Page 219 - Personnel Policy and Procedures Manual

forms of communication. You must obey laws against fraud, defamation, harassment,
obscenity, solicitation of illegal acts, threatening or inciting violence, and the like. Bear in
mind that uninvited amorous or sexual messages are likely to be construed as harassment.
If you are bothered by uninvited email, ask the sender to stop, and then, if necessary,
consult a system administrator.
2. Use of the computers to circulate chain letters and pyramid schemes is not permitted. If
someone says, "Forward a copy of this to everyone you know on the Internet," do not. Such
messages often contain misunderstood or outdated information, or even outright hoaxes.
Even when the information is legitimate, chain forwarding is a needlessly expensive way
to distribute it. Never participate in schemes to deliberately flood a computer with
excessive amounts of email. "Mail bombing" can incapacitate a whole computer or even a
whole sub-network, not just the intended victim.
3. It is considered good practice to use your real name, rather than a nickname or pseudonym,
in the headers of all outgoing communications. Use of nicknames is often interpreted as a
sign of immaturity or an indication that you are not taking full responsibility for what you
are sending out.
4. Fake electronic mail: All users should be aware that there is no guarantee that electronic
mail actually came from the person or site indicated in it. Deceptive electronic mail is easy
to fake, including the technical information in the header. Doing so is of course prohibited
and is in many cases against the law.
5. Hoaxes, scams, and false warnings: Hoaxes, pranks, and con games are common on the
Internet. Be on the lookout for misguided "warnings" (about computer viruses, impending
legislation, etc.) and false appeals for charity (usually involving dying children). If you get
a message that spurs you to take immediate action, it is very likely to be a hoax, even if the
person who passed it along to you was perfectly sincere. In addition, genuine appeals that
are several years old are still circulating as if they were current. To reduce the spread of
such hoaxes, and to avoid annoying other people, do not spread such warnings. If you have
a concern, contact the Information Technology Department at 821-2522, or you can
forward the message ONLY to the Mail Administrator
(administrator@co.Richmond.ga.us). All official warnings and notifications will come
from the Information Technology Department of Augusta, Georgia.
6. Augusta, Georgia letterhead: Use prudent caution when sending out any message that
appears to be an official communication from the Augusta, Georgia. If the header identifies
your message as coming from an administrative office or from the office of someone other
than yourself (e.g., "Clerk of Court"), recipients will presume that you are speaking for that
office for person.
7. It is important to distinguish actions taken to punish a person from actions taken to protect
a system. If your account appears to have been misused or broken into, your system
administrator will inactivate it and contact you or wait to hear from you. This is done to
stop the misuse and does not presume that you are the guilty person; you can expect to have
your privileges reinstated right away, with new passwords, as soon as you identify yourself
and indicate willingness to follow the rules. Thus, you can resume using the computer while
investigation of the incident continues.
O. Those who publish World Wide Web pages or similar information resources on Augusta,
Georgia computers shall take full responsibility for what they publish; shall respect the
acceptable-use conditions for the computer on which the material resides; shall obey all
applicable laws; and shall not publish commercial advertisements. References and links to
commercial sites, advertisements, and especially paid advertisements, are not permitted. Users
shall not accept payments, discounts, free merchandise or services, or any other remuneration
in return for placing anything on their web pages or similar facilities.
1. Web pages on Augusta, Georgia's network are subject to the same rules as other uses of
the same facilities. Different Augusta, Georgia computers are set up for different purposes;

All Rights Reserved – As approved by the Commission on 05-07-2019 218 | P a g e