roderick (03/13/83)
I posted this article about two weeks ago, but a nearby cutvertex in the great net news graph was down and so (judging by the addresses of the responses I received) I don't think it got outside of a fairly small biconnected component containing the U of T sites. (Can you tell I aspire to be a graph theorist?) Anyway, my apologies to those of you who have seen this before. If you are far away (i.e. outside Ontario) and have seen this before, please chastise me via mail. This article appeared in a recent issue of a U of Toronto student newspaper called "The Varsity." It is entitled "Talk Dirty to Me." [Reprinted without permission.] WATERLOO (CUP) -- Students at Sir Wilfred Laurier University have to watch their language around the computers or they risk losing access. The computer department there has programmed several com- puters to ring a bell repeatedly if anyone enters swear words listed as prohibited. The computer then locks the student's file until that student explains to the dean why he or she swore at a computer. One student was cut off for using prohibited words while accessing the general account of the Faculty of Social Work. This also froze the files of 80 other people using that account. Dr. Bezner, the head of the computing centre, said every society has "taboo words," and ours has very few. But when someone crosses the threshold and uses these words, violence could ensue, Bezner said. Any comments? (Please respond via mail; I'll post a short summary of the responses.) Personally, I find this repulsive and horrifyingly stupid. I would be most interested to hear from anyone who feels they have a justification for this sort of thing. (So far, no one does.) In all seriousness, Rod Glover U of Toronto ..!utzoo!utcsrgv!roderick P.S. "Violence"??? Ye Gods! P.P.S. I am planning to send a compendium of the responses to the Dean at WLU responsible for this. If you have any specific desire regarding your response (e.g. MUST go in/must NOT go in, sign my name/DON'T sign my name, etc.) please say so and I will act accordingly.