#use wml::debian::template title="Debian Machine Usage Policies" NOHEADER=yes

Debian Machine Usage Policies

Version 1.1.2
This version of the Debian Machine Usage Policies becomes effective on July 4th, 2010 and supersedes all previous versions. It was announced on May 9th, 2010.

  1. Introduction
    This document describes the policies for using Debian machines and all rules surrounding those.

    In short:

    This document contains two parts: policies and guidelines. The rules in the policies are binding and may not be violated. The guidelines specify rules that may be violated if necessary but we would rather one did not.

  2. General statements
    1. Used abbreviations
      • DSA - Debian Systems Administration
      • DMUP - Debian Machine Usage Policy (this document)
      • DPL - Debian Project Leader
      • DAM - Debian Account Managers
    2. Privilege
      Access to Debian Facilities is a privilege, not a right or a commercial service, and DSA reserves the right to revoke this privilege at any time, without prior notice. An explanation will be given within 48 hours.
    3. Guarantees
      There is no guarantee of service. Although DSA will do its best to assure that everything functions perfectly, they can't give any guarantees.
    4. Privacy
      If necessary to keep machines working properly the DSA is allowed to edit user files. (for example modifying .forward files to break mail loops.)
  3. Penalties
    If someone violates the rules set in this document they will be subjected to a penalty. The penalty depends on the number of previous violations and the offense involved.
    1. First offense
      1. The accounts of the offender will be suspended and access will not be available.
      2. The offender will be required to contact DSA and convince them that there will be no further breaches of the DMUP by the offender.
      3. If the offender fails to contact DSA within 14 days, DSA will suspend the corresponding account and propose to DAM the expulsion of the offender from the Debian project. If the offender has announced they will be on vacation in this time frame, this period will be extended with the announced duration of the vacation.
      4. If the offender is expelled from the project they can register to become a maintainer again after a period of a month. The offense will remain on record.
    2. Second offense
      1. The offender's accounts will be suspended immediately and DSA will propose to DAM the expulsion of the offender from the Debian project.
      2. If the offender does not file for an appeal within the designated time frame the account is terminated.
    3. Publication
      1. The offense and the penalty will be announced to Debian developers only.
      2. Should it, in the sole opinion of the Debian project leader, be considered necessary, then a public announcement will be made. This can include the offender's identity.
    4. Appeal
      1. If the offender does not agree with the decision made by DSA they can appeal to the developers. This is only possible in the 14 days directly following the day the offender was informed of the sentence. This is done using the procedure as detailed in section 4.2 of the Debian constitution.
      2. During the time the appeal is processed the account will remain suspended.
  4. The policies
    This section lists the policies. This list is not and cannot be comprehensive.
    Disk usage:
    All machines run a /tmp cleanup daemon and expire files after a week. Some machines have /scratch partitions specifically for storing large data sets without fear of them being erased. If you receive an email notification that your homedir is large and that more free space is needed then please promptly take action. DSA may find it necessary to clean up without warning.
    Shell:
    Please use ssh/scp if at all possible rather than less secure alternatives (rsh, telnet or FTP).

    Idle connections are killed after an hour; this is easy to bypass, but please don't do so without good cause.

    Mirroring via any private means any portion of the public archives from the private servers is strictly forbidden without the prior consent of the residing Mirror Master. Developers are free to use any publicly available forms of access.

    Processes:
    Do not run any long running process without the permission of DSA. Running servers of any sort (this includes IRC bots) without prior permission from DSA is also forbidden. Avoid running processes that are abusive in CPU or memory. If necessary DSA will clean up such processes without warning.
    WWW pages:
    In general, web space on Debian machines is provided for the purpose of communicating ideas and files related to the project, or to the Free Software community in general. Private 'vanity' pages on Debian machines are discouraged.

    Commercial web pages are not permitted.

    You are responsible for the content of your WWW pages, including obtaining the legal permission for any works they include and ensuring that the contents of these pages do not violate the laws that apply to the location of the server.

    You are responsible for and accept responsibility for any defamatory, confidential, secret or other proprietary material available via your WWW pages.

    You may not advertise your WWW pages, or cause another person to advertise it, by techniques that would be classified as abuse if they were carried out from a Debian Account. This includes, but is not limited to, bulk emailing and excessive news posting. Such action may be treated under the appropriate DMUP as if it had been done from the Account, or as a violation of this DMUP or both.

    Mail/News:
    Using Debian machines for reading mail is OK, please choose a lightly loaded machine. We do not support the use of mail download methods such as POP or IMAP, use your ISP's mail server and forwarding. As with web pages incoming mail is generally encouraged to be of a Free Software nature or related to the project somehow. DSA may find it necessary to compress, relocate or erase mail without warning.

    If a Developer becomes unreachable for a prolonged time, their accounts, data and mail forwarding/filtering/etc may be disabled until they reappear.

    Don't use Debian facilities in a manner which constitutes net abuse. Debian does not have any Usenet news servers. It may be that some of the Debian machines have access to such a news server, but their use through Debian machines is strictly forbidden.

    Examples of what DSA considers net abuse: