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These terms of service comprise a legal agreement ("Agreement") between You (either an individual or a single entity) ("You" or "Your") and Learnable Pty Ltd (ACN 147 944 465) ("Learnable") in relation to Your use of the Services offered by Learnable on learnable.com.
Your access to and use of the Service is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If You do not accept these terms and conditions You must not access or use the Services.
Effective: 1 March 2011-03-01
Last update: 19 Sep 2011-09-12 (Version 7)
1.1 Definitions
In this Agreement, the following terms will have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
- (a) "Amendment Date" has the meaning given in clause 17(b).
- (b) "User Content" means any user-generated content submitted to learnable.com, such as comments, feedback, discussion or other information, data or materials in any format.
- (c) "Course Materials" means any materials, data and documentation submitted by an Instructor as a necessary step of an online course (including without limitation electronic, audio, video or other formats) but excludes User Content.
- (d) "Commission Balance" the total amount of the Instructor Fees (as calculated by Learnable at a particular point in time) which may be redeemed for US dollars or other currencies.
- (e) "Instructor" means a person who prepares and offers for sale Course Materials via learnable.com.
- (f) "Intellectual Property Rights" means all intellectual property rights of any type whatsoever throughout the world including without limitation all present and future rights in relation to copyright, inventions, patent rights, trade marks, designs, domain names, know how, and plant breeder rights, whether or not such rights are registered or able to be registered for the entire life of those rights and any renewals.
- (g) "learnable.com" means the Learnable website (or websites) and underlying software and infrastructure which permits the provision of the Services.
- (h) "Personal Information" has the same meaning as defined in the Australian Privacy Act 1998 (Cth) or any other analogous legislation relating to privacy and data protection.
- (i) "Services" means the services provided by Learnable which are described in clause 2.
- (j) "Student" means a person who procures access to or use of Course Materials on learnable.com.
- (k) "Taxes" means any applicable duties, sales taxes, GST, VAT or other taxes which may be levied in respect of a transaction contemplated by this Agreement.
- (l) "Third Party Work" means any image, logo, artistic work, literary work or other item or thing in which the Intellectual Property Rights are owned by a third party.
- (m) "User Account" means an online account with Learnable which enables You to use learnable.com.
- (n) "Payment Device" means any method of payment specified by Learnable from time to time, which may include credit card, PayPal, direct debit, or telegraphic transfer.
- (o) Credits may be used to purchase or obtain access to certain specified goods and services from Learnable. Credits are not equivalent to any currency.
1.2 Rules for Interpretation
In the interpretation of this Agreement, unless the contrary intention appears:
- (a) a reference to this Agreement means a reference to an agreement between You and Learnable on the terms and conditions of this document, and includes any amendment or supplement to, or replacement or novation of this Agreement;
- (b) the words "includes" or "including" mean "includes without limitation" or "including without limitation";
- (c) a reference to a person includes a reference to a corporation, firm, association or other entity, and vice versa;
- (d) the singular includes the plural and vice versa;
- (e) a reference to any gender includes a reference to all other genders;
- (f) a reference to any legislation or to any provision of any legislation includes a reference to any modification or re-enactment of or any provisions substituted for such legislation or provisions;
- (g) an agreement, representation or warranty made by two or more persons is made by them jointly and by each of them severally;
- (h) where an expression is defined, another part of speech or grammatical form of that expression has a corresponding meaning; and
- (i) headings are inserted for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of this Agreement.
- (a) Learnable provides online services relating to the development of and supply of access to Course Materials, in accordance with and subject to, the terms and conditions of this Agreement, whereby:
- (i) Learnable provides a software engine and websites which Instructors may use to create Course Materials and make those Course Materials available to potential students;
- (ii) Instructors and Students may sell and purchase access to Course Materials in accordance with this Agreement; and
- (iii) Learnable may offer and Instructors and Students may receive other education and training goods and services from Learnable as set out in this Agreement,
- (b) You, as a user of the Services, may use the Services in the capacity as a Student, Instructor or both a Student and an Instructor. The terms and conditions of this Agreement will apply to Your use of the Services in either or both of those capacities (as the case may be).
3.1 Without limiting clause 11, each Instructor:
- (a) assumes all responsibility and liability in respect of the reliability, accuracy, completeness, currency and fitness for purpose of any Course Materials that it provides;
- (b) warrants that the Course Materials do not infringe any third party rights, including any Intellectual Property Rights;
- (c) warrants that it has the necessary consents and approvals to provide the Course Materials on the terms of this Agreement, including appropriate permissions to incorporate any Third Party Work in the Course Materials;
- (d) warrants that it has the required qualifications, credentials and expertise to prepare, offer and teach the subject matter of the Course Materials it provides, including any relevant education, training and/or industry experience;
- (e) must promptly rectify any errors in the Course Materials upon becoming aware of an error or upon the request of Learnable;
- (f) acknowledges and agrees that Learnable may refuse to publish or suspend any Course Materials, or alter the title or other parts of the Course Materials in its absolute discretion;
- (g) acknowledges and agrees that Learnable may alter the Student Payment, or offer discounted or free Course Materials, at any time in its absolute discretion; and
- (h) must not interfere with or otherwise prevent other Instructors from providing Course Materials or other teaching services.
3.2 Subject to clause 3.3, Learnable will cease to offer Your Course Materials for new enrollments within thirty (30) days of Your written request.
3.3 You acknowledge and agree that Learnable may continue to provide access to Course Materials to Students who have already enrolled as at the date of Your request for the ceasing of enrollments. This may continue for up to 12 months after enrollments cease (3.2). Unless Learnable agrees otherwise, Your obligations in relation to the Course Materials will continue until there are no current Students with access to Your Course Materials. Nothing in this Agreement obliges Learnable to remove any Content which has been submitted to learnable.com including in relation to Your Course Materials.
4.1 Without limiting clause 11, each Student:
- (a) acknowledges that Learnable does not engage Instructors to create Course Materials;
- (b) acknowledges and agrees that Learnable and Instructors make no warranty as to the reliability, accuracy, completeness, currency and fitness for purpose of any Course Materials;
- (c) subject to (d), following payment of the Student Fee, will be granted access to the relevant Course Materials for a period of time as described on learnable.com;
- (d) acknowledges that Learnable may cease to offer enrollments or remove Course Materials at any time, with or without prior notice to You, including Course Materials for which You have already enrolled and paid;
- (e) may use the Course Materials for their personal use only and for no other purpose;
- (f) must not copy or disseminate the Course Materials (or any part thereof) or any User Content to any person without our prior express written permission; and
- (g) must not enter into any arrangement or agreement with an Instructor to pay any amount in excess of the Student Payment for the Course Materials or to pay them separately outside learnable.com in relation to the supply of any Course Materials to You.
5.1 Creating a User Account
- (a) You agree to create a User Account with Learnable in order to use the Services;
- (b) Your User Account will be created using Learnable's online sign up process, or any other method specified by Learnable from time to time;
- (c) Your User Account will permit You to login to learnable.com to manage Your User Account, make use of learnable.com and to manage other details involving Your relationship with Learnable;
- (d) You agree to keep confidential and secure any username or password used to access Your User Account;
- (e) You warrant that all information provided to Learnable in the setup of Your User Account is true and correct in every detail;
- (f) You agree to only maintain one User Account in relation to Your use of the Services and learnable.com;
- (g) You agree to provide Learnable with identification documents (including copies of passport and drivers licence) if Learnable requests that you do so. (We only ask for evidence of identity when you have paid Learnable money or are redeeming Commission Balance as a instructor and we feel we need to take an extra step to minimize the risk of fraud. Any identity documents you provide us are destroyed following completiion of the identity check);
- (h) all users of the Services must be 13 years of age or older. By creating a User Account, You represent and warrant to Learnable that You are 13 years of age or older and You can form legally binding agreements under applicable law. You may however permit minors under 13 years of age to use Your User Account on Your behalf provided that You are their parent or legal guardian, and provided that their use of Your User Account occurs under Your supervision at all times. If You do permit a minor to use Your User Account in accordance with the forgoing then You agree that You are responsible for their actions, omissions or negligence and You indemnify Learnable against any loss, cost, expense or damage it may suffer as a result of the same; and
- (i) if You are using the Services on behalf of Your employer, then both You and Your employer will be bound jointly and severally in relation to this Agreement and Your employer will be responsible for Your actions. Further You warrant that You have full authority to enter into this Agreement on behalf of Your employer.
5.2 Use of Your User Account and learnable.com
- (a) You agree that You will only use Your User Account and learnable.com for the purposes of using the Services and for no other purpose. In particular, in using Your User Account and accessing learnable.com, You will not:
- (i) resell or sublicense the use of learnable.com, any Course Materials, User Content or Your User Account to any other person;
- (ii) use Your User Account or the Services to promote the services of a competitor to Learnable without first obtaining the prior written consent of Learnable;
- (iii) use Your User Account in a fraudulent or illegal manner, or email or send any materials from Your User Account which are offensive, unlawful, harassing, libellous, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene or otherwise objectionable;
- (iv) use Your User Account to stalk or harass another person;
- (v) use Your User Account to impersonate any person in any way whatsoever;
- (vi) use Your User Account to infringe the copyright, trade mark, patent or other Intellectual Property Rights of any person;
- (vii) use Your User Account for sending advertising, chain letters, junk mail, "spamming" or any other type of unsolicited email;
- (viii) forge or alter the header or address information contained in any email or communication which You send from Your User Account or in relation to the Services;
- (ix) use Your User Account to send or deliver viruses, spyware, malware or other harmful, disruptive, or destructive files;
- (x) use Your User Account in such a way which damages learnable.com or denies access to learnable.com to other users of learnable.com;
- (xi) intentionally or recklessly use Your User Account in a way that degrades the performance of learnable.com for other users; and
- (xii) cancel any sale or purchase of Course Materials for the purpose of contracting separately with any person You meet through learnable.com which results in You avoiding paying Learnable any Student Payment or any other fees and charges. In these circumstances, without limiting Learnable remedies against You, Learnable may recover its lost fees and charges and the Student Payment from You by suspending Your User Account and/or deducting its loss from any Commission Balance in Your User Account.
6.1 Commission Balance
- (a) Each unit of Commission Balance is equivalent to one United States dollar.
- (b) Commission Balance is not legal tender and cannot be traded or sold to third parties. Commission is only exchangeable as described in 6.2.
- (c) Any Commission Balance which includes a fraction may be truncated by Learnable down to the nearest whole number.
- (d) The Commission Balance held by You may be reduced at any time by Learnable for any amount owing by You to Learnable on any account whatsoever including in relation to compensating Learnable for any loss that it determines (in its sole and absolute discretion) it has suffered as a result of any breach of this Agreement by You.
6.2 Converting Commission Balance to amounts payable to You
- (a) You may at any time, convert Commission Balance which You hold in Your User Account to US dollars or any other currency permitted by learnable.com and request payment of those amounts to You. Any such payments will be made via the payment method nominated by You in Your User Account. Any such payment by Learnable to You may be reduced by any amount owing by You to Learnable on any account whatsoever and may also be reduced by any related administration fees and charges imposed by Learnable from time to time.
- (b) Any payment to You in a currency other than US dollars will be made at an exchange rate determined by the currency exchange provider selected by Learnable in its sole discretion. You will bear all risk in relation to any loss You may make as a result of the exchange of US dollars to another currency.
- (c) Any withdrawal of Commission Balance in accordance with this clause may be subject to minimum or maximum withdrawal amounts specified by Learnable from time to time.
- (d) Learnable may refuse to permit You to withdraw Commission Balance where it considers that as at the date of withdrawal You are in breach of this Agreement or Learnable considers that You or another Student or Instructor who is a party to the separate agreement described in clause 4 is in breach of the terms of that agreement.
6.3 What amounts are paid to Instructors?
- (a) If a Student purchases access to Your Course Materials then Learnable will pay You the amount of the Instructor Fee, which will be calculated on the basis of the Student Payment.
- (b) Nothing in this Agreement will require Learnable to make any payment to an Instructor until or unless Learnable has first received payment in full from the Student.
- (c) Learnable reserves the right to offer Your Course Materials for free or at a discounted price, for marketing and promotional purposes. In the event that the Student Payment is discounted, the Instructor Fee will adjusted accordingly. If Learnable does not receive any Student Payment in respect of Your Course Materials, then Learnable will not be required to pay any Instructor Fee to You.
- (d) The Instructor Fee will be paid to You as an increment of your Commission Balance (irrespective of the method of payment used by the Student) but may be reclaimed by Learnable if any refund is payable to the Student under clause 8, or any chargeback or payment reversal occurs in relation to any payment by the Student which relates to the sale of Your Course Materials.
- (e) You may convert Commission Balance into cash as described in clause 6.2.
6.4 Expiry of Commission Balance
- (a) Unless Learnable agrees otherwise, any Commission Balance held by You will expire if You do not access your User Account within any 12 month period. Commission Balance expired in this way is lost.
6.5 Learnable is not an escrow service
- (a) Learnable is not an escrow service and does not hold property on behalf of any person. All amounts deposited or paid to Learnable are property of Learnable and Learnable may use those funds as it sees fit. The only rights that You have to receive payment of any amounts held by Learnable are as set out in this clause 6 or under clause 8.
6.6 Taxes
- (a) You agree that You are responsible for the collection and/or payment of all Taxes which You may be liable for in any jurisdiction from Your supply or purchase of any Course Materials via learnable.com. Learnable is not responsible for collecting, reporting or remitting to You any such Taxes.
6.7 Student Payments
- (a) When You make a purchase on learnable.com, You agree to pay, and allow Learnable to charge your Payment Device for, the amount specified on learnable.com or such other amount which may be offered by Learnable from time to time ("Student Payment").
- (b) The Student Payment may be paid using one or more alternative methods of payment ("Payment Device").
7. Membership Plans and Credits
- (a) Learnable offers for sale Membership Plans which You may purchase on a one-time, monthly recurring or annual recurring basis.
- (b) Membership plans entitle You to accrue Credits on a one-time or recurring basis.
- (c) Credits can be spent to obtain access to Courses.
- (d) The number of credits You accrue within a given period is specified at the time You sign up to a Plan.
- (e) Members of some Plans have the option to convert unused Credits into Rollover Credits.
- (f) The maximum number of permissible Rollover Credits is specified at the time You sign up to a Plan.
- (g) When the maximum number of Rollover Credits is reached, any additional unused credits automatically expire.
8.1 Circumstances in which a refund may be paid
- (a) Learnable may refund an amount paid by a Student in respect of access to Course Materials supplied by an Instructor if:
- (i) Learnable is required by law or reasonably considers that it is required by law to do so;
- (ii) Learnable receives a demand or claim from a third party who claims ownership of the Course Materials or any Intellectual Property Rights in the Course Materials and Learnable accepts (to be determined by Learnable in its sole and absolute discretion) that there may be grounds for the third party's claim;
- (iii) Learnable deems (in its sole and absolute discretion) that the Course Materials are defective, inaccurate or incomplete;
- (iv) Learnable determines that issuing a refund to the Student will avoid any dispute or increased costs to Learnable;
- (v) Learnable issues the refund to the Student in accordance with any refund policy specified by Learnable from time to time;
- (vi) the order placed by the Student is found to be fraudulent;
- (vii) the Student placed a duplicate order in error; or
- (viii) in Learnable's sole opinion, Learnable considers that it is likely that the refund is necessary to avoid a credit card charge back.
8.2 How refunds are paid
- (a) If Learnable issues You a refund, that refund will be paid to You using the same payment methods You used to remit the Student Payment to Learnable as described in clause 6.3 or via any other method Learnable chooses from time to time.
- (b) If a refund is paid to a Student under clause 8.1, then:
- (i) if the Course Materials were provided by You, in Your capacity as an Instructor, then You must reimburse Learnable for the amount of the Instructor Fee You received in respect of those Course Materials. The reimbursement will first be paid out of any Commission Balance You hold and any remaining amount will be a debt due and payable by You to Learnable on demand; or
- (ii) if the refund is paid to You as a Student, then You will initially receive the amount of the Student Payment paid by You, less the Instructor Fee. You will receive the Instructor Fee only once the Instructor Fee is reimbursed by the Instructor to Learnable as contemplated in clause 8.2(a) above.
8.3 Acknowledgements
- (a) You agree that any determination by Learnable that Course Materials are defective or as to whether a refund is payable is final and conclusive, is not subject to challenge by You, and is binding on You.
- (b) If Learnable determines that Course Materials are not defective, or otherwise refuses a request for a refund, this will not restrict a Student from pursuing an Instructor separately for amounts paid by Learnable to the Instructor.
- (a) Without limiting Learnable's other rights arising under this Agreement, Learnable may suspend Your User Account and Your use of the Services at any time, with or without notice to You, and for any reason in its sole and absolute discretion, including if:
- (i) Learnable considers that You have breached any of Your obligations to Learnable under this Agreement;
- (ii) You submit any Course Materials for supply via learnable.com which is or incorporates any Third Party Work without the consent (express or implied) of the owner of the Third Party Work;
- (iii) Learnable considers that You are using Your User Account in bad faith;
- (iv) You are using Your User Account or the Services for illegal or fraudulent means or in a manner which Learnable in its sole discretion considers offensive, unlawful, harassing, libellous, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene or otherwise objectionable; or
- (v) in Learnable's sole and absolute opinion, the provision of the Services to You is resulting in an unreasonable load on Learnable's servers or Learnable's other services;
- (vi) if Learnable has reasonable grounds to believe that you are a repeat infringer of copyright or other Intellectual Property Rights.
(b) You acknowledge and agree that:
- (i) Learnable may suspend the Services where permitted under clause 9 at any time;
- (ii) Learnable's suspension of the Services may, in Learnable's sole discretion, apply to only some of the Services and/or for a fixed or indefinite period of time; and
- (iii) Learnable may in its sole discretion reactivate the Services and Your User Account for You at any time following their suspension.
- (c) For the avoidance of doubt, You may not make withdrawals of, or spend any Commission Balance during any period of suspension of Your User Account. Further Learnable may in its sole discretion set off any Commission Balance in Your account against any loss and damage Learnable suffers or incurs in connection with Your breach of this Agreement.
- (a) Learnable will collect Your Personal Information including Your name, contact details and payment details (including, without limitation, credit card details) in connection with the Services. All Personal Information will be handled, used, maintained and disclosed by Learnable in accordance with all applicable privacy laws and data protection laws as well as its privacy policy —which applies from time to time.
- (b) You agree that You will only use the Personal Information of other Instructors or Students as expressly permitted under this Agreement and for sole purpose of interacting with them in relation to the Services. Unless separately agreed between You and another Student or Instructor, You must not use their Personal Information for any other purpose.
- (c) You warrant to Learnable and its third party providers that You will comply with all privacy laws and data protection laws (including, without limitation, the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)) in relation to the storage, collection, use, disclosure and transfer of Personal Information.
You agree that you will at all times:
- (a) comply with all applicable laws in relation to the Services or the supply of Course Materials;
- (b) comply with any export restrictions which may apply to the export or import of Course Materials or other Intellectual Property Rights to locations inside or outside Australia or the territory in which You are located;
- (c) not, by engaging Learnable to provide the Services, place Learnable in breach of any law or obligation owing to a third party;
- (d) not undertake any act or cause any omission which will bring Learnable, its brand or other Students or Instructors into disrepute;
- (e) not use the Services in a manner that may lead to the suspension of the Services under clause 10;
- (f) provide Learnable with all information requested by Learnable which Learnable requires to provide the Services;
- (g) not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access learnable.com for any purpose without our express written permission; and
- (h) not take any action that imposes or may impose (in our sole discretion) an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on learnable.com;
- (i) not copy, reproduce, modify, reverse engineer, create derivative works from, distribute, resell, sublicense, or publicly display any content (other than User Content or Course Materials You have submitted to learnable.com) from learnable.com without our prior express written permission and the appropriate third party, as applicable;
- (j) not interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of learnable.com or any activities conducted on learnable.com; or
- (k) not bypass any measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to learnable.com or to Your User Account; or
- (l) not directly or indirectly allow or cause a third party or any employee or contractor to do any of the acts set out in this clause 11.
- (a) This Agreement will commence on the date that You first create a User Account with Learnable and will terminate at the later of the date that:
- (i) the User Account is terminated or closed; or
- (ii) You otherwise cease using the Services.
- (b) If after termination or closure of Your User Account, Your User Account is reactivated or You open a new User Account, You will again become bound by this Agreement at that time.
- (c) This Agreement and Your User Account may be terminated immediately by Learnable at any time for any reason whatsoever with or without notice to You.
- (d) This Agreement may be terminated by Learnable immediately on written notice to You if:
- (i) You are default or breach of this Agreement and Learnable has provided You with 7 days written notice of the default or breach and where the breach or default is capable of rectification, You fail to rectify the breach or default within the period of the notice; or
- (ii) Learnable has reasonable grounds to consider that you are a repeat infringer of copyright or other Intellectual Property Rights.
- (e) Upon the termination of this Agreement:
- (i) Learnable will, within a time period determined by Learnable, withdraw the use of the Services from You including access to any Course Materials You have paid for;
- (ii) Learnable will, within 30 days cease offering the Course Materials for new enrollments on learnable.com;
- (iii) subject to clause 3.3, Learnable will cease accepting new enrollments to Your Course Materials;
- (iv) You may redeem any Commission Balance held by You to US dollars pursuant to clause 6. Learnable may however withhold a reasonable portion of any amount payable to You (with such amount to be determined by Learnable in its sole discretion) on account of credit card charge backs, refunds, payments due to third parties on Your behalf or other costs and expenses which may be incurred by Learnable following termination (including as a result of a breach by You); and
- (v) within 12 months following termination of this Agreement, You will be entitled to redeem any remaining Commission Balance held by You in accordance with clause 6, less any portion of that amount set off by Learnable to satisfy refunds, credit card charge backs, payments due to third parties or other costs and expenses reasonably incurred by Learnable either before or after termination.
- (f) Your obligations and Learnable's rights arising under clauses 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 will survive the termination of this Agreement.
- (a) You acknowledge that Learnable and its third party providers have made no warranties that the Services will be continuous or error free.
- (b) You acknowledge and agree that Learnable and its third party providers shall have no liability or responsibility to You whatsoever for any unauthorised withdrawals or unauthorised spend of Your Commission Balance, including where such withdrawal or spend arises from:
- (i) any of the events described in clause 16; or
- (ii) any unauthorised use or access of Your User Account or learnable.com.
- (c) You acknowledge and agree that Learnable and its third party providers have not made and will not make any express or implied warranties in relation to the Services or any other goods or services provided by Learnable under this Agreement, other than those warranties expressly contained in this Agreement. Subject to clauses 13(e) and 13(f), any term that would be implied into this Agreement, including without limitation any condition or warranty, is hereby excluded to the extent permitted by law.
- (d) Subject to clauses 13(e) and 13(f), You agree that Learnable and its third party providers will not be liable in respect of any claim by You (whether contractual, tortious, statutory or otherwise) for any direct, special, incidental, indirect or consequential damages or injury including, but not limited to, any loss of profits, contracts, revenue or data arising out of or in connection with the provision of the Services or the provision of any other goods or services under this Agreement and whether as a result of any breach or default by, or any negligence of, Learnable or its third party providers.
- (e) The maximum aggregate liability of Learnable under this Agreement for any and all breaches of this Agreement and for any negligent act or omission in relation to this Agreement, will not exceed the lesser of:
- (i) the amount of the Student Payments paid for the Services by You; or
- (ii) the total amount of the Instructor Fee received by You.
- (f) If the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (or analogous legislation) applies to this Agreement and permits the limitation of liability for breach of warranty implied by legislation, the liability of Learnable is limited, at the option of Learnable, to:
- (i) in the case of goods, any one or more of the following:
- (A) the replacement of the goods or the supply of equivalent goods;
- (B) the repair of the goods;
- (C) the payment of the cost of replacing the goods or of acquiring equivalent goods; or
- (D) the payment of the cost of having the goods repaired; and
- (ii) in the case of services:
- (A) the supplying of the services again; or
- (B) the payment of the cost of having the services supplied again.
- (g) Any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement which limit or exclude any term, condition or warranty, express or implied, or the liability of Learnable will apply to the extent permitted by law and will not be construed as excluding, qualifying or limiting Your statutory rights or remedies arising by virtue of the breach of any implied term of this Agreement where such exclusion, qualification or limitation would be prohibited by legislation.
You indemnify Learnable, its agents, officers, employees, and third party providers ("Indemnified") against any loss, cost, expense or damage (including legal costs on a full indemnity basis) which any of the Indemnified suffer or incur as a direct or indirect result of:
- (a) any breach by You of any representation, warranty or term of this Agreement;
- (b) any acts or omissions by You which are described in clause 8.1;
- (c) any breach by You of Your obligations to a third party, including another Student or Instructor;
- (d) any infringement by You of the right of a third party including Intellectual Property Rights in respect of any Third Party Work; and
- (e) any legal proceedings threatened or initiated against Learnable by a third party as a result of the events described in clause 14(a) to (d) above.
- (a) You acknowledge that Learnable is the owner of all Intellectual Property Rights which subsist in Your User Account and learnable.com excluding User Content and Your Course Materials. You acknowledge that You have no Intellectual Property Rights in Your User Account or in learnable.com.
- (b) Learnable acknowledges that nothing in this Agreement transfers ownership of Intellectual Property Rights in the Course Materials to Learnable and that Learnable has no Intellectual Property Rights in the Course Materials except as expressly provided in this Agreement.
- (c) You grant a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty free, irrevocable, sublicensable, transferable and perpetual licence to Learnable to use, reproduce, distribute, syndicate, broadcast, prepare derivative works of, display, perform and provide access to Your Course Materials, User Content or any other works, item or thing You supply to Learnable (whether via learnable.com or by other means).
- (d) You grant a non-exclusive licence to Students to access and use Your Course Materials in accordance with this Agreement.
- (e) You acknowledge and agree that:
- (i) Learnable will not act as a moderator or adjudicator in relation to any claim by You or another third party that Course Materials, User Content or other content submitted to learnable.com infringes any Intellectual Property Rights owned by You or a third party;
- (ii) Learnable does not warrant or represent that it has undertaken any particular investigation or review as to whether any Course Materials supplied by a Instructor infringes any Intellectual Property Rights held by a third party;
- (iii) Learnable will not be liable or responsible for any breach by a Instructor or Student of any Intellectual Property Rights held by a third party in relation to any Course Materials, Services or other use of learnable.com; and
- (iv) notwithstanding the above, Learnable may at any time remove any User Content, Third Party Work or Course Materials from learnable.com which Learnable considers in its sole and absolute discretion, may infringe the Intellectual Property Rights of a third party.
- (a) You agree that Learnable and its third party providers will not be liable or responsible for any failure in, or delay to, the provision of the Services or in Learnable complying with its obligations under this Agreement where such failure or delay has a arisen or is anticipated to arise as a direct or indirect result of:
- (i) fire, earthquake, storm, flood, hurricane, inclement weather or other act of God, war, terrorism, explosion, sabotage, industrial accident or an industrial strike;
- (ii) denial of service attacks, telecommunications failure, hardware failure or the failure of software provided by a third party to function in accordance with its specifications;
- (iii) a significant demand is placed on Learnable's services which is above the usual level of demand and which results in a failure of Learnable's software and hardware to function correctly;
- (iv) the failure of any third party (including without limitation, any bank or other financial organisation) to fulfil any obligations to Learnable; or
- (v) any other circumstances or events which are beyond the reasonable control of Learnable.
- (a) Learnable is an independent service provider to You and You and Learnable are not partners, joint venturers or principal and agent. You do not have the power to bind Learnable in relation to any obligation owing to a third party.
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text:
Do Emergency Text Messaging Systems Put Students in More Danger?
Cell phones have become prevalent on college campuses. Most students use them as their primary phone to avoid changing phone service every year or dealing with university–based long-distance charges. In the wake of recent college shootings and threats of violence on campus, administrators have begun to deploy cell phone solutions to send emergency messages to students. Many believe that emergency text messaging systems will minimize the damage (specifically loss of life or injuries) in an emergency situation, including natural disasters.
Despite the speed with which such systems are being deployed (some even mandated by law), little attention has been given to the efficacy and implications of such technologies. Crisis communication services must demonstrate several characteristics to meet the requirements for emergency operation:
- Extremely high reliability
- Excellent access control
- High-speed delivery
Does text messaging meet these requirements? No.
Short Message Service Text Messaging
Among different messaging options, short message service (SMS) has become very popular. A key design feature is its relative simplicity. The downside? The SMS protocol is not only insecure but can't be made secure. The protocol handles only the bare necessities of getting messages of no more than 160 characters from one device to another. Among the features SMS generally does not include are error checking, guaranteed delivery, and speed of delivery. In normal situations, this does not matter.
While e-mail and Internet services have defenses such as virus scanners to provide security against attacks, the SMS messaging protocol does not. Additionally, cell phones cannot perform the complex tasks of security and authentication. As a result, false messages to cell phones are extremely difficult to prevent, and more people are seeing spam SMS messages on their cell phones, especially as more services support the technology.
SMS messages do not require the sender to use a cell phone. Most cell phone providers offer an SMS gateway, however, so each phone has an e-mail address. For instance, a Verizon Wireless customer with a cell phone number of 312-555-1212 would have a phone e-mail address of firstname.lastname@example.com. Cellular providers also provide web interfaces so that individuals can send SMS messages using a web-based form. Both these tools allow people anywhere in the world to send an SMS message to any cell phone user without authenticating the sender.
An additional vulnerability with SMS messaging was recently discovered. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University demonstrated the possibility of overwhelming a cellular network by sending a flood of SMS messages to users in the same geographical area. A successful attack would effectively shut down not only the ability to send SMS messages but also the ability to make normal cell phone calls (denial of voice service, or DoVS).1
Clearly, SMS messaging lacks reliability, access control, and speed of delivery (when the number of messages is high). SMS messaging simply does not meet the requirements of crisis communications systems because it was never designed for high-stakes communication.
Emergency Text Messaging Services
The main driver for formal adoption of text messaging technology is its use in crisis situations. Even the label "emergency text messaging systems" presupposes and reinforces the idea that these systems primarily target emergencies. For instance, stated uses of the service at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign include pandemics, floods, school closings, and active threats. The university answers the question "What is an active threat?" as follows:
Emergency text messaging services were being considered before the Virginia Tech shooting, but the move to adopt such systems took on much greater urgency after that event under the assumption that they could have reduced the loss of life. The accelerated adoption of text messaging technology for emergency communications unfortunately has limited consideration of its usefulness and weaknesses.
The service itself is straightforward. In most cases, students and staff register to participate in the system by giving the university their cell phone numbers. The emergency text messaging application converts the numbers to e-mail addresses and then applies standard bulk e-mailing techniques to send out a large body of SMS messages as quickly as possible.
To initiate an emergency message, a dispatcher or other authorized person enters a message within the 160-character limit and sends it off. The time it takes for messages to be received depends largely on the number of users in the list. Anecdotally, technologists who have tested the system for colleges and universities report a 15–60 minute range for receipt of messages. This delay is on top of the time it takes for a 911 call to be initiated, for a dispatcher to gather information, and for the appropriate decision maker to authorize sending the message.
Note that the DoVS vulnerability mentioned above would come into play here. A successful DoVS attack concentrates on victims who communicate through the same cellular tower. In this case, an emergency text message would be sent to users in a tightly defined geographic area (on and around the campus) and would likely be associated with the same few cellular towers. As a result, an emergency text message could interfere with normal voice communications. This is especially true during an "active threat" scenario when people are trying to ascertain if their loved ones are safe. Emergency text messages are thus a one-shot technology: Once a message has been sent, the cellular networks in the area become saturated, meaning it will be some time before a follow-on message could be sent.
In analyzing the efficacy of these systems, it is necessary to put oneself "in the moment" of an active threat. Hindsight is 20/20, and administrators do not have it when making emergency decisions. Using recent school shootings and threats as examples, we can analyze emergency text messaging in light of a school shooting or active threat.
Northern Illinois University Shooting
Shortly after 3 p.m. on February 14, 2008, Steven Kazmierczak emerged from behind a curtain in a Northern Illinois University lecture hall and fired over 30 rounds. Five people were killed and 18 wounded. The campus was ordered into lockdown very quickly, and emergency messages were posted on the main website about 20 minutes after the initial report of the shooting. The shooter did not roam through Cole Hall or the campus; he fired into the lecture hall and then killed himself.3
It took about 70 minutes for police to ascertain that the shooter was dead and the area was clear. It is important to ensure that a situation is secure before announcing it, but in a crisis, civilians tend not to communicate clearly, and even trained professionals can suffer from garbled communication. In this situation, those in danger knew what was happening before the police did. Because the shooter made no attempt to find more victims and the shooting was over rather quickly, messaging those outside the classroom would not have affected the outcome. Further, the information gaps combined with the time needed to send text message alerts made them infeasible.
Virginia Tech Shooting
The Virginia Tech shooting was the catalytic event for emergency text messaging systems. In this case, the timline4 of events on April 16, 2007, is important:
7:15 a.m.—Report of shooting in West Ambler Johnston Hall with two victims killed (male and female)
9:26 a.m.—University sends out e-mail notifying the campus of the shooting and urging caution
9:45 a.m.—Shooting at Norris Hall begins
11:53 a.m.—After several prior e-mails, another e-mail is sent saying the shooter "is in custody"
Roughly two and a half hours separated the first and second shootings. In theory, the university had time to send out an emergency text message and close down the campus. The question is whether that would have been prudent.
The belief among the authorities who responded to the 7:15 a.m. shooting was that they were dealing with an isolated incident, probably a domestic dispute. At the time, no descriptions of the shooter were available, although they had identified a "person of interest." They identified the female victim's boyfriend as the potential shooter and detained him around 9:24 a.m. that day. The reports after the fact concluded that this line of investigation was reasonable, albeit ultimately wrong.
At 9:45 a.m., reports of shootings were coming in to 911, and police responded to the event in Norris Hall. After initial difficultly gaining entrance to the building, they found the gunman had shot himself after killing 31 people. Later investigation found no connection between shooter Cho Seung-Hui and the individuals in West Ambler Johnston Hall or any indication that Cho had planned an attack on Norris Hall specifically.
The Virginia Tech Review Panel specifically cited the police as having erred in not considering other scenarios than a domestic dispute for the first shooting. This charge was repeated in the media and campus community. The problem with this line of thinking is that it assumes a finite number of possibilities. In reality, the Virginia Tech incident was unique in the sparse history of college campus shootings. At that moment, the police had no historical frame of reference to make the leap between a seemingly isolated shooting to a mass casualty incident.5
This analysis of incident response has important implications for emergency text messaging systems. Administrators in future will err on the side of extreme caution because "another Virginia Tech" may happen, and this mentality is also present among the staff and students of other universities. They insist on being notified of any violent incident or threat of a violent incident so that they can protect themselves. This all but ensures over-utilization of emergency communication systems in general. More importantly, it creates a cultural mindset that will respond immediately and unquestioningly to emergency text messages (or other emergency communication) as if another Virginia Tech–like incident were imminent. Fear-based responses make people more likely to trust authentic looking communication without analysis, a potential hazard discussed below.
The review panel also found miscommunications during the response to the shooting that could have complicated an effective response. The first problem was that when the initial call to 911 came in, the dispatcher had a difficult time understanding exactly where the shooting was taking place.6 It takes time to communicate a report to police so that they have enough information to respond.
The shooting in Norris Hall lasted approximately 11 minutes. Given the time it took to communicate to dispatchers the location of the shooting, an emergency text message would have started being received minutes after the shooting ended. This delay further encourages administrators to warn the campus community and lock down the campus at the first indication of trouble—and the campus communities demand as much.
St. Xavier University Closing
The presumed purpose of a text messaging system is to alert individuals to an active threat. The institution thus obligates itself to send SMS alerts over any significant act of violence, regardless of circumstances. In many cases, this would result in a lockdown of the campus.
With such a low threshold for sending out alerts, the probability that people will recklessly abuse the system and cause a lockdown rises. In the cases of Oakland University7 and St. Xavier University,8 threatening graffiti in campus buildings forced the schools to shut down completely. In the case of St. Xavier, four schools surrounding the university were closed as well.
St. Xavier remained closed for eight days while the threat was investigated. Because only graffiti was involved, the forensic evidence available was minimal. With such a low threshold to shut down not only a college but also surrounding institutions, it is entirely plausible that a student who wants to shut down a campus might turn to graffiti or other pranks.
While this scenario does not directly bear on emergency text messages, it does illustrate a sociological consequence of adopting such systems; namely, administrators must respond as if they were facing the absolute worst-case scenario. The cultural reaction to alerting systems all but forces their overuse by administrators and unquestioning compliance with emergency instructions by recipients.
Leading Victims to the Threat
While the possibility of using false text messages is not inconsequential, there is a more significant risk: A hostile entity could use a forged emergency text message to lead victims to the threat instead of away from it. This scenario is not hard to imagine—it has happened before.
In 1998, the Real IRA (an Irish Republican Army splinter group) phoned in a bomb threat indicating a courthouse in Omagh, Northern Ireland, was the target. There is some debate whether the confusion was intended or accidental. Unfortunately, the lack of prosecution of those responsible means we may never know.
The car bomb was not at the courthouse, however, but in the city center. As part of the standard bomb threat response procedures in Northern Ireland, the area around the courthouse was secured and bystanders were moved to the city center—a safe distance. The city center and the associated businesses stayed open while police investigated the threat. The bomb in the city center exploded, killing dozens of people. The destruction and loss of life was more severe because of the confusion over the actual target.
With the deployment of emergency text messaging systems using an insecure protocol, it becomes possible for a malicious individual to use such technology to achieve the same result. Any notification system could be misused this way, but emergency text messaging systems are particularly vulnerable and easier to exploit.
False Text Messaging
Every moment, thousands of spam e-mail messages clog inboxes and mail servers. Most of these messages are forged to varying extents. More malicious e-mails, such as phishing attacks, purposely try to appear as if they come from legitimate sources. The more legitimate looking the e-mail, the more likely a phishing attack will succeed.
Because emergency text messaging systems often rely on e-mail to deliver messages, a malicious individual halfway around the world could send a fake emergency text message without difficulty. The method for sending forged e-mail is well known and trivial—every e-mail client can be set to send e-mail that appears to come from someone else. While any communication system can be compromised, e-mail is inherently insecure and easy to forge.
The example in Figure 1 shows it only takes a few keystrokes and no real technological effort to send a fake emergency text message. The recipient of the message will see a message similar to Figure 2, which proves how hard it is to distinguish a real alert from a falsified one.
Click image for larger view.
Click image for larger view.
With e-mail, an experienced system administrator has a variety of tools and information to discern real messages from forged ones. No such information is available with text messages to make a determination, even for experienced technologists. Unfortunately, the source e-mail address is often published on campus websites discussing the university's emergency text messaging system. The purpose, of course, is to help people recognize emergency messages. The consequence is that an attacker has almost all the information needed to send a false text message. All that's missing is target phone numbers.
Unfortunately, many campuses publish student phone numbers on the web. Additionally, many people put their phone numbers on social networking pages such as Facebook or MySpace. Spidering these websites takes some effort, but tools already exist that can accomplish the task in an automated fashion. Or, an attacker could use the area code and the first three numbers of the exchange of cellular providers in a given area. For a ten-digit phone number, the first three numbers are the area code (publicly known), the next three are the "exchange" (unique by carrier and geographical area, usually city), and the last four are unique to create an individual number. An attacker could simply send text messages to every number in a relevant area code and exchange. All that's necessary is to get one or two students in every classroom and you've got a campus population following the same instructions.
The danger is that people will immediately and unquestioningly obey the instructions provided in a forged emergency text message. Calls to 911 will start coming in, with nervous individuals looking for clarification or administrators wanting to know what is going on. Discovering that an unauthorized text message went out takes little time; sending a follow-up corrective text message would still have a 15–60 minute delay at best.
The lack of authentication seriously undermines the system. A malicious individual who wanted to cause a mass panic from halfway around the globe could fairly easily send false text messages to a good portion of a campus and accomplish that goal. Even worse, an attacker (or group of attackers) could plan an Omagh-style attack to lead students and staff out of buildings and direct them toward a threat. In the case of explosions, walls and the building structure absorb some energy from a blast. In the open, people have no protection, and it is easier to pack more people in a smaller space.
Other methods of attack could exploit the ability to lead victims to a target area. Falsifying an emergency message is possible in any type of emergency communication. Text messaging systems, however, make it absolutely trivial to send a false message with no physical connection and little forensic evidence to track afterwards. If an attack is timed carefully, it will cause a far greater casualty count than would be possible otherwise. Administrators would simply have no time to countermand a false message to prevent it.
The question remains, can text messaging systems protect a campus population? Or do they put people at more risk? Any emergency communication system must be reliable, with controlled access and fast delivery. Not only does text messaging fall short in all three areas, recent campus shooting incidents demonstrate that these systems would not have helped during the emergencies, only supporting supplemental crowd control afterwards.
Any form of communication has benefits and costs. Despite the apparent advantages of text messaging as an emergency service, opportunities abound for overuse, and the possible hazards are exacerbated by the common willingness of people to comply promptly with emergency messages. In addition, the potential for abuse is high, especially since trivial incidents can lock down an institution. The use of such systems would all but paralyze normal voice communications, increasing anxiety—and perhaps danger—in a heightened threat environment. Finally, because of the triviality of sending a fake text message, the sender could not only shut down a campus but actually lead students and staff toward a threat instead of away from one.
Emergency text messaging can be useful in announcing school closings or facilitating crowd control. Given the sociological context in which these systems are implemented and the perceptions surrounding them, however, it is possible to manipulate a campus population for malicious purposes from anywhere in the world. We can only conclude that the use of text messaging tools is woefully insufficient and dangerous for use in emergencies.
8 Comments
Response to "Errors"
An attacker doesn't need *your* list... they need to have *a* list, and I mentioned how (a couple of ways actually) in very generic terms of how to generate one.
Posted by: bambenek on August 17, 2008
errors in article
" The emergency text messaging application converts the numbers to e-mail addresses and then applies standard bulk e-mailing techniques to send out a large body of SMS messages as quickly as possible."
Any text messaging service that ask you to provide the carrier does indeed do this becuase they are using SMTP. Providers that use SMPP do not need this and will not ask you for the carrier. You fail to mention this. I feel this omissionin and of itself leads you to come to an incorrect conclusion. You also need the list of niumbers, something we keep confidential.
SMPP, while not perfect, is a good first strike tool in many situations. I will also state that I epxreience a ot of problems before we reached a level of acceptable performance.
I feel as if you failed to properly research the matter before leaping to a conclusion that I believe is incorrect.
Posted by: jmlalley3 on August 13, 2008
The more I think about this...
One comment you made, "While text alerting is far from perfect, and was admittedly not designed for emergency notification", I think sums it up. We more or less agree there are technical problems... we agree that they aren't permanent... but my position is that if we are going to trust a technology to be used in life or death situations, the technology needs to be solid, not have the potential to be solid some day. If you want to use text messages to announce say, school closings (if you can deal with the scale problem) fine. But we're talking about giving instructions out when seconds matter and while people are dying. It's simply not there yet and putting on the rose colored classes in such cases is simply bad policy.
Posted by: bambenek on August 11, 2008
Article based on false assumptions
First of all let me fully disclose that I am responsible for Engineering and Operations for Rave Wireless, an emergency alerting provider. While I feel that this is a very important discussion to have, I feel that stating that text messaging systems put students in "more danger" is very misleading and based on some erroneous information about how these systems work.
SMS messaging is NOT 100% reliable and was not designed for emergency notification, those are facts. Looking at the authors' criteria for emergency notification:
I would contend that the following requirements were excluded:
- Ease of access (i.e. if you're walking around campus how easy is it to get the message?)
- Proactive notification (i.e. how are you notified that you have a new message?)
Taking these 5 criteria together, there is really NO solution available today that meets all of them for mobile users (people away from their home).
SMS while far from perfect is the best available means for reaching students in the event of an emergency, better than voice only because SMS is sent on a dedicated "control channel" that does not get overwhelmed as easily as the mobile voice channels because the data volumes are far less.
"When disaster strikes, SMS has a major advantage over cellular voice calls and wireless e-mail devices. Text messages do not rely on voice channels for transmission, and they don't piggyback on enterprise e-mail servers. Instead, SMS messages travel as small packets of data on a wireless carrier's control channel, the same portion of the spectrum that keeps a cellular network apprised of a particular phone's location and status.
Because SMS messages are isolated in the control channel and are often unfazed by heavy traffic or adverse conditions that can overwhelm wireless networks, text messages can get through when most other methods of communication fail. Hence, some government officials are beginning to build SMS use into disaster planning exercises. "
(From http://www.fcw.com/print/12_11/news/92790-1.html)
The authors' article makes an argument that using text alert notification as a form of emergency communication does more harm than good. Regrettably, the authors hinge much of their argument on a series of inaccuracies and bad assumptions. To help set the record straight, here are some claims from the article along with "Mythbuster" type responses.
It is our opinion and that of most practitioners that text messaging, while not perfect by any means, is an appropriate and effective component of any multi-modal emergency communications plan.
Article claim:
"SMS messages do not require the sender to use a cell phone. Most cell phone providers offer an SMS gateway, however, so each phone has an e-mail address. For instance, a Verizon Wireless customer with a cell phone number of 312-555-1212 would have a phone e-mail address of email@example.com. Cellular providers also provide web interfaces so that individuals can send SMS messages using a web-based form. Both these tools allow people anywhere in the world to send an SMS message to any cell phone user without authenticating the sender."
While it is true that one can send a text message to a mobile phone using this email approach (generally referred to as SMTP messaging), there are two practical barriers to a malicious user sending a mass text message to a campus community through this method.
- The user would ostensibly need to know the tricky combination of mobile phone number and carrier (Verizon, AT&T, etc.), for every member of the campus community, or at least some significant number of community members. As a practical matter, this information is not easy to obtain. There are no public phone number to carrier lookup resources available.
- Later in the article, a scripting-type method is suggested as a way around this practical barrier. That is, to send an automated bulk email to every possible phone number combination within the area code(s) and exchange(s) that are especially prevalent on campus – for example, common local numbers. The problem with this approach is that all major mobile carriers implement measures to prevent against this type of abuse. As many institutions that have tried to use lower-end alerting platforms are painfully aware, most carriers cut off the flow of such inbound mass emails to their sms gateways after a relatively small number –sometimes 50 users. So a "carpet-bomb" sms spam attack through email is unlikely to succeed on any broad scale. If you're wondering how quality alerting platforms accommodate for this limitation to effectively send mass alerts, see the next response…
- Most reputable SMS alerting providers do NOT send notifications via SMTP, they send them via the SMPP protocol using a "shortcode". A shortcode is a 5 or 6 digit "phone number" that institutions can use to send and receive SMS. Since shortcodes cost on the order of $2500 per quarter, it is unlikely that a malicious party would lease one to use in a spoofing attack. Therefore, students are able to authenticate the sender to some degree by considering who the message came from, ideally comparing the sender to the expected shortcode. If your alerting provider uses SMTP exlusively, it's time to select another provider.
Article claim:
"The service itself is straightforward. In most cases, students and staff register to participate in the system by giving the university their cell phone numbers. The emergency text messaging application converts the numbers to e-mail addresses and then applies standard bulk e-mailing techniques to send out a large body of SMS messages as quickly as possible."
Any quality alert platform does NOT send all of its mobile alerts through the SMTP or email method as the article suggests. Rather, systems such as Rave Alert send alerts through a series of multiple, redundant SMPP aggregators that send SMS messages directly through carrier systems, bypassing the carriers' SMTP e-mail gateways. All the major carriers have direct SMPP messaging capabilities and entities such as SMPP aggregators and vendors need to complete stringent application processes to gain access to these systems. Quality systems like Rave Alert only send alerts through the lower-priority SMTP channel when the user has a phone on one of the handful of very small mobile carriers that do not provide SMPP access. This represents less than 5% of the U.S. mobile user population. Any alerting vendor worth its salt has multiple SMPP aggregators aligned through multiple data centers with systems in place to effectively manage a high volume throughput of text messages to end users.
Furthermore, all of the carriers employ "SPAM filters" on their SMTP-gateways to protect their subscribers from unwanted SMS traffic. A broadcast alert sent to thousands of subscribers within a period of a few minutes would almost certainly be shut down by the carrier SPAM filter if this approach were attempted.
Article claim:
"Anecdotally, technologists who have tested the system for colleges and universities report a 15–60 minute range for receipt of messages."
A reliable alerting platform should perform better than this. It is true that there are many variables that affect the real delivery and receipt times of text notifications, including the number of users on the list, network congestion, and simple issues like whether or not a given user's phone is turned on. However, the experience of clients on the Rave Alert platform is that messages are delivered much more quickly. In the University of Wyoming's campus-wide test of the Rave Alert system, nearly 7,000 students, faculty and staff members received a text message on their cell phones. Delivery of the text messages was fast and reliable. Of the students polled, 90 percent reported receiving the text messages within one minute; the longest reporting four minutes to receive the message.
A 15 - 60 minute delivery time for a text alert would indicate that a grossly inadequate alerting provider is being used. Unfortunately, sending SMS quickly and reliably is more involved than many buyers realize, and many made the mistake of choosing the cheapest provider possible, including free providers under the false assumption that all vendors are equal. Rave Wireless offers the "Rave Alert Challenge" whereby any qualified potential customer can trial our system for free in a head-to-head comparison as we are confident that we can out-perform any system in the market.
Article claim:
"We can only conclude that the use of text messaging tools is woefully insufficient and dangerous for use in emergencies."
Our position:
Text alerting, while not infallible, is an excellent way to quickly reach a large number of on-the-go community members. Any responsible emergency communications professional will recognize that the key to disseminating emergency notification is to use many different channels together to reach users.
On a college campus, this multi-modal mix can often include text messaging, email, recorded voice alerts, loudspeakers, digital signage systems, and even the ultra low-tech approach of sending people designated as "runners" to spread the word to areas of high population density (although this approach may not be safe in something like an active shooter scenario).
There is a good reason that so many colleges, universities and other organizations are incorporating text messaging into their mass notification mix. The critical thing is for alerting system buyers to be educated and aware shoppers, as not all alerting platforms are created equal. Performance and reliably varies greatly.
While text alerting is far from perfect, and was admittedly not designed for emergency notification, it is the best available method for contacting large numbers of individuals quickly regardless of their location, offering better reliability and throughput than voice, and better convenience and accessibility than e-mail.
The pending WARN act is designed to create a system that will more closely fulfill the authors' criteria for an excellent emergency notification system. Until those recommendations and technologies are implemented (which will certainly take several years), practioners are restricted to leveraging the best available tools at their disposal.
While SMS is not sufficient as a "stand alone" solution, it should certainly be incorporated in a responsible multi-modal solution. We cannot accept that it puts students in more danger.
Peter Troost
VP Engineering
Rave Wireless
Posted by: ptroost@ravewir... on August 8, 2008
To your first point, about spoofing messages... you assume a very simple method of spamming, one that hasn't been used in years. Sure, I would imagine it would be easy to pick out one sender who is sending 10,000 messages, but it is easy enough to have many machines all over the world do it and your 50 message threshold is irrelevant. If commercial e-mail providers can't figure out how to stop spam, how can you claim you've figured it out?
As far as SMPP versus SMTP, many of the websites I've surveyed of institutions speak of using e-mail alerts with some e-mail address to "authenticate". This is easily spoofed, and I've shown how. As far as a directory of cell phones for a campus, sure, one does exist... it's called facebook. And even if your brute force, there are websites that list cellular providers by area code and exchange and by SMS email domain. For instance, Verizon uses @vtext.com. If you know an exchange is Verizon, you know the domain and that's that. It isn't complicated, tedious yes, but a script is technologically trivial to create. Wireless number portability muddies the water a bit, but I've also explained why you don't need 100% success, the same reason why Universities say they don't need 100% notification. They don't need to notify everyone, just one person in a room. Same approach.
At one point you start a fact by saying, "A reliable alerting platform should perform better than this." I agree with the opinion but "shoulds" aren't statements of fact. The estimate was based on real-life circumstances, including at NIU. The numbers are preliminary, sure. And they can be improved upon easily... increase the capacity of control channels. It's not a permanent problem, but a problem that can and should be addressed.
But you focus greatly on performance issues, which I agree, can be improved upon. Those aren't permanent problems, but the SMS protocol has no ability for authentication, at all. It simply was not designed for messages that you REALLY need to be sure who they come from. Can we improve upon it or develop a new protocol, of course. Does that protocol exist today? No.
And while you claim it is the "best available technology" I disagree and showed a few scenarios (NIU and Va. Tech, the impetus for emergency SMS) where it wouldn't have helped. It's a cost/benefit tradeoff, I see more costs right now. Some benefits, sure, but not worth the risks.
Notifying people for non time-critical information, sure. Notifying people of things they need to know **right now**... not so much. For school shootings, the people in harms way already know.
Posted by: bambenek on August 8, 2008
I guess I'm confused why you're arguing that SMS notification systems "put students in more danger". If your argument is that they're in more danger because SMS can be "spoofed" you obviously realize the same thing is true of e-mail, voice calls, web sites, printed signs, letters on university letter head, etc. Even electronic signage systems can be hacked to display an illicit message. Are you also arguing that those systems put students in more danger? Why single out SMS?
I have never seen an instance of wide-scale SMS spoofing, I think it's harder than you suggest. The impact of number porting on mapping exchanges to carriers has not been trivial. Plus, you have MVNO's, or "virtual carriers" like Virgin Mobile, Tracfone, Net10, etc that run on top of an underlying carrier network but may have a different SMTP domain. SMS is also subject to the same laws as "junk fax" since the recipient incurs a message charge. I'm sure that someone wanting to harm students would not be deterred by that, but it does discourage experimentation.
Finally, to set the record straight per your comment above, our reliable alerting system DOES perform an order of magnitude better than the statistics quoted in your article, and that is a statement of fact.
My mobile number starts with 508-904 -- who is my carrier?
Posted by: ptroost@ravewir... on August 13, 2008
I agree, let's have a debate on the issue and this piece is a component of that debate. I'm not sure someone is going to read an article in EQ and then declare no more discussion is allowed. But we did base our opinion and findings and the discussion above and the criteria that should be present in an emergency communications system. For instance, a 911 system is simple, easy to understand and very difficult to hijack in most cases. It takes a good deal of skill for someone to hijack a 911 call, for instance. That simply is not present in e-mail stripped of every security feature as implemented in SMS.
We only cited a few past cases because there are only a few past cases. Virginia Tech and NIU is about it for "true emergencies". Other uses have been employed but not in emergency situations. But in those two cases, significant weaknesses can be shown and we've illustrated them. Can the be addressed? Sure. There are other ways to handle emergency messaging and if we really, as a society, want to use text messaging as emergency communications we really need to beef up our cellular network. However, the status quo as it stands today, leaves people less safe than where we were before.
Does that mean always and for all time SMS messaging is a failure? Of course not. But we don't move to a more secure system by overlooking the significant short-comings either.
Posted by: bambenek on August 6, 2008
Emergency Text Messaging Systems - not necessarily dangerous
A few interesting points, but I found the article quite one-sided. I'm not sure the role the authors play in emergency communications. There were no quotes from, or interviews with, people in the industry.
Citing a few past cases as proof that emergency text messaging is not effective seems erroneous. It is merely proof that it is not ALWAYS effective.
The worst-case scenarios are no different from the risks in many other technologies or processes. By their criteria in the cases mentioned, 911 didn't save lives and is therefore ineffective.
Finally, I thought it quite unprofessional for the authors to declare definitively: "We can only conclude that the use of text messagin tools is woefully insufficient and dangerous for use in emergencies." That reads like a bias and an attempt to convince and close the conversation, not an attempt to expand the conversation and lead to a "sifting and winnowing" of ideas. I'd love to see these issues researched and debated on all their merits and lackings.
Posted by: mayville on August 6, 2008

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Siberian Ginseng Product Name Change
A law was recently passed regarding the use of the name "ginseng". The legislation requires that any product called "ginseng" must be of the panax genus' or it cannot be called ginseng. In light of this new law' NOW® Foods has changed the labeling of all products formerly labeled as Siberian Ginseng to Eleuthero.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are not meant to diagnose' treat or cure any disease or medical condition. Please consult your doctor before starting any exercise or nutritional supplement program or before using these or any product during pregnancy or if you have a serious medical condition.
Serving Size 2 Capsules
Servings Per Container 125
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value
Total Carbohydrate 737 mg <1%
Eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus) (Root) 1.0 g (1000 mg) †
* Percent Daily Values are based on 2'000 calorie diet.
† Daily Value not established.
Other Ingredients: Gelatin (capsule) and Magnesium Stearate.
Free of: sugar' salt' starch' yeast' wheat' gluten' corn' soy' milk' egg or preservatives.
As an herbal dietary supplement' take 2 capsules 1-2 times daily.
Please discard the inedible freshness packet enclosed.
Allergy / Dietary Needs
- Corn Free
- Egg Free
- Gluten Free
- GMP Certification
- Made in the USA
- Milk Free
- Preservative Free
- Salt Free
- Soy Free
- Starch Free
- Sugar Free
- Wheat Free
- Yeast Free
Ratings & ReviewsReview This Item
Overall Rating for Eleuthero 500 mg - 250 Capsules
Displaying reviews 1-2 of 2
By sl
from elizabethtown, KY
the best
This was recommended to me by my Naturalopathic DR. I feel so much better when I take it. . I will be back. Fast shipping. Great prices!!
√ I would recommend this item to a friend.
By jason
from mount shasta, CA
I would use Eleuthero again.
√ I would recommend this item to a friend.
Displaying reviews 1-2 of 2
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If you are pregnant, nursing, taking any medications or have any medical condition, consult your doctor before use. Your healthcare professional is the best source for guidance before beginning an exercise or nutritional supplement program.


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Samsung Intensity II U460 Silicone Cases / Skins
Pick up a Samsung U460 Intensity II silicone case and stop those scratches before they can cause permanent injury to your cell phone! The Samsung U460 silicone cases at AccessoryGeeks will form perfectly to your cell phone and it will provide full function usage of your phone. Without a Samsung Intensity II rubber skin, you will run the risk of acquiring a plethora of scratches to your cell phone, which is unpleasant and could hinder the use of your phone. Are you afraid of bulky cell phone covers? With the Samsung U460 Intensity II silicone cases, you will not have to worry about feeling as though your cell phone has doubled in size. Of course you want to protect your cell phone, who wouldn't? The Samsung U460 rubber skin will shape to the structure of your phone, and it will act as a second skin. The extra protective skin will take the scratches and bumps for your phone, which otherwise would be taken upon your cell phone's surface. A Samsung Intensity II silicone case will essentially save your cell phone! Are you afraid of stiff cell phone covers? The Samsung U460 silicone cases at AccessoryGeeks were made to be flexible. If you are the type of person to put your cell phone in your pockets, the Samsung Intensity II rubber skin is soft enough for it to not be a bother to you. Plus, the padding of the Samsung U460 silicone case will reduce the impact of a fall on your cell phone. The Samsung U460 Intensity II silicone cases seem to be a win-win situation on all accounts! window.setTimeout('custom_collapse();', 0) At AccessoryGeeks, there is a wide range of Samsung U460 Intensity II silicone cases to choose from. The Geeks at AccessoryGeeks understand the importance of finding a Samsung U460 rubber skin that will match one's personality and individuality. The Samsung Intensity II silicone cases come in a variety of different colors. You can buy your favorite color, or you have the option to purchase a Samsung U460 Intensity II silicone case to match the different moods you could be in on a day to day basis! In addition to AccessoryGeeks everyday low prices and free shipping, purchasing a Samsung U460 rubber skin will be one of the greatest decisions you will ever make for your cell phone!
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This extremely versatile, weatherproof dome camera is perfect for all day/night indoor /outdoor security applications.
by chlywily
on 6/28/2012
I have had 4 of these installed in a very wet environment for 3 years, and they are still going strong. All of the other outdoor dome's I have used at the same price range have filled with water in under a year. The other review sounds like either "one bad apple" or operator error. Picture is great for the price. Again, we are talking about a sub-$100 camera, and not a $500 speco!
by rab
on 3/6/2012
this camera has a poor looking picture. Its too bright in spots and too dark in others-has a hard time adjusting its light level. Its also unstable with shaking, flickering. I've tried other power supplies and cable. I'll try to return it now
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82-14190 - 4-Channel Video Capture DVR Card
GeoVision's GV-600-4 video capture card is a PC based video surveillance system that utilizes the most advance digital video compression technologies to bring you the highest picture quality and video performance. The GV-600-4 is a 4 channel digital video capture...
82-14251 - Dome Camera Bracket For 82-14250
Bracket for 82-14250
82-16471 - 9 Channel 12VDC Camera Power Suppy Panel
DC power supply with 10A output12VDC fused output for 9 camerasMore than 1A per channel outputIndividual PTC auto reset fuse for each outputIndividual LED status indicator for each outputMain power switch with surge protection
82-16535 - CCTV 4-Camera 12VDC 5A Power Supply
This economic distributed power supply is specifically designed for up to four 12VDC cameras.
298-0026 - 9V Alkaline Batteries - 10pk Box
Pro-Elec Ultras are heavy-duty alkaline batteries suitable for all general purpose applications. High quality, leak-resistant, non-mercury and cadmium-free materials make these batteries a perfect choice for long-lasting, hassle-free installation and use in every...
The web site was easy to use, I found everything I was looking for. I like the one stop shop. I am telling all my friends about MCM Electronics.


text:
Chinese Culture Festival Returns
Lecture explores the cultural resonance of time telling; trio of young virtuoso musicians performs on traditional instruments.
Lecture explores the cultural resonance of time telling; trio of young virtuoso musicians performs on traditional instruments.
At day event, participants will climb 2071 steps; various faith communities hosting evening prayer.
Chris Dashiell looks back to a time in Hollywood when stars weren't born, they were made -- by studios.
Film writer Chris Dashiell explores the origin of film industry practices that still hold sway a century later.
UA researchers seek input from those who live off-reservations, maintain traditions, relationship with origin.
Withs its arid climate, vast amount of open land, diverse mix of native cultures, state has everything for a 'recipe of success' in archeology, Arizona State Museum director says.
The Friends of Tucson's Birthplace invite the community to celebrate more than 4,000 years of local history.
Game played with original rules, uniforms, songs and traditions at Bisbee's Warren Ballpark.
Montezuma Castle National Monument, between Phoenix and Flagstaff, is home to a body of water that has left scientists perplexed.
Researches hope to learn more about some of the Southwest's earliest inhabitants.
Exhibit offers a window into the lives and culture of the military through food; museum was US Army post from 1873 to 1891.
Bicycle race attracts thousands of riders each year, but lacked major funder; last year, race faced $250K funding hole after UAMC sponsorship contract expired.
Charles Poston lobbied in Washington for the creation of the Arizona Territory, granted in 1863; his birthday would have been Sunday.
A story about something that might have happened in Tucson more than 80 years ago, and kept secret ever since...
Arizona Museum of Natural History is located in Mesa and has multiple opportunities for education.
Located in Tucson, place named after trees native to the area; executive director recommends people to visit.
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