Acceptable Use Policy

1. Unlimited Traffic and Unlimited Storage Policies - PA-Roots concept behind "unlimited traffic" and "unlimited storage" is to provide our web hosts with an unlimited amount of storage space and bandwidth for active Pennsylvania related genealogy website. On rare occasions, a site's popularity and server usage may impair the performance of other sites on PA-Roots' server. To ensure proper use, all files MUST be hyper-linked to files (.html, .jpg, .gif, etc.) stored on our server. CGI chat scripts are not allowed.  Any perl script that consumes large amount of CPU usage or memory are not allowed. The user will be asked to remove any script that abuses system resources. 
   
   
2. PA-Roots Services May Only be Used for Lawful Purposes - Transmission, distribution, or storage of any information, data or material in violation of United States or state regulation or law, or by the common law, is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, or any other statute. PA-Roots reserves the right to remove such illegal material from its server immediately. PA-Roots expressly forbids anyone from using PA-Roots' server for the propagation, distribution, housing, processing, storing, or otherwise handling in any way lewd, obscene, or pornographic material, or any other material which we deem to be objectionable. The designation of any materials as such described above is left entirely to the discretion of the PA-Roots management.
   
   
3. Unlawful and/or Unethical Use - PA-Roots does NOT allow sites that provide points of distribution, or links to the following types of sites:
   
   Adult Sites - Any erotic or pornographic material, links to adults sites, or advertisements for adult sites.
   Pirated Software (Warez) - Any software that is copyrighted and not freely available for distribution without cost. ROMs, ROM Emulators and Mpeg Layer 3 files (MP3).
   Hacking / Phreaking - Includes sites with material, links, or resources for Hacking, Phreaking, Viruses, Anarchy, or any type of site that promotes the destruction or compromises the integrity of PA-Roots.
   
   
4. E-Mail Acceptable Use - PA-Roots strictly prohibits harassment, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages utilizing any PA-Roots.com e-mail account. Forging of header information is not permitted. PA-Roots does not allow unsolicited mail. This includes "Spamming" and "Bulk Mail" sent to persons who have otherwise not requested to receive such mail. The reason for this is that not only is it generally frowned upon by the internet community, but it also demands extra bandwidth to handle the effects of such mail.
   
   

5. PA-Roots' Services are Intended for the End User Only. Users cannot lease, subhost, or give away control of any portion of PA-Roots' resources.
   

6. Commercial Activities - PA-Roots resources may not be used for commercial purposes without prior written approval of the management of PA-Roots.

7. Harvesting of Data -  Material written and submitted by an individual user may not be harvested for commercial or other use, except with the permission of that individual or as permitted by Fair Use. 

8. You own your own contributions.  When you post messages to a data board or submit a data file, those submissions remain your property under US copyright law.

9. Redirecting - A web account at PA-Roots may not be used to redirect traffic to a website housed on another server.
   

10. Archiving Data - PA-Roots may archive and redistribute your submissions on our server.  We will never archive and redistribute your material in any commercial product.   So we can provide current and future users with access to your posts, by posting date on PA-Roots, you give PA-Roots license to archive and redistribute your submissions.

11. Abandoned Accounts - Individual user accounts that have not been utilized or updated for a period greater than 12 months may be declared abandoned by the management of PA-Roots. If the account is declared inactive the account password will be changed after attempting to notify the account holder.  If the account holder cannot be contacted, PA-Roots may choose to keep the website on-line and make the necessary updates to keep the website current.  PA-Roots may delete the account and content if appropriate.
    

12. Warranty of Services - PA- Roots makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied for services we provide. PA- Roots disclaims any warranty or validity of the data that is provided. PA- Roots reserves the right to revise its policies at any time without prior notification.  PA-Roots has limited responsibilities.  Hard drives may fail or other catastrophic events may occur.  While we endeavor to provide the most reliable services possible, we are not responsible for interruptions or loss of data.  In no case will we be liable for any damages resulting from the loss of data.

13. Violation of any of PA Roots' Acceptable Use Policy could result in a warning, suspension, or possible account termination.