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Video gamers on school computers slow down networks

Published: Friday, January 29, 2010

Updated: Friday, January 29, 2010 16:01

School is said to be a place for education. When you go to Green River, you go to learn. One of the many learning tools available to students are the public computers in the Holman Library. Not everybody uses these tools for learning though. Many people choose to play video games during the primary education hours of 9-3. As IT administrators attempt to prevent this from happening, clever students are finding ways around getting their school accounts blocked.

School computers are intended to be a resource to students who are trying to do homework or do research. However, most students prefer to check their Facebook pages or watch videos on Hulu. When a student wants to do homework and can't find an available computer, the purpose of library computers is now rendered moot. In order to avoid this occurrence, a white board stating that computers are exclusively used for homework from 9-2 during Fall quarter 2009 was posted.

Websites like Facebook have great appeal to students due to their addictive flexibility. Users can spend a mere five minutes to check if they have any new friend requests, or spend hours working on their farm in Zynga's game "FarmVille". Students have also found ways to install games like Activision Blizzard's "Warcraft III" and play the mod "Defense of the Ancients;" a game that is very taxing on a server's bandwidth; slowing the internet speed on every computer in the library. Due to this high demand on Green River's bandwidth, IT administrators are trying to block student accounts from using the provided computers. This renders the library computers useless.

If gaming and Facebook are high priority items for students looking to kill hours between class and heading to their house or work, the option is available to some to bring their own computers. Bringing a laptop to school is a popular alternative to those looking to use the school's internet for more personal matters. The other benefit is the ability to bring your computer to class with you. Wifi is available in most buildings on campus.

In conclusion, school computers are intended to be used for school purposes. Noticeably violating this privilege may end with a loss of your student account all together. Bring your own laptop to school to avoid this altogether, or simply don't play Warcraft III during school hours. This reporter would prefer to play video games on his home computer anyway, the chair is much more comfortable and munchies are right on hand.

 

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3 comments

Scott B.
Sun May 2 2010 05:55
How about instead of complaining about it, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! We have librarians and Campus Security for a reason. Everyday I walk in the library and someone is messin around playing WoW or Runescape. I'm not even paying attention to the screens, this is just walking through the 'library'. Start cracking down on it, any maybe, just maybe, people will stop.
Anonymous
Tue Mar 2 2010 08:45
It's slow even when no one is "gaming", the schools internet bandwidth should be increased.
Anonymous
Tue Feb 23 2010 18:28
What isn't realized here is that people using their own computers to game on the school's network would actually slow traffic down further.

Not only do you have school computers then, but ALSO computers that are further being used for personal entertainment. Bandwidth is a pipe with a constant pressure, and more faucets just lower the pressure available.







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