the right to disable any database determined to be unacceptably harming performance of a database server.

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This policy exists in order to protect the integrity and performance of the database servers for all users.

Cron Usage

The use of "cron jobs", which are processes that are run automatically at certain times, in accordance with a "crontab" file set up by each user, are allowed on Hagen Hosting servers, subject to the following conditions and restrictions:

• The account type must be Professional or higher.
• The job must not execute more often than once every two hours.
• The job must generate no greater impact than a CGI script. See the policy on CGI resource usage.

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This policy exists to reduce server load by prohibiting behavior that can cause problems. However, it does still allow reasonable usage of cron.

Server Side Processes

The installation or operation of any stand-alone, unattended server-side processes or daemons on Hagen Hosting servers, with the exception of cron jobs subject to their own policy, is forbidden, except by special arrangement. This specifically includes IRC bots or clients as well as any network redirector programs. Use of such a process to accept network connections, for any purpose whatsoever, is expressly forbidden. Violation of this policy may result in immediate account termination without warning.

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This policy exists for several reasons:

• To protect the CPU and memory resources available on each server.
• To protect and enhance system security by not allowing unapproved third-party programs to accept connections from the outside world.
• To allow us to be aware of any such programs, by requiring that special arrangements be made.

Security and Cracking

Use of Hagen Hosting services to engage in any type of fraud, "cracking", malicious behavior, or harassment is expressly forbidden. Interference with the proper operation of systems reachable via the Internet is forbidden. Compliance with the acceptable use policies of any network or system with which you connect through our service is required. Forging e-mail, Usenet postings, or other messages is forbidden. Trafficking in pirated software is forbidden. Port scanning or the use of similar tools is forbidden.

Use of Hagen Hosting services to publish or otherwise disseminate information about the availability of pirated software or other material that is being made available illegally, including the publication of a list of links to such material, regardless of disclaimers, is specifically forbidden. We do not condone or encourage any illegal material or behavior.

If inappropriate activity is detected, all accounts of the user in question will be deactivated until the investigation is complete. Prior notification to the user is not assured. We reserve the right to contact law enforcement regarding the activity.

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This policy simply requires that you use your accounts responsibly. Breaking into other systems, trying to break into ours, forging messages, swapping games with your friends - all of this is illegal and inappropriate. Because of the potential legal and technical risks these activities can present to our service, we deactivate first, and ask questions later. This is necessary to protect our service for all customers.

Testing, Probing, and Monitoring

Use of Hagen Hosting services to "test" the capacity of either the servers or the network, whether in terms of disk space, bandwidth, CPU capabilities, or other resources, is strictly prohibited. Use of Hagen Hosting services for "probing" the capabilities, defenses, or other aspects of our servers, our network, or other Hagen Hosting resources is strictly prohibited. Similarly, the use of Hagen Hosting services for "probing" the capabilities, defenses, or other aspects of any outside servers or networks is strictly prohibited. Any monitoring services that are initiated by the Customer or at the behest of the Customer by an outside third party must be reasonable in their usage of CPU resources, network resources, and other Hagen Hosting resources and may not use these excessively or otherwise interfere with the operation of Hagen Hosting's network and servers to the detriment of other customers.

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This policy simply requires that you use your accounts for the purposes of hosting your web sites, rather than for other purposes that are not directly related to hosting your web sites and that could interfere with the ability of other customers to use Hagen Hosting services. While Hagen Hosting is the final arbiter of what constitutes "testing", examples of such behavior would include purposely uploading or downloading one or more huge files to and from the server that is hosting your web site just to see how much space your account can use, or how much bandwidth you can use, or purposely straining the server with repeated CPU processes just to see how fast it runs or how many such processes it can handle simultaneously. This can harm other customers by causing the servers to respond slowly or even to crash under an unnecessary and extremely high load. Similarly, while Hagen Hosting is the final arbiter of what constitutes "probing", examples of such behavior would include port scanning either Hagen Hosting servers from inside or outside our network, or port scanning external servers from within the Hagen Hosting network. Again, this can cause our mail servers or other servers to be blocked by outside networks and thus harm other Hagen Hosting customers by preventing them from sending or receiving e-mail through their Hagen Hosting accounts. While we understand that some customers like to monitor the status of their web sites, and while we allow such monitoring when it is done in a reasonable and non-intrusive manner, it is also unfortunately true that some monitoring services have bugs or poorly designed architectures that cause them to ping the servers excessively, or in extreme cases even to cause a de facto DoS (Denial of Service) of the server by blocking out other legitimate users while they are scanning or connecting to the server.

Domain Registrations

Domain registrations that point to nameservers operated by Hagen Hosting are subject to the following conditions:

• All such domains must list Hagen Hosting as the "Technical Contact", provided the registrar supports such a contact.
• The nameservers for all such domains must be selected and approved by Hagen Hosting, including all secondaries. Secondary nameservice is not shared with a third party except by special pre-arrangement.
• The use of any particular secondary nameserver by Hagen Hosting does not imply any official affiliation with the organization responsible for that nameserver.
• Hagen Hosting reserves the right to change nameservers when necessary, although this is very rarely necessary.
• Hagen Hosting makes no attempt to exercise control over its customers' domains, and will not make modifications to customer domain information at any registrar.
• All domains registered to our nameservers must appear in our customer records, and must be used for either "virtual hosting" or "parked" (sharing an existing virtual host). Hosting charges for these services must be paid.
• Any domain registered anew or transferred to our nameservers must be attached to a new or existing account within 30 days of such registration or transfer. Domains not attached may be subject to a Lame Delegation Fee. Abusive or repeated lame delegations may result in action with the registrar, or other actions, as we deem necessary.
• Registering any domain without the intent of paying the appropriate registrar fee is expressly prohibited.
• The use of any domain name that is considered offensive, defamatory, libelous or violative of any local, state, federal or international law including any violation of intellectual property, copyright, trademark, trade secret, misappropriation and anti-dilution laws is strictly prohibited. It is the sole responsibility of the domain name owner to take all steps necessary to ensure that the domain name selected is not violative of any law or any other party's rights.
• You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Hagen Hosting from any and all liability, penalties, losses, damages, costs, expenses, attorneys' fees, causes of action or claims caused by or resulting from your registration, acquisition or use of a domain name which damages either you, Hagen Hosting or any other party or parties, without limitation or exception.

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An important point of this policy is to prevent lame delegations. A domain has a lame delegation if the nameservers it points to are not answering for that domain. The most common cause of this is a customer registering a domain without notifying us. The result is an administrative and technical headache for us; thus the fee.

Actions Taken by Hagen Hosting

When Hagen Hosting becomes aware of an alleged violation of its Acceptable Use Policy, Hagen Hosting will initiate an investigation. During the investigation Hagen Hosting may restrict Customer's access in order to prevent further possible unauthorized activity. Depending on the severity of the violation, Hagen Hosting may, at its sole discretion, restrict, suspend, or terminate Customer's account and/or pursue other civil remedies. If such violation is a criminal offense, Hagen Hosting will notify the appropriate law enforcement department(s) of such violation.

If you have any questions regarding your usage of Hagen Hosting, please contact our legal department or by telephone at +1 202-333-7969. If you wish to report unlawful usage of Hagen Hosting by other individuals or entities, please use our online notification form.

Hagen Hosting does not issue service credits for any outages incurred through service disablement resulting from Policy violations.