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Online Quiz As a Gateway to P2P

Posted by timothy on from the put-the-burden-on-the-doer dept.

Andy Guess points out an interesting approach taken by a Missouri university to limiting (and limiting legal exposure because of) on-campus, on-line copyright violations, as described at Inside Higher Ed: "In order to download (or upload) files on any peer-to-peer network whatsoever, all on-campus users at Missouri S&T have to pass an online quiz on copyright infringement. But not just once. Passing the test — with a perfect score — enables peer-to-peer access for six hours on the user's on-campus registered machines."

3 of 250 comments (clear)

  1. 48 hours a month by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Passing the test -- with a perfect score -- enables peer-to-peer access for six hours on the user's on-campus registered machines, presumably enough time to download that (legal) song, TV show or e-book. The next time, the student, staff or faculty member has to go to the intranet Web page and take the randomized test again, for a maximum of eight uses per month (which, kind of like vacation days, can accrue to at most 20).

    So basically, their students can access the internet for 48 hours a month. Sounds great.
  2. test eh? by geekoid · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Let's see this 'test'
    Is it a test of the specific actual copyright law? Os it some thing put together by someone who thinks they know copyright law?

    I would love to see a copyright attorney go over the test. One that isn't employed by a media company.

    Every 6 hours is just stupid.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  3. Re:Yeah, everyone will answer that quiz honestly. by hansraj · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't think the idea is to know the intent of the users. Like you humorously pointed out, that would make no sense. Upon trying to make sense of this policy, I could come up with the following possible explanation. Of course I might be mistake :-)

    I suppose the motives (or rather hopes) are based on two ideas:

    1) By making the system inconvenient (even mildly so), discourages the "casual" p2p users. I have no idea what fraction of users are "casual" though.

    2) Cognitive dissonance. Probably the idea is that once the users are forced to repeat certain beliefs in their head (even when they disagree with them), many will actually feel a psychological dissonance simply because the reward is not too great. One way to get rid of it, would be to actually start believing whatever they replied in the questionnaire.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance#Induced_compliance_studies

    Of course cognitive dissonance does not seem to be the perfect phenomenon in use here, I wouldn't be surprised if something very similar was going on. Any psychologists in the house today?