[Liverpool] Software freedom (problems at the University)

[Vladimir]

You see, Tim, as the person who used to admin a network myself, I do
understand the
magic of the crate of beer. The problem here is that after I will get my
linux laptop
connected, the rest is not about me and the BOFH. It's about *policy*. That
policy they
seem use as a magic get-out wand. As soon as they are pointed to what is not
right
in their actions they shout *policy*! So I can't buy a crate of beer to the
policy, do I?
The problem is that there's no access to see what this policy is. Maybe Dave
could
enlighten me on this matter? And seeing the TOS would be nice too. As for
them -
I think that the TOS are simply non-existant. What I know for sure is that
refusing
to connect my Linux system on the basis that it is on the hardware they
don't like
or that it had an operating system of a wrong type in the past violates my
student rights,
as their wages are paid from my pocket.




2009/12/18 Tim Dobson <lists at tdobson.net>

> Dave Love wrote:
> > Vladimir <vladimir.jakubovskij at gmail.com> writes:
> >
> >> But I want to teach them a lesson.
> >> I need a laptop of any sort for a couple of days - to change the mac
> addr so it matches the
> >> hw addr of my macbook, to walk in there, register, close the lid of the
> Linux laptop,
> >> open the macbook, and say - Hello, you've been framed :D
> >
> > You might be more careful what you say in public, no matter how stupid
> > you think people in Computing Services and their rules are -- just a
> > suggestion.  Merely annoying your BOFH is rarely a good idea, let alone
> > posting something like that potentially in front of them, and I assure
> > you they don't need lessons on MAC addresses.  If nothing else, consider
> > that this sort of thing (archived) may not give a good impression of the
> > group, and doesn't help any effort to improve support for non-Windows
> > users in the university in case everyone is tarred with the same brush.
>
> +1
>
> From [painful and unpleasant] experience, it's generally a case of the
> Sun and the Wind[1] with Sysadmins, or anyone for that matter. Be
> aggressive in your manner, you'll not easily get a cooperative response,
> be understanding
>
> Teaching people lessons is often tempting but it often makes your
> primary objective - getting xyz done, less likely.
>
> The end user who gives them a crate of beer for all the help and
> assistance they've given him over the semester probably stands a much
> greater chance of establishing cooperation than someone who writes
> emails to them telling them they are wrong.
>
> Well, anyway, that's my opinion anyway.
>
> Tim
>
> [1] http://www.rickwalton.com/folktale/bryant21.htm
>
>
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