CPTC has received complaints from the K20 Network Operations Center (NOC) that people are running Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing programs on the CPTC network. This causes several problems beyond just the network traffic, not the least of which are the financial, ethical and legal issues involved.
Financially the college has to pay for the network bandwidth to provide students high-speed access to the Internet. It is not provided to us for free. Running P2P file sharing programs like KaZaA, iMesh and BitTorrent on campus computers not only degrades network response for the rest of the college, it costs the college money, depleting an already strained computer support budget.
Ethically you are using public property for personal gain. By downloading MP3s, videos and other materials over the college's high-speed Internet connection you are saving yourself the cost of an Internet connection at taxpayer expense. And because these programs regularly overload our Internet connection they clearly violate the Attorney General's de minimis personal use guidelines.
And last, legally the vast majority of MP3, video and other files are copyrighted works for which royalties have not been properly paid. By downloading them you are using state facilities and resources to violate federal copyright law.
But you just wanted to hear the new Nickelback single! What's so wrong about that? Besides... Everybody's doing it!
Sorry. Remember we're a public agency. You don't get a bigger glass-house than that. As such we must be aware of, and take steps to prevent, both real and perceived abuse or misuse of public resources.
Therefore any segment of the CPTC network found to have a computer running BearShare, KaZaA, MyNapster, WebNAP, Newtella, Gnutella, WinMX, Morpheus, LimeWire, DirectConnect, Grokster, Audiogalaxy, XoloX, iMesh, Shareaza, eMule, eDonkey, BitTorrent, Warez or any similar Internet sharing program will be shut down until the program is removed. Regrettably this may also result in loss of service for other computers, but the fault lies solely with the person or persons running the prohibited sharing software.
With over 2,000 computers on campus to manage, the only practical strategy in this situation is to isolate the involved computer(s) from the network to minimize the negative impact on the rest of the college caused by these P2P sharing programs. Access to the CPTC network backbone will be immediately restored once the P2P sharing software is removed. A prompt response will minimize any resulting network outages.
The CPTC network exists to serve the college by assisting CPTC faculty and staff in the delivery of instruction for the college's students. Any activity that threatens that mission will not be permitted.
Thank you,