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From: gds@sri-spam.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: Re: Net Access Policies?
Message-ID: <9834@sri-spam.istc.sri.com>
Date: Fri, 23-Jan-87 21:36:42 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-spam.9834
Posted: Fri Jan 23 21:36:42 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Jan-87 06:53:46 EST
References: <9994@gatech.EDU> <490@ai.WISC.EDU>
Organization: the Bay Area, for now
Lines: 45

In article <490@ai.WISC.EDU>, neves@ai.WISC.EDU (David M. Neves) writes:
> Unless DARPA has changed its policy (which I doubt) its network is for
> use by DARPA work only.  If you have gateways into Internet then it is
> your job to see that non authorized persons do not have access.  DARPA
> has pulled the plug on sites in the past (I can think of one) that
> violate its policies.

Well, not everyone uses the ARPA Internet for "strictly" DARPA funded or
associated research.  The military uses it for operational purposes
(that's what the MILNET (net 26) basically exists for).  The ARPANET
(which nowadays just consists of net 10 of the ARPA Internet) is
primarily used for DARPA funded research.  In general, I believe that
access to the ARPA Internet is negotiated through the DCA (Defense
Communications Agency) and their DDN PMO (Defense Data Network Program
Management Office).

My personal views on net access policies are somewhat biased from my
undergraduate experiences at MIT.  Some areas of MIT have in the past
and to my knowledge continue to grant "guest accounts" to individuals
(they need not be MIT students) which provide explicit or implicit
access to the ARPA Internet.  For example, mail from MIT's campus
Chaosnet can be sent and received from the ARPA Internet, even via
student course accounts with no other net access privileges.  MIT's
policy is more or less "don't cause trouble".  People who cause trouble
have been dealt with in various ways too numerous to mention here.
People who have obeyed the rules have gone on to become network hackers
at MIT and elsewhere.

It's my feeling that some network access needs to be restricted, but not
all.  I don't believe receiving or sending Internet mail ought to be
restricted if a good case can be made for the exchange (for example, the
student may have an interest in an Internet mailing list which is not
yet a usenet newsgroup).  Access to junk mail lists ... well ... if it
does not tie up the machine or use too much disk, I would be willing to
look the other way.  Probably access to other things (telnet, ftp, ping)
should be restricted as they could be used maliciously.  As others have
said, people who become knowledgeable in the use of such programs
typically go on to support these systems which are attached to the
Internet, and they become authorized users.

Disclaimer: This should not be construed as the official position of MIT
on student access, but as a former MIT student's position on observed
student access.

--gregbo