I actually had an account with an ID of around 300. But I moved providers and lost the password... and can't get it back because I lost use of the address it was sent to.
I'm not even sure I could get that address back if I tried.
I don't believe a TOS should be illegal. In fact, I'm all for TOSes. I don't have a problem with them, not even a little bit, unless it is for something that is absolutely essential for you to live. If you do not like having to live under a TOS, there is nothing at all stopping you from laying your own fiber, from setting up your own POPs across the country, and setting up your own network from point to point. Then you get to set the terms, and you can do it without TOS if you want to. But, then, anyone who pays you for the service (which will be pretty much anyone you want to connect with, because if you peer with someone, guess what, you have to abide by their TOS) will be able to do whatever the hell they want and you'll have a hell of a time turning them off. After all, they don't have TOSes and they're paying for the service, right?
TOSes are one of the natural consequences of living in a litigious society. If you don't like it, then figure out how to stop people from suing over every little thing, and they'll just go away.
I have to disagree with you there. There is no excuse for banning something you don't like - even if it actually *does* damage the brains of others. It's their choice whether to damage their own brains or not. It doesn't affect you, so lay off.
Keep that up and you'll turn into Jack Thompson, who's about to get sanctioned by a judge for doing something really stupid.
Do we have to *subsidize* it? That's an entirely different story, but doesn't really come into play in this argument.
...and had to sign a TOS agreement before receiving the service, most likely.
Just because you pay for the use of something doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want with it. Try turning your rented apartment into a brothel and see how far you get with that.
Personally, I don't think it's funny or not funny, I just think it's an example of finding a problem and solving it. Personally I think FPS games are a pox on almost every network and I stay as far away from them as I can. If I had to acribe any adjective to this, I'd say "expected".
On the flip side, I am not all that happy with kdawson for posting such a journal entry, and I recognize that you did nothing wrong in any case here. kdawson really did you a disservice with frontpaging this.
Historically, windows admins are better at pointing and clicking than actually solving problems.
I have met some windows admins who are fairly competent at what they do. I also have met some who could barely figure out how to move the mouse. Aa a whole linux or unix admins tend to be much more competent than windows admins, as a whole. And as with everything, there are exceptions going both ways.
The reason is simple - the barrier to entry is much higher with unix and its variants. So once you're in that position, you've already gone through most of the trials that windows admins have never had to deal with and maybe won't for a long time.
If you're getting truly abyssmal service like that, then I laud your ability to go around it and get service that meets basic standards of reliability. No one says that just because it's the university's network, it's well run. Sometimes you have to raise a fuss.
I just don't think that gaming is one of those things that universities need to bend over backwards to support.
AC, the first part of your comment is somewhat insightful. However, I'd point out that while they are paying for it, they probably had to agree to a TOS that they signed before having the service to their room turned on. Because of that, while it's not freeloading, they are paying for their service SUBJECT TO THE TOS, which probably states that the University has an absolute right to do anything at their discretion to ensure the integrity of their systems and networks, up to and including termination of service.
The last part of your comment however I think is flagrantly ignorant. That little piece of paper can mean a huge different in how much you are paid once you graduate. Is that fair? No, but it is not stupid to go to college. The stupid part is to rely on your college education to make you an outstanding member of whatever field you are in. College is just a tool to help shape what is already there. If you go there with a mind of jelly, college will not turn that mind of jelly into a finely honed tool of leetness.
It, as with everything else in life, is exactly what you make it and no more.
I think he was, if only because of the last comment, where he said that if he found out where the guy worked he would do a "poor man's DOS attack" on his webpage.
That shows a particular lack of respect for the resources of others, reinforced by the rest of his comment.
It is true that it may be your only source for high speed internet. It also may be true that it's a sign of degraded internet. But gaming is a privilege, not a right, particularly at a university, and even if it got entirely turned off, there's no harm in going out and meeting other people in... *gasp*... the big blue room.
I have been doing sysadmin (and sysadmin-like) work for 10 years now - and I can say that anyone who hasn't figured out where the system load is coming from and tracked it down to UDP traffic not being filtered within about an hour of noticing the problem probably should find another line of work. Either that, or hasn't been doing it very long and should seek out the assistance of someone more senior and experienced.
Not to say that you don't have a point and this might be valuable in that circumstance, but it really is a non-story for the vast majority of people who didn't just get root for the first time last week.
Good point. Only an inexperienced system or network admin would think that this was a challenging problem worthy of putting in a journal for all to see as an example of performance above and beyond the call of duty.
Well, most ISPs do that already in one way or another anyway, and sometimes they won't even bother telling you what the policy is, even after you've violated it. Kids these days have it good.
Exactly. Welcome to the real world, or as close to it as you can get in an academic setting.
Try setting up a halo 3 server at your job once you graduate, and see how fast they shut it down. I know, apples and oranges in some ways, but in both cases the network is there for a specific purpose.
I wouldn't have gone that far. I think that what the poster did was a reasonable action. But I wouldn't have thought twice about closing the ports if the situation had warranted it.
Gaming may be a fun thing to do, but it is not a god-given right, especially at a University where you are supposed to be, oh, I don't know, going to classes and doing homework?
Maybe I'm just a 32 year old fart that remembers the university days when people studied or went to the student union if they wanted to interact with people.
The college network resources are there, first and foremost, to facilitate learning. Unless you're going to make the argument that their hand-eye coordination will increase their reproductive ability later by actually being able to find the proper part of their girlfriend to insert certain parts of themselves in in the future when they actually have a girlfriend and a life, you really haven't a leg to stand on.
Your last comment belies your true mindset - you're just a common cracker who things that you have a god given right to do anything you want with someone else's network.
On the slashdot administrative interface, the entry for "Jack Thompson sent gay porn to the American Family ASSociation and told James Dobson's family that he was a sinner" was right above this entry. The slashdot editor's mother yelled "Cookies are ready!" and while the editor yelled "But mooooooooooooooooom! We're in the MAN CAVE! Sheesh!" his finger slipped and guess what...
Moral of the story - make sure you get mom's cookies BEFORE editing slashdot!
Guy had a network problem. Network admins found the source of the network problem. People who caused the network problem complained, everyone else was happy. This wasn't even a technology problem, it was an oversight in the configuration of the routers/switches.
How exactly is this worthy of a front page article on slashdot?
Hey, guess what. The other day I had a process that stopped working. Thinking quickly, I figured out what was wrong and fixed it. Everyone was happy. Do I get a front page article too?
Sheesh. Congrats for doing your job, subby.
(I know this was a journal entry and subby had nothing to do with it getting greenlighted, but seriously, wtf?)
But simple pornography in the workplace does not warrant calling the FBI. Kiddie porn does, of course. But I still maintain that the mention of "asian women" was a little off and didn't fit in with his complaint.
Slashdot Mirror
Thanks, I found it. I'm going to give that a shot. Thanks.
I actually had an account with an ID of around 300. But I moved providers and lost the password... and can't get it back because I lost use of the address it was sent to.
I'm not even sure I could get that address back if I tried.
It really sucks, but oh well.
That's not complaining about TOS, that's complaining about BAD TOSes. Big difference there.
There are some TOSes that need to be taken out and shot, but that doesn't mean all TOSes are bad.
You could do homework at the student union, einstein.
They even had comfy chairs.
I don't believe a TOS should be illegal. In fact, I'm all for TOSes. I don't have a problem with them, not even a little bit, unless it is for something that is absolutely essential for you to live. If you do not like having to live under a TOS, there is nothing at all stopping you from laying your own fiber, from setting up your own POPs across the country, and setting up your own network from point to point. Then you get to set the terms, and you can do it without TOS if you want to. But, then, anyone who pays you for the service (which will be pretty much anyone you want to connect with, because if you peer with someone, guess what, you have to abide by their TOS) will be able to do whatever the hell they want and you'll have a hell of a time turning them off. After all, they don't have TOSes and they're paying for the service, right?
TOSes are one of the natural consequences of living in a litigious society. If you don't like it, then figure out how to stop people from suing over every little thing, and they'll just go away.
I have to disagree with you there. There is no excuse for banning something you don't like - even if it actually *does* damage the brains of others. It's their choice whether to damage their own brains or not. It doesn't affect you, so lay off.
Keep that up and you'll turn into Jack Thompson, who's about to get sanctioned by a judge for doing something really stupid.
Do we have to *subsidize* it? That's an entirely different story, but doesn't really come into play in this argument.
...and had to sign a TOS agreement before receiving the service, most likely.
Just because you pay for the use of something doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want with it. Try turning your rented apartment into a brothel and see how far you get with that.
Dude, if you knew me, you'd probably find me saying "deal with it and go outside" to be hilarious.
Let's just say it's advice I find much better to give than follow.
Thanks for commenting.
Personally, I don't think it's funny or not funny, I just think it's an example of finding a problem and solving it. Personally I think FPS games are a pox on almost every network and I stay as far away from them as I can. If I had to acribe any adjective to this, I'd say "expected".
On the flip side, I am not all that happy with kdawson for posting such a journal entry, and I recognize that you did nothing wrong in any case here. kdawson really did you a disservice with frontpaging this.
Yup. I don't think anyone truly holds the journal entry against the poster. It's a fairly routine example of someone doing their job.
This is the kind of thing kdawson routinely posts? Ahh, the Jon Katz of the 21st century.
(I actually liked Jon, but he was one of the most hated editors of all time)
Historically, windows admins are better at pointing and clicking than actually solving problems.
I have met some windows admins who are fairly competent at what they do. I also have met some who could barely figure out how to move the mouse. Aa a whole linux or unix admins tend to be much more competent than windows admins, as a whole. And as with everything, there are exceptions going both ways.
The reason is simple - the barrier to entry is much higher with unix and its variants. So once you're in that position, you've already gone through most of the trials that windows admins have never had to deal with and maybe won't for a long time.
That's also why we're generally paid more.
If you're getting truly abyssmal service like that, then I laud your ability to go around it and get service that meets basic standards of reliability. No one says that just because it's the university's network, it's well run. Sometimes you have to raise a fuss.
I just don't think that gaming is one of those things that universities need to bend over backwards to support.
AC, the first part of your comment is somewhat insightful. However, I'd point out that while they are paying for it, they probably had to agree to a TOS that they signed before having the service to their room turned on. Because of that, while it's not freeloading, they are paying for their service SUBJECT TO THE TOS, which probably states that the University has an absolute right to do anything at their discretion to ensure the integrity of their systems and networks, up to and including termination of service.
The last part of your comment however I think is flagrantly ignorant. That little piece of paper can mean a huge different in how much you are paid once you graduate. Is that fair? No, but it is not stupid to go to college. The stupid part is to rely on your college education to make you an outstanding member of whatever field you are in. College is just a tool to help shape what is already there. If you go there with a mind of jelly, college will not turn that mind of jelly into a finely honed tool of leetness.
It, as with everything else in life, is exactly what you make it and no more.
I think he was, if only because of the last comment, where he said that if he found out where the guy worked he would do a "poor man's DOS attack" on his webpage.
That shows a particular lack of respect for the resources of others, reinforced by the rest of his comment.
It is true that it may be your only source for high speed internet. It also may be true that it's a sign of degraded internet. But gaming is a privilege, not a right, particularly at a university, and even if it got entirely turned off, there's no harm in going out and meeting other people in... *gasp*... the big blue room.
I have been doing sysadmin (and sysadmin-like) work for 10 years now - and I can say that anyone who hasn't figured out where the system load is coming from and tracked it down to UDP traffic not being filtered within about an hour of noticing the problem probably should find another line of work. Either that, or hasn't been doing it very long and should seek out the assistance of someone more senior and experienced.
Not to say that you don't have a point and this might be valuable in that circumstance, but it really is a non-story for the vast majority of people who didn't just get root for the first time last week.
Good point. Only an inexperienced system or network admin would think that this was a challenging problem worthy of putting in a journal for all to see as an example of performance above and beyond the call of duty.
Well, most ISPs do that already in one way or another anyway, and sometimes they won't even bother telling you what the policy is, even after you've violated it. Kids these days have it good.
Exactly. Welcome to the real world, or as close to it as you can get in an academic setting.
Try setting up a halo 3 server at your job once you graduate, and see how fast they shut it down. I know, apples and oranges in some ways, but in both cases the network is there for a specific purpose.
I wouldn't have gone that far. I think that what the poster did was a reasonable action. But I wouldn't have thought twice about closing the ports if the situation had warranted it.
Gaming may be a fun thing to do, but it is not a god-given right, especially at a University where you are supposed to be, oh, I don't know, going to classes and doing homework?
Maybe I'm just a 32 year old fart that remembers the university days when people studied or went to the student union if they wanted to interact with people.
Congratulations. Put it in a journal and you might get on the front page too.
You are a jerk.
The college network resources are there, first and foremost, to facilitate learning. Unless you're going to make the argument that their hand-eye coordination will increase their reproductive ability later by actually being able to find the proper part of their girlfriend to insert certain parts of themselves in in the future when they actually have a girlfriend and a life, you really haven't a leg to stand on.
Your last comment belies your true mindset - you're just a common cracker who things that you have a god given right to do anything you want with someone else's network.
Here's how I imagine it going down.
On the slashdot administrative interface, the entry for "Jack Thompson sent gay porn to the American Family ASSociation and told James Dobson's family that he was a sinner" was right above this entry. The slashdot editor's mother yelled "Cookies are ready!" and while the editor yelled "But mooooooooooooooooom! We're in the MAN CAVE! Sheesh!" his finger slipped and guess what...
Moral of the story - make sure you get mom's cookies BEFORE editing slashdot!
Guy had a network problem. Network admins found the source of the network problem. People who caused the network problem complained, everyone else was happy. This wasn't even a technology problem, it was an oversight in the configuration of the routers/switches.
How exactly is this worthy of a front page article on slashdot?
Hey, guess what. The other day I had a process that stopped working. Thinking quickly, I figured out what was wrong and fixed it. Everyone was happy. Do I get a front page article too?
Sheesh. Congrats for doing your job, subby.
(I know this was a journal entry and subby had nothing to do with it getting greenlighted, but seriously, wtf?)
Poorly worded articles? On slashdot? Are you serious???
Did I argue that?
But simple pornography in the workplace does not warrant calling the FBI. Kiddie porn does, of course. But I still maintain that the mention of "asian women" was a little off and didn't fit in with his complaint.