December 3, 1998

[[Personal sender goes here]]

Dear Mr. Matthew

Your continued abuse of the WebTV Network service, in violation of the WebTV Terms of Service, required that we terminate your right of access to the Microsoft WebTV Network service to prevent continued unauthorized access to restricted parts of the WebTV Network service. This letter serves as your notice of such termination, as several e-mail warnings to you regarding your abuse have not obtained your compliance with the Terms, to which you agreed as a condition of your access to the WebTV Network.

Accordingly, your account was terminated on December 3, 1998. This termination is permanent and means that your WebTV box and all existing accounts associated with it have been discontinued and will not be reinstated for use with the WebTV Network. If there were any pre-paid monthly fees, for unused months, this amount will be refunded to you, however, there is no refund for any partially used month.

For further questions regarding your account, you must contact WebTV Legal Affairs in writing at the following address:

Charleston Ave.
Mountain View, CA 94043

Sincerely,

WebTV Compilance Manager


Just a quick note in my defence:

WebTV never sent me any e-mail warnings about accessing restricted areas. The only e-mail I got from WebTV was from three WebTV@corp employees asking me how I got into Weekly and TestDrive (service areas). I gave them my phone number and told them to call, and then told them the steps I used to access Weekly/TD back in November, 1998.

They all said thanks and, a few days later, I was e-mailed by one of the Corps telling me that Bruce Leak of WebTV appreciated my help and wanted to send me something as a thank you. He sent me to the webtv store and told me to pick out any one item and it was mine. I picked out the jacket and a month later I received it.

I just don't get it. One minute, WebTV is thanking me and the next they're terminating me???? Since the last TD breakin (in November), I have not accessed any unauthorized areas, as WebTV calls them. And you can't count the green previewer group because I never accessed it (I couldn't). I was sent all the pics by different Previewers.

To Whom it may Concern:
My wife and I must, in the stongest terms, challenge WNI's unwarrented termination of our family's account.

WNI Writes:
"Your continued abuse of the Webtv Network, in violation of the Webtv Terms Of service, required that we terminate your right to access to the Microsoft Webtv Network to prevent continued unauthorized access to restricted parts of the webtv Network service. This letter serves as your notice of such termination, as several e-mail warnings to you regarding your abuse have not obtained your compliance with the Terms, to which you agreed as a condition of your access to the Webtv Network."

Given the seriousness of this matter we would have preferrerd NOT receiving a form letter but instead having specific instances of allegeded TOS violations detailed so we or our legal representative might respond to them. For the record neither of us have received any such warning letters your termination letter alludes to. Please review your records on this and forward any copies you may have on file. If we had received any warning letters we would have dutifully considered WNI's concerns and insured all account activity was in strict TOS complience. Not having received such warnings seems to indicate a lack of good faith on WNI's part in following the spirit and letter of its own TOS... especially given the cordial and productive relations I have had assisting some members of WNI's NetOps staff.

The only e-mail I received was in November 98. Three webtv@corp employees requested my assistance in helping make several of WNI's servers more secure. I gladly provided them with all the information they requested. A few days later I was e-mailed informing me that Bruce Leak himself greatly appreciated my asistance to WNI and as a thank you, to pick out any item at the WTV store. I picked out the jacket and a month later received it. Given this gesture of thanks I was under the impression WNI desired having some of its security tested under real world conditions. Given these circumstances the termination of my family's account is confusing at best and is not anything we take lightly.

I understand why WNI may be upset with me for posting some information. But , again, for the record, I did not access the area in question but was sent the pictures. I should also note that while I now see the posting of these pictures to be an error in judgement, my wife and I are not, nor ever have been, Previewers. Your actions are establishing a troubling precedent. I respectfully suggest that your issue is with those who do break their NDA.... NOT with ordinary subscribers. I must also add I had already been made aware that this information had been put up on another homepage and only at that point did I feel free to do the same. None the less, I do apologize for any inconvience to WNI and if you wish I will take the pages down upon reistablishment of our account.

WNI Writes:
"Accordingly, your account was terminated on April 5, 1999. This termination is permanent and means your Webtv box and all existing accounts assoicated with it have been discontinued and will not be reinstated for use with the webtv Network. If there were any pre-paid monthly fees for unused months, this amount will be refunded to you, however, there is no refund for any partially used month. For further questions regarding your account, you must contact Webtv Legal Affairs in writing."

We must also strongly object to WNI's unwarrented actions in keeping my wife and I from our personal account information stored on WNI servers. Regardless of WNI's final decision regarding the final status of our case, we must insist we be given immediate access to our personal files so this PRIVATE information may be salvaged. Some of this information is pricless.

Thank you for reconsidering this matter. WNI provides a unique service which we have recomended to many friends and relatives. We look forward to once again becoming pat of the WNI family.

Respectfully Matt and Gretchen

TOS UPDATE: Since the above mentioned I was able to get back on webtv for about 10 months using the name Thin-Ice69@webtv.net only to get TOS'ed again for releasing previewer info.. My second TOSing took effect as of 02/09/2000.. This time I don't plan on taking any action to attempt to get my account back as I learned from the first time you don't get anywhere with webtv's legal dept. Once again I feel my TOSing was unjust as I am not a previewer and NEVER signed the previewer NDA.. I'll be back!

TOS UPDATE:Guess what I came back but it wasn't for long. I signed up for a new account on 5/17/2000 only to be TOS'ed again two days later.. Most people might have given up by now but not me.. Why does webtv hate me so much? I'll be back!

TOS FINAL UPDATE:Figured out how to unregister TOS'ed Box's: Setting up the Webtv viewer to connect to webtv using a SSID from a TOS'ed box and a special wtv-only code unregistered the TOS'ed webtv unit and allowed one to reregister the box again and access the webtv network once again. I believe this trick pissed webtv off more than anything. I unTOS'ed about 100 people. Can you imagine what webtv was thinking when "my" tos'ed unit kept showing up! They would TOS my account and the very next day I would be back. This went on for many TOS'ings until webtv finally gave up LMAO. But eventually webtv prevailed and the method was killed. I'll be back!