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by Michael Coler with Dave Mathews, Information Technology
Services
The college
provides a working environment within which everyone is expected to
perform his or her duties. Computers are tools that enable one to do
word processing, spreadsheets, and a myriad of other tasks. The network
is a mechanism that has facilitated communication upon which we have all
become intensely dependent.
Calls to the Help Desk indicate that far too many of
us are using work-time as play-time. We find applications like Soulseek
and Bearshare being used as peer-to-peer means of sharing music. Network
traffic clearly suffers from bandwidth abuse. Computers are being left
on all night acting as peer-to-peer servers. This practice and the use
of the aforementioned applications are placing our network at risk. (Our
primary node on the Internet is at JPL. Several times in recent weeks,
bells have rung, alarms have sounded and the "pipe" from the
college to JPL has been discovered to be overloaded by a single computer
here on campus.) If this cannot be controlled, it will become essential
to develop policies and engage in policing to preserve the working
environment.
Of necessity, our network management system has been
set to disconnect from the network, any computer found to be
jeopardizing bandwidth and the work environment. The user will be
notified, as will the appropriate supervisor, department head, or
division chair. The Help Desk will be the contact in order to
reestablish connectivity. Except when needed for college-related
business, these applications will be removed.
I recall my mother telling me that there would always be those few who
would ruin things for everyone else. Please, let us not do that here.
to TIPS FROM
THE HELPDESK
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