Commercial Activity

It is not acceptable to use any official or unofficial University web site for commercial activities without an approved exemption from the Information Technology Council. Commercial activities include, but are not limited to, commercial solicitation of business.

Explanation

Commercial activities include, but are not limited to, advertising of commercial products or selling non-University products or services through a Missouri State web server. This requirement is to comply with MOREnet policies and to avoid cluttering the Missouri State web site with advertisements.

Commercial activity does not include the following:

• Placing a company logo on a public information web page sponsored by that company.
• Providing a list of commercial enterprises in the community.
• Linking from company logos or Chamber business listing to company homepages on a commercial Internet service.
• Promoting business in general, i.e., economic development or tourism. Promoting a particular industry is permissible provided the activity does not focus on an individual company or companies of the industry to the exclusion of others. For example, a community may promote tourism and resorts, but not promote ABC Resort and DEF Resort to the exclusion of other resorts.

See the MOREnet Interpretation of Commercial Use of the Web for questions and answers about commercial web activities.

Exemptions

Some University units/organizations may be granted exemptions to this policy. Units must abide by these requirements:

• The unit/organization must have the exemption approved by Information Technology Council, following the procedures below.
• The unit/organization must obtain web hosting services external to the Missouri State network.
• The unit/organization must obtain an external domain name according to the domain name procedures.

Applying for an exemption

To apply for an exemption, contact the Office of Web and New Media and explain your need, purpose, and desired address.

After receiving an exemption request, the Director of Web and New Media will consult with Information Technology Council and either approve or deny the request and notify the requestor. If an exemption request is denied by the Director of Web and New Media, the requestor may appeal to Information Technology Council.