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Whilst you may not intend any harm to others in the use of on-line technology in ways such as those described in this booklet, it is still possible to find yourself the subject of a harassment complaint. Therefore it is important to pay attention both to the content of your communications with others, and the use to which you put your computer screen.

For example, a harassing and offensive workplace environment is created for work colleagues who walk past your monitor in the workplace if it displays material that is offensive to them, and they do not consent to being exposed to it. You, as the person displaying the material, may be liable.

You, as a user of electronic communication, are responsible for the professional standard of your communications and material which you display on your monitor.

Use of E-mail

E-mail is provided primarily for University business use and may be subject to legal proceedings. Responsible personal use is permitted, provided it is reasonable and is not detrimental to the University.
E-mail is written communication sent in the name of Macquarie University. Therefore you should not write anything that you would not write in a memorandum or official letter. The University may be liable for the acts of an employee which are performed in the course of employment, even if the act is unauthorised and contrary to University policies.
E-mail should not be used to promote discrimination on the basis of race, colour, national origin, age, marital status, sex, political affiliation, religion, disability or sexual preference.
E-mail should not be used to promote sexual harassment, political or racist propaganda, or to disseminate personal or religious beliefs.
Electronic messages should not contain content that may reasonably be considered offensive, intimidating or disruptive to any employee or student.

E-mail should not be used for making defamatory statements, or for circulating rumours and gossip about individuals, groups, associations, or organisations.

What should not appear in an e-mail message

Messages should not include sexual comments or images, racial abuse, slurs, gender-specific comments or any comments that would offend a person on the basis of his or her gender, age, race, sexual orientation, religion or political beliefs.
Exhibiting or copying obscene or sexually explicit images or actions on the Internet is not allowed.
Users shall not cause obscene, sexually explicit, discriminatory, defamatory or other offensive material to be stored in any University computer system, nor should any of this material be transmitted to the University networks by e-mail.
Forgery or attempted forgery of e-mails, attempts to read, delete, copy or modify e-mails of other users, attempts at sending harassing, obscene and/or threatening e-mail of other users is strictly prohibited and offenders will be the subject to University disciplinary procedures.

If you are unsure about the material you wish to send, or are concerned about any material which you may have received, you are advised to discuss this with your immediate supervisor or manager.

What is obscene material?

Obscene material is material which:

includes child pornography;
promotes crime or violence, or incites or instructs in matters of crime or violence;
describes or depicts in an offensive manner, the use of violence or coercion to compel any person to participate in or submit to abnormal, unusual or degrading behaviour; or
makes reference to matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or other such violent activities.

Further guidelines for staff and students

Ask yourself, before sending an E-mail, how you would feel if your message were to be read out or the attached image displayed in court.
Never assume that your E-mail cannot be read by anyone else. You should be aware that your E-mails may be accessed by others.
E-mail messages may be read by unintended recipients in a number of ways, even after deletion. If you see a message that is not meant for you, treat it as confidential.
It is possible to use E-mail security software and filters to block messages with images or suspect words attached/included, from all or selected users. It is even possible to scan the content of incoming text using security software.
Comply with the University IT Security policy at all times. Avoid sending confidential information by internet E-mail without authorisation.
Discuss all issues of confidentiality, copyright and data/information protection with the University IT Security Officer.

How to stay out of trouble online

There are laws in cyberspace, even if they are still being developed. Here are some tips to keep you out of trouble.

Do not use somebody else's work on your web page or in your e-mail without their permission.
This admonition applies equally whether the work is written text, program code, clip art, or anything else that is copyrighted. Once permission has been given, acknowledge the author's copyright.
Refrain from making statements that can harm the reputation of a person or a company.
Remember you are as responsible for your false or misleading words online as you are elsewhere and you can be sued for libel or defamation just the same as you can in the print media.
Do not post adult-oriented sexual material on the Internet or on any online service.
Assume that online agreements are enforceable.
This includes buying goods in a cybermall, a business deal arranged by e-mail, or any other type of agreement.
Use digital signatures if you are arranging a business deal online.
Digital signatures, with their unique coding, can reliably authenticate the sender of an e-mail.
Do not send or keep offensive text or pictures (e.g. pornography, racism, sexism, obscenities, insults, sarcasm, profanity, extreme political or religious views, confrontational statements or statements which incite unlawful activity.)

What action can I take if I feel I am being harassed electronically?

Let the sender know that you find the material offensive and ask that no further such material be directed to you. If the activity continues, reporting online harassment is the next line of action. You should also consider changing your online account or name as counter measures.

Do not respond to irritating e-mail or junk mail just to retaliate. Responding to junk e-mail confirms your e-mail address for future junk e-mail.

You should report any breaches of the above guidelines, from either within or outside the Macquarie University to:

Student complaints should be directed to a Student Contact Officer. There are Student Contact Officers throughout the University.

Staff complaints should be directed to an Staff Contact Officer.

Or contact the IT Security Officer for remedial action or assistance in preventing a recurrence.

IT Security Officer Ph: 9850 7904

Other points of contact:

Devendran Dharmarathnam
Equity and Diversity Unit, Human Resources
Ph: 9850 7389
E-mail: ddharmar@vc.mq.edu.au

Electronic Terminology:

Terms commonly used in online communication

Attachment: A file attached to an e-mail message.

Bozo filter: A feature supported by many e-mail clients and news readers that enables you to block out messages from specific individuals. The list of addresses that you want to block is called a bozo list or kill file. Bozo filters are one way to reduce flames and spam.

Chat: Real-time communication between two users via computer. Once a chat has been initiated, either user can enter text by typing on the keyboard and the entered text will appear on the other user's monitor. Most networks and online services offer a chat feature.

Cyberloafing: is the use of an organisation's facilities and misuse of work time through accessing non-work related websites. Many employees erroneously believe that their use of websites cannot be tracked.

E-mail address: A name that identifies an electronic post office box on a network where e-mail can be sent. Different types of networks have different formats for e-mail addresses. On the Internet, all e-mail addresses have the form:

E-mail Bomb: Sending or arranging to send, a huge quantity of messages to the target. The victim is swamped with thousands of messages.

Emoticon: An acronym for emotion icon, a small icon composed of punctuation characters that indicates how an e-mail message should be interpreted (that is, the writer's mood). For example, a :-) emoticon indicates that the message is meant as a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously. An emoticon is also called a "smiley".

Flame: A searing e-mail or newsgroup message in which the writer attacks another participant in overly harsh, and often personal, terms. Flames are an unfortunate, but inevitable, element of unmoderated conferences.

Flamemail: is the use of e-mail to transmit offensive, insulting, harassing messages to people you are working with or others outside the workplace.

IT Security: Refers to techniques for ensuring that data stored in a computer cannot be read or compromised. Most security measures involve data encryption and passwords.

Mailing list : A list of e-mail addresses identified by a single name, such as mail-list@sandybay.com. When an e-mail message is sent to the mailing list name, it is automatically forwarded to all the addresses in the list.

Mimicking: Synonymous with Impersonation, Masquerading or Spoofing.

Offensive screensavers is the downloading of offensive graphics from websites to use as screensavers.

Password: Is a secret word or phrase that gives a user access to a particular program or system.

PornNet is the accessing of pornographic websites during work time.

Snailmail: Normal postal mail, where an actual physical letter or package is delivered. The term didn't exist until electronic mail (e-mail) became so prevalent that there was a requirement to differentiate the two.

Spam: Electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited e-mail. Spam is generally e-mail advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or newsgroup.

Spoofing: Sending forged E-mail messages purporting to come from someone else.

Electronic Harassment

Policy Guidelines for Macquarie University Staff and Students

Student complaints should be directed to a Student Contact Officer. There are Student Contact Officers throughout the University.

Staff complaints should be directed to an Staff Contact Officer.