🚀 go-pugleaf

Bill Sommerfeld, MIT '88, wrote:

	In the event of some sort of misbehavior (i.e., tampering with systems
	software), they don't shut the account off first and ask questions
	later..  

I agree that reactions to violations should not be intemperate or 
hasty. The process should be a procedural one with information about
the procedure well known to all users in advance. 

	Instead, they go through the Dean's office, and act as
	*witnesses* in a judicial-style proceeding, not as prosecutor, judge,
	or jury...

This is very similar to the way honor code violations are handled at
the University of Virginia. I think this represents a significant 
piece of a worthwhile model of a way to handle infractions in a 
manner most likely to result in a proper solution. (I think that 
is defined as one in which the offensive behavior stops _and_ the 
offender continues to have access rights.)

	Incidentally, the usenet services at MIT are run by a student
	organization; the hardware is provided by I/S, but all the *support*
	is provided by students and recent alumni..

That's wonderful. The more that a system like this can be operated and
managed by the students, the better it will probably work. The students, 
in fact, are the jury for UVA honor violations. The difference in our
situation from the honor code model is that I think there are fairly 
well-defined examples of honor violations, such as cheating or stealing,
with well-defined associated punishments - WHICH INCLUDE EXPULSION.
We need more work on setting guidelines for defining network (the 
institution's and the rest of the Internet) violations.

	....  if MIT I/S yanks a student's account
	on Athena (the MIT distributed computing environment) for misuse, that
	student may not be able to do his homework; many classes at MIT
	*require* use of athena.

To be expected. All the more reason for a considered, procedural approach
rather than a hasty pulling of the plug. But it is also illustrates the
amount of leverage that the institution has in "reaching a settlement" 
with an offender and the strength of its remedies for very serious
offenses. 



Cheerio -
                  Jim
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James A. Warner, Jr.                         		100 Fifth Avenue
Director, Prospect Innovation Center         		Waltham, MA  02154
Manager of PI-net, the Prospect Innovation Network      Tel: (617) 890-6960
Internet: jwarner@prospect.com
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