My University has blocked online gaming

[shroomie]

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

 

[Delsana]

Probably because people torrented a lot at some point.

It's not a matter of fair, if that's the rule then that the rule as they own the place, not you.

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

 

[Jerubbaal]

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

I don't think it's fair, but I'm pretty sure it's something you're going to just have to deal with. Bring up a complaint with the school's IT department, and show them the actual bandwidth usage of some particular games you like to play. Also, if the university doesn't also have a policy against torrents, ask them why they haven't forbidden those, seeing as they use up much more bandwidth and are usually for the purpose of illegal piracy.

 

[Rednog]

Your school's IT must be a bit daft, streaming TV/Movies (whether legit or not) takes up far more bandwidth than most games in the same period of time.
I mean come on, a majority of the student body is either on facebook, youtube, or the tv/movie thing, they aren't using the broadband for legit uses.
Most school related work online can be done on a 56k, I'm sure that 90+% of the broadband is being used for leisure and not schoolwork, so why single out games?

 

[ramboondiea]

there is alot of people who will need to use broadband whilst on campus, as a result they block alot of things that take up alot. lots of universities block online gaming, mine does and so do all the other uni's i know.
you would also have been made aware of this when agreeing to stay on campus, they explain that the use of the wi-fi comes with limitations, and to be honest, its a fairly obvious thing anyway

 

[Thaius]

That's awful. At my university one of the professors brought it up in a board meeting and most of the rest (including the entire English department) laughed at how horrible an idea that was. You're paying them to attend this place and paying them for your housing; there is absolutely no excuse for that whatsoever. Especially since you probably have however long on Xbox Live that will now be wasted because they will not let you access that; they are wasting your money, aside from the fact that, by denying you such a basic right when you're paying for that service, they are essentially giving you dissatisfactory service in the first place.

Bring it up. Talk to other students about it. Talk to professors about it, the dean, the president; let them know this is not okay and you're not the only one who thinks so. Because I'm sorry, but that's not okay.

Also bring up what many other people here have said; streaming movies and downloading torrents takes up far more bandwidth than online play.

 

[Furious Styles]

Good for them, that's not what its there for.

And people who say that torrenting uses more bandwidth are correct, but its not like they condone that either. In fact, at my uni they would take away your internet if you were caught torrenting movies. Of course it was very hard for them to trace, but if they had it would have been ugly.

And don't try to get around it, if you get caught they may well take away your internet altogether.

Its annoying, that's for sure, but I totally understand why its not only wise but necessary to block online gaming.

edit: and it is not a violation of any of your consumer rights, don't be ridiculous.

edit edit: also, how about you go out, meet people, have fun, get laid, you know, college stuff? Its probably a better way to spend your time than WoW

 

[Stall]

It's a common practice. Universities are as much businesses as they are places of learning. If you don't like how they treat you, then transfer. It's that simple.

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.

Ah, how meaningless the term "consumer's rights" has become because of people like this. People who use the term every waking second regardless of the connotation to describe something they "don't like".

How on earth is this a violation of your "rights as a consumer"? That's a preposterous accusation.

 

[burningdragoon]

It sucks, sure. It may even be for bad reasons. But it's not unfair. It's basically the same as if you had a dog, and moved to an apartment building that didn't allow pets. Yeah, you already have your dog, but it's not your place and they don't owe you the ability to keep your dog just because you already had it. You comply, move, or break the rules and suffer the consequences if you get caught. (I guess the option to petition for the rules to be changed is also an option)

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

That's some serious BS, man. If you're in Florida, consider transferring to USF. Not only is gaming not blocked, it's encouraged. I'm on the officer's council for the Videogame club, and I'd say about half of what we do total is LoL, with about 90% of PC gaming being online LoL and TF2. There's a lot of console gaming in there as well, but we tend to do splitscreen or system link with that, at least during meetings.

Also, as for why your school has it blocked -- I have no earthly idea. If the person who suggested that a lot of people were torrenting and they decided to crack down on gaming as well is right, their IT department is seriously bad at their job. P2P connections are ridiculously easy to spot, because they look different from any other kind of traffic. At my school, you get a P2P warning every time you try to download a patch in WoW or LoL, forget actually torrenting anything. It's easy enough to explain that you're doing things legally, though; you wind up with all of 3 minutes of downtime, unless they have proof that you were illegally downloading something.

Edit: And if you don't want to transfer, there is always the option of using a proxy. It might increase your ping, but it's better than not playing at all. Either that, or see if you can get your student government to lobby for your school to move into the 21st century. Unlike highschool, in college the student government actually has a fair bit of power.

 

[Robert Ewing]

That sort of internet usage is expensive. And like it or not, it's an expense that students will use. Excessively.

Besides, i'm sure there is ways around it. Not to mention you will be able to devote more time to studying.

 

[JakBandit2208]

My suggestion to you is to get a wireless hotspot from your wireless provider. I don't have cable or internet in my apartment yet but this hotspot I got from Sprint is awesome I can have up to 5 devices hooked up to it and it works like a charm.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

It's a common practice. Universities are as much businesses as they are places of learning. If you don't like how they treat you, then transfer. It's that simple.

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.

Ah, how meaningless the term "consumer's rights" has become because of people like this. People who use the term every waking second regardless of the connotation to describe something they "don't like".

How on earth is this a violation of your "rights as a consumer"? That's a preposterous accusation.

Actually, I'm not sure. If he's paying for internet service, there are things like net neutrality laws in place, and there may be an argument there about consumer rights. A campus with dorms where students actually pay for the internet access as part of their fees is very different from, say, a community college that nobody actually lives at.

 

[fix-the-spade]

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,

Congratulations, you're going to get a first!

Seriously, do something else than gaming while you're at Uni, spend it working or going out meeting people. You'll be bound to meet someone who's into LAN gaming.

 

[Philip Collin]

Actually, if you arent paying them for the internet, and are getting it from an external provider, they have no right to limit your internet usage (only the provider can do that). There isnt much you can do about it though short of taking them to court over it (assuming a nice little chat with the IT department doesnt work).

However how are they blocking it? If you are paying an external provider for the internet, it should be wired up directly from the phone lines, if the internet is coming through your university then it should be technically your university that you are paying for the internet (and therefore they can limit you however they please)

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Actually, if you arent paying them for the internet, and are getting it from an external provider, they have no right to limit your internet usage (only the provider can do that). There isnt much you can do about it though short of taking them to court over it (assuming a nice little chat with the IT department doesnt work).

However how are they blocking it? If you are paying an external provider for the internet, it should be wired up directly from the phone lines, if the internet is coming through your university then it should be technically your university that you are paying for the internet (and therefore they can limit you however they please)

I think what he's saying is the University blocks gaming on their internet, so in addition to whatever fees he's paying to cover university internet (at my school they call it a Tech Fee), he's also paying monthly for an external ISP. I'm kind of curious on what the law says about ISPs blocking certain types of traffic, actually -- if his fees pay for his school internet access, he may have a case against the school here, since they're acting as an ISP.

 

[Xanadu84]

Here's something you should realize.

Work Study is frequently done at collages.

One thing that is likely done by students is help with networking and tech support.

If there capable enough with computers to help with the tech support, there's a pretty good chance they play some games.

These people are probably sympathetic to your cause and are in a position to help you out.

Worked at my school.

 

[Stall]

Actually, I'm not sure. If he's paying for internet service, there are things like net neutrality laws in place, and there may be an argument there about consumer rights. A campus with dorms where students actually pay for the internet access as part of their fees is very different from, say, a community college that nobody actually lives at.

The fundamental thing is that it is the university's network, thus they reserve the rights to dictate how it might be used. You might have to pay for the internet as part of tuition, but that doesn't mean that you should get full reigns over its use. Your argument is akin to saying that it is a violation of one's consumer rights if the dormitories to do not allow pets despite the fact the individual paid for the usage of the dorms. Payment to use facilities does not imply that the individual should be able to do whatever they wish with the aforementioned facilities. This really just goes to show how meaningless the term "consumer's rights" is quickly becoming. It's always been a pretty nebulous term, but now it is nebulous and meaningless. The constant misuse of the term will just drive it into mockery and parody. I can understated your personal investment in such a problem, but accusing this practice of violating some nebulous right that may or may not exist is not the way to go out and prove it is a bad policy.

Like I said, if the OP doesn't like it, then he should transfer. If you don't like their policies, then don't give them your business. Or just move off campus.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Actually, I'm not sure. If he's paying for internet service, there are things like net neutrality laws in place, and there may be an argument there about consumer rights. A campus with dorms where students actually pay for the internet access as part of their fees is very different from, say, a community college that nobody actually lives at.

The fundamental thing is that it is the university's network, thus they reserve the rights to dictate how it might be used. You might have to pay for the internet as part of tuition, but that doesn't mean that you should get full reigns over its use. Your argument is akin to saying that it is a violation of one's consumer rights if the dormitories to do not allow pets despite the fact the individual paid for the usage of the dorms. This really just goes to show how meaningless the term "consumer's rights" is quickly becoming. It's always been a pretty nebulous term, but now it is nebulous and meaningless. The constant misuse of the term will just drive it into mockery and parody. I can understated your personal investment in such a problem, but accusing this practice of violating some nebulous right that may or may not exist is not the way to go out and prove it is a bad policy.

Like I said, if the OP doesn't like it, then he should transfer. If you don't like their policies, then don't give them your business. Or just move off campus.

Do the words "ISP" and "Net Neutrality" mean anything to you? There are laws about what ISPs can and cannot do in regards to throttling traffic, and there are quite literal consumer rights involved. There's no law that says a landlord can't ban pets.