Random notices were placed throughout Carson Hall on Wednesday, warning students to discontinue their usage of Internet peer-to-peer software programs such as Kazaa. But as it turns out, the letters were nothing more than the work of hooligans.
The postings, dated Nov. 6, said the network serving Carson was under extreme stress because students were using high-volume programs to download music and movies. Because previous guidelines set forth were not followed, ResNet administration was forced to take “extreme action,” the letters said.
But the notices — which stated that upload and download streams would be capped at two kilobytes per second if students did not quit using file-sharing programs — are completely bogus, ResNet Administrator Norm Meyers said.
Meyers said he does not know who posted the notices, but added that it was not from anyone in the ResNet administration. Meyers speculated that the postings probably came from an irate user who is upset because the system is running slowly.
“There’s too much volume going on, and (it is) saturating the network,” Meyers said.
Students often call and complain about speed, Meyers said, and sometimes the complaints are less than cordial.
Meyers said he was irritated by the incident, but added it could do some good: If students change their computing habits, the network’s speed could likely increase.
Some students in Carson did think the notices were authentic, despite the spelling and grammatical errors within the letter.
“I know a few people that turned it off for a couple of days,” University freshman Erik Sogn said.
University senior Chris Brunner said he hopes students using programs like Kazaa will adjust their settings to reduce bandwidth usage. By adjusting settings, students can still use the same programs without creating such dramatic slowdowns.
Network clogging has been an ongoing problem in the residence halls, and Meyers said the administration has been evaluating hardware called Packeteer, which prioritizes all Internet usage and makes file sharing a low priority.
“I’m inclined to believe it will fix the problem,” Meyers said. “But at that (high) price, we want to be sure.”
Students who want more information on how to reduce bandwidth usage can contact ResNet at 346-4223.