In Brief

• JISCMail is a service which runs mailing lists for the benefit of the UK Higher and Further Education and Research Community
• Each JISCMail list must have at least one list owner
• JISCMail does not allow spam, junk mail, chain letters or other unsolicited bulk email, commercial or otherwise, on any list
• The posting of unsolicited commercial or advertising material is not allowed
• Messages sent to JISCMail lists should be courteous and appropriate, and should not disrupt the flow of discussion on a list
• Copyright of messages sent to a JISCMail list are retained by the original sender
• Messages sent to a JISCMail list will normally be archived on the list's homepage
• Due to the nature of the internet, the security of messages sent to JISCMail cannot be guaranteed
• JISC Advance provides the JISCMail service and is registered for compliance under the Data Protection Act 1998
• You will not attempt to mislead others as to your identity, either by providing false information when subscribing to, or posting to a JISCMail list, or by forging the headers and addresses in an email message
• Membership of a JISCMail list must be voluntary, and neither the list owner nor any other person may subscribe a person to a list without that person's consent
• We reserve the right to remove offensive messages from our archives immediately

Contents

1. About the Acceptable Use Policy
2. Role of List Owners
3. No Spam or Bulk Email
4. Posting Promotional Messages
5. Content of Messages Posted
6. Copyright of Messages Posted
7. Message Archives
8. Security of Email Messages
9. JISCMail Users and Data Protection
10. JISCMail and the Freedom of Information Act 2000
11. False or Fraudulent Information
12. Voluntary Membership
13. Harvesting of Addresses
14. Violation of our Policy
15. Liability
16. Amendments
17. How to contact JISCMail

1. About the Acceptable Use Policy

JISCMail is a service which runs mailing lists for the benefit of the UK higher and further education and research community. We are committed to supporting our users and promoting communication, collaboration and the free-flowing exchange of ideas. This is the Acceptable Use Policy for the JISCMail service. By sending a message to any JISCMail list you are accepting these conditions, so please read them carefully.

JISCMail is subject to the JANET Acceptable Use Policy (http://www.ja.net/services/publications/policy/aup.html), and to UK laws.

2. Role of List Owners

Each JISCMail list is managed by one or more individuals who are known as 'list owners'.

List owners may decide on the focus or subject of their lists and they may direct discussion. They may also make decisions on membership, list configuration and on appropriate postings for their list. List owners are expected to manage their lists fairly and for the benefit of the majority of list members - consulting with the list members or with the JISCMail Helpline if necessary. List Owners will receive announcements from the service provider on behalf of the list membership, via the OWNERS-ANNOUNCE list, which is maintained dynamically from the list of all owners.

We appreciate the time and effort which list owners devote to managing their lists, and will provide all possible support, help and backup.

You may contact individual list owners by sending a message to:

listname-request@JISCMail.ac.uk

where listname is the name of the list.

3. No Spam or Bulk Email

JISCMail does not allow spam, junk mail, chain letters or other unsolicited bulk email, commercial or otherwise, on any list. We take the following measures to prevent this abuse of our service.

JISCMail Anti-spam Measures :

• Anyone who joins a JISCMail list must confirm their subscription. This means that the senders of junk mail cannot join a list using a forged address.
• List owners can configure their lists so that messages from non-members are rejected.
• JISCMail's LISTSERV® software employs various means of blocking much of the junk email (spam) which is posted to lists.
• Despite our best efforts, some abuse of the JISCMail service will occur. If junk email is sent to a list please contact your listowner, who may then notify the JISCMail Helpline.

4. Posting Promotional Messages

The posting of unsolicited commercial or advertising material is against the JANET Acceptable Use Policy (http://www.ja.net/services/publications/policy/aup.html), which applies to the use of JISCMail.

However, publicising items of potential interest to list members, such as new releases of software packages, publications, training courses, websites, job vacancies, conferences etc can be to the benefit of the list members, and this is permitted provided the following conditions are met:

• The sender of a promotional message must seek permission from the list owner before posting, unless the listowner or list guidelines have already stated that this type of posting is acceptable.
• Promotional messages should only be sent if they are related to the subject or purpose of that list.
• Promotional messages must be sent from a clearly identified and contactable source.
• Such messages must not be part of a commercial exchange - list owners may NOT charge for the posting of such messages, nor will JISCMail forward messages for a fee.
• List owners may grant comprehensive permission for certain types of posting (such as job announcements), or to certain organisations. List owners can always consult the JISCMail Helpline if they would like advice or support in this matter.

5. Content of Messages Posted

Sending messages to JISCMail lists is generally a matter of common sense and courtesy. As a JISCMail user you should be able to use your own sense of what is appropriate to guide your conduct, without engaging in unreasonable behaviour, or disrupting the general flow of discussion on a list.

Practical guidelines are available which should help you use lists in a way which will most benefit yourself and the other people on the list. (See Guidelines on Etiquette)

List owners may also provide their own guidelines on acceptable use and list etiquette and we would expect list members to abide by these.

Users are reminded that the use of JISCMail is subject to the JANET Acceptable Use Policy (http://www.ja.net/services/publications/policy/aup.html), and to UK laws. So messages sent to lists may not contain information that breaks any law, such as (but not restricted to) those regarding copyright or defamation.

JISCMail cannot assume any responsibility for the content of messages sent to our discussion lists, as the messages are sent by individual users, and we do not review, screen or edit the content.

Please note that during periods of purdah such as a General election or similar, JISCMail is under obligation to ensure that its resources are not used for political purposes, and it must not undertake any activity which could call into question its impartiality. Therefore JISCMail groups should not engage in debate that would be construed as such (e.g. party political gain), nor should they engage in off topic debate which detracts from the normal business of their group.

You accept that you are solely responsible for the content of any email message you send to any JISCMail list.

6. Copyright of Messages Posted

When you send a message to a JISCMail list, you retain your copyright in that message. You also retain your moral right to be identified as the author of the work, and your moral right against derogatory treatment.

The extent to which your message is made available across the internet will depend on the level of access that has been decided by the listowner.

You give JISCMail permission to reproduce, deliver, distribute and archive your message as appropriate, and you agree that other JISCMail users may read, save, download or print your message.

More information about copyright is available at http://www.JISCMail.ac.uk/help/policy/copyright.htm

7. Message Archives

Messages sent to a JISCMail list will normally be archived, and these archives can then be retrieved by any member of that same list. These archives may also (at the discretion of the listowner) be made publicly available on the web, and thus be available to anyone.

When using JISCMail, you accept that any message you post to a JISCMail list may be archived in this manner, and that other users of the service may download and print these messages for their own use.

Archives or collections of the messages sent to a JISCMail list may not be made publicly available at another site unless the listowner has granted explicit permission, and the list members have been informed.

8. Security of Email Messages

Due to the nature of the internet, the security of messages to JISCMail cannot be guaranteed, and you should bear this in mind when posting confidential information to a list - this is true even when access to the list is restricted.

9. JISCMail Users and Data Protection

JISC Advance provides the JISCMail service and is registered for compliance under the Data Protection Act 1998.

When you subscribe to a JISCMail list you supply us with your name and email address, and this information can normally be retrieved by any member of that same list.

If you are using Shibboleth to authenticate, your Shibboleth Targeted_ID will be mapped to your e-mail address as well. This will uniquely identify you to JISCMail, but does not contain details of your identity, and is unique to our service.

When you leave JISCMail, your name, email address and, if relevant, Shibboleth Targeted_ID will be removed from our database. However, any message you have posted to a list will remain in the archives.

Personal information, which may be stored manually and/or electronically, will only be used in connection with the JISCMail service. JISCMail will never sell email addresses, or any other personal information, to another organisation.

You agree that JISCMail may disclose any information held if we believe that this is necessary to operate our systems, to run the service, to comply with the law, or to protect the service or others.

10. JISCMail and the Freedom of Information Act 2000

The JISCmail policy on Freedom of Information can be found at: http://www.JISCMail.ac.uk/help/policy/foi.htm

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11. False or Fraudulent Information

You will not attempt to mislead others as to your identity, either by providing false information when subscribing to, or posting to, a JISCMail list, or by forging the headers and addresses in an email message.

12. Voluntary Membership

Membership of a JISCMail list must be voluntary - neither the listowner or any other person may subscribe a person to a list without that person's consent.

13. Harvesting Addresses

No one shall use the JISCMail service to collect information about others (including their email addresses) without their consent.

14. Violation of our Policy

JISCMail users may contact us about any breach of our acceptable use policy, and we will take any of the following actions if it is thought appropriate:

• Contact the person responsible to discuss the problem
• Contact their listowner
• Remove them from list membership
• Contact their hosting site, institution, or service provider
• Restrict email from certain sites or addresses
• Remove inappropriate messages from the JISCMail archives
• Make a public announcement to those affected
• list owners are also entitled to take action against any list member who engages in unreasonable behaviour.

The decision on what action is appropriate will be made by the JISCMail team on a case by case basis. The action taken will often depend on whether the infraction was innocent, inadvertent or intentional.

If we receive any complaint about a message sent to a JISCMail list, we reserve the right to remove the allegedly offensive message from our archives immediately and without consulting the originator of this message.

15. Liability

JISCMail is not liable for the conduct of any JISCMail user, or for the conduct of any party other than JISCMail itself.

16. Amendments

JISCMail reserves the right to amend the Acceptable Use Policy at any time without notice. If the policy is amended then all list owners will be informed and they may distribute the information to list members.

17. How to contact JISCMail

If you have any questions or comments please contact us and we will do our best to resolve any problems or issues raised.