4 5 www.htcinc.net | Fall 2017 Fall 2017 | www.htcinc.net Michael Hagg, Chief Executive Officer Horry Telephone Cooperative, Inc. A word from Mike Hagg, HTC CEO   Dear reader and fellow Cooperative member, Welcome to this year’s fall edition of Life Connections! We love hearing your feedback from previous issues, and we encourage you to keep it coming. If a certain story caught your eye, or if you know of an individual who should be featured, email us at LifeConnections@htcinc.net and give us your opinion. As fellow community members, we here at HTC are on your side, and we want to keep you in the know on issues that affect your family. One of those issues is cable retransmission — be sure to look inside and read the special discussion on rising cable costs and how it will impact you. Also in this issue, we dive into holiday dishes, learn all about a local literacy initiative, get a taste of a pair of local restaurants, experience the excitement of live theatre and much, much more! In addition to these featured news stories and local spotlights, we take pride in offering our friends and neighbors the finest technologies, services and devices. We’ve been serving up community connections for over 65 years, and we hope to continue doing so for many decades to come. As we round the corner into the final quarter of the year and head into the holiday season, keep HTC in mind for everyone on your gift list. Consider giving a present a little outside the box by bumping up your family’s home internet speeds — it’s the gift that keeps on giving! Or, perhaps give your own parents peace of mind with HTC Security — now that’s a gift that comes from the heart! From the latest smartphones and tablets to the accessories your family wants, HTC has you covered. This time of year inevitably keeps us busy and our calendars full, so let me take a moment now to sincerely wish you happy holidays, from our families to yours. As always, thanks for reading, and thank you for choosing to connect with HTC. Best regards, The right way to use the web: HTC Acceptable Use Policy Sometimes, the World Wide Web can seem more like the Wild, Wild West – a fun and exciting place that is sometimes threatened by a few rowdy outlaws looking to disturb the peace. Think of the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) as the sheriff ’round these parts, working diligently to maintain order so that everyone who uses HTC internet service can enjoy its many benefits. It’s important to note that our AUP doesn’t give us free reign to control what gets shared and posted online. We’re big fans of the free flow of information and ideas, and we never monitor usage under normal circumstances. If you want to make a website devoted entirely to dogs that look like celebrities, we say go for it. You can also count on your emails remaining private. We only exercise editorial control over the content of certain proprietary websites. We have to turn on our internet police siren when materials start circulating that might be illegal, could subject HTC to liability or that violate our AUP. We take our AUP seriously; breaking the rules can result in the suspension or termination of your access to HTC internet services or your HTC account. If you’re worried that you might accidently break the rules of the AUP, don’t be – they are actually quite simple to follow. If you wouldn’t do something in real life, then don’t perform that action online. Sharing material that violates local, state, national or international law is still illegal in cyberspace. Harming minors, composing threatening posts or harassing others online all violate the AUP. Everyone loves a good meme. Schemes, on the other hand, should never be shared and can land you in hot water. You may remember hearing about a widespread phishing scheme related to Google Docs in May of 2017. This kind of activity, along with pyramid schemes, Ponzi schemes and chain letters, can cause your internet privileges to be revoked. It’s possible that your profile pictures on Facebook might not be the most accurate representation, but impersonating someone else online is strictly forbidden. Hacking anyone’s account or collecting personal data without their knowledge or consent is also off limits. Email marketing is an effective tool, but it goes against the AUP to send such emails to any individuals who did not sign up to be on a list. Copyright or trademark infringement is not allowed. Reselling HTC services without our authorization is also a big no-no. Network disruptions and unfriendly activity are not allowed. It’s not OK to use a personal account for commercial use. However, it is okay to chime in on news sites so long as the posts are relevant and appropriate to a particular community. Abiding by the HTC Acceptable Use Policy is pretty simple. But if you’re unsure about the violations or want to be more informed on this critical topic, visit www.HTCConnect.com.