_________\\---------------------//____________
.---\\ ________ ________ //-----.
: ,----| /----| / ______ ________ :______
,-----:____| . /_ . % /__\ |-------\ _/-----: |----,
| . : |____/ | : /\\ % . . _| . _____/_
| : . ___|_jp! |___/__ \ : : | : | \
__| | . : \ | | _( )_\ . | | | | //
\_______| : . \| |__\ oO / \\__: /|____| /|____| % /
/ _____|_____ .______/ \.:/======|___//======|____//===pO!|____//
/ % : __/===`-----' \/ .
/_______ | à╖à :
:----' à zER0NEt à /---------------------// %% :
: %% \---------------// /------------'
`-------\\
Network Node System Rules
---
Most of our rules related to conduct ultimately relate to this single notion:
Please treat Zer0net as a private, controlled system.
While BBSing in the modern era is inherently fairly insecure, Zer0net focuses
on a number of potentially sensitive conversation topics and recognizes that a
certain degree of discretion is helpful in making our users feel like they can
be open to discuss these topics. We ask that our node operators do their best
to respect this attempt at privacy.
1. There are no specific requirements for accessing Zer0net on our node BBSes.
Due to the esoteric and archaic nature of access via traditional BBS systems
Zer0net does not have any specific guidelines for securing user read or post
access and encourages SysOps to use their own discretion when setting up access
requirements to Zer0net echos on their BBSes. In general, despite the standards
we employ for our nodes, we appreciate participation from any and all users and
value free speech with little to no moderation of conversation.
2. Setup your other, non-BBS systems in such a way as to keep non-authenticated
users from being able to easily read or otherwise reference Zer0net content.
That said, given the increase in attempts to integrate traditional BBS systems
with newer technologies, we must explicitly ask that our nodes DO NOT provide
public, unauthenticated access to Zer0net messages outside of BBS access. Most
commonly this means gating Zer0net to public web forums and public NNTP groups.
Similarly, systems with web access should also take steps to disallow Zer0net
content to be indexed and/or cached by other systems such as search engines
and data archivers.
3. Honor requests to block post access to specific users.
There have been a few cases in our network's history where the need has arisen
to block specific disruptive users from being able to post to Zer0net echos.
While we can and will "twit filter" such users from the network hub, we'd also
like to ask our node ops to honor any requests to attempt to block these users
on their local systems as well. Again, we leave the exact method up to the op
of each individual node. Some may prefer to setup complex ACS schemes while
others just ban such troublesome users from their systems entirely.
4. Zer0net node access is exclusive. Do not gate mail to and/or from other BBS
systems without prior approval.
You may route your node's messages as you like with one, simple caveat: please
DO NOT act as a "hub" to other public bulletin board systems without receiving
explicit permission to do so. This undermines the purpose of having a closed
application process and weakens our ability to ensure that our systems are
following these rules as well as other Zer0net standards.
That said, you may run as many of your own point systems as you wish. If you'd
like another dedicated node number for a secondary system instead, please
contact us to reserve one.
5. For most nodes, a minimal level of activity is mandatory!
There are two types of nodes within Zer0net: Normal and Elite. Elite nodes were
those accepted based on our previous, fairly strict standards. All current and
former Zer0net nodes at the time of writing this are grandfathered in as Elite
nodes. Elite nodes do not need to maintain any sort of activity level and can
come and go as they please.
Normal nodes are those which were accepted based on our new, much more open
standards which went into effect in Summer 2024. Normal nodes must maintain
at least *some* level of legitimate outgoing message activity within the last
quarter of the calendar year. These node reviews will be conducted every 3 to 6
months. If a node fails to meet this minimal level of activity, they will be
put into probationary status and issued a warning. If they fail to correct this
in the next review, they will be dropped from the network entirely.
If a node eventually meets the criteria to become an Elite node, such as major
revisions to the system's setup, or a proven, high volume of quality posts,
they can be upgraded to elite status. While this is entirely based on the
discretion of Zer0net's administrators, a node may ask to have their status
reviewed.
---
August 2024 -- Zer0net -- http://www.zer0net.org