[336] in Resnet-Forum
Re: Policies for Student Servers in wired res halls?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bernard Hecker)
Wed Aug 31 09:09:19 1994
Date: Wed, 31 Aug 94 08:52:59 EDT
To: resnet-forum@MIT.EDU
From: Bernard.Hecker@mail.cc.trincoll.edu (Bernard Hecker)
>So as we here at Northwestern look ahead to our real and official
>ResNet leap, the higher-ups are looking for protection from students
>running illegal or "objectionable" services.
>
>My personal opinion is any energy that could be spent policing
>prohibitions against student servers could just as well be spent
>developing a firm policy of individual responsibility. That said, the
>VP's and such would probably prefer to hear that other schools are
>already using such policies....
We've had a Mac dorm net for 3 years or so. We waste no time at all
policing student fileservers, webservers, whatever. For one thing, it's not
possible. They spring up like mushrooms on an August lawn.
The students here receive a "Handbook of Student Computing" that lists,
among other things, "Network Use Guidelines". They're responsible for the
contents...whether they read it or not! Here's a peek (sorry for any
confusion due to loss of formatting!):
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Bernard Hecker (203)297-2111
Director of Academic Computing Bernard.Hecker@mail.trincoll.edu
Trinity College Hartford, Connecticut 06106
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What You Need to Know About
Being a Good Citizen of the Network
With the freedom of access our computing and voice networks affords you
comes the responsibility to be a good citizen. As with any community, the
electronic community of which you are now a member cannot function without
some sense of order.
Please take a few minutes now to read the official guidelines for network
usage discussed below. Keep in mind that
It is the responsibility of the user to know and adhere to these
regulations. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable defense.
NETWORK USE GUIDELINES
Trinity College's voice and data communication networks are for the use of
Trinity College faculty, students, and staff, and are to be used only for
the academic, educational and research purposes of the college.
All traffic on the networks must hew to these Guidelines:
* Be consistent with the purposes of the networks
* Not interfere with the work of other users of the networks
* Avoid wasting campus computing resources
* Be consistent with applicable state and federal law
* Be consistent with the regulations set forth in the Trinity College
Handbook
Computer and network use on campus are guided by the same principles, and
subject to the same disciplinary sanctions, as other campus activities.
Here are some examples of activities that would violate one or more of the
Guidelines. They are meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive.
Be consistent with the purposes of the networks
Usage that is prohibited because it conflicts with the stated purposes of
the networks includes, but is not limited to, these examples:
* Advertising of commercial products, services and businesses not
affiliated with or sanctioned by Trinity College is forbidden.
*It is not acceptable to use the printing facilities to produce output
which is not related to the College's mission (i.e. it is not acceptable
to print announcements or fliers for outside agencies, materials for a
spouse's business, etc.)
*Selling access to or via Trinity's networks to outside concerns, or
collecting bids non-College business via any of Trinity's network
facilities is forbidden
*Using the College network to support personal business interests is forbidden
Not interfere with the work of other users
Usage that is prohibited because it may interfere with the work of other
users includes, but is not limited to, these examples:
* Usage that is likely to result in the loss or disruption of another
person's work is prohibited. Examples of prohibited activities include
tampering with network electronics or interfering with an active client
computer or network server.
*Messages which cause an ongoing interruption in the work of another person
are strictly prohibited (ex., Broadcast messages which are sent after the
recipient has requested that they stop or are sent indiscriminately to
large groups of users; "Chain letters" are expressly forbidden).
Avoid wasting campus computing resources
Usage that is prohibited because it wastes computing and/or network
resources includes, but is not limited to, these examples:
*It is not acceptable to print multiple copies of output.
*"Chain letters," "broadcast" messages to lists or individuals, and other
types of use including transfer of large files which might cause congestion
of the networks or otherwise interfere with the work of others are not
allowed.
Be consistent with applicable state and federal law
Usage that is prohibited because it conflicts with state or federal law
includes, but is not limited to, these examples:
*Messages which harass an individual or group are strictly prohibited.
*Users of the Trinity networks may not "share" software over the network
for which they do not have the license to "share". A single-copy software
license is not a license to "share" software.
Be consistent with the regulations set forth in the Trinity College Handbook
Usage that is prohibited because it not consistent with the College
Handbook includes, but is not limited to, these examples:
* It is not acceptable to alter, disable or remove any software which
resides on a machine in the Trinity public computing areas or accessible
via Trinity network resource.
*It is not acceptable to attempt to discover or obtain via coercion,
hacking or any other method user accounts and passwords. It is also
against the policy for any unauthorized parties to utilize the network
superuser accounts.
*It is not acceptable to use another person's Trinity ID card and/or name
to gain access to public computing resources, including printing resources.
*It is not acceptable to physically tamper with, tap, disable, or remove
any equipment, wiring or networking hardware from the public computing
areas, class rooms, dormitory rooms or equipment areas.
Additional detail on several issues may be useful at this point.
Racial and Sexual harassment via the network: Trinity College has explicit
policies set forth in the Student Handbook regarding racial and sexual
harassment. Neither of these transgressions will be tolerated on
Trinity's networks and all incidents will be dealt with according to
established procedures.
Electronic mail is an important Trinity network service which allows the
user to reach beyond the confines of the campus network. Broadcast is a
Macintosh utility which allows users to send brief messages to others on
the Trinity network. Because of the relatively impersonal nature of the
interaction, opportunities exist for misuse. Therefore, acceptable use of
both systems requires the accurate and unambiguous identification of the
source of all sent messages.
Personal accounts on Trinity's networks are issued according to need by the
Computing Center. These accounts and associated passwords are for use by
that individual only. Account names and passwords should not be shared, as
any violations of Trinity network policies are traced by user ID. An
individual is ultimately responsible for all violations committed under
their user ID, no matter if they claim the violation was committed by
someone else who had authorized or unauthorized access to their user ID.
If an individual suspects his/her user password has been compromised, it is
that individual's responsibility to report it to the Computing Center main
number (extension 2100) as soon as it is discovered.
Disk storage space on Trinity's networked computers is a limited resource.
As mentioned above, games and other personal files (including work in
progress) will not be saved on public access computers. Files saved on
personal accounts must be discipline-related and are subject to review by
Computing Center staff. Personal accounts are purged by the Computing
Center at the end of each academic year. Violations of this policy will
be dealt with by Computing Center staff and may result in the suspension of
access to the network and/or personal account.
Copyrighted software: Most software used in the academic arena is
copyrighted. It is each individual's responsibility to make sure that the
he/she has the proper license to use the specific software. A good rule
of thumb is to never use software which you did not purchase. This insures
that you are operating within the law, and also protects your computer from
possible viral infection.
Use of external networks: Computers on the Trinity campus have access to
regional and national computer networks such as the Internet. These
networks have their own use policies. It is the responsibility of the user
to know and adhere to these regulations. Ignorance of the rules is not an
acceptable defense.
(Originally derived from an "Acceptable Use Policy" from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.)
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Bernard Hecker (203)297-2111
Director of Academic Computing Bernard.Hecker@mail.trincoll.edu
Trinity College Hartford, Connecticut 06106
