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Oh dear, this is a story that just won't die -- I refer of course to the
disastrous way in which Xtra has mismanaged the introduction of a new, very badly
implemented Service Terms agreement.
Not only have Xtra's attempts to fix up this shonky document met with a frosty
reception from users, lawyers and the industry media, but now, as reported
in this story
by Paul Brislen, another outrageous clause has come to light.
Once again Xtra is effectively telling me (and people like me) to cancel my
account and find another ISP.
That's because if I used Xtra to upload the last three editions of this column,
I would be in clear breach of the new Service Terms agreement, once it comes
into force.
The Aardvark PC-Based Digital
Entertainment Centre Project
Yes, at last, this feature
has been updated again! (31 Mar 2003)
It all boils down to the fact that if you're an Xtra customer, you may
not use their network or systems to say bad things about the company
or its products.
Yes, that's right -- as I mentioned in
yesterday's Afternoon Update,
Xtra appears to be renouncing its status as a carrier (and the legal protection
that offers) in favour of the right to vet and control the content it carries.
As regular Aardvark readers will be very much aware, there's no way I can
use an ISP that prohibits the transfer of:
"Any material or communication which we
consider to be unauthorised, misleading,
objectionable, restricted, defamatory, illegal,
inappropriate or contrary to these Service Terms
or detrimental to our reputation or to our brand"
What's more, Section 3
(screendump) of their Service
Terms goes on to say that if you
go ahead and say unkind things about the ISP:
"you agree that we may edit, delete, block or disconnect that
material or communication ourselves"
Now I'm sorry but this has simply gone way beyond an amusing joke.
Talk about and fascism!
No objective journalist can now afford to use Xtra, since they are forbidden
from saying anything other than nice or neutral things about the company.
This is the equivalent of BIC saying "our pens must not be used to write
bad things about our company" or Epson saying "you may not print bad
things about us using our printers".
What a bunch of wallies!
However, it seems that this gross arrogance and incompetence on the part
of Xtra is going to have a decidedly negative impact on their bottom line.
I've received a pretty pile of emails from Xtra customers who are about
to jump-ship to ISPs with more sensible attitudes to forming a reasonable
relationship with their users.
One reader echoed the opinions of many this morning when he emailed me
to say:
"I'm now waiting for the end of my
billing cycle on the 29th of April to come around so I can
change over to Ihug."
"Someone needs to tell Xtra that they aren't the Telecom of
the internet community - there are more than one isp in NZ.
Maybe we should go through isp's in alphabetical order -
Xtra would then be one of our last resorts"
It's hard to believe that a company with so many legal and PR resources
at its disposal could act in such an amateurish manner both in the drafting
of its new Service Terms, its half-hearted amendments, and its attempts
to stifle fair and open criticism from its users.
As I said yesterday -- Xtra *must* differentiate between its ISP customers
and those who use its portal, BBS, chat and other services when it comes
to setting the terms of service. Drawing such a distinction would effectively
put all of these issues to bed once and for all.
Xtra's failure to promptly or adequately deal with this fiasco is about to
cost them customers, make them a laughing stock in the industry, and open them
up to huge legal risks by changing them from a carrier into a publisher.
Please Xtra -- get on with this simple task. If the management and administrative
staff you have in your ranks can't cope, hire someone who can -- most of the other
ISPs in NZ seem to have no trouble doing so.
Hey, here's a thought -- why not place a "Proposed Service Terms" document
on your website and invite comments from your customers BEFORE you force
it down their throats? Wouldn't this save a lot of agro, embarrassment and
bad press?
Now hurry up and get on with it -- I'd really like to write about something else tomorrow!
And of course if any Aardvark readers have an opinion on today's column or
want to add something you're also invited to chip in and
have your say.
Yes, You Can Donate
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publication of Aardvark, the bills still exceed the income by a fairly
significant amount. It is with this in mind therefore that I'm once
again soliciting donations from anyone who feels they're getting some
value from this daily column and news index. I've gone the PayPal
way of accepting donations because the time involved in processing a bunch
of little credit-card billings sometimes exceeds the monetary value they
represent. Just click on the button to donate whatever you can afford.
NOTE: PayPal bills in US dollars so don't accidentally donate twice
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