Specific personal electronic communications and computer files will not be searched deliberately to seek evidence of malfeasance except in an emergency or as part of a formal investigation by an authorized authority. The University's administrative procedures promote fundamental fairness, although they do not follow the traditional common law adversarial method of a court of law. System administrators are authorized to take any actions deemed necessary to preserve the integrity of the system, including immediate temporary suspension of access by any user allegedly involved in a violation pending the outcome of an investigation. See below for the procedure for addressing violations of this policy. Individual Responsibilities Users of the University of Maine's network systems accept responsibilities that include, but are not limited to, the following specific examples.
Users are responsible for all actions taken on their network account.
Accounts are not to be used for conducting personal business enterprises, including consulting for private gain. The University's electronic communication systems are to be used only for the furtherance of the University's mission and not for personal benefit. Users shall not access anyone else's electronic resources, including files and mail, without specific permission from the owner. Permission does not include sharing account information as designated above, but allows for collectively reading e-mail and sharing files using network services. The user shall not take advantage of another's inexperience or negligence to gain access to any computer account, data, software, or file for which he or she has not received explicit permission to access.