The terms and conditions govern use of IEEE-provided email services (“Services”) as well as IEEE’s email communications to members. It is IEEE’s policy to encourage the responsible use of electronic communications related to all IEEE activity; to respect the privacy of individual users in accordance with the IEEE Privacy Policy; to ensure the security, reliability, and privacy of IEEE's systems and networks; and to comply with all applicable laws. To promote these policies, IEEE requires users to abide by the terms and conditions below. IEEE reserves the right to modify these terms and conditions as it deems appropriate.

Terms applicable to all Services

IEEE provides various email services to users, including email accounts via GoogleApps@IEEE, mailing lists, and email aliases. Some of these services are offered as a member benefit; others are available to IEEE volunteers only to enable email communications among volunteers, staff, and others to satisfy the business needs of IEEE. With respect to Services provided to members and volunteers, all of these services are offered free of charge for as long as you retain your IEEE Membership. The following terms apply to your use of any Service.

Prohibited conduct

As a user of the Services, you may not:

a.    Send or forward any abusive, offensive, or unlawful messages or materials, that are:

.      illegal, profane, obscene, defamatory, inflammatory, unethical or
·      that could be construed as harassment or disparagement of others based on gender, race, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, or religious or political beliefs or any other area or activity prohibited by law or IEEE policy; and communications which may damage the image and reputation of IEEE; 

b.    Send spam, defined as unsolicited commercial or personal email, sent to a large number of users, and not for the purposes of conducting IEEE business or advancing the needs of IEEE or as otherwise defined outside the U.S.;

c.    Send any IEEE credit card or bank account information over unencrypted email;

d.   Knowingly send email containing material that is confidential to IEEE to unauthorized recipients;

e.    Use the email account or impersonate the identity of any other user;

f.     Subscribe anyone other than yourself to a mailing list, without the person’s prior written consent.;

g.    Use the Services to engage in conduct intended to disrupt or damage the Service or usage of another User including, but not limited to, a denial-of-service attack,

·      sending multiple email messages, or one or more large email messages, with the intent of annoying or harassing another person,

·      opening an unnecessarily large number of mail connections to the same mail host or making a connection to a SMTP relay (sometimes known as a smart host) without authorization,

·      sending malicious programs or viruses attached to an email, and

·      sending fake virus warnings or any other intentionally misleading or fraudulent email;

h.   Conceal or misrepresent one’s name or affiliation; and

i.     Deceptively alter the source, destination, address, or header information of an email

Privacy and Security

Certain IEEE employees, other than the user, may have contact with the Services as part of their administration. By using any Service, you consent to IEEE’s administration of the Services.

You are responsible for keeping your account credentials private and for securing your own computing devices and data. You should take precautions to prevent unauthorized access to your account. For example, you should lock your computer when you are away from it. If you access the Services from a public computer, log out of your account and clear the browser’s cookies when you are finished. 

IEEE is not liable for any misuse of information you send using the Services. 

Limitations and Disclaimers

Use of the Services is subject to the following limitations:

a.    While IEEE promotes the security, reliability, and privacy of the Services, IEEE cannot guarantee the security, reliability, or privacy of IEEE's systems and networks or the networks and systems of others.

b.    If your membership lapses, or is not renewed, IEEE may discontinue your Services, and delete any related content. Once an email address has been discontinued, it may no longer be available.  IEEE reserves the right to revoke any of the Services at any time.

c.    The use of an IEEE email address does not authorize the recipient or user to represent IEEE or to act on behalf of IEEE. 

The availability of the Services is provided on an "as is" and "as available” basis. IEEE makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, of any kind with respect to any Services and expressly disclaims all representations and warranties, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

Neither IEEE nor any of its members, volunteers, employees or other representatives will be liable for damages arising out of or in connection with the Services (including any harm caused by misaddressed, lost, or undelivered email messages, or by the exposure of confidential information) even if advised of the possibility thereof. This is a comprehensive limitation of liability that applies to all damages of any kind, including, without limitation, indirect, incidental, special and consequential damages, loss of data, loss of business, income, profit or goodwill, loss of or damage to property, and claims of third parties.

 

Terms applicable to specific Services

The following Services are subject to additional terms:

 

IEEE Information Security Program

The IEEE Information Security Program protects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of IEEE information assets by following a risk management approach based on policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures to meet security objectives while supporting business and operational goals. 

GoogleApps@IEEE 

GoogleApps@IEEE is a suite of Google services provided as a benefit to IEEE members to enable communication and collaboration between members. IEEE email addresses (e.g., yourname@ieee.org) are provided via GoogleApps@IEEE. Your use of GoogleApps@IEEE is subject to the GoogleApps@IEEE Terms and Conditions. It is also subject to Google’s own policies, including the Google Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy.

IEEE Society personal email aliases 

The Communication Society and Computer Society offer members personal email aliases corresponding to the comsoc.org and computer.org domains, respectively. The following terms apply to email aliases:

a.    Alias users must be members of the applicable societies.

b.    Aliases will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

c.    The alias owner is responsible for notifying IEEE of any change to the forwarding address

d.   No member is entitled to more than one IEEE personal email alias per domain (comsoc.org or computer.org).

Functional email aliases

A functional alias  is an email alias that represents an IEEE department, conference, entity, or other activity (e.g., contactcenter@ieee.org, or MGA@ieee.org), as opposed to an individual's name. IEEE volunteers and staff may request the creation of functional aliases for the purpose of policies, conducting IEEE business. Requests for functional aliases are subject to review and approval by the responsible IEEE organizational unit in compliance with IEEE Governing Documents, organizational unit policies, business practices, and these terms and conditions.

Email lists

IEEE email lists may only be used for conducting IEEE business. Use of such lists is subject to compliance with IEEE’s governing documents including, but not limited to, the IEEE Bylaws, IEEE Policies and electioneering policies, organizational unit policies, business practices, and these terms and conditions. IEEE volunteers and staff may request the creation of IEEE email lists. These requests are subject to review and approval by the responsible IEEE organizational unit.

Terms applicable to IEEE communications to members

IEEE may email members with information—either personal or general—pertinent to their IEEE membership, Society affiliation, customer relationship, local geographic organizational unit, technical interest, or profile. Examples of personal email communications include renewal bills and reminders, responses to inquiries received by the IEEE Contact Center, and announcements regarding changes to programs and services (e.g., subscription information, terms and conditions). Examples of general email communications include local newsletters and events, announcements of new programs and products, fundraising announcements, conference-related announcements, and surveys. 

 

IEEE will provide a mechanism for opting out of any general email communication it sends to you, while allowing you to continue to receive email communications that are intended for you personally. Opt-out preferences for general communications can be managed in the Communication Preferences section in “My Account.”  

About these terms

IEEE may modify these terms or any additional terms that apply to a Service at IEEE’s sole discretion. IEEE will post notice of modifications to these terms on this page. Changes will not apply retroactively and will become effective immediately. If a member does not agree to the modified terms for a Service, the member should discontinue use of that Service.

Noncompliance with these terms may result in the suspension or termination of access to these Services.