Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

CEE-Net: Rules of Use

CEE-Net, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering's computer network, connects several on campus computers, including Windows NT workstations, printers, and servers. Network connectivity has many advantages which you will discover as you explore CEE-Net, Athena and the Internet beyond. But connectivity also requires that users of the network understand their responsibilities in order to protect the integrity of the system and the privacy of other users.

CEE-Net is part of MITnet, MIT's campus-wide computer network. Users of CEE-Net are subject to the MITnet Rules of Use.

Similarly, the CEE-Net lab facilities (clusters,workstations, printers, etc.) are provided as a Departamental and Institute resource. Certain guidelines are necessary to help maintain this resource.

This section summarizes the rules regarding the appropriate use of CEE-Net specific facilities.

We expect you to follow these rules, and we hope you will help others follow them as well. If you need assistance in dealing with someone willfully violating the rules, send email to cee-net@MIT.EDU.

We appreciate your cooperation.

Summary

The listing below provides only summaries of the rules. For the full text of each rule, please see the following pages.

MITnet Rules of Use

Comply with Intended Use of the System

  1. Don't violate the intended use of MITnet.
    Assure Ethical Use of the System
  2. Don't let anyone know your password(s).
  3. Don't violate the privacy of other users.
  4. Don't copy or misuse copyrighted material (including software).
  5. Don't use MITnet to harass anyone in any way.
    Assure Proper Use of System Resources
  6. Don't overload the communication servers; in particular, don't abuse your electronic mail (email) or Zephyr privileges.

Specific Rules for CEE-Net Facilities

Specific Rules for CEE-Net Facilities

These Rules of Use for CEE-Net facilities are intended to help members of the MIT community protect the CEE-Net equipment to assure all authorized users effective access to it. These rules supplement the MITnet Rules of Use, which all CEE-Net users are also expected to follow.
These rules apply to all users of CEE-Net facilities, including students, faculty, authorized guests, and even IS/CEE-Net staff.
If you need assistance in dealing with someone willfully violating the CEE-Net rules, feel free to contact the CEE-Net network administrators by sending e-mail to cee-net@mit.edu. (If you believe you are in danger, call the Campus Police immediately at x3-1212.)

Maintain Security in the Clusters

The CEE-Net clusters contain valuable equipment. In order to maintain a secure environment for the users and the equipment we expect you to adhere to the following rules. We appreciate your cooperation.

  1. Don't tell anyone the cluster password
    CEE-Net clusters are for the use of MIT CEE faculty and students. You should not tell anyone ( not even close friends ) the cluster password, unless you are completely sure that they are authorized users of CEE-Net. If you are in doubt it is better to have them ask the password from an administrator. Remember, as an authorized user you are responsible for maitaining security for the equipment and other users. Please do not jeopardize security in any way.

  2. Don't ever leave a cluster door propped open
    Under no circumstance should you leave a cluster door open. By doing so you put yourself, other users and the equipment in danger!

Complying with the Intended Use of the System

While MITnet is a general-purpose Institute resource in support of all kinds of computing on campus, CEE-Net is more specifically focused on academic computing in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. This special focus is echoed in a more specific intended use of the system.

  1. Don't violate the intended use of the CEE-Net system.
    CEE-Net is a Departamental and Institute resource for authorized MIT CEE members to use to fulfill educational goals. You should not take any action that violates that purpose. In particular:

Protecting CEE-Net Equipment

Much of CEE-Net's computer equipment is accessible to a large number of people and is consequently vulnerable to overuse and damage. The following guidelines are designed to help protect this equipment. In the event of any damage to the equipment, regardless of cause, please contact the CEE-Net administrators( cee-net@mit.edu ).

  1. Don't eat, drink, or bring food or liquids into the CEE-Net clusters.
    Food crumbs and spilled drinks are the primary cause of equipment damage in the CEE-Net clusters. This damage is produced not only in obvious ways (a spilled cup of coffee), but also in subtle ways (even the cumulative effect of sticky fingers or crumbs can ruin equipment -- keyboards and mice are equally vulnerable).

  2. Don't turn the power off on CEE-Net equipment.
    Turning the power off on CEE-Net equipment (e.g., workstations, monitors, or printers) can permanently damage the hardware. However, if the equipment smells or looks like it is burning, do turn it off and contact the CEE-Net administrators( cee-net@mit.edu ).

  3. Don't reconfigure the cluster, either hardware or software.
    Moving equipment will often cause damage, or may cause it to be reported as stolen. Permanent damage may result from even unplugging a keyboard.

    Similarly, altering a workstation's filesystem in any way may render the machine unusable, or threaten its usability in other ways. For example, you should not reconfigure any workstation in an CEE-Net cluster to allow remote connections unless you are actually sitting at that workstation. Even an apparently "harmless" change such as this (i.e., changing the access configuration of a workstation) may create major system security problems, and may actually jeopardize CEE department and MIT's ability to license software for users in the future.

    Also, do not remove CEE-Net equipment -- or furniture! -- from any CEE-Net facility. Doing so constitutes theft and will be dealt with accordingly.

    If you believe the configuration of a cluster needs to be changed, you can contact the CEE-Net administrators( cee-net@mit.edu ).

Assuring Fair Access to Workstations in CEE-Net Clusters

CEE-Net clusters are facilities provided for members of the CEE department to achieve their academic goals. As such, they are subject to principles of use that support those goals -- the chief considerations being fair access to the facilities for the widest possible set of users, and the maintenance of a comfortable working environment. The rules below reflect these considerations as they affect users of the CEE-Net clusters.

These rules are easily summarized: please show consideration to other users.

  1. Don't violate the official priorities for the use of workstations; in particular, don't play games or engage in other non-academic activity if the cluster is busy, and don't log on to more than one workstation at a time.
    In conformance with CEE-Net's stated purpose, the priorities for use of the workstations in crowded CEE-Net clusters are as follows (cf. CEE-Net Rule 3):

    Note that games are the lowest priority software on the system -- you should not play games if there are only a few workstations free, or if people are waiting for workstations. If a user needs a workstation for higher priority work while you are playing games, that user can ask you to give up your workstation. (Low priority activities may actually be disallowed entirely during certain times of the year to assure that the use of the clusters is consistent with the academic purpose of CEE-Net. At these times, you are expected to refrain completely from low-priority activities as defined above.)

    Similarly, some clusters have workstations which are reserved for specific course use, or which have special features. If you are using such a workstation for other than its special purpose, and someone who needs its unique feature asks you to surrender it, please do so gracefully.

  2. Don't leave your workstation unattended for more than 20 minutes.
    If you are using a workstation in one of the CEE-Net clusters and intend to keep using it but must leave it briefly unattended, you must limit your absence to 20 minutes or less and signal your situation to other users by taking one of the following actions:

    (If you choose to use a screen-based timer, note that it is a violation of the rules to tamper with the system such that your display never shows that more than 20 minutes have elapsed.)

    If you are gone longer than twenty minutes or leave a workstation without a note or a valid countdown screensaver running, another user who needs a workstation is entitled to log you out or reboot the machine to make that machine available.

    At certain times of the year, this rule may be adjusted downwards (e.g., the allowable "time away" may be reduced, possibly to 0) to assure that the clusters are being used effectively and that users will not be without a workstation while machines sit idle.

  3. Don't make a lot of noise in the CEE-Net clusters.
    CEE-Net clusters are similar to the MIT Libraries in that students who use these facilities have to be able to concentrate to do their work. Please don't play music, shout, or engage in loud conversation in the clusters.

    Also, if you use a workstation that has sound capabilities, you are expected to use earphones rather than have the workstation audible to other users in the cluster.

Assuring Fair Access to CEE-Net Printers

Restraint must be exercised when using CEE-Net printers. This holds especially true when the clusters are busy, to ensure fair access for everyone to this important service.

  1. Don't violate the official priorities for the use of printers; in particular, don't be a printer hog or use the CEE-Net printers as copy machines.
    Please don't print any large or complicated print job -- that is, any document or set of documents (such as text files, PostScript files, screen dumps, etc.) that takes longer than 10 minutes total to print -- on printers in the CEE-Net clusters. Doing so ties up the printer for a long time, and other users won't be able to get printouts.

    If you have a long document, break it into sections to print out when the printer is not so busy, or check to see whether the program allows printing single pages from a long document if that's all you need. If you have many small documents, be sure to send them to the printer individually, or in several small groups, rather than all at once, and to send them when the printer is not so busy.

    Similarly, the CEE-Net printers should be used to print only one copy of a document. To make additional copies, please use copy machines. Printing multiple copies will often hold up other users from printing, and also wears out the printers. You can easily find copying services around campus that will allow you to duplicate pages for only a few cents per page.

  2. Plain paper only in the printers.
    Plain paper is the only kind of paper that should be used for the printers. Paper is provided in room 1-290.

Maintain the Clusters in Order

  1. Don't leave paper and trash lying around in the clusters.
    The clusters are not considered office space for students, therefore, please take all your belongings with you when you are finished using the workstations. In particular do not leave paper and trash lying around in the cluster. CEE-Net staff will dispose of paper left in the clusters at their discretion.<>
Yo-Ming
Last modified: Dec. 14, 1999