Source
Automatically imported from: http://commons.somewhere.com:80/rre/1996/faculty.rights.in.electr.html
Content
This web service brought to you by Somewhere.Com, LLC.
faculty rights in electronic publication
``` [Larry Press, a well-known Internet innovator over many years, recently had his Web pages appropriated by his university, and he wants to know if others have had similar experiences.]
---
This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE). Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below. You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to rre-help@weber.ucsd.edu
---
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 11:57:02 -0800 (PST) From: LPRESS@DHVX20.CSUDH.EDU
[...]
---
The Right to Academic Network Access
I am a professor, and when I returned to campus for the first day of the semester, I switched on my PC and launched Netscape. The browser tried to link to the Web site my students and I had designed and built for my School, but it was not found. Figuring the server had crashed, I looked for our support person.
But, there had been no crash. An associate dean had decided to turn my site off, and create a new Web presence for the School. The appearance and organization would be changed, but my content would be used. The old server would be turned off and my material deleted once the copying was complete. They estimated this would take only a few days, and the old domain name would become an alias for new site.
My first reaction was astonishment at the professional disrespect, but on reflection, this incident raises a much more important concern. I have put intellectual property on university-owned computers which can only be accessed over university-owned and controlled communication links. This leaves me feeling very vulnerable.
This action cost me in several ways:
1. I lost time. The server had information on faculty, students, staff, departments, and academic programs, and was built during a sustained, part-time effort over a year. The design and organization also required considerable planning and revision. I undertook the project to provide a realistic project for students and as a service to the school, and was not compensated.
2. I lost teaching material, and my teaching plans were disrupted. I used the site as an major example in discussing design tradeoffs, and had planned to extend it this term with database access, streaming audio, communication with international applicants, etc.
3. I lost visibility, because the change invalidates my URL. I have given my URL in many articles and talks, on business cards, the Internet, etc., and it is indexed in network directories. Invalidating my URL makes it difficult for others to find my work.
I have lost intellectual capital, as if lecture notes had been destroyed and articles expunged from library shelves. There was no financial gain from this action -- I suppose the currency is bureaucratic credit. The faculty/administration power balance has shifted a bit.
The university might argue that they have a right to do what they wish with their equipment; however, I have been damaged. I had been open in my server design, and they knew what I had on it. I have lost time, must develop new teaching material, and my professional standing is diminished each time someone unsuccessfully seeks my home page.
This incident could have been avoided had there been an agreement covering faculty rights in electronic access (analogous to an acceptable use policy restricting faculty). For example, I would like the right to publish scholarly writing and teaching material on the Internet as long as I do not violate specified legal or ethical standards. This requires the availability of storage and physical connection and accessibility. Using today's standards, the material would have to be on a host connected to the Internet with IP protocols and accessible via the DNS. There should also be guarantees of continued accessibility in the event that, say, information is moved to a new computer, a file structure is altered, or one changes jobs.
Academic freedom and credit for intellectual accomplishment are at the heart of the university. However, those of us who have seen universities from the inside have seen our share of petty political games and power struggles. Faculty vulnerability will increase if, in the future, scholarly work migrates from print journals and proceedings to electronic media controlled by university administrators and teaching material moves from textbooks and notebooks to the Net. We need cultural norms and explicit agreements and guarantees for university-based electronic publication.
Let me close with two questions:
1. Have others had similar experiences on their campuses?
2. Have any schools addressed these issues, and written guidelines stating faculty rights in electronic access? ```
This web service brought to you by Somewhere.Com, LLC.