🚀 go-pugleaf

Ah the wonderful world of Electronic Mail.
fast, efficient, and not so private...

Perhaps some of you haven't heard yet,  but the University has
recently passed a new E-Mail Policy (actually it also includes
voice mail, audio/video conferencing, and fax not just E-Mail)
This affects you so you should read it.  It is available in
the campus newspaper publications, and in the March/April Digit.

What does this mean for you the user who pays a $10 computing fee
each semester to have the same access to services that University
students all over the world enjoy?

It means that given the right situation, the University now has the
authority to selectively monitor your E-mail (voice mail/faxes,etc.)
and to disclose any information they deem necessary without your
permission or knowledge.  Sound good?  There's more joy.

According to the Policy,  E-Mail is developed to accomplish the
work of the University.  Forget the fact that the Internet was
created by the government and nurtured into the behemoth that
it is by students and businesses for the free flow of information.
If you use the University's E-Mail system,  you are expected to use
it for academic pursuits.  You are expected to limit personal use.
(Meaning limit the mail you would usually send to family members
 and friends that would be difficult to contact without E-Mail
 and use it only for your classes and research)  Personal use is
only allowed if it is "INCIDENTAL" or "OCCASIONAL". ?  How do you
know when you've exceeded those limits?  Well, I would tell you that
they would tell you if you do...but according to the Policy, they
no longer have to let you know.

It is also never to be used for personal gain.  Don't use the system 
to join discussion groups for any of your hobbies...don't use the system 
to sell you used computer...don't use the system to announce community 
events...don't use it to find your poor lost dog...
SCreeeEeEeChcHcHch!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

ExSQueeze Me??!!??!!?? 

What Can you do about it? I'm not sure if an appeal is even a good 
idea considering the University hardly ever changes it's policies 
(fair or not) and also considering that most of the users do not know 
that such a policy exists.  You can promote the use of programs such as 
PGP (Pretty Good Privacy).  PGP is available on many CNS machines and 
is also available via the World Wide Web.  PGP is a public program 
(which for a long time the government did not want you to have access to) 
that uses cryptology to encode and decode text.  It's sort of like the 
decoder rings you found in Cereal boxes as a child.  There are several 
others available besides PGP,  but PGP is by far the best.  It is
archaic to use in it's present form but it is being developed
into a user friendly interface as we speak.

	If you're a metro Denver resident (includes Boulder)
you can receive an account on the University of Denver's
Nyx system (telnet nyx.cs.du.edu and login as guest).
Since DU is seemingly more democratic about use and
is not an internal system of CU and does not fall under
the jurisdiction of the policy.  If you're really desperate
you can join America Online or Compuserve.

	Download and destroy.  Download files to your computer.
Use programs like (gasp!) Eudora or Netscape mail so that you
can get any incriminating "evidence" (yes, your email is not just
fun messages...it's Evidence...ooh aah) off your account before
the backups (backups occur each day and items downloaded or deleted
prior to the backup are not recorded)

	What else?  Research and contact organizations such as the
EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation - www.eff.org) and the
CDT (Center for Democracy and Technology - www.cdt.com).
While Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (EPCA)
in 1986 making it illegal to intercept electronic communications
on a public or private network without proper authorization,  the
University Policy was written on the fact that the ECPA does not
regulate access to information stored on internal systems.
How convenient.

It's sad,  but the people who know how to manipulate the systems
and hack their way around detection will escape this kind of policy
untouched.  While (if this isn't all just a scare tactic) people
who use the system to (GOD FORBID) have some non-academic *FUN*
(the F word...FUN...can't have that) will have to change their
ways or be punished in the great U of C Technology Inquisition.

Gee,  maybe I'll lose my account for writing this mostly non-academic
news post...that would be sooooo nice

Joe Won
won@Colorado.EDU
----
The views expressed above are entirely mine and do not
reflect the views of any other individual or institution
(even though it should)
And may be used against me if this posting is in violation
of the University E-Mail Policy...(may I suffer an agonizing form
of cruel and unusual punishment if it does)
</sarcasm>