Cyberspace Communications Policy Log

The basic rules for the operation of Cyberspace Communications are laid out by the bylaws. However, over the years, various other policies have been set.

Membership Referenda

Any Cyberspace Communications member can propose a referendum for vote by the membership. The results of such votes are binding on the board and can only be overturned by another member referendum. Bylaw Amendments are not listed here (see the bylaws), nor are unsuccessful motions. All motions, can be found at the member vote page.

Restriction of Outgoing Net Access - Passed April 6, 1994 Cyberspace Communications (Grex) will restrict outgoing Internet access such that only those who are verified and paying membership dues will receive this service.
NOTE: This motion is modified by the next one.
Restriction of Outgoing Net Access - Passed August 17, 1994

The following internet services enrich the Grex community, do not use much bandwidth, and do not provide much potential for internet mischief; therefore they should be made available to all:
Finger Whois Ping Mail (incoming and outgoing) Incoming Usenet News Incoming Telnet Incoming FTP Incoming Lynx Talk (and its various permutations) Archie Veronica WAIS Gopher (with all Telnet capabilities disabled)

The following services will be restricted to VERIFIED GREX MEMBERS and VERIFIED GREX USERS (however the board shall define that term) because of the potential for world-wide mischief:
Outgoing Usenet News

The following services will be restricted to VERIFIED GREX MEMBERS in good standing, because these services utilize a lot of bandwidth, offer less of a benefit to the Grex community as a whole, and/or hold the potential for system cracking and other undesirable activities:
Outgoing FTP Outgoing Telnet Outgoing Lynx Gopher (with telnet capability enabled.) IRC

Being that the major objection to open access for the above services is the lack of available bandwidth on Grex's internet link, It is understood that any of these services may be made available to all VERIFIED USERS as well as VERIFIED MEMBERS as soon as Grex acquires a link of suitable power and robustness.

In order to maintain the integrity of both Grex, and of the Internet as a whole, the Grex board shall have the power to restrict or deny internet access to groups or individuals who pose a security risk, or who engage in inappropriate behavior (as defined by the Grex board).

The board may also make modifications to this proposal without resorting to a member vote in the case of an emergency situation, or if some provision of this proposal proves to be technically impossible to implement.
Blue Ribbon Campaign - Passed December 17, 1998
That Grex place an endorsement of the Blue Ribbon Campaign for Online Freedom of Expression on its web page. This endorsement should stay in place at least until the fate of the recently-enacted Federal statute which prohibits the display of material 'harmful to minors' in certain circumstances is decided by the Federal courts, but may be left up longer at the discretion of Grex's webmasters.
Michigan Public Act 33 Lawsuit - Passed June 21, 1999
To support continued participation of Cyberspace Communications, Inc., as a plaintiff in the lawsuit aimed at overturning Michigan Public Act 33 of 1999. A vote of "YES" shall be construed as supporting continued participation, while a vote of "NO" shall be construed as supporting withdrawal from the lawsuit.

Board Motions

The Cyberspace Communications board sometimes makes motions authorizing certain actions or establishing certain procedures. These could be overridden by another board vote or a member referendum. This page lists only motions of lasting interests. It does not include motions to experiment with connecting to the internet for three months, nor motions to purchase a rubber stamp, which are of mere historical interest. More complete board minutes are also available on-line.

Disk Quotas - April 19, 1994
Staff is authorized to implement disk quotas for the efficient management of disk space. Staff may allow increases in quotas of individual users for special needs. Space will be allocated without consideration of membership status. Users may appeal the decisions of staff to the Board.
NOTE: Staff has never yet done this, but remains authorized to do so.
Staff Membership - November 16, 1994
Staff with permanent root access may at its discretion grant specific resources to qualified individuals for the purpose of performing work that is beneficial to Grex. Examples of such resources would be write access to selected directories in order to modify data files or to install software. In the event of an emergency, temporary root access may be granted by any permanent root.
Permanent root access, access to the staff conference, and access to the "baff" mailing list shall be with the advice and consent of the Board.
Grex Ohio - August 23, 1995
The organization "GrexOhio" is permitted to use the name "Grex" in their name "GrexOhio", pending the adoption by the Cyberspace Communications, Inc/ board of an associated club charter policy, to which GrexOhio will be required to adhere.
NOTE: GrexOhio has pretty much evaporated but this sets a precedent.
Verification Policy - September 27, 1995
(1) Anyone requesting access to Grex services for which verification is required shall present proof of his or her identity. Members and non-members will be held to the same verification criteria. In order to be considered verified, a person shall submit a photocopy of an item of acceptable identification and a signed letter requesting the access.
(2) The acceptable items of identification are government-issued ID, school-issued ID, library-issued ID, or a personal check written to Cyberspace Communications Inc. by the person requesting access. To be accepted, the item must be currently valid (i.e. not expired), must identify the person by name, and must include additional identifying information other than a photograph (such as home address, passport number, or name of school).

(3) There shall be one individual, referred to hereafter as "verifier", who is responsible for accepting verification requests and ID, notifying the appropriate staff member(s) so that access may be granted if the criteria of (1) and (2) are met, and notifying the requester if the ID is not acceptable.

(4) The board shall solicit volunteers and appoint the verifier. The term of office is one year and is renewable. Any verified user is eligible for the post of verifier. If a volunteer for the post is not currently verified, then for the purpose of gaining eligibility he or she may present identification to the board that meets the criteria enumerated in (2).

(5) In the case of personal checks submitted to the treasurer of Cyberspace Communications Inc., the treasurer may also verify a user, provided the check meets the criteria of (2) and is accompanied by a signed letter as required in (1).

(6) An individual whose request for verification is denied may appeal the decision to the board. The board's ruling on appeals is final.
Computer Room Keys - August 23, 1995
Authorize root access for Dave Lovelace (davel), Rob Henderson (robh), and Scott Helmke (scott), and to authorize keys for all root staff.
NOTE: This motion says that any root staff who need and want keys to the machine room may have them.
Deceased Users - November 15, 1995
Staff will honor requests to permanently reserve an account of a user who has died.
Message Filters - June 26, 1996
Moved that the board express no objection to the installation of software that allows a user to filter or permit other specific users to send them real-time messages.
NOTE: This is about .yeswrite and .nowrite files, which allow a person to filter which users may 'write' or 'talk' to them. They were briefly controversial.
Delinquent Board Members - June 28, 1999
If a board member is late paying his or her dues, the treasurer will inform the entire board by e-mail. If he or she still has not paid by the time the "New Business" item is reached at the end of the next board meeting, the board will consider the matter and take appropriate action. This may include declaring the board member's seat vacant.
Institutional Membership Requirements - March 21, 2001
In addition to those applicable requirements for individual memberships, the requirements for institutional Grex memberships shall be:
1) A designated contact person who shall be responsible for all use of the member account.
2) Verifiable personal identification for the designated contact person (subject to the same ID requirements as individual memberships)
3) Renewal of institutional memberships requires an update of the contact ID.

Last Update Sat Jul 14 01:10:32 EDT 2001