Terms and Limitationstop
The Web Technologies Group expects that all users who register to use the system limit their use of the Student Development server to purposes which are not malicious and respect the right of other users to take advantage of the system. As such, the systems administrators reserve the right to remove any content which specifically violates system policy, in any way affects the rights of another user as described in this document, or is generally malicious towards the system. Further, serious violations may result
Users are allowed only to access their own content, and may not view, modify, or remove content belonging to other users. Further, users may not make any attempt to modify the server's configuration beyond changing settings which are expressly granted to them through their control panel.
No guarantee is provided concerning the availability or operational status of the system at any time.
User Responsibilitiestop
Student Development Service accounts are assigned to one individual. That individual is responsible for any use of their account, including communication, posting of content, and access to public or private and local or Internet information. Therefore, users are discouraged from sharing passwords and access information unless absolutely necessary. Passwords should be changed regularly. Any person who believes their account has been accessed by someone other than themselves or believes an account has been falsely registered in their name (though steps are taken to prevent this from happening in the first place) should report the account in question to the Web Technologies group (abuse@myrpi.org) immediately.
Any person attempting to gain access to another user's private information, circumvent security measures, or make use of server access to make unauthorized use of other machines is not permitted. Deliberate attempts to degrade the performance of the service or network or to deprive users of any of the terms granted to them by this document are prohibited. Any of the above may result in immediate termination of service and further prosecution under Institute Policy and applicable law.
You should not use electronic communication in an attempt to impersonate another user or otherwise misrepresent yourself to others. Although there are instances in which anonymous communication is acceptable, it is generally advisable to identify yourself accurately. It is not acceptable to use anonymity to harass, threaten, or deceive others. Any use of Student Development Services to harass, threaten, or deceive others is strictly prohibited.
Users of the Student Development Service are expected to abide by the Rensselaer Policy on Electronic Citizenship (http://www.rpi.edu/web/comec) and applicable law in their use of the Student Development Service. The normal (non-technical) restrictions and responsibilities that apply to a student or faculty member's personal web space (http://rpi.edu/~account) also apply to the Student Development Server.
Termination of Service and Imposition of Sanctionstop
The Web Technologies Group reserves the right to place sanctions on or remove the account of any user found to be in violation of the terms of the Student Development Service. Sanctions may include limitation of computing resources, declined file access and execution rights on the server, and blocking of public addresses (specifically, public HTTP and FTP access). Electronic notice will be given if possible. In other cases which require account termination, an account may be temporarily frozen, and the user notified given a grace period during which to backup files and make appropriate hosting arrangements.
Privacytop
The Student Development Server gives users access to their own personal directory hierarchy. This contains areas designated as 'public' and all others are treated as 'private'. Further, source code that is used to generate dynamic content is treated as 'private'. All points of access to the file structure have been designed such that 'private' arrays are not exposed to public or to other users. However, there is no guarantee of privacy of any information transmitted to or from the Student Development system. Reasonable caution should always be exercised when using the server. In the case of software malfunction, suspicion of malicious intent, suspicion of policy violation, suspicion of unlawful activity, compulsion by the Institute, or compulsion by law enforcement, data otherwise considered private could be released.
While precautions are taken to protect user privacy, the systems administrators of the Student Development Server may access any file at any time when necessary for maintenance and oversight. Administrators may use elevated privileges to access files within user directories but will never impersonate or act on behalf of other users.
The Web Technologies Group may routinely monitor and log usage and error data of user accounts.
Visits to Student Development informational and registration pages fall under the Student Senate Privacy Policy (http://studentsenate.rpi.edu/frontpage/privacy).
User Procedurestop
This section describes what is expected of users in special situations.
Security and Abuse Incidents
All users should report any discovered unauthorized access or improper use of the service. If you observe or have reported to you such a problem, immediately notify the Web Technologies Group via the address abuse@myrpi.org.
Service Issues
While the Student Development Service is provided without guarantees, its creators and administrators have every intention of providing the best possible quality of service and adhering to the service outline specified in this document. Any user who believes that he or she has experienced an interruption of service or is being denied full use of the service should contact support@myrpi.org. Further, any user experience elevated access privileges is responsible for their use and should contact the administrators immediately.
Administrative Procedurestop
While the Web Technologies Group is bound neither by particular procedures nor any service guarantees, these procedures will guide the Team in administrating the service.
Data Storage
Efforts will be made to protect the Student Development Server and its content from accidental and intentionally malicious damage. Further, backups of all data will be made regularly. In the event of a server malfunction or administrative error, user files and data stored in the database will be restored to the latest restore point. Users should be aware that this could mean that significant changes to a website made in a short period of time could be lost in the event that restoring to backup is necessary.
Continuity
The Student Development service is maintained by the Web Technologies Group, which is an Agency of the Rensselaer Union Student Senate. The Web Technologies Group is a diverse team of students with background in web design, programming, electronics, and management. As a body falling under the leadership of the Student Senate's Chief Information Officer, there is strong support from the Senate to ensure that there are always students to maintain the service. Further, the Web Technologies Group is involved in active recruitment of new members to ensure continuity in all of the projects that it manages.
The Web Technologies Group plans to continuously improve and maintain the Student Development Service, which is believed to be able to run indefinitely. Nonetheless, a contingency is in place which will allow users to retrieve their data after a determination to close the system is made.
User Contact
The primary mode of contact when it is necessary for administrators to communicate with users will be the e-mail provided at registration time (which is also updateable in the user control panel). Individuals will be notified whenever concerns with their user account arise. Further, in the event of significant system changes, data loss and restoration, policy updates, as well as to periodically provide updates and collect user feedback, systems administrators may contact all users through an email list containing users' listed email address. Additionally, users have the option to be automatically notified of approaching quotas.