a public forum or discussion area on a computer network. All users of the network can post messages, and every user can read all the messages that have been posted. The most famous newsgroups are those distributed worldwide by the Usenet system, covering thousands of topics.

the responsible use of computers and computer networks. Malicious misuse of computers is rare, but serious misjudgments by well-meaning people are unfortunately common. Some important points to remember are the following:

1. People have the same legal and ethical responsibilities when using a computer as at any other time.
   Slander, deception, harassment, and the like are just as wrong when done via computer as when done any other way, and they incur the same legal penalties.
   Using a computer without the owner's permission is prosecutable as theft of services (just like using any other machine without the owner's permission). Damaging property or data by releasing a computer virus is also prosecutable as a crime.
2. Computers will not necessarily prevent all improper acts; users are responsible for what they do.
   For example, if a computer is set up incorrectly so that it lets unauthorized people use it without a password, that does not justify the unauthorized usage, just as a defective door lock does not justify burglary.
3. Some of the information stored in computers is private and con- fidential and should not be abused.
   This applies particularly to credit records, educational records, and the like. Such information may also be incomplete or inaccurate because people did not correct errors that they considered inconsequential. If the information is later used for a completely different purpose, the errors can be damaging.
4. Electronic communications are not guaranteed to be private.
   You do not know what path your electronic mail follows or who may see it en route. Do not send credit card numbers or other confidential information through e-mail unless you have confirmed that it is traveling by a secure path.
   Also, be aware that e-mail can be faked; there is no guarantee that a piece of mail actually came from the person or site shown on the header.
5. Users must respect software copyrights and licenses.
   The price of a piece of software is more than just the cost of the disk and manual; it's also your share of the cost of developing the product. If people don't pay for software, there will be no software.
6. Manufacturers, programmers, and independent consultants have responsibilities to their customers.
   It's wrong to claim to be more of an expert than you really are; it's also wrong to sell a shoddy product while concealing defects in it. Admittedly, no one can ensure that any complex piece of software is 100% reliable, but common decency requires programmers and vendors to act in good faith-when there's a problem, do your best to correct it or at least warn the user about it.
   In the past, many manufacturers have tried to disclaim all responsibility for the performance of their products, but there are encouraging signs that the user community will no longer tolerate this dubious practice.
7. On the Internet, you are everyone else's guest.
   The cost of running the Internet is paid by the sites that receive messages, not just the sites that send them. Accordingly, you must be careful what you send out, and to whom.

For more about ethical aspects of computer communications

a policy established by the owner of a computer system, or by an Internet service provider, concerning acceptable use of the computer and network facilities. Acceptable-use policies should generally include the following points:

1. Users are accountable for what they do. Deliberate snooping, harassment, or interference with other users will not be tolerated, nor will any deliberate unauthorized activity.
2. The computer shall be used only for its intended purposes. For example, you generally can't use your employer's computer to run another business on the side; nor can you run private moneymaking schemes on a computer owned by a state university.Employees are accountable for how they use their time at work.
3. Passwords must be kept secret. Seepassword.
4. The service provider has the right to suspend accounts that are being misused. People accused of misconduct have the right to a fair hearing.
5. Users must abide by the acceptable-use policies of newsgroups and other electronic discussion forums, which are mostly paid for by other people. On the Internet you are always someone's guest.
6. Chain letters and mass e-mailing are expensive, unwelcome, and generally not permitted. The correct way to reach a wide audience is to use an appropriate newsgroup.
7. Cyberspace is not above the law. Practices that are illegal in the real world, such as forgery, gambling, obscenity, and threatening or inciting violence, are still illegal when you do them on the computer.
8. Losing an account is not necessarily the only penalty for misconduct. The service provider cannot shield users from criminal or civil liability when they break laws or deliberately harm others. Really destructive computer abusers generally have several accounts and must be stopped by other means.