Responsible use of Eastern network every student's responsibility
Issue date: 10/7/09 Section: Opinions
Since 1999 and the invention of Napster, digital media downloads have been a hot-button issue for organizations like the Recording Industry Association of America. File sharing and peer-to-peer applications have created a free-for-all on copyrighted material, and with the quick expansion of broadband Internet connections, file sharers have since moved on to movies, bringing the Motion Picture Association of America into the fray.
iTunes and similar digital media download services have helped curb the problem by allowing users to pay for content that peer-to-peer applications have traditionally offered for free.
However, since a big population of active Internet users skew younger, file sharing continues to be a problem.
Eastern has seen this problem up close, recently ranking as one of the highest violators of digital copyright, according to an article in Friday's edition of The Daily Eastern News. Adam Dodge, Eastern's information security officer, said at one point Eastern's network received more than 2,200 e-mails claiming copyright infringements from the RIAA and MPAA.
For a university of around 12,000 students, this statistic is startling. How the RIAA and MPAA are ranking universities is unknown; however, regardless of how the numbers were tallied, this should be a wake-up call to students.
This is not a harmless statistic; it essentially says Eastern's campus hosts a huge number of students violating the law, because no matter how you slice it, file sharing is illegal and remains illegal for the foreseeable future.
Breaking the law should never be taken lightly, even when considering personal opinions on the matter.
Students should consider the implications of file sharing on a network such as Eastern's. We all pay for the technology on campus. That includes Internet (wireless and wired) access, computers found on campus and access to departmental servers. It is our job, as students, to take care of what we pay for. The network of servers and personal computers is not a single student's ownership, it is all of ours, and using it to break the law is irresponsible.
iTunes and similar digital media download services have helped curb the problem by allowing users to pay for content that peer-to-peer applications have traditionally offered for free.
However, since a big population of active Internet users skew younger, file sharing continues to be a problem.
Eastern has seen this problem up close, recently ranking as one of the highest violators of digital copyright, according to an article in Friday's edition of The Daily Eastern News. Adam Dodge, Eastern's information security officer, said at one point Eastern's network received more than 2,200 e-mails claiming copyright infringements from the RIAA and MPAA.
For a university of around 12,000 students, this statistic is startling. How the RIAA and MPAA are ranking universities is unknown; however, regardless of how the numbers were tallied, this should be a wake-up call to students.
This is not a harmless statistic; it essentially says Eastern's campus hosts a huge number of students violating the law, because no matter how you slice it, file sharing is illegal and remains illegal for the foreseeable future.
Breaking the law should never be taken lightly, even when considering personal opinions on the matter.
Students should consider the implications of file sharing on a network such as Eastern's. We all pay for the technology on campus. That includes Internet (wireless and wired) access, computers found on campus and access to departmental servers. It is our job, as students, to take care of what we pay for. The network of servers and personal computers is not a single student's ownership, it is all of ours, and using it to break the law is irresponsible.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 31
Baby Sweaters
posted 1/30/10 @ 6:35 AM CST
It is not realistic to think you are going to change the illegal file sharing culture with this article warning of virus doom. Yes, viruses are dangerous, but the best you can hope for is to make a tiny dent in file sharing with this story. (Continued…)
copyright lawyers
posted 3/17/10 @ 9:48 PM CST
The concerning part is that sharing networks are not going to change... but they are only going to increase in volume and in risks for the users... we will see then more virus, more troyans. (Continued…)
Blog voyage
posted 4/21/10 @ 9:57 AM CST
It is probably time now to think of another business model for music and film distributors. Every one now can download 'illegal' files for free on sharing network (and even free of risk if you use a proxy). (Continued…)
Helen
posted 4/22/10 @ 3:23 AM CST
I have an (young, just older than the teens) employee who must posess the most amount of unrealised potential I have ever seen in my thrity plus years in the business. (Continued…)
mrak911
posted 5/01/10 @ 11:06 AM CST
On what CMS your blog works? In advance thanks for the answer.
hospital equipment
posted 5/21/10 @ 10:29 AM CST
Yep, one virus is all it takes. And I find the hospital equipment infection the worst of all, even moreso that just a standard network infection or trojan. (Continued…)
motercalo
posted 5/30/10 @ 5:36 AM CST
Breaking the law should never be taken lightly, even when considering personal opinions on the matter-> I totally agree !
Retractable Banners
posted 5/31/10 @ 7:09 AM CST
I don't think that file sharing will be stoppable any other way than completely blocking the traffic into it. Any other ways are flawed.
bouchon oreille
posted 6/07/10 @ 5:31 AM CST
Peer to peer is a network unstoppable!
Blackjackman
posted 6/15/10 @ 9:27 PM CST
>It is probably time now to think of another business model for music and film distributors.
It is a real problem in my country, it s hard to buy new media content. (Continued…)
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