Hosting - Terms & Conditions

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Web Hosting Details

More information about Plaudit Design's web hosting services can be found on the web site hosting page.

Within this TOS, AUP, and SLA, the usage of "us", "we", "our", "ours", "Company" shall constitute reference to Plaudit Design, the usage of "you", "your", "they", "them", "Customer", "Client" shall refer to client / customer of Plaudit Design.

Use of Company Service constitutes acceptance and agreement to Company's AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) as well as Company's TOS (Terms of Service). Company reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this AUP, our TOS (Terms of Service) and our other policies and agreements at any time and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be posted in accordance with our TOS (Terms of Service). All users of Company's Internet services, and their clients, must comply with this AUP and our TOS (Terms of Service).

Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

We support the uncensored flow of information and ideas over the Internet and do not actively monitor subscriber activity under normal circumstances. Similarly, we do not exercise editorial control over the content of any web site, e-mail transmission, newsgroups, or other material created or accessible over or through the services, except for certain proprietary Web sites. However, in accordance with our TOS (Terms of Service), we may remove any materials that, in our sole discretion, may be illegal, may subject us to liability, or which may violate this AUP. Company may cooperate with legal authorities and/or third parties in the investigation of any suspected or alleged crime or civil wrongdoing. Your violation of this AUP may result in the suspension or immediate termination of either your Company account or other actions as detailed below without notice, based upon the nature of the violation.

The following is intended to provide a basic understanding of Company's AUP. The following are guidelines for the establishment and enforcement of Company's AUP. We prefer to advise customers of inappropriate behavior and any necessary corrective action, however based on the nature of the violation, we reserve the right to immediately terminate service without notice.

The following constitute violations of this AUP:

  • Illegal Activities: Company's services may not be used for or in support of illegal purposes / activities. Company reserves the right to cooperate with legal authorities and/or injured third parties in the investigation of any suspected crime or civil wrongdoing.

  • Pornography: Client may not use Company's service to transmit or store pornographic material in any way including but not limited to e-mail, uploading, and posting.

  • Harm, Endangerment to other people: You may not use Company's service to harm, or attempt to harm, minors or other persons in any way, including, but not limited to child pornography, or use of Company's service to transmit any material (by e-mail, uploading, posting or otherwise) that threatens or encourages bodily harm or destruction of property.

  • Forgery or impersonation: Adding, removing or modifying identifying network header information in an effort to deceive or mislead is prohibited. Attempting to impersonate any person by using forged headers or other identifying information is prohibited.

  • Unsolicited E-mail, News Bombing (SPAM): Use of Company's service to transmit any unsolicited commercial or unsolicited bulk e-mail is expressly prohibited. Spam complaints will be sent to the e-mail address on file. Violations of this type will result in the immediate suspension of the offending web site on the Company server. Failure to respond to complaints within a 24 hour time frame will result in the Company's abuse staff suspending the offending web site or hosting account by whatever means necessary. Should the account become re-activated without the express written consent of Company's Abuse Department, the offending web site or hosting account will be immediately terminated, and may result in suspension / termination of Client's account should the site and/or client re-appear on the server. Anyone hosting ws or services that support spammers or cause any of our IP space to be listed in any of the various Spam Databases will have their services immediately removed from our network. The services will not be restored until such time that you agree to remove any and all traces of the offending material immediately upon reconnection and agree to allow us access to confirm that all material has been completely removed. Severe violations may result in immediate and permanent termination of service without notice to the customer. Any Client guilty of a second violation will be immediately and permanently removed from our network without notice. Malicious intent to impede another person's use of electronic mail services or news will result in the immediate termination of the offending Company account.

  • Copyright or trademark infringement: Use of Company's service to transmit any material (by e-mail, uploading, posting or otherwise) that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or other proprietary rights of any third party, including, but not limited to, the unauthorized copying of copyrighted material, the digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books, or other copyrighted sources, and the unauthorized transmittal of copyrighted software is prohibited. Use of the Company's service to collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent is prohibited. Distribution and/or posting of copyrighted or the aforementioned infringements will not be tolerated.

  • Network disruptions: Use of Company's service for any activity which affects the ability of other people or systems to use Company's Services or the Internet is prohibited. This includes "denial of service" (DOS) attacks against another network host or individual user. Interference with or disruption of other network users, services or equipment is prohibited. Company will not tolerate any subscriber attempting to access the accounts of others, or penetrate security measures of other systems, whether or not the intrusion results in corruption or loss of data. Company does not allow the hosting of IRC, IRC Bots, or eggdrops on our network. Clients found hosting this material will be subject to immediate cancellation without refund. Use of Company's service to access, or to attempt to access, the accounts of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, security measures of Company's or another entity's computer software or hardware, electronic communications system, or telecommunications system, whether or not the intrusion results in the corruption or loss of data, is expressly prohibited and the offending Company account is subject to immediate termination.

  • Security: You are responsible for any misuse of your account, even if the inappropriate activity was committed by a friend, family member, guest or employee. Therefore, you must take steps to ensure that others do not gain unauthorized access to your account. In addition, you may not use your account to breach security of another account or attempt to gain unauthorized access to another network or server.

  • Security Risk: Should your account become a security risk to our network, including, but not limited to: presumed compromised servers, outbound verified attacks, inbound recipient of an attack, spamming, illegal content, etc. Company will normally attempt to contact the you, giving 24 hours notice, after which time, we will attempt to gain entry to your account with passwords on file. Should the passwords not be accessible to Company staff, Company reserves the right to suspend or gain entry to your account through any available means. In extreme circumstances (as determined by Company's sole discretion) Company reserves the right to suspend your account or take other actions related to your account, including unlimited access to web site, email and other materials without advance notice.

  • Network Security: Company accounts operate on shared network resources. Excessive use or abuse of these resources by one customer may have a negative impact on all other customers. Misuse of network resources in a manner which impairs network performance is prohibited by this policy and may result in termination of your account.

Reporting Violations of Company AUP

Company requests that anyone who believes that there is a violation of this AUP direct the information to the Abuse Department at abuse@plaudit.com . If possible, please provide the IP address used to commit the violation, date and time of the violation, and evidence of the violation.

Terms of Service (TOS)

Acceptance of Contractual Agreement

  1. Client agrees that by placing an order either by means of electronic ordering (web order form) or submitting a written contract, and receipt of such order by Company, that Client agrees to our TOS, AUP, and SLA. No Modifications of said contract by customer is allowed.

  2. Company will provide, and Customer will purchase and pay for, the Services, and service fees specified in the Order for the Services. Customer acknowledges that the service fees have been communicated to the customer, and that they are aware of all applicable charges as per contract, AUP, SLA, and TOS. Customer also understands that any promotional offers unless specified in contractual terms will not be applicable to their individual service.

  3. In connection with any Hosting Services, if Customer's actual bandwidth or disk space usage in any month exceeds the amount specified in Customer's contract, Customer will pay Company any additional fees as specified in the Service Description. Failure to pay a bandwidth or disk space overage bill by the due date may result in suspension or termination of Services.

Delinquent Accounts

Company may suspend or terminate Services upon failure of Customer to pay charges when due. Such suspension or termination will not relieve Customer of responsibility for the payment of all accrued service fees, or any collection fees. Accounts not paid by due date are subject to interest at the rate of nine and one half percent (9 1/2) per annum, or the maximum amount allowable by law. Accounts that are not collectible by Company will be turned over to an outside agency for collection.

Refunds and Disputes

Payments to Company are nonrefundable. This includes any setup fees and monthly fees regardless of usage. All billing disputes must be reported in writing within 30 days of the disputed billing.

Account Cancellation

All request to cancel any Services must be made in writing with at least 30 days prior written notice and faxed to (651) 646-0696 or mailed to:

Plaudit Design
2470 University Avenue W.
St. Paul MN, 55114-1735

Privacy of Client Information

Company has a policy of respecting the privacy of Client information. However, Company may gain access to Client's private information in the normal course of providing Services. For example, in the course of assisting Client personnel with email issues Company may observe the sender, recipient, subject or contents of email messages. Though Company will not normally divulge such information to third parties, Company reserves the right to divulge Client information to Company's attorney, law enforcement agencies or as otherwise required by law.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Hosting Services

Plaudit Design provides Hosting Services. From time to time Plaudit Design ("System Administration") may provide security updates, patches, kernel upgrades, software updates, and other kinds of system administration without charge. Client understands that such changes may, on rare occasion, prove to be incompatible with Client's website or other software. In addition to these services System Administration may make recommendations to improve the overall performance, security, and updates to the service. At the discretion of Plaudit Design such recommendations may be considered billable. Client will be notified and requested to approve any such billable services.

Network Uptime

Network Uptime is the total time in a calendar month that Company's network is available through the Internet, provided that Client has established connectivity. Company takes responsibility for Network availability within their network, however, we cannot be held liable for upstream problems, outside of our network. Our guarantee is that our Network will be available to clients free of Network Outages, that result in 100% packet loss, 99.9% of each calendar month.

Network Outages or Unscheduled Downtime

Network Outages or Unscheduled Downtime is any unplanned or unscheduled interruption in Service availability during which Client is unable to access the services as described in the section titled "Network Uptime" above. A Network Outage is defined as a period in which 100% packet loss to our network is experienced, which is determined to have been caused by a problem in Company's Network as confirmed by Company. Downtime or outages are measured as the total length of time of the unplanned interruption in service availability in a calendar month.

Scheduled Downtime

Scheduled Downtime is any Company scheduled interruption of Services for the purpose of network upgrades, software enhancements, or replacement of any equipment in order to provide better service for you. Scheduled downtime occurs with reasonable advance warning via e-mail or telephone.

SLA Network Violation Credit

SLA Network Violation Credit occurs when our network uptime guarantee is not met. Company will refund the customer 5% of the monthly fee for each hour of downtime (up to 100% of what Customer is paying monthly) for network downtime. Network downtime is measured from the time the network is 100% unreachable, until service is once again restored. In order to request a performance credit, you must e-mail our sales department, within 10 days of reported violation, at: sales@plaudit.com. SLA violations will be reviewed by our personnel and applied on the 1st business day of the next month.

The following are excluded from the monthly calculation of service availability:

  • Scheduled Downtime

  • Problems outside of Company's network (upstream providers, or client's inbound connection) not resulting in 100% loss to our network

  • Interruption or failure of service caused by client, client's employees, client's customers, etc. to their service. These include inaccurate configuration, 3rd party software, client abuse or over utilization of resources, hacked servers, attacks, exploits, or server hardware failures.

  • Brief interruptions of less than five minutes for machine reboots, installation of security updates, software upgrades or configuration changes.

Server hardware is defined as the Processor(s), RAM, hard disk(s), motherboard, NIC card, switches and other related hardware.

Hardware Replacement

Hardware replacement will occur within seven hours of the reported problem, Company will refund 5% of the monthly fee per additional six hours of down time (up to 100% of customer's monthly fee). In order to request an SLA hardware violation credit, you must email sales within 10 days of reported violation at: support@plaudit.com. SLA violations will be reviewed by our personnel. Hardware SLA violations do not cover network violation.

The following are excluded from the monthly calculation of service availability:

  • Scheduled downtime

  • Interruption or failure of service caused by client, client's employees, client's customers, etc. to Customer's service.

Backups

Company makes backup copies of data to guard against the loss of data in case of hardware or software failure or any other cause. In addition, for an extra fee, Company will provide backup CDs or DVDs to Client periodically. If the site was created by Company, the Client may request a free CD/DVD at the time of launch containing the files that constitute the web site. In the event that Client needs to have data restored, Company will provide recovery services to minimize downtime. However, Company shall not be liable for loss of Client data under any circumstance.

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