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Long time, no post! Problem is that I've been reading, but there's been nothing for me to post - until now...
I work 2 jobs - one as a tutor for a community college, and the one that this post is going to be on, an administrator for a community center. The center provides 10 computers with applications and high-speed Internet access for people in the town and surrounding area to use free of charge. The building also hosts a wireless access point, so people can come in with their laptops to work/surf with.
Attendance at the center had been slow at the start, but has ramped up considerably. I really like this job, and almost all of the users have been great, except for...
No P2P for you!
This happened about a month ago. Center is busy, someone I know from my previous tech job and his son comes in. I get his son set on the wireless with his laptop, and me and his dad get to talking.
Glancing around, I'm noticing some activity on the son's laptop - he keeps flashing from screen to screen, like he's trying to hide something...and then for an instant I see BitComet.
For those who don't know, BitComet is one of several bittorrent clients. Bittorrent is a form of peer-to-peer sharing, which is not allowed in the center and is in the Acceptable Use policy that every user agrees to before being allowed access.
I tell him immediately that he has to shut it down. The following conversation ensues:
Son: "I don't see what's wrong - it's a legitimate program."
Me: "What are you downloading?"
Son: "Music."
Me:"Exactly."
Son:"Fine, I'll just download somewhere else."
Yes. Yes, you will. I'm not risking the wrath of the RIAA, not to mention my job just because you want music for free. Dad asked what bittorrent was about, and I told him in more detail how it works.
Dad keeps coming in, but I haven't seen his son back...wonder why...
You learn something new everyday...
Last weekend I had 2 of my daughters with me at the center. My girls are playing, I'm getting some classwork done. 2 teen girls come in, I greet them. One has been in before, so they go to a computer and start. I return to my work.
Now, the setup in the center is so that I, and everyone else, can see what's on every computer. It's done so I can tell if anything is going on that shouldn't.
So, I'm working for awhile, and I hear some commotion. I turn around, and learn one thing I didn't know before - that there are autopsy videos on YouTube. As I look at the teens' computer screen, I'm wondering 'Why is there a naked person on a table, and what is that person standing over going to do...OH MY GOD!!!'
I get noticed by one of the teens, and she says "oh, I'm studying to be a mortician." Automatically, I'm thinking that morticians don't slice a corpse that much, but I don't know what that job entails exactly, so I just mention that if anyone comes in and complains, I have to shut them down.
Come on, though - I have my daughters in there, and another person, who thankfully didn't object. There's some things that shouldn't be shown in a public place, and that would be one of them.
That's not how it works...
Last one, pretty short, happened yesterday.
All the computers are being used - I even had the computer I use being used by a patron. I'm downloading a program for one of my classes on my laptop, and notice that it's being kinda slow. There are a couple of guys who bring their kids in and use the computers. One asks me, "What computer is the closest to the modem?"
Me: "Shouldn't matter - they all have equal access to the Internet."
Guy: "That's not what my tech told me."
OK...
Me: "Doesn't work that way. The Internet comes in from the modem to a router, then to a switch that distributes access equally to all the computers."
He then mentions that it's slow on his computer, and I see why - his son is downloading a large game file - his download, and all the other computers being in use, is impacting the bandwidth. I let him know about this, and he seems to accept that.
And now, to finish up on my papers for Monday...
I work 2 jobs - one as a tutor for a community college, and the one that this post is going to be on, an administrator for a community center. The center provides 10 computers with applications and high-speed Internet access for people in the town and surrounding area to use free of charge. The building also hosts a wireless access point, so people can come in with their laptops to work/surf with.
Attendance at the center had been slow at the start, but has ramped up considerably. I really like this job, and almost all of the users have been great, except for...
No P2P for you!
This happened about a month ago. Center is busy, someone I know from my previous tech job and his son comes in. I get his son set on the wireless with his laptop, and me and his dad get to talking.
Glancing around, I'm noticing some activity on the son's laptop - he keeps flashing from screen to screen, like he's trying to hide something...and then for an instant I see BitComet.
For those who don't know, BitComet is one of several bittorrent clients. Bittorrent is a form of peer-to-peer sharing, which is not allowed in the center and is in the Acceptable Use policy that every user agrees to before being allowed access.
I tell him immediately that he has to shut it down. The following conversation ensues:
Son: "I don't see what's wrong - it's a legitimate program."
Me: "What are you downloading?"
Son: "Music."
Me:"Exactly."
Son:"Fine, I'll just download somewhere else."
Yes. Yes, you will. I'm not risking the wrath of the RIAA, not to mention my job just because you want music for free. Dad asked what bittorrent was about, and I told him in more detail how it works.
Dad keeps coming in, but I haven't seen his son back...wonder why...
You learn something new everyday...
Last weekend I had 2 of my daughters with me at the center. My girls are playing, I'm getting some classwork done. 2 teen girls come in, I greet them. One has been in before, so they go to a computer and start. I return to my work.
Now, the setup in the center is so that I, and everyone else, can see what's on every computer. It's done so I can tell if anything is going on that shouldn't.
So, I'm working for awhile, and I hear some commotion. I turn around, and learn one thing I didn't know before - that there are autopsy videos on YouTube. As I look at the teens' computer screen, I'm wondering 'Why is there a naked person on a table, and what is that person standing over going to do...OH MY GOD!!!'
I get noticed by one of the teens, and she says "oh, I'm studying to be a mortician." Automatically, I'm thinking that morticians don't slice a corpse that much, but I don't know what that job entails exactly, so I just mention that if anyone comes in and complains, I have to shut them down.
Come on, though - I have my daughters in there, and another person, who thankfully didn't object. There's some things that shouldn't be shown in a public place, and that would be one of them.
That's not how it works...
Last one, pretty short, happened yesterday.
All the computers are being used - I even had the computer I use being used by a patron. I'm downloading a program for one of my classes on my laptop, and notice that it's being kinda slow. There are a couple of guys who bring their kids in and use the computers. One asks me, "What computer is the closest to the modem?"
Me: "Shouldn't matter - they all have equal access to the Internet."
Guy: "That's not what my tech told me."
OK...Me: "Doesn't work that way. The Internet comes in from the modem to a router, then to a switch that distributes access equally to all the computers."
He then mentions that it's slow on his computer, and I see why - his son is downloading a large game file - his download, and all the other computers being in use, is impacting the bandwidth. I let him know about this, and he seems to accept that.
And now, to finish up on my papers for Monday...
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