Thanks, Colin Work, you wre very quick of the mark with your reply!
You said
>As someone who deals with exactly this sort of problem in a UK
>University, I can assure Roy that were a member of the community to
>complain to "postmaster" about email use by one of our members, we would
>respond very rapidly, and depending on the offense, appropriate
>disciplinary action would be taken - involving at least the loss of
>users account for a period of time..I'm all for supporting
>academic freedom as long as it goes hand in hand with "academic
>responsibility".
I'd be interested to hear if anyone has any examples where a user's email
account been suspended for this kind of thing and what happened next,
especially where use of the email accunt was essential to the course of
study. Do warming notices might need to be exhibited or forms signed to
permit it? Some people might well say that academic freedom was
synonymous with academic responsibility - it surely depends on whether
there is a common definition of both these terms. Some of the greatest
figures of our time would hardly have been in line with others in their
community.
>
>The problem with services like geocities, hotmail and others is that
>they are often unwilling to take action when their users cause problems
...
>if they don't they will lose members.
I quite agree that they are unwilling to take action BUT no one actually
knows (or do they?) why people join certain information providers. I
imagine that there are very few members of the mailbase lists who belong
to Geocities. The innovcent are being published for the sake of the very
few guilty over whom they have no power. Isn't this exactly what students
say about our libraries? "They" refused to get me a copy of so-and-so
book on ILL because the library copy had been mutilated...why pick on
me...I didn't do it! (and someone said this to me only yesterday in the
village!!!). Should the innocent be punished with the guilty?
Roy Killey,
formerly Academic Liaison Librarian (Design and Communication Systems),
Anglia Polytechnic University, Chelmsford
28 Howe Lane,
Nafferton,
DRIFFIELD,
East Yorkshire,
YO25 4JU
Phone 01377 254718
Email [log in to unmask]
"Information is power, but people matter more than things"
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