University Network Policies and Punishment?

A not-so Anonymous Coward asks: "I'm a student in the dorms at the University of Colorado, where every room is wired with Ethernet. I bought an 802.11b access point and card, and have been using them on the network. 2 days ago, I came home to find out that my network access had been shut off. When I called ITS, they said it was because I was running the access point, and this was against policy. I proceeded to look through CU's site, and read the entire AUP and terms of use. Nowhere in these agreements is any ban on using wireless equipment in-room. When I called back to see when I could get my access turned back on, I was told that the one person that could help me was out sick. So far my access has been off for 2 days and counting, and chances are slim that I'll get it back by Monday, leaving me with a total of 5+ days without access, all for a violation I was unaware of, and had no warning about. Do I have any rights to force them to turn my access on earlier, or do I just sit without access until they get around to helping me?" Now assuming the AP was not completely open to public access, what possible reason is there for such a limitation? Most kids now go to college with laptops, and an AP is probably the best way for them to work (ie, not tied to the wall). My recommendation would be to politely talk to the University IT department? If anyone else has been in similar situations, how did you go about dealing with the University to get your account/email address/network access restored?

Comments

total of 5+ days without access

[Oily Tuna]

total of 5+ days without access

What a whiner! Wait until the appropriate person is well again and stop moaning. Internet access isn't a right.

If you need it for your studies borrow your friends' (if you have any) or go to the library.

Re: total of 5+ days without access

[EnVisiCrypt]

It is if you pay for it.

When I went to OSU they kept hiking tuition, presumably to cover costs like an internet connection. That's a bill that I'm footing, so damn it, I expect them to respond in a manner befitting an ISP, rather than an altruistic organization who just happened to bless me with a connection.

They charge you money for a reason, and it certainly isn't for the food.

Re: total of 5+ days without access

[wickidpisa]

It is if you pay for it.

He is not paying for internet access, he is paying to go to college. Just because some of that money goes to cover the costs of internet service does not mean that he is entitled to the service from them. He pays the same amount as someone who does not use the school's internet connection.

I expect them to respond in a manner befitting an ISP

They should not have to behave like an ISP, they are not an ISP. As much as he, you, or I do not like it (yes, I don't like it either, but it is the truth) they are an "organization who just happened to bless [him] with a connection." He is paying them for an education, and they happen to give him an internet connection as well, they certainly do not have to.

Remember, it's not your network!

[Zack]

I used to work for a univeristy IT department, while I was there as a student. We often shut off peoples network ports for various reasons: running commercial servers, pr0n, port scanning, mp3 ftp servers, flooding, etc.

We also had nothing about running Wireless APs (hell, they even gave us iBooks with 802.11b cards... we had an AP in our room) But we were also geeks and had it secured (well, as good as it can be)

One problem was people using the campus bandwith for other people... such as setting up a dial-in server on their phone lines to give free access to their friends. Oddly enough, they got their ports shut off too.

You can't really complain about it too much, though. At my university, students were paying about $3 a month for internet access... at 10 Base! (okay, maxed at 100 Base total per building, but still faster than a modem) And the entire point of university networks is for academic use.

So basically, it's their network, their rules. Doesn't mean they have to be draconion, but if they want to, they can.

Oh and be polite when you talk to the campus IT guys... they have to deal with a LOT of crap, and experinced users should know how to be nice. (Unless you want to get your connection back and have it throttled to 1kb/s :)

Re:Read this part of AUP

[foobar104]

However, in their terms of service, they say the access is a "privelage" not a "right". That could probably be argued as long as *you* are paying for the services of the university - why should it not be a right?

What you're describing really isn't a case of access being a "right"-- which would make the subsequent denial of that access a 6th amendment issue-- but of breach of contract.

If the University agrees to provide you with internet connectivity in your room in return for your tuition or housing fees-- either as a separate itemized fee or as part of a package of services-- then you have a contract with the University. If the University violates their terms of this contract, then you have a legitimate grievance against them.

But the key there is that the University, in turning off your service, has to be in violation of the terms of the contract. In order for this to be true, two things must also be true:

1. The University's provision of access to you is an explicit term of your housing contract, like electricity.

2. The University's contract with you does not have a discretionary clause.

The University, however, is probably smart. They probably do have a discretionary clause. I haven't read any of the documents linked to in the original post-- 'cause I'm lazy-- but it's probably in there somewhere. "We provide this service to you at our discretion, and may disconnect or discontinue this service, temporarily or permanently, at any time... " and so on.

So basically, no, internet access in your dorm is not a right, and it's probably not something that you can fight on contractual terms.