Ok, there's a backstory to all of this: back when school first started, everyone but me went crazy and started downloading thousands of .mp3s, .mpegs, .avi files, etc. This caused the server to shake, rattle, and moan in absolute agony, resulting in all sorts of really, really slow internet connections for those of us who were actually doing legal browsing. At the same time, the Blaster worm hit the network, as did the SoBig virus. Both of those particular malevolent little neo- programs do nasty things to suck a lot of bandwidth on their own, which eventually forced the IT folks to shut the network down altogether.

After about three weeks of frantic running around to private rooms and cleaning every computer on campus by installing some virtually useless virus scanning software (it only scans for 30 viruses...what's up with that? What good is a program that only scans for a few specific viruses when something like two thousand new ones are released every day?), the folks down in IT threw the network back up.

That lasted for about three hours.

Turns out that they hadn't cleaned every computer on campus, and instead of running a server-wide patch they just hoped that they hadn't missed anyone. Well, I know that they never touched my computer, because I like to carry my notebook around-- especially when I know that someone is going to install a program that I don't need. I have a superior virus scanning program that I bought already on my computer, so why should I have to have a second rate one taking up space on my hard drive? Point is, notebook computers can be moved around, and though mine is perfectly clean, someone else's wasn't, and so the virus/worm jumped right back onto the network.

Cue: another week with no internet connection.

Finally, the system was restored and back up and running...for a while. People started right back where they had left off on their downloads, slowing the connections of anyone who dared use their modems for something legal, like schoolwork, or even just leisure browsing. Then, it happened: the connections started to blink in and out again, usually when I was doing something important, like finding sources for an assignment. That wasn't cool, and then, to top it off, my AIM account started logging out as soon as someone started messaging me.

That was when the IT folks had shut off the ports. I can understand Kazaa, I really can, but AIM? Even if every person who owned a computer at this school was logged into AIM at once, all typing at the same time and hitting ENTER (or RETURN) at the same moment, it would barely register on the server. The bitstream that is sent from one or 100 AIM conversation to another is hardly enough to count as a low level ping. Enough of that, though. I can live without instant messaging.

As I've been writing this, my internet connection has blinked in and out three times. I had time to send in an assignment between connection farts, but forget trying to read an article on an online newsmagazine if it takes up more than one document on its server. The connection will terminate before you can read the second page.

I could place the blame on the IT folks alone, but I know that some students and their illegal downloads are part of the problem as well. IT is understaffed and underfunded, and, I have been told, undertrained (they don't know how to work with Macs), which points a long finger of blame towards the college's budget committee. The sad fact of the matter is that there is no one on whom to clearly place the blame, except for those who stubbornly insist that illegally downloading copyrighted files is their "right".

I'm tired of these connection woes, and I want to be able to use AIM again; it's so much cheaper than a long distance telephone call.

UPDATE: Since writing this I realized that KaZaa and AIM work on the same port, the 1080; simple solution: open the 1080 back up full time and put on a block that won't allow access to KaZaa's servers.