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From: callahan@crabcake.cs.jhu.edu (Paul Callahan)
Newsgroups: alt.security,comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Abuse of System Administrators privledges? (Public/Private Files)
Message-ID: <6456@crabcake>
Date: 14 Jun 90 17:06:22 GMT
References: <90164.185721MXB126@psuvm.psu.edu>
Organization: Johns Hopkins University Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 66

[As a former denizen of Happy Valley, I thought I'd clear up a few mis-
 conceptions about Penn State.  No offense is intended toward the original
 poster, who is clearly a hopeless idealist.]

In article <90164.185721MXB126@psuvm.psu.edu> MXB126@psuvm.psu.edu (Michael S Barthelemy) writes:

>Would this be a violation of the Constitution which guarantees me the right to
>private property?

This is, of course, irrelevant.  Penn State is a separate principality,
and is not subject to the United States Constitution.  (at least, they
consider themselves to be)

>To any PSU administrators who may read this:
>
>   Fuck you all.  {Irrational comment of the day}

This is actually quite rational, and most appropriate.  After all,
they do it to their students all the time.

>   BTW:  Don't try to console me.  I am leaving the University and going
>         elsewhere in the fall and because of the attitude problem which
>         most of you have I am **never** going to **ever** recommend that
>         **anyone** I know **ever** attend Penn State and if ever given
>         the chance I will speak **very negatively** of the computer
>         systems resources management here at PSU.  

Pssst... I have a secret to tell you: they don't care.

>         You all seem to be too
>         tied up in making the rules that you have forgotten that this is
>         a University.  (i.e.  Someplace where people learn.) 

This is an incredible misapprehension on your part.  In fact, Penn State
is a subsidiary of McDonalds that sells degrees instead of hamburgers.
I eventually got pissed off and left, myself.  They never did get around
to giving me the fries I ordered with my B.S. and M.S.

>   To Dr. Jordan:
>
>      (This is not a flame and would someone see that Dr. Jordan acutually
>       reads this.)

Ole Brycey boy *pays* people just to make sure he does *not* read things like 
this.

>      Your committee on Computer systems security should not be looking at what
>      regulations that you should put on this universities greatly
>      *underutilized* computer resources but should be looking into first
>      what the security problems are and what can be done to fix them. 

The less utilized the better.  The last thing the Comp Center wants 
is to have students getting their grubby little hands all over their 
beautiful machines.  (Oh excuse me. It's now called the Center for Academic 
Computing--Penn State's idea of a major upgrade is to change names and
logos.) 

I really think you need to adopt a more realistic attitude towards 
Penn State.  Think of it this way, and perhaps you'll understand:
without Penn State it would be awfully hard to justify the existence of 
a quasi-professional football team in central Pennsylvania. 

--
Paul Callahan
callahan@crabcake.cs.jhu.edu
callahan@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu