Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site muddcs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!sdcsvax!sdcrdcf!trwrb!scgvaxd!muddcs!sroth From: sroth@muddcs.UUCP (Steve Roth) Newsgroups: net.micro,net.college Subject: Re: Free and undirected campus computing facilities - Not at Waterloo Message-ID: <285@muddcs.UUCP> Date: Sat, 17-Nov-84 20:48:58 EST Article-I.D.: muddcs.285 Posted: Sat Nov 17 20:48:58 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 19-Nov-84 03:24:21 EST References: <457@utcsrgv.UUCP> <649@watdcsu.UUCP> <425@watcgl.UUCP> <652@watdcsu.UUCP> <9840@watmath.UUCP> Reply-To: sroth@muddcs.UUCP (Steve Roth) Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA Lines: 26 Xref: sdcsvax net.micro:8399 net.college:395 Summary: I can sympathize with Jan's feeling of loss at the restrictions on use of the UW computers: I can see the same thing happening here at Harvey Mudd. We have one computer here (of about 6 VAXes) on which the base-level user has any freedom of action, and it is slowly dying here as well. There is a group of four people, juniors and seniors, who are the "Computer Gods," and they have restricted almost all of the more desireable system functions to themselves. Examples: - Users have no access to source code for any commands - Users have no write access (and little read access) to anything outside their own directories. - Users have no access to networking facilities for the other machines on campus (I don't even have access to the USENET post routine; I conned on of the 4 into posting this for me). - and so forth. This is not to say that the 4 are even in agreement amongst themselves; 2 of them agree that the other 2 are being too restrictive, but can do nothing for fear they will be `cast out' of the 4. This is a sorry situation and I can sympathize with Jan: I have no sense of loss, but only a sense of desire for privileges I cannot have. /Steve ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Roth Harvey Mudd College Claremont, California {ihnp4, allegra, seismo}!scgvaxd!muddcs!sroth (714) 625-1006