Responsibilities toward Internet

Students' Rules & Responsibilities for On-Line Safety & Security

Students will never share their Townsend Harris Network account with any other person. They will keep their password confidential, and never reveal it to other people.
Students will never receive or send another person's messages without their knowledge, or pose as another user in any communication with other individuals.
Students will only send messages over the Internet that are free of racist, sexist, inflammatory, hateful, obscene, advertising or commercial content. They will refrain from sending messages for partisan political lobbying purposes.
Students will create web page documents that are free of racist, sexist, inflammatory, hateful, obscene, advertising or commercial content. They will refrain from creating web documents for partisan political lobbying purposes.
Students will always ask teacher for permission before giving out or posting on a web page personal information such as address/telephone number, parents' work address/telephone number, or the name and location of school.
Students will tell their teacher promptly if they come across any information that is racist, sexist, inflammatory, hateful, obscene, or that in any way makes them uncomfortable.
Students will always check with their teacher and/or parents before sending or posting their picture or any personal information on a web page.
Students will always seek permission to use copyrighted material.
Students will talk with their teacher so that they can set up rules for going on-line. They will decide upon the time of day that they can be on-line, the length of time they can be on-line, and appropriate areas for them to visit. They will not access other areas without permission.
Students will be polite and use proper language while communicating with others.
Students will always use the Internet responsibly, so that others may benefit from it without disruption.
Students will always respect and take care of software, mouse, keyboard and other equipment and data.
Students will never participate in email chain letters.

Student Rules & Responsibilities for On-Line Safety

Personal Safety

Personal contact information (e.g., address, and telephone number) about any person will not be posted.
Permission must be granted before giving out personal information such as address, and telephone number, parents' work address and telephone number, or pictures.
Arranged meetings are only to have been organized by the school and must pertain to school activities. These meetings are not permitted without parental approval.
Any inappropriate messages should be reported to school authorities immediately.

Illegal Activities

Unauthorized access to this or any other computer system, or going beyond authorized access by entering another person's user id or accessing another person's files is not permitted.
Disruption of the computer system or destruction of data by the spreading of computer viruses or by any other means is not permitted.
The Townsend Harris High School network will not be used for the engagement of any other illegal acts or threats to personal safety.
Harassment of another person from within the school network, or a remote source (home computer/on-line service), by a persistent action that distresses or annoys another person is not permitted.
Impersonation of a school employee, student citizen through the use of a screen name is illegal and will be prosecuted.
Students will never receive or send another person's messages without that persons, knowledge, or pose as another user in communicating with other individuals.

System security

Townsend Harris High School Network user accounts are not to be shared with any other person. Users are responsible for individual accounts and will take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from using their account. Under no condition should any password be given to another person. If there is suspicion that someone has used an account or that a password has been compromised, the password will be promptly changed and reported to a teacher.
Users must notify a teacher or the system administrator of possible security problems. Users should not look for security problems; this may be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access.

Inappropriate Language

Proper language must be maintained while communicating with others.
During all uses of the Internet, whether in public or private messages or material posted on web pages, obscene or disrespectful language is unacceptable. Information that could cause danger or disruption or engagement in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory statements are not permitted.

Respect for Privacy

Private messages will not be posted publicly without permission of the sender of the message.

Respecting Resource Limits

Participation in, or the forwarding of e-mail chain letters to multiple users is not permitted. (that is, sending an annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people)
Large files should not be downloaded unless absolutely necessary.
Email should be checked frequently and unwanted messages deleted promptly in order to maintain your mailbox size quota. Email is limited to a maximum of 500 messages or 2 MB, whichever limit is reached first.
When participating in mailing list groups, users are to subscribe to discussion group mail lists that are relevant to their education or career development.

Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement

Users will always fully and accurately credit sources when using the Internet for written work and never engage in plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking someone else's work and passing it off as one's own.
Respecting the rights of copyright owners is required. (Copyright infringement occurs when one inappropriately reproduces a work that is protected by copyright.) If a work contains language that specifies appropriate use of that work, one should follow the expressed requirements. If unsure whether or not you can use a work, you should request permission from the copyright owner. Direct any questions regarding copyright law to a teacher.

Inappropriate Access to Material

Use of the Townsend Harris High School network to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography) or that advocates illegal acts or violence or discrimination toward other people (hate literature) is prohibited. Exceptions of this rule, if applicable to research, will be discussed with teachers. Notification must be prompt if users come across any information that is racist, sexist, inflammatory, hateful, or obscene.