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<dd>(b) <b><i>FTP/HTTP Service Setup.</i></b> Customer should be aware
that when using the Service to access the Internet or any other online
network or service, there are certain applications, such as FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) server or HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) server,
which may be used to allow other Service users and Internet users to gain
access to Customer's computer. If Customer chooses to run such
applications, Customer should take the appropriate security measures.
Neither AT&T nor @Home Network shall have any liability whatsoever
for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings resulting
from, arising out of or otherwise relating to the use of such
applications by Customer, including without limitation, damages resulting
from others accessing Customer's computer. <br><br>
<br><br>
</dl>This states that you ARE able to run an FTP or HTTP server. It
says "If Customer chooses to run such applications", meaning
that it is the Customers choice. On top of that, att says that they
shall not be liable if you choose to use such applications, not "att
shall discontinue your service if ....".<br><br>
I know lawyers use a lot of obscure language, but this isn't one of those
times. <br><br>
"FTP ... server or HTTP ... server ... may be used"<br><br>
Those are the words that matter. I looked over the rest of the
contract and could not find anywhere that states or implies that
"FTP ... server or HTTP ... server may NOT be used".<br><br>
Of course, it does not explicitly say WHO may use these servers in that
sentence, but the sentence which comes later, "If Customer chooses
to run such applications" implies that it is the Customer who is the
USER of these servers.<br><br>
<br>
Anything else they say on their site is irrelevant, as you only signed
the contract. Yes, they can change policies of the contract but
according to 11(b), they cannot change it silently. They must, at
the minimum, post that they have change the policies (which has given me
the desire to create a program to continually watch the 'posting' page
for any changes, and notify me on such.<br><br>
But seeing as there 'current' contract says nothing about dis-allowing
ftp or http servers, then they can't legally stop you.<br><br>
They can, however, block port 80, according to this contract. There
is nothing in the wording that says anything about the assigning of
ports, or the allowing of information flow to those ports. So,
while you are able to run an FTP or HTTP server, they do not have to
allow specific ports to be used (they can say that you can still use port
8080 for http, thus still allowing you to use an http server).<br><br>
<br>
A few tips I have learned from my wife (having interpreted laws and
written tarriffs many times in her career, her specialty was phone
companies):<br><br>
1. document everything, every outage, every complaint, the name of the
person you speak to, the phone number you called, the time, the
particular office/town/state that person is in, the situation, the
solution you had been promised, and the times you had been promised. make
sure that when you speak to someone they write down as a note in your
file, important information regarding the incident (such as what
arrangements you came to, the times/dates you were promised and the
solution).<br><br>
2. never speak to a lacky, if you want something done, ask for the
supervisor/manager immediately, and if they don't get you what you want,
go higher up the chain, when they say no, push, ask for the supervisors
supervisor, phone number, exentsion, proper spelling of the name. Then
deal with them. Eventually, you will get someone high enough that
will look at this matter as trivial, and will be fairly pissed off that
such a trivial matter has wasted their time, the crap will start rolling
down hill with an urgent "take care of this, now"
message. My wife has successfully used this tactic hundreds of
times (and swears by it). I may be able to get some executive phone
numbers to call regarding this (the ones she used when she was dealing
with this stuff at work).. but I can't promise anything. Those lead
directly to the people who will start the crap rolling down hill, and you
won't event have to climb the ladder to get to them. :)<br><br>
3. never threaten to take these people to court or to sue (how many times
do they hear THAT in a day?). A clean assurance that you will be
sending a letter to the Department of Justice (don't send bogus letters)
regarding this matter, including a copy of the contract you signed, the
current contract, their name, the times you spoke to them (and the name
of the person you spoke to), and the situation, will help. This of
course is to be followed promptly by a letter to the Department of
Justice (registered mail), ccd (registered mail) to the company you are
having a problem with (can't forget the cc). On that letter make
sure you note at the bottom who the letter is ccd to.<br><br>
<br>
-John<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
Disclaimer (I hate the fact that there are losers out there whose
stupidity would force me to write this):<br><br>
I'm not a lawyer, nor do I have any law training. This email
constitutes my personal opinion of the respective contract. This
information is not to be construed as legal advice or legal
interpretation of the law. Use of this opinion is the sole responsibility
of the user of the opinion. The writer of the opinion does not make any
warranties, express or implied, about this opinion, nor is he liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential
losses or damages, including loss of profits, loss of earnings, loss of
business opportunities and personal injuries (including death), resulting
directly or indirectly out of, or otherwise arising in connection with
the use of this opinion. Loser.<br>
<br>
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