On Sat, Jul 30, 2016 at 03:34:32PM -0400, bzs@theworld.com wrote:
I don't know if one can write a ToS which says you will be shut down if you harm another party utilizing another party's services but not otherwise involving us. Well, you can write anything but is it lawful and enforceable?
Yes. And it doesn't require that the activity be illegal, which is a good thing because of what most of us recognize as abusive may or may not be illegal depending on which legal professional is interpreting the law, which law they're interpreting, and what jurisidction(s) apply. I fired an 11-year customer in under an hour when I discovered them spamming via one of the numerous spammers-for-hire out there. This activity had nothing to do with the services I was providing them, but it fell under the provision that said (abbreviating liberally from the legalese) "if you spam from anywhere, you're toast". I didn't like doing it to a longtime customer, particularly because they happened to be my biggest customer, but I did...because it was the right thing to do, and because I had made it crystal-clear to them when they signed on that I would do it without hesitation. I expect the same from everyone else. If I can do it without the budgets, staff, and legal departments that so many far larger operations enjoy, then so can they. It's just a question of whether or not they recognize their ethical, professional obligation to the rest of the Internet and are willing to put that ahead of profit. ---rsk