Acceptable Use Policy

An acceptable use policy (AUP) is a policy that allows us to define, by behaviour, what kinds of activities we do and do not allow on our network. For instance, we could say that sending a threatening email is in violation of our acceptable use policy. The if someone sends a threatening email, we could take appropriate action -- for instance banning the sender for some amount of time. Having a properly worded AUP might make it easier to define when to take action (and what action to take) when someone is abusing our email lists, wiki, etc.

In developing an AUP, we don't want to squelch creativity or free speech, but we want to keep our communications structure intact, so there's an art to creating a good AUP.

A quick google search shows that there are a lot of AUPs out there, and some thought on how they should be constructed.

So start the conversation: What does Free Geek want in an acceptable use policy?

One approach would be to give a general guideline, such as "Don't do anything which threatens Free Geek's ability to carry out its mission." and then give examples (e.g. writing and distributing viruses) but the general guideline being the rule. Another would be to spell things out precisely.

Links

These are from a simple google search. A little more research might find more appropriate material, but this is a start.

• AUP examples and templates:
  • http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/WORKSHOPS/Telecom2/AUP_template.html
  • http://www.mccsc.edu/agreemnt.html
  • http://www.securitysoft.com/aup_example1.html
  • http://www.securitysoft.com/aup_example2.html
• Suggestions:
  • http://safety.ngfl.gov.uk/ukonline/document.php3?D=d6
  • http://www.securitydocs.com/library/2994