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They are watching you. Or more specifically, they are watching what you download, from your Barry Manilow mp3 obsession to the twenty gigs of porn you downloaded last week. The University of Oregon Residence Halls Network (ResNet for you non-dorm-confined people) has finally caught up with the Napster Age. Recently, the Computing Center and ResNet investigated almost 400 cases of possible network resource misuse. As a result, at least 136 people have had their ethernet ports shut off temporarily, and more than 70 cases have gone before the Student Judicial Affairs board.
Since then, several notices about the network crackdowns ‚ including a mass e-mail, a mailed notice, and flyers‚ have been sent to residents, who naturally are still recovering from the shock of the University enforcing a policy. Alas, it’s true, and don’t make them come after you twice. For the first violation, you wait until your case has been cleared with the Student Conduct Board (and sign a contract saying you’ll never, ever do it again) to get your connection back. For the second, kiss your T3 access goodbye for the rest of the year. The University’s message is clear, but the proverbial damn may have already broke.
“I’d say that eighty to ninety percent of people in my hall have downloaded mp3s and stuff,” said freshman Renee
Lesea, adding “everyone with a computer has tried it at least once.”
But one person downloading the entire Air Supply discography is not the problem. Lately, so many people have been using file-trading programs that it’s caused a noticeable lag in the University computer system, which prompted ResNet’s investigation.
The University’s official stance on this is the Acceptable Use Policy
(found at http://cc.uoregon.edu/policy/acceptable_use.html),
which says in a nutshell the following:
- If you are using University resources, whether it’s their computers or network, academic things take precedence over, say, browsing AudioGalaxy.
- Don’t use University resources to harass, stalk, or threaten anyone.
- Don’t share accounts or lab passes.
- Don’t spy on or hack into others’ computers, as unauthorized access to someone’s electronic data is prohibited.
- Don’t use University resources to spread computer viruses, worms, e-mail bombs, chain letters, etc.
- Respect copyright laws. The University doesn’t want to be sued on your behalf.
- Don’t hog bandwidth, disk space, printing, etc. that other people may want to use.
- And last, but not least, don’t expect the University to protect you if you say or do something to piss off someone else and cause him or her to sue you.
And if lawsuits seem extreme, don’t think it wouldn’t happen. At the height of the Napster thing last year, the rock band Metallica sued several universities, including Yale, University of Southern California, and Indiana University, until they conceded and agreed to curtail students’ access to Napster. So, although it kind of sucks that the University is putting the kibosh on this, most students (although disappointed) seem to know why.
“Basically, the university is covering their butts while letting us keep the high-speed connection,” said junior Nate Hart.
However, some students have expressed concern over what they feel are privacy violations on the part of ResNet. “It’s kind of disturbing that they can see everything I download if they want to,” says Lesea. “I mean, it’s not like I’m downloading anything wrong, it’s just that I don’t like the idea of that in general.”
Most likely, the University hasn’t heard the last of this. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
“I think this is going to go on for a while. It’s too hard to control,” says Lesea. “The UO is doing its best to control it and protect everyone’s rights, but it’s happening everywhere, and it’s really hard to police.”
The University is certainly justified in trying to cut down on network gridlock, but we should all be wary of a “big brother” presence. If nothing else, this should demonstrate that Napster was only the beginning in what’s sure to be a long struggle over copyrighted material. University networks with high speed internet connections like ResNet will continue to be a major source of illegal files.
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