Decibite Cloud Hosting

Terms of Service

Effective Date: January 12, 2019

Decibite Cloud Hosting/Negative0 Information Services Inc. Terms of Service

Decibite and parent company Negative0 Information Services Incorporated provides internet services and offers data storage and transfer services through access to its servers.

Our clients run their own projects that we support with technical services and support. All client projects and data is their property and Decibite/Negative0 is only acting as a service provider and consultant.

Decibite/Negative0 are responsible for maintaining server and service accessibility from the general internet, monitored by 3rd party services. Decibite/Negative0 will make every effort to assist clients with local or downstream issues, but we are unable to open tickets with other internet service providers to troubleshoot a client issue.

Decibite/Negative0 will make every good faith effort to ensure the reliability and availability of our servers. We work to minimize service interruptions. Regular maintenance can interrupt services, but proper notification will be provided and any conflicts will be managed.

Now without further ado, the continued details.

Finance and Payments

  • All Decibite/Negative0 packages have no set term. Payment structures have different rates, but at all times 100% of unused hosting credit can be refunded. For example, a $150/year VPS registered January 1 could be terminated April 30 and a refund of $100 would be issued. Daily/Hourly billing available but must be requested.
  • Taxes are not eligible for a refund.
  • Domain transfer and account status limitations may apply up to 4 months after new domain registration.
  • Customer agrees that all charges and fees associated with an account are their sole responsibility.
  • Accounts can be terminated at any time for any reason. Justification, notice, an opportunity to respond will be provided if account termination is initiated by Decibite/Negative0.
  • Services provided by 3rd parties and partners are not part of the refund policy and not eligible for a refund. Billing will stop at the end of the term during which the service is canceled.
  • At the end of the billing cycle, a new cycle of the same details will begin. Any challenges to the service provided should be made within 15 days of the incident or 15 days of impacted term renewal.
  • Violations of Decibite/Negative0 or our datacenter provider eStruxture Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, or Spam Policy may, at Decibite/Negative0 discretion, result in immediate and permanent disablement without refund.
  • Disputed charges ("chargebacks") associated with an account may, at Decibite/Negative0 discretion, result in immediate and permanent disablement.

Uptime Targets and Downtime Remedies

Decibite/Negative0 will use reasonable efforts to make all services available 99.9% of the time during each monthly cycle. If Decibite/Negative0 is unable to meet this service level (properly notified maintenance excluded) a refund/credit will be provided at a rate of 10% monthly fee per 1 hour total monthly downtime. For example, 3 hours of downtime in one month on a $150/year VPS would result in 30% of May being refunded, a $3.75 credit/refund.

For the purposes of this agreement, Unavailability means that either (a) the service is unresponsive, or (b) a server error is returned for valid user requests consecutively for more than 60 seconds of the initial test.

  • Unavailability due to announced maintenance does not count towards an SLA violation but can be included in the total monthly downtime calculation. Maintenance not announced at least 7 days in advance or that exceeds 2 hours in one month will count towards SLA violations and total downtime calculations.
  • Service credits will be calculated as a percentage of the fee for the month that the Unavailability occurred. The percentage for the credit will be calculated by multiplying the total number of downtime hours (rounded up to the nearest 15 minutes) by 10. 3 hours of total monthly unavailability results in 30% credit on the monthly fee.
  • Service credits must be claimed within 15 days of the Unavailability occurring by submitting a support ticket. Include as much detail as required to document the Unavailability.

eCommerce and Taxes

Decibite/Negative0 shall not be liable for any products sold, taxes or other fees to be paid, or other considerations with business transacted on our servers. Customer agrees to take full responsibility for all taxes and fees of any nature associated with such products sold.

Service Provisions

  • Decibite/Negative0 can only guarantee uptime for server-ready code. We will investigate all outage reports, but if we are not able to find error logs or verify with 3rd party tools we may need additional details.
  • Decibite/Negative0 will make every effort to assist with technical challenges while interfacing with our systems. Our level of service varies so please discuss your needs with our sales or support teams. We will provide advanced assistance with migration, setup, scale, and security of all types of web apps but client knowledge is required to facilitate optimal results.

The following are knowledge examples that can facilitate support offered:

  • Troubleshooting Website Appearance: knowledge of HTML, CSS, Javascript are assets. Locating and linking documents to URL, FTP, cPanel, etc.
  • Troubleshooting Dynamic Actions: Knowledge of the underlying application technology and stack. For example, WordPress uses the LAMP stack, with PHP as the language.
  • Decibite/Negative0 does not directly provide website building assistance, but we can connect you with partner agencies that do. We do provide website builder tools, as well as auto-install scripts to make the on-boarding process as smooth as possible for users of all technical backgrounds.
  • Decibite/Negative0 is not responsible for the content of your site or online storage/databases. We will comply with all legal requests from recognized Canadian agencies, and investigate abuse reports. In all situations, the user will be notified prior to any actions being taken.
  • Decibite/Negative0 respects users privacy but reserves the right to investigate and police its network and network systems in a way that allows expediency and thoroughness. Clients will only be notified if we are asked to investigate a specific user, account, domain, or incident.
  • Cooperation in internal investigations is required to maintain active service. Failure to cooperate in a timely manner can result in the suspension of accounts/service plans as required to maintain common services.
  • Decibite/Negative0 may temporarily interrupt service, suspend, or disconnect any site that could risk shared and common infrastructure. For example, with a DDOS attack, an IP address may be null routed.
  • Decibite/Negative0 requires good faith operation. Any willful attempt to mislead or misguide either party can result in the termination of this agreement with no financial or liability penalty.
  • Decibite/Negative0 works to maintain a strict SLA we make no warranties or representations of any kind, whether expressed or implied for the provided services. No warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose is offered and we are not responsible for any damages that may be suffered, including loss of data and service interruptions by any cause or errors or omissions. Use of our services and consulting is at the user's own risk, and Decibite/Negative0 Information Services Incorporated specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its services. Failure to meet any advertised or contracted responsibility is eligible for a maximum of 99 days service fee refund. Many factors can impact performance, please contact the support department if you feel Decibite/Negative0 has not provided the advertised service.
  • Parked domains, or domains that are pointed at our servers without an associated account, can display coming soon or other common pages.

DMCA and other Content Protections

Use of our service requires the proper rights to use the trademarks and copyrights applicable to all content and/or products being made available through the account. We will investigate all abuse reports and notify the account owner.

Hardware, Equipment, & Software

  • Decibite/Negative0 do not provide any of the tools to connect to our services as a part of this package. If you are interested in a more comprehensive management agreement Negative0 can offer solutions.
  • We make no guarantee your equipment will be compatible with our own. Please contact our support team to verify compatibility with your existing workflow or equipment.

Dedicated Computer Provisions

  1. Decibite/Negative0 is under no obligation to compensate for downtime, whether the downtime is caused by Customer, Decibite/Negative0, or upstream providers.
  2. For VPS systems refunds and downtime, compensations are based on monthly cycles. Some provisions depend on if you are pre-paying for a plan or if you are post-paying for consumed resources.
    • Pre-Paid Plan: Any termination or upgrade will result in a refund of the prorated value of the plan for the last billing cycle. We will not count termination day as a usage day, but hourly billing is not available by default.
    • Post-Paid Plan: Any termination results in fees for cycle usage rounded to the nearest hour. Termination hour is not included in this calculation when the system has been operating longer than 24 hours. 1 Hour minimum.
  3. Hardware upgrades may result in moving to a new host node. Decibite/Negative0 will coordinate these moves and any downtime or outages that may result. With hardware upgrade and node migrations a minimum of 30 days notice is given, and up to an additional 30 days extension to facilitate smooth migration.
  4. We schedule VPS system snapshots to occur at regular intervals, but make no guarantee about availability. Additional backups are required. OS Reinstallation or snapshot taking/restoration are available upon request with no guarantee on availability.
  5. Decibite/Negative tries to inform clients of new deals and changes in price, but we make no promise and are under no obligation to do so.
  6. All our systems are fully managed. It is the responsible of Decibite/Negative0 to secure the network, the OS kernel, and the other elements of the base operating system and service stack. We will coordinate updates where possible, but when required for security or stability reasons we may perform emergency updates.
  7. If you do not wish for us to manage the system it is the client's responsibility to keep the security of their system up to date. Kernel updates, stack updates, and application/script updates must be installed in a reasonable timeframe, ideally within one month. If a server is compromised we may need to suspend it while we coordinate cleanup.
  8. Decibite/Negative0 maintain many information streams where we publish security and vulnerability notices, but we are under no responsibility to do so or to contact clients who opt out of management with system update suggestions. If you are interested in security or other news please subscribe to our feeds.

Minimum Age of User

The managers and bill payers of Decibite/Negative0 accounts must be at least 18 years of age or have a parent or legal guardian act as the "customer" or “user” in terms of this contract. All account details can be shared with account managers or bill payers, but security questions may be asked.

Some exceptions may be made in extreme circumstances. Please contact support if you have any questions.

Termination

Termination by either party without cause can be made at any time. Decibite/Negative0 accept terminations by eMail, or via our ticket system. Notwithstanding the above, Decibite/Negative0 may terminate service under this contract at any time, without penalty, if the Customer fails to comply with the terms of this contract, including non-payment.

Limited Liability

  • Use of Decibite/Negative0 Servers is at the Customer's sole risk. Neither Negative0 Information Services Incorporated, its employees, affiliates, agents, third party information providers, merchants licensers or the like, warrant that Decibite/Negative0 service will not be interrupted or error free; nor do they make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the Server service or as to the accuracy, reliability or content of any information service or merchandise contained in or provided through the Decibite/Negative0 Server service, unless otherwise expressly stated in this contract.
  • Under no circumstances, including negligence, shall Negative0 Information Services Incorporated, its officers, agents or anyone else involved in creating, producing or distributing Decibite/Negative0 Server service be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages that result from the use of or inability to use the service; or that results from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion of files, errors, defects, delays in operation, or transmission or any failure of performance, whether or not limited to acts of God, communication failure, theft, destruction or unauthorized access to Negative0 Information Services Incorporated records, programs or services. Customer hereby acknowledges that this paragraph shall apply to all content on Decibite/Negative0 Server service.
  • Notwithstanding the above, Customer's exclusive remedies for all damages, losses, and causes of actions whether in contract, tort including negligence or otherwise, shall not exceed the aggregate amount which Customer paid during the term of this contract and any reasonable legal fee and court costs. All complaints must be brought forward in Calgary Alberta Canada.

Indemnification

Customer agrees that it shall defend, indemnify, save and hold Negative0 Information Services Incorporated harmless from any and all demands, liabilities, losses, costs, and claims, including reasonable attorneys' fees, ("Liabilities") asserted against Negative0 Information Services Incorporated, its agents, its customers, servants officers and employees, that may arise or result from any service provided or performed or agreed to be performed or any product sold by Customer, its agents, employees or assigns. Customer agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Negative0 Information Services Incorporated against Liabilities arising out of any injury to person or property caused by any products sold or otherwise distributed in connection with Negative0 Information Services Incorporated; any material supplied by Customer infringing or allegedly infringing on the proprietary rights of a third party; copyright infringement; any defective product which Customer sold via Decibite/Negative0 account.

Revisions and Errata

Customer agrees to comply with all applicable export and re-export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR") maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce, trade and economic sanctions maintained by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR") maintained by the Department of State. Specifically, Customer covenants that it shall not – directly or indirectly – sell, export, reexport, transfer, divert, or otherwise dispose of any products, software, or technology (including products derived from or based on such technology) received from Decibite/Negative0 under this Agreement to any destination, entity, or person prohibited by the laws or regulations of Canada. Customer agrees to indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by law, Negative0 Information Services Incorporated from and against any fines or penalties that may arise as a result of Customer's breach of this provision. This export control clause shall survive the termination or cancellation of this Agreement.

Transferability

Customer may not transfer this contract without the written consent of Decibite/Negative0.

Site Terms of Use Modifications

Revisions to this Contract will be applicable to previous Contracts Revisions will be considered agreed to by the Customer on renewal of service as specified in Section – Financial Arrangements.

These Terms and Conditions constitute the entire Contract and understanding of the parties. Any changes or modifications to these Terms and Conditions of Contract thereto are agreed to by both parties upon renewal of services.