September, 1989 Frank Young Chairman, Department of Computer Science Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology young@rosevc.rose-hulman.edu ROSE-HULMAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE POLICY ON COMPUTER AND SOFTWARE USE The Department of Computer Science is very concerned about the proper care and use of computer equipment and computer software. The computers and software that are available in the departmentUs laboratory are vital to the educational program of the department. All students benefit from the proper care and use of this equipment. To ensure that there are no misunderstandings we are providing the following description of the departmentUs policies regarding its laboratory equipment. EQUIPMENT: Computer equipment is expensive and the money available for its replacement is severely limited. All persons using Department of Computer Science equipment are expected to take proper care of that equipment. Any malfunction should be reported to the department office immediately and a notice of the malfunction placed on the appropriate equipment. Do not attempt to repair or modify equipment. Please read instructions posted near machines and consult manuals as necessary. Please leave equipment and manuals in the same condition and location they were in originally. Theft of equipment will not be tolerated. We cannot allow people to borrow equipment, software, or manuals. SOFTWARE: Software purchased by the department may be used only on department machines. Unauthorized use of department software is software piracy, otherwise known as theft, and will be dealt with as such. Computer science students are expected to be especially diligent concerning software piracy because they know that quality software is valuable and that software developers should be appropriately rewarded. Software use that is not permitted by the software license will not be tolerated. DATA FILES: Files available for public use should not be deleted without authorization. Files which are not available for public use (e.g., because they are in an individualUs private account) are to be treated as private property. Attempts to delete or alter personal files will not be tolerated. This includes attempts to acquire passwords, the creation of Trojan Horses, etc. Unless you have been authorized to do so, do not leave your personal programs and documents on department computer hard disks. This is an inappropriate use of the resource and you run the very real risk of losing your work. PRANKS, JOKES, ETC.: Programs that erase directories, programs that perform strange and dangerous things, programs that are made available to the public with misleading names, programs that freeze terminals, and programs that lock up the machine for a specified period of time are unacceptable. It should not require too much analysis to figure out what kinds of programs fall into this category. It should be obvious that the members of the department fail to find anything humorous in such programs. We suggest that before you become too enthralled with the supposed humor of your latest fun idea you first think about the reaction you would have as the victim. HOUSEKEEPING AND SECURITY: It should not be necessary to mention everyones obligation to return manuals to their proper location, to keep the work environment neat, to keep food and drink away from expensive equipment, and to respect the rights and needs of others who work in the department area. Students must have written authorization to use the departmentUs facility after normal working hours. The departmentUs laboratory is provided so that computer science students can do necessary course and project work. Please clean up and lock up when you leave. SMOKING: Tobacco smoke has great potential for damaging computers and computer users. The residual smell of burned tobacco is not the most pleasant perfume known to humanity. The Department of Computer Science is a smoke-free work environment. Please do not light any fires in the departmentUs facilities. OTHER COMPUTERS: The department cannot dictate policies regarding use of other computer equipment. However, you should be aware of the policies that are in effect whenever you use any computer equipment that is not your own. If there are no written policies we encourage you to use our policies as a guide. Computer technology is changing very rapidly and our ethical and legal standards have lagged behind. It is the responsibility of all computer professionals to demonstrate by their actions that free and open use of computing resources is not only desirable but possible.