> There has been NO coherent publicity on campus about this
> facility , its development or how we can have input to it. I challenge anyone
> who has been working on this project to publish a rebuttal to this- I
> anticipate a ringing silence.
As long as we're in a grousing mood: I first think of those who've
put in considerable effort helping others far beyond any job description
and often sacrificing their own time--Neil Rickert, Scott Bennett,
Phil Rider, Michael Price, Raj Singh before he left -- and others.
Aline Click, the organizer and heart and soul of the Webmasters' group;
Ben Mahmoud, a great resource for those wanting to set up SLIP/PPP
Netscape connections from home, the folks from Webmasters who are
investing their own time and energy into learning sufficient technical
and artistic competence for the benefit of the University.
Some middle-level administrators, notably Jerry Zar, (former LA&S Dean)
Jim Norris, and Fred Kitterle, have been commendably supportive.
And, then I think of the indifference of Lowden Hall (or those acting
on its behalf) -- (sigh).
I've been running one-hour workshops for my corrections class, running
students through Netstuff two at a time. I'm encouraging them to set
up homepages, and am offering the option of a creating a substantial
corrections homepage in lieu of a final paper. On our system, homepages
are as easy to install as typing: makehome. The age of the Net is here.
Now. Today.
Now, if the University does not intend to establish a central homepage/Net
policy, that's fine. But, the indication since Spring term is that
it does, and that the rest of us will be expected to conform to these
policies. As one responsible for maintaining sun.soci, I don't think
it unreasonable to be made aware, in advance, of policies to which our
users and I are expected to conform.
As Neil will attest, as a sysad, I'm the greenest neophyte imaginable.
I play Mickey Mouse to his super-Wizard, and he's had to clean up
my dancing brooms more than once. But, I'm hardly a Net-newie, and I
deal with Net cultural, ethical and legal issues daily as part of
my professional interests. Although I believe in offering the widest
latitude possible to homepage publishers, I also believe that
a policy that protects this latitude while ensuring responsible
use is necessary. It's not that as one with professional comptence in
this area and as one directly involved in homepage publishing I've
never been contacted by the U Committee. It's that the U Committee
seems to be operating as a secret cabal that will impose by fiat
policies into which at least some of those most directly affected
have had no opportunity to review. I've been told in the past
week that this type of practice is not a unique one.
I've never given much thought to University politics, because my
political focus lies elsewhere. But, I'm gradually beginning to
recognize why some are so disenchanted with the Administration.
jt