Spam is information that is sent to you without your permission or consent. A spam message could be an advertisement or an annoying chain letter. Simply put, if it is sent unsolicited, it is considered spam.

PROHIBITION OF TRANSMISSION OF UNSOLICITED ELECTRONIC MAIL- An initiator (and the agents or assigns of the initiator) may not send unsolicited electronic mail messages, including, without limitation, bulk advertising or informational announcements. Emails may be considered unsolicited if your membership addresses are not 100% opt-in/double opt-in by your e-mail list members. If your e-mail addresses came from harvesting, a purchased e-mail list, another mailing list (even with the approval of the other list owner), or were compiled by any method other than by direct subscription from your e-mail list members, they may be considered unsolicited (non-opt-in) e-mail (that is, "spam") for the purposes of the Peak 10 Service Agreement.

PROHIBITION OF USE - Customers may not use the Peak 10 network in order to:

• send solicited or unsolicited electronic mail messages which are excessive and/or intended to harass or annoy others,
• send electronic mail messages with forged TCP/IP packet header information,
• send malicious electronic mail messages, including, without limitation, "mailbombing",
• send or receive electronic mail messages in a manner that violates the acceptable use policies of any other internet service provider, or
• use a Peak 10 service e-mail box exclusively as a storage space for data.

INCLUSION OF RETURN ADDRESS IN ELECTRONIC MAIL - It shall be deemed an AUP Violation for any initiator (and the agents or assigns of the initiator) to initiate the transmission of a electronic mail message to any recipient unless such message contains a valid “Reply to:” electronic mail address, conspicuously displayed, to which a recipient may send a reply indicating a desire not to receive any further messages. Furthermore, it shall be deemed an AUP Violation if, following a request for removal, the recipient is not removed from any lists possessed by the initiator (and the agents or assigns of the initiator) after the expiration of a reasonable period of time as defined in Acceptable Use Policy Enforcement– Enforcement of Notification Terms.

PROHIBITION OF TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRONIC MAIL AFTER OBJECTION - Once an email recipient has made a request to the email initiator (or the agents or assigns of the initiator) to be removed from any or all distribution lists under the control of such initiator (and the agents or assigns of the initiator), it shall be deemed an AUP Violation for the initiator (or agents or assigns of the initiator) to send any electronic mail message to the recipient after the expiration of a reasonable period of time for removal from such lists defined in Acceptable Use Policy Enforcement– Enforcement of Notification Terms. A request to be removed from the initiator’s mail lists shall be deemed to terminate any pre-existing business relationship for purposes of determining whether subsequent messages are subject to terms of this policy as unsolicited electronic mail messages defined in Acceptable Use Policy Enforcement - PROHIBITION OF TRANSMISSION OF UNSOLICITED ELECTRONIC MAIL.

INCLUSION OF IDENTIFIER AND OPT-OUT/IN ON ELECTRONIC MAIL - It shall be deemed an AUP Violation for any initiator (and the agents or assigns of the initiator) to initiate the transmission of any electronic mail message to any recipient unless the message provides, in a manner that is clear and conspicuous to the recipient —

• initiators (and the agents or assigns of the initiator) shall utilize ‘opt in’ or ‘double opt in’ rules to engage recipients for distribution of electronic mailings and display in a clear and conspicuous manner any ‘pre-selected’ options to receive solicited electronic mail or electronic communications;
• upon receipt of electronic email or electronic communications the identification that the message is a solicited electronic mail message; and
• notice of the opportunity, under Acceptable Use Policy on Electronic Mail – Prohibition of Transmission of Electronic Mail after Objection, not to receive further solicited electronic mail messages from the initiator.

ENFORCEMENT OF POLICIES BY INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS OR OTHER RESELLERS OF PEAK 10 BANDWIDTH -

1. PROHIBITION OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VIOLATION OF POSTED POLICY - It shall be deemed an AUP Violation for any initiator (and the agents or assigns of the initiator) to transmit an electronic mail message to any recipient in violation of any policy governing the use of the equipment of a provider of Internet access service for transmission, including SMTP Relay Service.
2. REQUIREMENTS FOR ENFORCEABILITY - In order for an Internet provider’s (or other reseller of Peak 10 bandwidth) policies to be enforceable by Peak 10, the policies must meet the following:
   • Clarity - The policy shall explicitly provide that compliance with a rule or set of rules is a condition of use of the equipment of a provider of Internet access service to deliver electronic mail messages.
   • Public Availability - The policy shall be publicly available by at least one of the following methods:
     • Web Posting - The policy is clearly and conspicuously posted on a World Wide Web site of the provider of Internet access service, which has an Internet domain name that is identical to the Internet domain name of the electronic mail address to which the rule or set of rules applies.
     • Notification in Compliance with Technological Standard - Such policy is made publicly available by the provider of Internet access service in accordance with a technological standard adopted and recognized by Peak 10 by rule as a fair standard.
   • Internal Opt-Out List - If the policy of a provider of Internet access service requires compensation specifically for the transmission of electronic mail messages into its system, the provider shall provide an option to its subscribers not to receive any electronic mail messages, except that such option is not required for any subscriber who has agreed to receive electronic mail messages in exchange for discounted or free Internet access service.
3. OTHER ENFORCEMENT - Nothing in this Policy shall be construed to prevent or limit, in any way, a provider of Internet access service from enforcing, pursuant to any remedy available under any other provision of Federal, State, or local criminal or civil law, a policy regarding electronic mail messages.

GOOD FAITH EFFORTS TO BLOCK TRANSMISSIONS - Peak 10 shall not be held liable under any Federal, State, or local civil or criminal law, for any action it takes in good faith to block the transmission or receipt of electronic mail messages or suspension due to non-compliance to the polices outlined in Acceptable Use Policy on Electronic Mail.

INNOCENT RETRANSMISSION - Peak 10 and the facilities which are used to handle, transmit, retransmit, or relay an electronic mail message transmitted in violation of subsections defining acceptable use shall not be liable for any harm resulting from the transmission or receipt of such message. Peak 10 may provide consent to the transmission or retransmission of electronic mail with actual knowledge that the transmission is prohibited by subsections defined in Acceptable Use Policy on Electronic Mail with written approval from the recipient and request of the initiator (and the agents or assigns of the initiator).

• Forward a copy of the complete spam, keeping the subject line in tact.
• DO NOT send the original spam message as an attachment. Many abuse desks do not accept attachments and your complaint may never be received.
• Include full headers of the message. This is the most important rule for reporting spam. It is impossible to determine the true origin of an e-mail without full header information. Without this information, the provider can take no action against the initiator. Follow these instructions to obtain header information:
  • Netscape: Open the message. Go to VIEW, HEADERS, and click ALL. The headers are visible at the top of the message.
  • Outlook: Double-click on the message to open it into a separate window, click on VIEW/OPTIONS, and the headers will be visible.
  • Outlook Express: When viewing the message, click FILE, PROPERTIES. Click the DETAILS tab, and the headers will be visible.
  • For any other e-mail clients, consult your documentation, or contact the company that makes the software.
• Be polite. A generic complaint void of any threats or emotion will work best. For instance: “This is unsolicited, undesirable e-mail. Please take appropriate actions to stop it. The information below should be all you need.”
• Do not send repeated messages regarding the same spam message. Once you send a complaint you will most like not see a response from the ISP. This should not be taken as a sign of inaction. When an ISP has a spammer using their service, they are usually overwhelmed with complaints. However, subsequent unsolicited e-mails should be reported.

HOW TO REPORT SPAM ORIGINATING FROM A Peak 10 CONNECTION - If you determine that the unsolicited e-mail originated from a Peak 10 connection, please follow the General Guidelines for Reporting Spam and send the complaint to abuse@peak10.com. Sending unsolicited e-mail from a Peak 10 connection is a violation of Peak 10 Terms of Service Agreement. Customers in violation of this provision of the agreement are subject to suspension or termination.

HOW TO REPORT SPAM ORIGINATING FROM OUTSIDE A Peak 10 CONNECTION - Spam originating from outside a Peak 10 network should be reported to the sender's ISP using the General Guidelines for Reporting Spam. Peak 10 is unable to take action against spammers from other domains. Therefore it is not necessary to report unauthorized access attempts from other ISPs to the Peak 10 Abuse Department.