Amen, Shelley! What a novel idea. Actually teaching folks about sharing
resources and being considerate of others' needs.  I know, I know. It should
be taught at home...I'm sure that bridge has already been crossed.

I've been lurking for a while now.

Our AUP states:  "The network is a shared resource.  Consequently, network
uses or applications that use excessive bandwidth or otherwise inhibit or
interfere with the use of the network by others is prohibited."

And before anyone protests about not saying how much is too much, we feel
pretty strongly that if OUTBOUND Napster traffic is taking up more than half
of the campus' bandwidth and Napster is running for that *very small*
portion of our users that have figured out a way around the block we put in
place on the firewall, then that constitutes "excessive bandwidth."  And
let's not even get into the argument of whether Napster et al., are an
appropriate application to be monopolizing the available bandwidth.  Perhaps
if it was the SETI@home project that was chewing it up,  I would be much
less apt to protest the use of excessive bandwidth (and only "perhaps").
Did I say that our dorms share the bandwidth with the rest of the campus?

Sheila Smith
ResNet
Montana State University



-----Original Message-----
From: Shelley Henderson [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2001 8:14 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [P2P] How much bandwidth is reasonable?


Okay, here's an analogy: picture a college lecture hall; prof up front,
100 students or so in the audience. (I know; with a big lecture like
this, you're not liable to get a prof, but a TA. All analogies have
their limits!)

Five students are scattered around the hall running boom boxes at top
volume, listening to Metallica or Eminem or Bach or...

Three students are engaged in a paintball game...

Nine students are throwing spitballs, paper airlines, pencils at each
other...

Two are looking at and exchanging hard-core pornography...

Four are talking on cell phones arranging for pizza to be delivered...


etc etc etc

What happens to the poor lecturer and the handful of students who are
actually trying to conduct class? When does one student's 'freedom
of speech' impede another's?

And part of my job IS to catch individual students who are violating
University network usage policy. Usually, I catch somewhere below a
couple dozen a day, referring them to consulting for a talking to. One day
(shortly after that Christmas break), I reaped >>93<< students.

I would like to humbly submit that part of the !@#$% socialization
process is to learn how to co-exist, cooperate and live within the
rules. Otherwise, somebody might come along who could damage your
self-esteem badly because s/he got REAL ANNOYED with your preaching
freedom of expression while stomping all over theirs.

Shelley
USC ISD