USE OF CALCLAB COMPUTING FACILITIES

Notice

If any policy has provisions with which you do not agree, please notify the administrators describing your concerns/suggestions. Absent such notice, it is assumed you have reviewed, understood, and fully agree to conform to, all prevailing published policies governing the use of this system.

General

The computing facilities provided by the Texas A&M Department of Mathematics and are for the use of students enrolled in courses requiring a computing "lab". The purpose of these facilities is to support those Math courses that include a computing lab. The computers are not to be used for other course work nor for personal use or personal gain (profit). At the discretion of the Department, the facilities may be used to support workshops and grid computing, provided such use does not interfere with instructional activities. It is expected that all users will make use of these computing resources in a manner which is ethical, legal, and not contrary to the interests of others.

The basic guidelines are that any use of these facilities must be legal and not such as to interfere with the use of other authorized users, nor compromise the integrity or security of the system's data.

Policies

Failure to abide by the policies described below and in related documents may result in denial of access to computing facilities, disciplinary action, or criminal prosecution.

• You may only use those facilities which have been authorized for your use. If access is protected by a password, you are not to make this password available to others. You may not use any account set up for another user, nor may you attempt to find out the password of another user. Student accounts are active only during the semester. At the end of the semester, the accounts are closed and the files deleted. Workshop accounts are active for the duration of the workshop. We recommend using people.tamu.edu for a permanent storage space.
• You must be aware of the law of copyright as it affects computer software. Software must not be copied except with the express permission of the copyright owner (which may be expressed in the copyright notice contained within the software). Note that a formal copyright need not be in evidence in order for copyright protection to be in force.
• As owner of your files, you are responsible for setting the appropriate protections of those files. If you copy information from another user, it is expected that you inform the user of such a procedure.
• The system administrators are permitted to retrieve files from student accounts at the request of the student's instructor. This includes situations such as the failure of a student to turn in an assigment, quiz, or exam, or to check for indications of academic dishonesty.
• The system administrators reserve the right to monitor all users activities for the purpose of system security, preventing academic dishonesty, and enforcing the policies contained in this document.
• You may not attempt to interfere with the operation of computing facilities.
• You may not attempt to subvert the security of any of the computing facilities.
• You may not use these computing facilities to send messages which are obscene or otherwise harassing in their intent.
• No food, drink, or tobacco products are allowed at any time in the labs. This applies to everyone: students, TA's, and faculty.
• GAMES-PLAYING IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. This includes using any of the computing equipment to play local or remote games, as well as IRC or other remote "chat" programs. VIOLATORS WILL HAVE THEIR ACCOUNTS LOCKED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEMESTER.
• Because these computers are operated under the Texas A&M University System, all regulations and laws set forth by the University, the State of Texas, and the United States Government apply to the use of these facilities.
  TAMU Acceptable Use Policy - http://rules.tamu.edu/PDFs/29.01.03.M1.02.pdf
  TAMU Rules for Responsible Computing - http://rules.tamu.edu/PDFs/29.01.03.M2.pdf
  Texas Penal Code, TItle 7, Chapter 33, Computer Crimes - http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.33.htm
• You may disagree with one or more of these policies, publicly or privately, in accordance with your First Amendment rights, but you may not violate any of these policies for any reason or purpose.

These policies are online on all systems in the file /etc/policy.html.