EDITORIAL: Technical difficulties
Imposing a time limit onImposing a time limit onInternet sessions for PennNetImposing a time limit onInternet sessions for PennNetusers via modem isn't goingImposing a time limit onInternet sessions for PennNetusers via modem isn't goingto solve the problemImposing a time limit onInternet sessions for PennNetusers via modem isn't goingto solve the problem_____________________________ We could still read e-mail using a 2400-baud modem, a device now considered a piece of history, just like ENIAC. Departments didn't rely on listservs to communicate with majors and encourage out-of-class interactions between professors, students and their classmates. We even had to go to CUPID to get printouts of our schedules, updated financial aid statements and hard copies of the course register and timetable. Then the library went on line, and suddenly we could search Franklin and Lexis/Nexis in our pajamas the night before big papers were due. We could talk to friends at universities across the country or around the world with a keystroke. We also found we could get busy signals just like those common in the days before call waiting. The increased load on the University's modem pool was inevitable. And administrators responded by separating users into 14.4k and 28.8k groups depending on their hardware, so that students with more advanced, faster modems could have clear, speedy access to the resources they needed. Now, however, we're back at square one. The modem pools are overloaded again, and the University has decided to limit the amount of continuous time a user can spend on line to provide better service for everyone. Students who are online for an hour or more typically have a perfectly good reason for being there. They may be downloading a large file (Netscape 3.0 takes more than two hours at 14.4k), working on research for a thesis (searching multiple libraries at many different schools and institutions) or participating in class discussions on the electronic PennMOO. Unceremoniously evicting students from cyberspace after a certain amount of time has elapsed seems extremely unfair, especially when we pay a hefty Technology Fee of $250 per semester. With a 15-minute warning, this policy might be easier to swallow. But we'd like ISC to look for better solutions than even the new "Express Lines" that will be installed October 1. Hardware and software have improved immeasurably since the Class of 1997 arrived at Penn, and the University has taken advantage of this fact to save printing costs and create virtual communities. It's time for the technological infrastructure here to be more responsive to all students' needs.