Banned Activity

The following activities violate the Company’s computer network, IM, and e-mail usage policy:

1. Sending, receiving, downloading, uploading, or seeking inappropriate, offensive, vulgar, suggestive, obscene, abusive, harassing, discriminatory, belligerent, threatening, defamatory (harming another person’s reputation by lies), or misleading language or materials.

2. Revealing personal information, such as the home address, telephone number, or Social Security number of another person or yourself.

3. Making ethnic, sexual-preference, or gender-related slurs, jokes, or comments.

4. Engaging in illegal activities, violating the employee handbook, or encouraging others to do so. Examples:

   1. Using IM or e-mail to sell or provide substances prohibited by the Company’s employment policy or the employee handbook.

   2. Accessing, sending, receiving, or seeking unauthorized, confidential, or proprietary information about the Company, executives, employees, clients, suppliers, business partners, or any third party.

   3. Conducting unauthorized business, including using the Company’s IM or e-mail system to look for another job or operate a business of your own.

   4. Using the network, IM, or e-mail to send, receive, view, download, or search for obscene, pornographic, or illegal materials.

   5. Accessing others’ passwords, user names, address books, contact lists, folders, files, work, networks, or computers. Intercepting IM or e-mail communications intended for others.

   6. Downloading or transmitting the organization’s confidential information, trade secrets, or intellectual property via IM or e-mail.

5. Causing harm or damaging others’ property. Examples:

   1. Sending, receiving, or downloading copyrighted materials without permission from the copyright holder. Even when materials on the network, IM, and or e-mail are not marked with the copyright symbol, , employees should assume all materials are protected under copyright laws— unless explicit permission to use the materials is granted.

   2. Using another employee’s e-mail password or IM user name to trick recipients into believing someone other than you is communicating.

   3. Uploading a virus, harmful component, or corrupted data—vandalizing the network.

   4. Using personal IM clients (AOL, Yahoo!, MSN) or personal e-mail accounts (Hotmail) that are not approved by the Chief Information Officer.

6. Engaging in commercial activity. Employees may not use the IM or e-mail system to sell or buy products or services. Employees may not solicit or advertise the sale of any goods or services. Employees may not divulge private information— including credit card numbers and Social Security numbers— about themselves or others.

7. Wasting the Company’s computer resources or employees’ productive time. Specifically, do not waste printer toner or paper. Do not send electronic chain letters. Do not send e-mail copies to nonessential readers. Do not send e-mail to group lists unless it is appropriate for everyone on a list to receive the e-mail. Do not send organization-wide e-mails without your supervisor’s permission. Do not engage in unnecessary or personal IM chat.

8. Encouraging other employees to send, receive, view, download, or search for materials, files, information, software, or other offensive, defamatory, misleading, infringing, or illegal content.