by Amber Lee
During orientation we are bombarded with much advice and many warnings about how to succeed in college and stay out of trouble. One caveat that I’m sure all colleges have given regards file sharing.
All college students have at least heard about illegal file sharing and participate in it at some point while they are in college. However, new research is showing that many students may be doing so unknowingly. For example, the entire campus at Georgia Tech is wireless. When I first connected to the network I soon found that many students’ music libraries showed up when I started iTunes. There is a way to make your computer undiscoverable even though you are a part of a network, which I promptly did, but not everyone may know how to do this.
It is also somewhat unclear as to what is and is not okay to share online. For example, one student was threatened with expulsion for posting the answers to past assignments online. This caused his greatly professor to be complain and attempt to get the student expelled. Although ultimately the student’s actions weren’t against the rules and no action was taken against him, the professor’s anger is understandable. Many professors recycle their assignments if a student posts the answers online they run the risk of future students finding the answers and cheating.
But the most notorious form of file sharing is the illegal sharing of songs. The music industry has been combating the piracy of songs for about ten years now and one of their biggest targets has been college students. But it is impossible for the RIAA to track down a specific student on a college’s network they have been using the help of the colleges themselves to prevent file sharing and issue subpoenas if necessary. Suing various individuals has done little to slow down the pirating, which is why it is finally being acknowledged that another approach has to be taken.
Most agree that the best solution seems to be having a blanket licensing fee. Meaning paying one flat fee for “unlimited” downloads. They are running a trial program at a few colleges with some success. The only problem I have is that the company offering the music may not have the songs that I want. Even now I sometimes have to shop around for the music of an artist who isn’t in the mainstream.
Ultimately, I think multiple actions have to be taken. Young people feel they are invincible, but their actions are rarely done anonymously. They need to be educated as to what exactly is wrong and illegal to do. And finally, the music industry needs to be proactive in developing an easier way to download music that is also legal.
During orientation we are bombarded with much advice and many warnings about how to succeed in college and stay out of trouble. One caveat that I’m sure all colleges have given regards file sharing.
All college students have at least heard about illegal file sharing and participate in it at some point while they are in college. However, new research is showing that many students may be doing so unknowingly. For example, the entire campus at Georgia Tech is wireless. When I first connected to the network I soon found that many students’ music libraries showed up when I started iTunes. There is a way to make your computer undiscoverable even though you are a part of a network, which I promptly did, but not everyone may know how to do this.
It is also somewhat unclear as to what is and is not okay to share online. For example, one student was threatened with expulsion for posting the answers to past assignments online. This caused his greatly professor to be complain and attempt to get the student expelled. Although ultimately the student’s actions weren’t against the rules and no action was taken against him, the professor’s anger is understandable. Many professors recycle their assignments if a student posts the answers online they run the risk of future students finding the answers and cheating.
But the most notorious form of file sharing is the illegal sharing of songs. The music industry has been combating the piracy of songs for about ten years now and one of their biggest targets has been college students. But it is impossible for the RIAA to track down a specific student on a college’s network they have been using the help of the colleges themselves to prevent file sharing and issue subpoenas if necessary. Suing various individuals has done little to slow down the pirating, which is why it is finally being acknowledged that another approach has to be taken.
Most agree that the best solution seems to be having a blanket licensing fee. Meaning paying one flat fee for “unlimited” downloads. They are running a trial program at a few colleges with some success. The only problem I have is that the company offering the music may not have the songs that I want. Even now I sometimes have to shop around for the music of an artist who isn’t in the mainstream.
Ultimately, I think multiple actions have to be taken. Young people feel they are invincible, but their actions are rarely done anonymously. They need to be educated as to what exactly is wrong and illegal to do. And finally, the music industry needs to be proactive in developing an easier way to download music that is also legal.
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