Ban Bebo In College

The Agogo

i don't know about you, but i personally am sick of coming in to college to print of an essay that'd be due in a matter of minutes and being stuck waiting for some arsewipe to finish looking at himself on the internet.

Twice this has happened to me where i have been deduced grades in an essay over a matter of a couple of minutes.

Can looking up bebo not wait till you get home? Is it as important as a student's grades?

Anyone for or against?

Paul Tergat

personally don't use it myself but have no problem with other people using it.

It shouldn't be banned as its a good way for people to socialise/interact with each other.

in fairness if you leave an essay until minutes before thats really your own fault (i know i've done it before too). and i would be sure if you asked the person on bebo to quickly let you print out your essay they would let ya.

Chinafoot

Totally agree with the OP. The PC's in the library and labs shouldn't be used for bebo/facebook/myspace. When I was in UCD it was the same thing. Queue of 5 or 6 people waiting to do work while almost half of the people currently using the PCs are on these social networking sites.

I think there was a brief period where they attempted to block it in the library. I remember seeing one of those comment pages where someone had actually argued that "bebo contained important coursework I need to access."

The computers provided, as far as I'm concerned, should be there to aid your studies, not help your social life.

edit:

p_larkin99 wrote:

personally don't use it myself but have no problem with other people using it.

It shouldn't be banned as its a good way for people to socialise/interact with each other.

The computers are there to enable you to research and type essays and assignments. There's plenty of social clubs and societies in the college to allow people to interact.

p_larkin99 wrote:

in fairness if you leave an essay until minutes before thats really your own fault (i know i've done it before too).

I'd accept that if the OP had complained that the computers were all being used by people doing work. You shouldn't have to consider that people will be hogging the PCs to talk to their mates about how hammered they were the previous weekend.

During second year my computer was in the hospital and I needed to type my essays on the PCs in college. Often I would be typing it on the day it had to be handed in as I had just completed the essay the day before. Now, perhaps you'll say it's my fault for leaving it so late but you'll be hard pushed to find people with essay-heavy subjects that have their assignments done a week in advance. People shouldn't have to stand there looking at these people sending messages to people, who lets face it, they most likely see every day.

p_larkin99 wrote:

and i would be sure if you asked the person on bebo to quickly let you print out your essay they would let ya.

That completely depends on the person and I have seen people being told to fúck off for even attempting to point out that people are waiting to do work while others are looking of pictures of their mates on bebo. Besides, if people will willingly sit there on bebo while there's a queue of people waiting to do work (as evidenced by the stressed heads and bundles of notes) they're not going to be too happy to move, are they?

College computers should be used for college purposes. Chatting to your mates shouldn't be one of them.

I-like-eggs,mmm

Yep, it can be very annoying trying to find an available computer to print off an assignment!!

Why don't you just explain your situation to whoever is using the computer for bebo?? If someone approached me in college to use the computer to print off an assignment and I wasn't doing anything important... I'd have no problem letting whoever it was use it.

Be brave, I dare ya!

AckwelFoley

I kinda agree in the bebo thing, but perhaps you could try and get your projects done a little earlier so you dont havethe panic of the last min printoffs

Tom65

I'd definitely ban it in the standing up computers. I've seen people spend 15+ minutes on those just on Bebo, usually while I'm waiting to print off an essay or check my schedule. In the computer areas like the Daedalus I'd be less certain. I have checked facebook in those, but only if there's enough computers to spare for someone who actually needs one. Otherwise I'll leave it.

x keo21

snyper wrote: »

I kinda agree in the bebo thing, but perhaps you could try and get your projects done a little earlier so you dont havethe panic of the last min printoffs

agreed, waiting until the last minute to finish an essay is just waiting for trouble i personally have no sympathy for you in this.

To lose grades because of beboers first time, shame on them
To lose grades the second time, shame on YOU

elgriff

the best solution would simply to have a section where it is banned, or one or two computers per set

Chinafoot

x keo21 wrote: »

agreed, waiting until the last minute to finish an essay is just waiting for trouble i personally have no sympathy for you in this.

To lose grades because of beboers first time, shame on them
To lose grades the second time, shame on YOU

Right so no consideration taken for perhaps the OP not having a printer at home, the OP having some personal/family problems that prevented him getting in before that time?

The bebo brigade can ignore the real issue being addressed by the OP and just jump on the fact that he said it was a last minute print out. The fact is, the use of social networking sites on college computers takes time away from students needing those computers for college work. If these sites were blocked then the OP would have no complaint should he be late with is essays. As it stands now, he does.

The Agogo

The argument here is that apparently priority should be given to Bebo users. If i have five, ten or fifteen minutes before the deadline, it is still legitimate time that people with essays due should not have to defend.

On the point of "getting it done earlier" - this is obviously written by someone who has never dealt with up to three essays per week on top of the required reading.

Essays (on my behalf) are done accordingly. That is, they give the titles on a monday and set the deadline exactly a week later. With the essays alone it is manageable, but with other things such as a part-time job, college social activities and sports i would argue that i am cutting it fine, only to be stopped by people who have too much time on their hands.

AckwelFoley

The Agogo wrote: »

On the point of "getting it done earlier" - this is obviously written by someone who has never dealt with up to three essays per week on top of the required reading.

.

Touche

Red Alert

Trouble is if you start banning specific sites then who gets to decide which sites? Do you really think that gang who run computing services wouldn't abuse their new power?

The Agogo

you're right. All i can do is piss and moan about it. It'll definitely never happen on campus, but i do know that they have something done with porn sites. Same application?

AckwelFoley

But then they could ban... boards.ie! :eek:

Stepherunie

There is nothing done with most sites in UCD.

Due to the medical courses typical filters can't be used to block sites, thus ucd access is rather free.

To be honest there are so many ways to get pcs now, I mean there's the hire a laptop for a day, the stand up and surf, and the labs, yes you may not be able to get a pc in your ideal location but if you know you have an essay due why not borrow a laptop for a day and use the wirelss printing? I mean that would sort your problem.

I agree that the bebo thing is annoying though, though it must be said it does seem to have improved compared to other years.

Informing people of the code and asking them to leave is an option - yes you'll sound like a dick doing it but if you need to print then so be it.

rotten_eggz

You shouldn't be able to dictate what websites people can or cannot surf. You can put forward just a good argument to have boards.ie banned or any other forum websites can't that be seen as just as much as a waste of time? In fairness if you went printing essays minutes before they were its your own damn fault and the fact you left it happen twice is just silly. You have to realize that people don't just use the computers or academic work. It's not that black and white. Maybe the students should take a vote on it on Tues & Wed seeing as we're paying for it?:D

princess-sprkle

well in all fairness, to leave an essay to the literal last minute is your own fault, i wouldn't go blaming beboers there! and yes, i've had like 4 essays some weeks so i know its hard. Get up a bit earlier?

anyway, back on topic.Bebo shouldn't be banned, because then you'd have to ban myspace, facebook, other social networking sites. Where do you draw the line at banning websites? Boards.ie :O pfft.

Theresalwaysone

get up earlier.

Chinafoot

I'd be for banning all social networking sites tbh. Bebo was probably just mentioned in the original post as it appears to be the most popular one.

College PCs for college work imo.

Mr. Presentable

princess-sprkle wrote: »

anyway, back on topic.Bebo shouldn't be banned, because then you'd have to ban myspace, facebook, other social networking sites. Where do you draw the line at banning websites? Boards.ie :O pfft.

For what it's worth, college is about education, not browsing your social life. In fact, if you're on bebo etc that much you probably don't have a social life and should get out more. And, yes, boards.ie included.

Colleges should build a db of acceptable browsing and lock out anything else. Let the users apply for access to unlisted resources and when they are accepted add to the db.

Tayto2000

We had the Bebo debate a few years ago, the VP for students (Mary Clayton) at the time said the college don't want to go down the route of censoring websites and IT services definitely don't want the extra hassle. Banning Bebo ain't gonna happen folks.

Like Steph said, the existing rules are that PCs are for academic use, if it's urgent, suck it up and tell them to move. If they tell you to f*ck off, go to the nearest IT desk and get them removed.

stolenwine

Oh noeS notZ 2 banz da bEboZ me needZ it 4 importante CoURZ wRK LOLZ K BAI XxX

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Banning anything is ridiculous. Freedom people. Everyone should have the freedom to do what they want. Think about the poor student on campus, who can't afford a laptop and are too broke to go out every single night to socialize. Do they not have a right to network online?
I've never had a problem getting a computer when I needed to print off an essay at the last minute - you're just looking in the wrong place. At least half the students in UCD have laptops now (including myself) and don't use the college computers at all. Moaning about it on boards, is the least productive way of getting anything done anyway.

Stepherunie

hmm yes because IT services never look at boards.ie......

We were talking for ages about stand up and surf spaces and we got them, now I'm not saying that it was because of boards but still, ideas come about here.

Where is your statistic about the numbers of students with laptops from??

I wouldn't say it's that high.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

66% of statistics are made up. Never trust statistics, just throw out some new ones. I never said they don't look at boards, it just seems like a pointless place to moan about. Go talk to IT services or start a petition or a campaign - something more likely to work.

Stepherunie

IT services will just tell you that the policy is that PC are for academic use and tell you to ask them to give up the pc.

And a petition?? seriously??? I would see some laughing at you for that one.

Bartronilic

I go to Trinity but it REALLY annoys me even though i do it sometimes (but only on stand up computers where microsoft office cant be used)

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Stepherunie wrote: »

And a petition?? seriously??? I would see some laughing at you for that one.

Well if that's the reaction you expect to get from a petition, then it's the same reaction you'll get here... A petition could work. I'm sure there's about 4,000 students who'd sign it.

x keo21

Chinafoot wrote: »

Right so no consideration taken for perhaps the OP not having a printer at home, the OP having some personal/family problems that prevented him getting in before that time?

Actually in the case of my post I said shame on beboers for the first time, but as this happened twice it is shame on him,
if there was a family problem etc, why didn't op get an extenuating circumstances form as an acceptable excuse , he didn't, so i presume this didn't happen.
so your argument doesn't stand, Good luck with that

Edit
lets take it further,
If the op had a personal problem.... etc blame that for handing in late, not some arbitrary statement like ban Bebo. For God sake. Your criticism of my post is wearing thin!!!!!!!!!

boardian

it can be annoying when theres a que for computers and you look around and most of the screens have a bebo page open but i wouldnt go as far as to ban it

MuddyDog

banning bebo will never happen. the extra hassle for IT services won't be worth it plus there's many many simple ways to get around the block but doing so would put more of a strain on bandwidth and so once word of mouth catches on about the way around it it'll slow up the ucd network.