Re: [Dfey-nw-discuss] How to deal with an nasty and vague Acceptable Use Policy ?

[Tim Dobson]

Lucy wrote:
> 2008/11/5 Tim Dobson <address@hidden>:
> > All of the communication methods listed above could be extremely helpful to
> > someone trying to learn how to do something - the quickest way to find out
> > how to do something could be to ask on IRC...
> >
> > In a situation where students are meant to be sucking in as much information
> > about the subject they are studying, is communication with other like minded
> > people such a bad thing?
>
> Okay, to play within the rules, what if the college provided some
> forums that allowed you to talk to like minded people within the
> college?

Interesting suggestion. I've actually seen this implemented in at least 
one place. My previous school had a internally moderated social forum 
through the Moodle VLE.

It was inaccessible to outsiders and put names to posters. Moodle is 
horrible as forum software but in my time it built up quite an identity 
until people started criticising.. anything actually and entire threads 
 started getting deleted...

On a more technical level, allowing students within the college isn't 
really going to help one learn much because the only information on how 
to write functions in VB for example will come from other students who 
probably just know what they have been taught...

In addition, plagerism is probably more likely in a very closed 
environment where everyone uses the same examples of how to do $foo in 
$barlanguage.

In general, I think closed environments are a bad idea.

> I can understand that the college wants to restrict personal
> communications/web-surfing, I'm sure it was the same 'in my day'
> although I just quietly ignored it (like everyone else).

Hehe. Quietly ignoring it is a 'great' plan until someone comes down on 
you with everything they have as they object to you using 
CGI:Proxy/phpproxy/tor to check your personal email/slashdot/anything 
with *blog* in the url... ;)

It's best to object loudly when you are not in the wrong than hope that 
by staying quiet, things won't effect you.

--
www.tdobson.net
----
If each of us have one object, and we exchange them, then each of us
still has one object.
If each of us have one idea, and we exchange them, then each of us now
has two ideas.   -  George Bernard Shaw