Terms and Conditions of Appropriate Use for bMail

Appendix C to the bMail Service Policy

bMail email service users must comply with the bMail Requirements below, as well as with the University of California Electronic Communications Policy (ECP), the Berkeley Campus Computer Use Policy, the Campus Online Activities Policy, and all other laws and policies relevant to their conduct while using a Berkeley Campus electronic communication service.

  1. Users of bMail shall not give the impression that they are representing, giving opinions, or otherwise making statements on behalf of the Campus or any department or unit of the Campus unless appropriately authorized to do so. Nevertheless, because communications sent via bMail indicate an individual's affiliation with the University of California, Berkeley, users are expected to show courtesy and consideration in all their bMail communications.

    1. While incidental, personal use of bMail is allowed under UC policy, users are encouraged to take additional steps to clarify that these communications are personal, not professional. Examples include:

      • removing any work signatures
      • using a disclaimer such as, "These statements are my own, not those of the University of California." This could replace the work signature.
      • using an email alias, such as "username-personal" to distinguish from the official email address
  1. bMail users must not waste resources or interfere with others' use of electronic communications services. For example, users shall not send or forward email chain letters, send spam, or intentionally engage in other practices such as "denial of service attacks" that impede the availability of electronic communications services.
  1. Users must not share their individual bMail account password with others. If an authorized user shares the individual account's password, that authorized user may be held responsible for any misuse of the account that occurred as a result.
    If a shared use account is needed to conduct University business, a departmental account may be set up. The authorized administrative official who sponsors a departmental account shall be responsible for ensuring appropriate use of that account by all users.
  2. Users must not use their bMail account for any commercial use for personal profit, including publishing their bMail address for such commercial activity contacts. Users must not use their bMail account for any commercial use on behalf of other individuals or on behalf of groups, unless authorized by campus administrative officials as being in support of the campus. (See Campus Online Activities Policy: Sponsorship, advertising, or other forms of acknowledgement.)
  3. bMail mailing list owners must:
    1. obtain consent from all addressees to be included on their lists, except for lists used to conduct official campus notifications (See Campus Online Activities Policy: Mass Mailings.)
    2. inform list members and new subscribers what the purpose of the list is and the rules governing posting to the list
    3. enforce appropriate use of their lists 
      (A list manager may remove from the list any users who do not comply with rules governing use of the list, for example, the scope of topics which may be discussed or stated standards of conduct.)
    4. inform list members what level of privacy exists for each list they own. 
      Different types of mailing lists may allow for different privacy levels. For example:
      • mailing lists can be advertised or private
      • list membership can be open to the public or restricted

Examples of Misuse:

Specific examples of violations of these Terms and Conditions include but are not limited to:

  • violations of copyright law
  • sending harassing email
  • knowingly forwarding or originating hoaxes, scams, or other types of fraudulent messages
  • intentionally sending viruses, worms, or other "malware"
  • sending unsolicited mass mailings without the consent of all addressees, unless authorized on behalf of the campus by an appropriate administrative official (See Campus Online Activities Policy: Mass Mailings.)
  • forging messages or masking the identity of an account
  • any commercial use for personal profit

Non-Compliance

In addition to any possible legal sanctions, users who violate these Terms and Conditions of Appropriate Use of bMail may be subject to temporary or permanent service restriction and/or to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal or expulsion. Actions taken in response to alleged violations, as well as avenues available to the user for appeals of actions, will be in accordance with the procedures and due process rights contained in the policy or agreement governing the user's affiliation with the University.