Congratulations to Network Services for finally being upfront about bandwidth problems and peer-to-peer file sharing application violations. University Provost John Moseley has warned students via e-mail to stop using file sharing to download and distribute copyrighted materials because it violates federal law. If the administration had been forthcoming with this information to begin with, the nearly 400 cases that University officials have investigated this year might have been avoided.
So here’s how file sharing and copyright law works:
When students in residence halls plug computers into the University’s network, an account is created which is public record and owned by the University. Therefore, all downloads and uploads could potentially be monitored. Read: There is no privacy with a University account — it belongs to the state.
To avoid breaking the law, students should only download non-copyrighted material. Students must acquire file-sharing programs, such as Morpheus or Kazaa, to participate in peer-to-peer sharing. Once you obtain the software, you are able to share freely, as long as the materials are not copyrighted.
Anything you could buy at a store normally falls under the umbrella of copyrighted materials. Once again, do not download copyrighted material. Any infringement could be monitored by Network Services, although they normally do this only for heavy bandwith users. Subsequent violations will result in your port being shut off as well as a meeting with the Office of Student Conduct.
Once the file-sharing program is installed, other Internet users can upload files from students, whether the students are in front or their computers or not. This takes a lot of the University’s bandwidth. So, don’t leave for the weekend with file-sharing software running. Once the file-sharing is done, students should disable the software so they do not clog the server. Students who wish to delete the programs can find instructions at the Microcomputer Services’ Web site at http://micro.uoregon.edu.
Remember, personal privacy is not your right when the account is owned by the University. By disabling applications when not in use, bandwidth is not exploited by other Internet users — although students may end up on the Network Services’ hit list if they download enormous files.
If the University had explained file sharing as simply as we just did, hundreds of students might not have had their service disconnected.
It’s time we talk about sharing
Daily Emerald
November 6, 2001
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