Joint Universities Computer Centre Limited
HARNET Acceptable Use Policy
Goals and Purposes of HARNET

HARNET (Hong Kong Academic and Research Network) is managed and operated by the Joint Universities Computer Centre (JUCC) to provide quality, equitable, and cost-effective information and communication resources to JUCC Members and to promote the development, deployment, operation and technology transfer of advanced network infrastructure for innovation, research and educational excellence in Hong Kong. HARNET is for the use of persons legitimately affiliated with JUCC Member or Affiliate Organizations, and to facilitate the exchange of information consistent with the academic, educational, research, collaboration and other official purposes of the JUCC Members. All individuals affiliated with JUCC Member or Affiliate Organizations are responsible for seeing that computing and networking resources are used in an effective, ethical and lawful manner, and that the guidelines provided in this document are followed, both in letter and in spirit.

The HARNET

HARNET consists of a high speed network which connects each of its member institutions to the central HARNET hub via high-speed ATM connections.

Members

The HARNET members include the eight government-funded universities in Hong Kong, namely 

• The University of Hong Kong  
• The Chinese University of Hong Kong  
• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University  
• City University of Hong Kong  
• Hong Kong Baptist University  
• The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology  
• Lingnan University  
• The Hong Kong Institute of Education

HARNET also has several affiliated members which are local educational and research organizations.

Use of HARNET shall conform to the following principles:

• Be consistent with the goals and purposes of the Network
• Avoid interfering with the work of other users of the Network
• Avoid disrupting the network host systems (nodes)
• Avoid disrupting network services
• Avoid violating any applicable laws and regulations governing the access to systems, information and data on HARNET & Internet, and transmission of information and data through HARNET & Internet

Acceptable Use of the Network

Use of the network must be authorised
HARNET is, at the discretion of the institutions involved, open to use by staff and students enrolled at participating JUCC Members or Affiliate Organisations, by other persons legitimately affiliated with the JUCC Members; and at the discretion of JUCC, by approved non-profit-making organisations or individuals in accordance with the "Guideline for Access to Internet Through JUCC's HARNET".

Guidelines
The following guidelines may help HARNET users to apply the above mentioned principles of acceptable use of the network in particular cases:

1. HARNET is not to be used for commercial purposes, such as marketing, or business transactions between commercial organisations.
2. Commercial advertising is forbidden. Discussion of a product's relative advantages and disadvantages by users of the product is encouraged. Vendors may respond publicly to questions about their products as long as the responses are not in the nature of advertising.
3. A user is not allowed to transfer or resell the network resource, which has been allocated by a JUCC member institution or a HARNET participating affiliated organisation, in various possible forms, such as network bandwidth and connection time, access rights, computer budget, etc.
4. Any waste of network resources is unacceptable, e.g. repetitive retrieval of copies of the same files by a user who does not keep a copy on his own system.
5. Activities which will interfere the intended use, cause congestion or impair the healthy state of the network are unacceptable and prohibited. Experiments on the network which will lead to exhaustively flooding its available bandwidth should be avoided.
6. Irresponsible use of electronic mail, e.g. chain letters, broadcasting messages, and the use of other network communications to harass or offend other users of the network are prohibited.
7. Research and experimentation on network should be carried out with great caution. Negligence in the conduct which will lead to contrary of the aforementioned guidelines is irresponsible and unacceptable.
8. Users of HARNET must not compromise the confidentiality and privacy of other users of the network and the integrity of data and information mounted on or transmitted through the network. A breach of these principles is generally considered a legal offence. Unauthorised reading, altering, intercepting of, electronic eavesdropping on, any network communications over the network or data kept on systems on the network are examples of violation of these principles.
9. Any communication which violates applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to those related to copyright, data privacy and transmission of obscene and indecent materials, is not allowed.

JUCC Members and Affiliate Organisations are expected to take reasonable measures (given the constraints of technology and management) to ensure that usages are conformed to these guidelines. Acting on complaint is considered as a reasonable measure.

Final authority for HARNET Acceptable Use Policy lies with the JUCC Steering Committee. It is the responsibility of HARNET Member representatives to contact the JUCC Steering Committee, in writing, regarding questions of interpretation. Until such issues are resolved, questionable use should be considered "not acceptable".

September 11, 1992
Revised : February 19, 1997
Revised : June 30, 2000