NO: 97-03-OTS

ORIGINATING AGENCY: Office of Telecommunications and
Information Systems

EFF DATE: 8/30/96

EXP DATE: -

SUPERCEDES: -

SUBJECT: Guidelines for Acceptable Internet Access and Use for New Jersey
Government

ATTENTION: Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners, Internet Policy
Coordinators & MIS Directors

CONTACT: Ronald Maxson, Acting Administrator, OTIS
TELEPHONE: 633-9013

PURPOSE

To provide guidance on how to use the Internet and related services.

AUTHORITY

Executive Order No. 84	Creation of OTIS/Kean	October 17, 1984
Treasury Directive	Internet/Clymer	May 15, 1995
Treasury Directive	Internet/Clymer	August 21, 1995
Executive Directive	Internet/Whitman	January 8, 1996

SCOPE

This guideline shall be in effect for and satisfied by all agencies of
New Jersey government.

This guideline is specifically directed to all employees who are
authorized by a State agency to access and use the Internet.

This guideline encompasses all decisions and activities affecting or
affected by access or use of the Internet by a State agency and/or its
employees.

GUIDELINES

Part I Guidelines for General Use of Internet Services

State agencies and their employees are encouraged to use the Internet to
its fullest potential to further their respective missions, to provide
service of the highest quality to constituents, and to discover new ways
to use resources to enhance service.

GUIDELINE 1: State employees should use the Internet, when appropriate, to
accomplish job responsibilities more effectively.

The Internet provides access to a wide variety of information resources
that can aid State employees in the performance of their jobs. Examples
of job-related use of the Internet include: accessing external databases
and files to obtain reference information or conduct research;
corresponding with constituents; disseminating documents to individuals or
groups; and participating in and reading electronic mail discussion groups
on job-related topics.

GUIDELINE 2: State employees must conform to reasonable professional
standards for use of Internet services as detailed in this guideline,
"Standards of Conduct for Use of Internet Services," which sets out
specific rules for each of the available Internet services.

State employees have an obligation to learn about network etiquette,
customs, and courtesies. Accepted procedures and guidelines are to be
followed when using electronic mail communications, participating in
electronic mail discussion groups, using remote computer services,
transferring files from other computers, or disseminating information to
others on the Internet. Employees also have an obligation to be aware of
computer security and privacy concerns and to guard against computer
viruses.

GUIDELINE 3: Use of the Internet by State employees is for State business
only. All State employees are responsible for complying with State and
agency policies, guidelines, and standards of conduct on the use of the
Internet. Violations may result in a revocation of Internet access
privileges and any other applicable penalties or disciplinary action.

Employees shall respect intellectual property rights at all times when
obtaining information over the Internet. Employees shall not use State
equipment to access the Internet in order to lobby public officials at any
level and/or ask others to lobby in their behalf. State agencies have the
right to monitor the Internet activities of their employees when using
State equipment. Monitoring will occur when there is evidence that an
employee is involved in activities that are prohibited by law, that violate
state regulations, that might jeopardize the technical systems of the state
government, or that violate State and/or agency policies, guidelines, and
standards of conduct on the use of the Internet.

GUIDELINE 4: Use of fee-for-service providers on the Internet is not
allowed unless the necessary approvals and funding have been obtained in
advance. Any individual who obligates a State agency to pay for services
without prior approval is personally liable for these costs and subject to
disciplinary action.

Part II Standards of Conduct for Use of Internet Services

State employees have an obligation to use their access to the Internet in a
responsible and informed way, conforming to network etiquette, customs, and
courtesies. Use of the Internet encompasses many different interconnected
networks and computer systems. Many of these systems are provided free of
charge by universities, public service organizations, and commercial
companies. Each system has its own rules and limitations, and guests on
these systems have an obligation to learn and abide by the rules. The
Internet is an unsecured system that in itself has no security controls and
should never be used by state employees to transmit confidentially-
sensitive information, unless such transmissions are encrypted to ensure
security.

When using the Internet, State employees should identify themselves
properly. Employees should be careful about how they represent themselves,
given that what they say or do could be interpreted as an opinion or policy
of State government. Employees should be aware that their conduct can
reflect on the reputation of their agency and its employees. Employees
should post or send only those messages and/or files that are permissible
as identified in State and/or agency policies on use of the Internet.

State employees should not act as spokespersons for their agency by
attempting to answer every question asked via the Internet, unless
authorized to do so. Employees should reply only to those questions that
are within the scope of their work for the State. Employees should handle
Internet queries about agency matters that are outside their immediate
scope of work as they would handle telephone inquiries.

State employees should not give out personal information (such as home
address, home telephone number, credit card information, etc.) in public
areas of the Internet.

The privilege of State provided access to the Internet may be revoked at
any time for inappropriate conduct. Examples of inappropriate conduct
include (but are not limited to):

• use of the Internet for other than State-related business;
• use of the Internet for unlawful activities;
• use of abusive or objectionable language in either public or private
  messages;
• misrepresentation of oneself or one's State agency;
• lobbying public officials;
• sending chain letters;
• using official dissemination tools to distribute personal
  information;
• other activities that could cause congestion and disruption of
  networks and systems.

Part IIa Guidelines for Use of Electronic Mail Services on the Internet

The content and maintenance of a user's electronic mailbox and shared file
storage areas are the user's responsibility. Users should:

• Check electronic mail daily.
• Use signature blocks on electronic mail messages to recipients
  outside of the agency. Signature blocks should be short, preferably
  not more than six lines, and should include the user's name,
  electronic mail address, phone number, and postal address.
• Be aware that electronic mail is not private communication, because
  others may be able to read or access mail. Electronic mail may best
  be regarded as a postcard rather than as a sealed letter.
• Use capitalization sparingly. Capitalizing long portions of a
  communication is called "shouting" and is considered rude.
  *Asterisks* or _underscore_characters_ can be used for emphasis.
• Delete unwanted messages or files immediately, because they take up
  disk storage space.
• Keep messages stored in electronic mailboxes to a minimum.
• Transfer to disks for future reference any messages or files to be
  saved.
• Seek to quash argument on the Internet. If one is flamed, either
  ignore the flame, respond with a rational presentation of one's
  views, or admit an error (if appropriate). Usually, flames will
  dissipate if one does not "add fuel to the fire." If flaming
  continues and/or is extraordinarily threatening wherever one goes on
  the Internet, the user should contact the Internet Technical
  Coordinator for his/her agency.
• Allow adequate time for electronic messages to travel on the
  Internet. Also, allow time for responses to postings.

Part IIb Guidelines for Use of Electronic Discussion/Newsgroup
Services on the Internet

State employees who participate in electronic discussion groups (i.e.,
Listservers, Usenet newsgroups, etc.) must learn and abide by the rules and
etiquette of those groups. Subscriptions to this type of service are to be
used with great caution. Listservers can automatically generate high
volumes of unwanted mail. This can have significant impacts on network
performance, especially if large files are involved. When using electronic
discussion group services, some general guidelines are:

• Use Listservers and Usenet news groups only when absolutely
  necessary.
• Retain initial welcome messages/information files received when
  first subscribing to a discussion group.
• Observe the conventions and particular interests of the group prior
  to becoming an active participant.
• Use signature blocks at the bottom of electronic mail messages.
  Signature blocks should be short, preferably not more than six
  lines, and should include the user's name, electronic mail address,
  phone number, and postal address.
• Keep messages short and to the point. Generally limit messages to
  one subject.
• Act in a professional and courteous manner.
• Be clear and concise. Re-read messages before sending them to be
  sure they will not be misunderstood. Read all messages carefully
  before responding.
• Be aware of the potential audience in any discussion group and
  address them accordingly.
• Be aware that the information available via the Internet is provided
  "as is." Much of the information will be good. Some of the
  information will be mediocre. In some cases, the information may be
  misleading or fraudulent. Check information obtained via the
  Internet with other sources, and attempt to discern fact from
  opinion.
• Cite all quotations, references, and sources.
• Limit line length to fewer than 80 characters, because many systems
  cannot display longer lines.
• Use capitalization sparingly. Capitalizing long portions of a
  communication is called "shouting" and is considered rude.
  *Asterisks* or _underscore_characters_ can be used for emphasis.
• Use discretion when sending long documents to discussion groups. It
  is preferable to reference the source of a document and provide
  instructions on how to obtain a copy.
• Respect copyright and licensing agreements.
• Include only the relevant portions when quoting from a previous
  message. Clearly identify the quoted portions.
• Learn abbreviation conventions and network jargon. Be aware that
  these may vary from one discussion group to another. Some common
  examples include: BTW for "by the way", IMHO for "in my humble
  opinion", and ;-) depicting winking smiley face.
• Use the address for the listserver when unsubscribing from a list.
  Do not use the address of the mail list. Using the wrong address
  will usually result in all other list subscribers getting a copy of
  the users message.
• Unsubscribe from a list when leaving a State Internet account. In
  this case, unsubscribing from a list eliminates problems with
  "undeliverable mail" messages being transmitted to other users. If
  it not desirable to unsubscribe from a list, however, there are
  commands that can be used to put list mailings on hold or set for
  restart. Such features are very useful when a user goes on vacation
  or leave.
• Use the daily digest command to condense electronic mailings into a
  single message each day if a mail list generates many individual
  electronic mail messages to a user.

Part IIc Guidelines for Use of TELNET Services on the Internet

When using TELNET to access remote computer systems, State employees should
remember that they are guests on another institution's machine. To help
ensure that other Internet users have access to the same information in a
timely manner, remote users should observe a few basic courtesies:

• Logoff a remote computer system when finished. Maintaining a
  connection that is not actively being used may prevent others from
  connecting to that system.
• Read or obtain instructions or documentation files when using a
  system for the first time.
• Be aware of time and resource limitations of remote systems. Adhere
  to any stated restrictions.

Part IId Guidelines for Use of FTP (File Transfer Protocol) Services on
the Internet

When using FTP, State employees are guests on other systems. To ensure
that other Internet users have access to the information, a few basic
guidelines should be followed:

• Login as anonymous and respond to the PASSWORD prompt with your
  electronic mail address, unless the system specifies otherwise.
  Logoff the remote computer system when finished.
• Avoid transferring files during peak business hours for the remote
  system, whenever possible.
• Be aware of time and resource limitations of remote systems. Adhere
  to any stated restrictions.
• Remove files transferred to shared system areas as soon as possible.
  Copy the files to local disks if needed for future use.
• Use common sense when transferring files from the Internet. All
  files transferred from the Internet, especially program files,
  should be checked for computer viruses.
• Transfer files directly to diskettes rather than to the hard drive
  if possible. Check transferred files for viruses. Do not use
  infected files.
• Respect copyright and licensing agreements of transferred files.

REFERENCES

• Executive Order No. 84 (October 17, 1984)
• Treasurer Clymer's Internet directives (May 15, 1995 and August 21,
  1995)
• Governor Whitman's Internet directive (January 8, 1996)
• Internet Presence Policy for New Jersey Government; Circular Letter
  No. 97-01-OTS (August 30, 1996)
• Internet Access and Use Policy for New Jersey Government; Circular
  Letter No. 97-02-OTS (August 30, 1996)
• New Jersey State Information Processing Terms and Definitions;
  Circular Letter No. 97-04-OTS (August 30, 1996)

SUPPLEMENTAL REFERENCES

• ILC Glossary of Internet Terms Copyright 81994-95 Internet Literacy
  Consultants(tm) (The URL of this document is:
  http://www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html which is where you can look
  for the latest, most complete version.)