My University has blocked online gaming

[Stall]

Maybe it's different with smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, but at major research universities (like the one I'm attending) the school is its own ISP; it doesn't get internet through a third party (or rather, it gets it through the same third party as any other ISP; whatever branch of government is in charge of that country's connection to the internet backbone.) So if his school is set up like that, the ISP actually is the one banning online games.

Okay. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here, and say that the university is the ISP. That doesn't change anything though. You aren't directly accessing the internet through the ISP in this case. You are accessing it through the university's network and varying infrastructures, meaning that they are still allowed to oppose whatever rules on internet usage they please.

This isn't the same thing as an ISP restricting someone's home access. It's totally different, since in this case the user is directly getting their internet from the ISP, and are not going through someone else's network like it is when you go to a university. You are basically implying that places of employment have no right to regulate their employees' internet usage, since you are confounding the internet provider with the owners of the network the internet is being accessed on. The fact that the university might be the ISP is nonetheless irrelevant since they also own the network in this case. Their network... their rules.

The grounds that this is, in any way, some kind of violation of "consumer's rights" is just absolutely ridiculous, as I said.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I saw this in a thread on Reddit about this particular issue. It might be worth a shot, assuming actually talking to your school doesn't work. Is it definitely a school policy that they block the ports needed for gaming? Because it could be something as simple as the school blocking all ports that aren't used for basic web browsing as a security measure. If that's the case, the IT department may be willing to open the ports you need to actually get online.

 

[Ghostkai]

In the long run, you'll thank them.

I had a friend at Uni who, looking back on it, probably wished they did that. He dropped out mid-second year, he was always either playing WoW or EVE or COD4. Never came out either...

You look on it badly now, but if anything it'll boost your social life and your eventual grade.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Maybe it's different with smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, but at major research universities (like the one I'm attending) the school is its own ISP; it doesn't get internet through a third party (or rather, it gets it through the same third party as any other ISP; whatever branch of government is in charge of that country's connection to the internet backbone.) So if his school is set up like that, the ISP actually is the one banning online games.

Okay. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here, and say that the university is the ISP. That doesn't change anything though. You aren't directly accessing the internet through the ISP in this case. You are accessing it through the university's network and varying infrastructures, meaning that they are still allowed to oppose whatever rules on internet usage they please.

This isn't the same thing as an ISP restricting someone's home access. It's totally different, since in this case the user is directly getting their internet from the ISP, and are not going through someone else's network like it is when you go to a university. You are basically implying that places of employment have no right to regulate their employees' internet usage, since you are confounding the internet provider with the owners of the network the internet is being accessed on. The fact that the university might be the ISP is nonetheless irrelevant since they also own the network in this case. Their network... their rules.

The grounds that this is, in any way, some kind of violation of "consumer's rights" is just absolutely ridiculous, as I said.

Excuse me, but do employers charge their employees for the privilege of using their network? Universities charge students for network access, it's usually called something like a "tech fee" or a "net access fee" in your tuition and fees statement. Face it, any university that blocks traffic is ripping their students off.

 

[Stall]

Excuse me, but do employers charge their employees for the privilege of using their network? Universities charge students for network access, it's usually called something like a "tech fee" or a "net access fee" in your tuition and fees statement. Face it, any university that blocks traffic is ripping their students off.

No. Until you can prove that the owner of a network is not entitled to regulate and dictate its usage, then anything you say is null and void. It's the simple and cold fact that it's their network, thus their rules. You have not shown otherwise.

You are absolutely in denial here. This is not a violation of consumer rights in the slightest, whatever the term means.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Excuse me, but do employers charge their employees for the privilege of using their network? Universities charge students for network access, it's usually called something like a "tech fee" or a "net access fee" in your tuition and fees statement. Face it, any university that blocks traffic is ripping their students off.

No. Until you can prove that the owner of a network is not entitled to regulate and dictate its usage, then anything you say is null and void. It's the simple and cold fact that it's their network, thus their rules. You have not shown otherwise.

You are absolutely in denial here. This is not a violation of consumer rights in the slightest, whatever the term means.

Legal rights or not, any university that does this deserves some seriously bad press. If I were the OP, and my school refused to take care of this, I'd do everything I possibly could to get the word out: "don't go here if you game online." There are plenty of schools out there that don't have ridiculous restrictions like this; I'm using the internet access of such a school as we write. If you'll pardon my french, fuck any live-in university that tries to pull this crap.

 

[Safaia]

My university let you download a set out amount gigs and use a set amount of band with in a day. Seemed like a decent system

 

[Delsana]

Apparently Team Fortress and League of Legends, both being pretty average games in themselves, are what passes for top games that a "gaming club" plays? Exactly what type of "gaming club" only meets to play videogames? No funding would go to such a club from a university or college because it is just recreational with no purpose. You would need a bit more to actually call yourself a club even if you have the "title" without the benefits.

In any case, clubs are about networking and supporting the university in some means as well as educating in some manner. A gaming club should be there to introduce to people a diverse amount of games that they wouldn't otherwise have played (or might have) and then get people together that can play games together on off-hours or at OCCASIONAL meetings (else you're just getting together to be lazy on school grounds) while focusing on the aspect and creativity of such games.

In short, game clubs aren't just about playing games, especially "the most popular" games, which in this case are ironically free... heh. Popularity has never meant quality... thankfully.

---

This WHOLE THING is useless.

If we are going to argue it then you need to argue it to the university, bickering on this thread about it will DO NOTHING.

That said, gaming doesn't take that much, but people also DOWNLOAD things in games, or they DOWNLOAD games, or they just goof off. It's also probably true that they limit video usage.

 

[cookyy2k]

Excuse me, but do employers charge their employees for the privilege of using their network? Universities charge students for network access, it's usually called something like a "tech fee" or a "net access fee" in your tuition and fees statement. Face it, any university that blocks traffic is ripping their students off.

No. Until you can prove that the owner of a network is not entitled to regulate and dictate its usage, then anything you say is null and void. It's the simple and cold fact that it's their network, thus their rules. You have not shown otherwise.

You are absolutely in denial here. This is not a violation of consumer rights in the slightest, whatever the term means.

Legal rights or not, any university that does this deserves some seriously bad press. If I were the OP, and my school refused to take care of this, I'd do everything I possibly could to get the word out: "don't go here if you game online." There are plenty of schools out there that don't have ridiculous restrictions like this; I'm using the internet access of such a school as we write. If you'll pardon my french, fuck any live-in university that tries to pull this crap.

Because you go to university based on your will to online game, nothing to do with that uni's rep or how good they are at your subject...

 

[Delsana]

I have just started university and am so far really enjoying. I currently live in a halls of residence so I'm restricted by the rules they set out and one rule is no online gaming, they monitor the internet and don't allow any online gaming devices to connect. This severly irritates me as I play WoW and have an Xbox and enjoy playing online.

They say they don't allow it because it slows the rest of the place down but I think that's a shit reason as they have industrial broadband which can handle a lot. I pay for a service external to them and am unsure whether this is a violation of my rights as a consumer for them to deny it. However if I am to live here then I need to follow the rules and can't really find anywhere else at the moment.

Do you think this is fair? and also can anyone offer advice on how to get around it, I am not especially skilled at the technical side of computing so any help would be appreciated

first look on campus for a gaming club(most colleges have them) speak with them about your problem and they should help you. If you dont have one organize a petition around the dorms with enough support you can get them to change policy.(speak with the colleges legal department on how to set this up they are there FOR YOU not the college) If that doesnt work go to a bored meeting and present your case and how you are dissatisfied with the way they have handled this and that your not alone. If you follow these steps and your bored of directors arnt complete jack asses they should change their policy.

It is called "BOARD" not BORED... ugh.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Apparently Team Fortress and League of Legends, both being pretty average games in themselves, are what passes for top games that a "gaming club" plays? Exactly what type of "gaming club" only meets to play videogames? No funding would go to such a club from a university or college because it is just recreational with no purpose. You would need a bit more to actually call yourself a club even if you have the "title" without the benefits.

In any case, clubs are about networking and supporting the university in some means as well as educating in some manner. A gaming club should be there to introduce to people a diverse amount of games that they wouldn't otherwise have played (or might have) and then get people together that can play games together on off-hours or at OCCASIONAL meetings (else you're just getting together to be lazy on school grounds) while focusing on the aspect and creativity of such games.

In short, game clubs aren't just about playing games, especially "the most popular" games, which in this case are ironically free... heh. Popularity has never meant quality... thankfully.

---

This WHOLE THING is useless.

If we are going to argue it then you need to argue it to the university, bickering on this thread about it will DO NOTHING.

That said, gaming doesn't take that much, but people also DOWNLOAD things in games, or they DOWNLOAD games, or they just goof off. It's also probably true that they limit video usage.

What kind of sucky school do you go to that only allows service organizations? I'm a member of the gaming club, the TCG club, and the guitar club -- all three of which are registered clubs. Believe it or not, the main purpose of a club on campus is to allow for social interaction. The school just put in a nice game room complete with TVs, power outlets, and network jacks. As for the choice of games, that's just what most people wind up playing, because everyone has it. You'll see everything from Left 4 Dead to Borderlands to WoW being played at any given time, and we actually do plan things for more structured events -- for example, we had a launch party for Gears 3 on Tuesday.

What you're describing sounds more like a fraternity than a club -- which, interestingly enough, we actually have a fraternity aimed at gamers on campus. You jelly?

Edit: We also have a nerf club and, no lie, a beer appreciation club. It sounds like you guys all go to schools that refuse to accept that students living on campus are going to want to participate in recreational activities.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Excuse me, but do employers charge their employees for the privilege of using their network? Universities charge students for network access, it's usually called something like a "tech fee" or a "net access fee" in your tuition and fees statement. Face it, any university that blocks traffic is ripping their students off.

No. Until you can prove that the owner of a network is not entitled to regulate and dictate its usage, then anything you say is null and void. It's the simple and cold fact that it's their network, thus their rules. You have not shown otherwise.

You are absolutely in denial here. This is not a violation of consumer rights in the slightest, whatever the term means.

Legal rights or not, any university that does this deserves some seriously bad press. If I were the OP, and my school refused to take care of this, I'd do everything I possibly could to get the word out: "don't go here if you game online." There are plenty of schools out there that don't have ridiculous restrictions like this; I'm using the internet access of such a school as we write. If you'll pardon my french, fuck any live-in university that tries to pull this crap.

Because you go to university based on your will to online game, nothing to do with that uni's rep or how good they are at your subject...

Or because there are plenty of damned good universities that don't pull this crap. I see no reason to go to a school that offers my program but refuses to allow me my leisure time when there are other schools that do both.

 

[RN7]

When it comes down to it, they own the place, and the wi-fi, so you're the mercy of their rules. That doesn't meant you're totally powerless. You could start a petition, or something of the sorts, statign why you feel that this rule is unjust and why you feel it should be removed.

OT: It's times like these where I am glad I commute to college.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I have just started university and am so far really enjoying. I currently live in a halls of residence so I'm restricted by the rules they set out and one rule is no online gaming, they monitor the internet and don't allow any online gaming devices to connect. This severly irritates me as I play WoW and have an Xbox and enjoy playing online.

They say they don't allow it because it slows the rest of the place down but I think that's a shit reason as they have industrial broadband which can handle a lot. I pay for a service external to them and am unsure whether this is a violation of my rights as a consumer for them to deny it. However if I am to live here then I need to follow the rules and can't really find anywhere else at the moment.

Do you think this is fair? and also can anyone offer advice on how to get around it, I am not especially skilled at the technical side of computing so any help would be appreciated

first look on campus for a gaming club(most colleges have them) speak with them about your problem and they should help you. If you dont have one organize a petition around the dorms with enough support you can get them to change policy.(speak with the colleges legal department on how to set this up they are there FOR YOU not the college) If that doesnt work go to a bored meeting and present your case and how you are dissatisfied with the way they have handled this and that your not alone. If you follow these steps and your bored of directors arnt complete jack asses they should change their policy.

It is called "BOARD" not BORED... ugh.

But the question is, was that an intentional typo? Board meetings tend to leave one bored.

 

[cookyy2k]

Excuse me, but do employers charge their employees for the privilege of using their network? Universities charge students for network access, it's usually called something like a "tech fee" or a "net access fee" in your tuition and fees statement. Face it, any university that blocks traffic is ripping their students off.

No. Until you can prove that the owner of a network is not entitled to regulate and dictate its usage, then anything you say is null and void. It's the simple and cold fact that it's their network, thus their rules. You have not shown otherwise.

You are absolutely in denial here. This is not a violation of consumer rights in the slightest, whatever the term means.

Legal rights or not, any university that does this deserves some seriously bad press. If I were the OP, and my school refused to take care of this, I'd do everything I possibly could to get the word out: "don't go here if you game online." There are plenty of schools out there that don't have ridiculous restrictions like this; I'm using the internet access of such a school as we write. If you'll pardon my french, fuck any live-in university that tries to pull this crap.

Because you go to university based on your will to online game, nothing to do with that uni's rep or how good they are at your subject...

Or because there are plenty of damned good universities that don't pull this crap. I see no reason to go to a school that offers my program but refuses to allow me my leisure time when there are other schools that do both.

Ok then, just remember if you don't get a job because you're up against someone who went to a better uni you wouldn't consider because of no gaming you can atleast be happy you had a few years of online gaming.

 

[BoogieManFL]

I'd challenge them to demonstrate that games use a lot of bandwidth. Because they don't and they will fail.

Go watch an even medium quality youtube video and you'll use more bandwidth in 3 minutes than you do in many games in an hour. Games simply need low, steady pings and no dropped packets. Unless you are hosting a big server, an hour of online gaming won't even use 100mb. Probably far less, especially for shooters and such. More complex games like MMOs will use more but still not that much more per hour. It's just a lot of rapid really tiny updates each second containing very little data.

One person downloading updated video drivers, or typical website browsing will consume the bandwidth that would take gaming several hours to even try to match.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Excuse me, but do employers charge their employees for the privilege of using their network? Universities charge students for network access, it's usually called something like a "tech fee" or a "net access fee" in your tuition and fees statement. Face it, any university that blocks traffic is ripping their students off.

No. Until you can prove that the owner of a network is not entitled to regulate and dictate its usage, then anything you say is null and void. It's the simple and cold fact that it's their network, thus their rules. You have not shown otherwise.

You are absolutely in denial here. This is not a violation of consumer rights in the slightest, whatever the term means.

Legal rights or not, any university that does this deserves some seriously bad press. If I were the OP, and my school refused to take care of this, I'd do everything I possibly could to get the word out: "don't go here if you game online." There are plenty of schools out there that don't have ridiculous restrictions like this; I'm using the internet access of such a school as we write. If you'll pardon my french, fuck any live-in university that tries to pull this crap.

Because you go to university based on your will to online game, nothing to do with that uni's rep or how good they are at your subject...

Or because there are plenty of damned good universities that don't pull this crap. I see no reason to go to a school that offers my program but refuses to allow me my leisure time when there are other schools that do both.

Ok then, just remember if you don't get a job because you're up against someone who went to a better uni you wouldn't consider because of no gaming you can atleast be happy you had a few years of online gaming.

You do realize that nobody cares where your diploma came from as long as the school was accredited, right? It's not like I'm going to Devry University or some other diploma mill.

 

[LJJ1991]

Play RPG's and some singleplayer games. Or get into board games at college, or go party like everyone with half a brain does.

That's funny because it seems when people go to parties, they tend to lose brains. It's simply a matter of whether you'd like your brain sucked out by WoW or sucked out by alcohol.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Play RPG's and some singleplayer games. Or get into board games at college, or go party like everyone with half a brain does.

That's funny because it seems when people go to parties, they tend to lose brains. It's simply a matter of whether you'd like your brain sucked out by WoW or sucked out by alcohol.

Well he did specify half a brain, not a whole one...

 

[Delsana]

Apparently Team Fortress and League of Legends, both being pretty average games in themselves, are what passes for top games that a "gaming club" plays? Exactly what type of "gaming club" only meets to play videogames? No funding would go to such a club from a university or college because it is just recreational with no purpose. You would need a bit more to actually call yourself a club even if you have the "title" without the benefits.

In any case, clubs are about networking and supporting the university in some means as well as educating in some manner. A gaming club should be there to introduce to people a diverse amount of games that they wouldn't otherwise have played (or might have) and then get people together that can play games together on off-hours or at OCCASIONAL meetings (else you're just getting together to be lazy on school grounds) while focusing on the aspect and creativity of such games.

In short, game clubs aren't just about playing games, especially "the most popular" games, which in this case are ironically free... heh. Popularity has never meant quality... thankfully.

---

This WHOLE THING is useless.

If we are going to argue it then you need to argue it to the university, bickering on this thread about it will DO NOTHING.

That said, gaming doesn't take that much, but people also DOWNLOAD things in games, or they DOWNLOAD games, or they just goof off. It's also probably true that they limit video usage.

What kind of sucky school do you go to that only allows service organizations? I'm a member of the gaming club, the TCG club, and the guitar club -- all three of which are registered clubs. Believe it or not, the main purpose of a club on campus is to allow for social interaction. The school just put in a nice game room complete with TVs, power outlets, and network jacks. As for the choice of games, that's just what most people wind up playing, because everyone has it. You'll see everything from Left 4 Dead to Borderlands to WoW being played at any given time, and we actually do plan things for more structured events -- for example, we had a launch party for Gears 3 on Tuesday.

What you're describing sounds more like a fraternity than a club -- which, interestingly enough, we actually have a fraternity aimed at gamers on campus. You jelly?

Any club that supplies funding to something that literally is just a way to distract people from classes and not actually learn anything (except be recreational) should not be a club or at the least should not receive funding, it is a waste to spend 5,000 + a year on such a club's funding requirements without any real positive value from it. Because we all know what gets people to have poor grades in college... slacking off like playing lots of games (not Halo all day) but LOTS OF GAMES or a game for TOO LONG without breaks and distractions and the social activity that comes OFF THE SCREEN.

It is a crappy university when they decide to blow away money that can be used in better ways.

It is not a "service" so much as it is the point of clubs in all universities, hell it is the point that college clubs were first created for, and they evolved from there.

Gears 3 is a POPULAR game, same as WoW, same as EVE same as all the other garbage crap. It is not "bad" it is not "quality" it is multiplayer-spam with idiots, or it is vulgar cursing with idiots or immature people and the propagation of such things while drinking "bawls", "monster", and eating pizza constantly. That is not a diverse playthrough. When your club shows the merits of an RPG, introduces people into RTS's and the tactical and analytical skills that can be gained from intelligent usage of it, and focuses on diversity rather than obsession and yes, addiction (yeah it exists, sue me)... then you are a club that deserves FUNDING. Also, clubs have to go on trips, it's a part of club social networking. So go to the GDC or some sort of thing with your club as an entirety.

Don't get me wrong though, I play those games, I just don't obsess over them, and if I like a game I make sure I don't take that "like" into "obsession" or "thing I have to do around others or with others because I am bored and have no life otherwise".

A guitar club for instance should be learning about the guitar, teaching the lessons, and doing that... not just playing music all day and the same song constantly because it's the newest rock album-hit.

Some clubs get away with being a hybrid-club in some ways... like cigar clubs, wine clubs (with better names than those) and the like because well... they learn about the art and the sophistication and it teaches them life skills... school funding for those is different though.

Fraternity... 90% of them are just being rowdy, 5% of them are life-skill, networking, and brotherhood bonding, and the other 5% are secret rule-the-world ones.