Student Faces Suspension For Spamming Profs 516
edmicman sends word of a Fox News report about a Michigan State University student who is facing suspension for bulk emailing a number of professors at the university about a proposed change to the school calendar — an e-mail that the university is labeling spam. The article contains links to a copy of the original email, the allegations against the student, and the university's Email Acceptable Use Policy. The student, Kara Spencer, asked a Philadelphia rights organization, FIRE, to get involved. The article quotes the FIRE defense program director: "The fact that MSU is considering punishment of Spencer simply for exercising her right to contact selected faculty members by e-mail shows a disturbing disregard for students' freedom of expression. ... Threatening a member of the student government with suspension for sending relevant, timely e-mails to faculty members is outrageous." Spencer is awaiting the school's judgement after a hearing, and vows to take to the courts if suspended.
Re:I read her entire email (Score:5, Informative)
How could the sysadmin not have seen this:
http://lct.msu.edu/guidelines-policies/bulkemail.html
"
# Permitted uses for broad cross-University mailing. Bulk e-mailing may be used only by University offices to send communications necessary to the normal course of business and which typically require some official action be taken individually by recipients. Such permitted uses include:
* Dissemination of urgent information of health and safety concern for students and University employees.
* Communication of information regarding changes of University policies or procedures, or actions that affect employment or compensation status, or status as a student.
* Regular communications (for example, to University employees) that are required by law, regulation or University policy for which bulk e-mail may largely replace paper transmittal.
"
So, according to their own policy, mass emailing of "...information regarding changes of University policies or procedures, or actions that affect employment or compensation status, or status as a student..." falls within acceptable use. That is assuming that this change to the university schedule is a "change in policy" or "affects employment". I don't see how that wouldn't be the case.
Re:I read her entire email (Score:1, Informative)
Just the same, the MSU Bulk email policy:
Permitted uses for broad cross-University mailing: Bulk e-mailing may be used only by University offices[.]
is pretty clear on whether or not this was ok.
Re:Mass mailing (Score:5, Informative)
MSU's anti-spam policy is clearly unconstitutional (see blog post at http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/10012.html [thefire.org]).
Adam Kissel
Director, Individual Rights Defense Program
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
Acceptable Use Policy (Score:2, Informative)
http://lct.msu.edu/guidelines-policies/bulkemail.html [msu.edu]
It's not like it's hard to find or follow.
Re:Personally (Score:4, Informative)
The comma shouldn't be there.
Re:Mass mailing (Score:3, Informative)
Back in the day. The students had problems with student government spamming the students. I was always trying to fight it. But they are convinced that the information was important (Like reporting a snow day class cancelation at 9:30am (after have walked back from my 8:30 class covered with snow, realizing it was canceled) ) But the most of it was X type of Party Here, Y party there. Z club is doing B. Sometimes in the middle they may toss some useful information like if you plan on graduating please get C signed before D, just so you have to read everything. I think I started to make bounce-back requests just to get them to stop. Asking them was fruitless.
Re:I read her entire email (Score:3, Informative)
Namely, one Mr Randall Hall, Information Technology Director. Who was it who said the more words in your job title, the more useless/power hungry you were?
Nutshell: Big bad IT manager gets whinged because student figures out how to send email to people without needing to go through the 'offical' listserv which would require someone's (probably his) approval. Tells student to stop emailing professors, and is told to take a hike. Decides to use the big stick.
MSU Student Newspaper Link to Topic (Score:2, Informative)
The MSU Student newspaper [statenews.com] has a more interesting take on this then the Fox News one. It looks more like she pissed someone off something horrible.
From the State News:
"Of the 391 e-mails Spencer sent, Spencer said she didn't receive any negative responses. All responses asked for more information regarding Provost Kim Wilcox's Welcome Week proposal."
"Dr. Katherine Gross, director of the Kellogg Biological Station, initially approached ATS in September with concerns as to how Spencer had e-mailed what she believed was the deans, directors and chairs list. Hall said that response led to ATS approaching Spencer."
Re:Mass mailing (Score:5, Informative)
RTFA! It is alleged that the student violated the policy. However, reading the policy, there is a clause that specifically permits bulk emailing communications regarding changes to university policies of procedures. There is room to interpret that as permission to bulk email about the changed academic calendar.
However, it is premature to cry foul yet as there has been no ruling on the matter. For all we know, it'll be dismissed with no action at all.
Wrong. (Score:4, Informative)
Whatever her opinion on the matter was, she WAS emailing the faculty about a change in university policy that affects everyone.
Re:I read her entire email (Score:5, Informative)
I work in a higher education institution and I can confirm that spam in universities is every bit as bad as commercial spam. I have missed "critical" correspondence amid the deluge.
Sports games, concerts, seminars, grant funding, research opportunities, exhibitions, astronomical events, workshops, training programs, lectures, presentations, groups, religious services, bereavements, marriage announcements, faculty announcements, announcements for faculty positions, calls, recalls, talks, reminders, forwards, art exhibits, cancellations, car lights, missing animals, missing people, missing USB keys, HR notices and every manner of newsletter, weekly, monthly or per semester ... do battle for my inbox day after day. And this is all before people start using the internal email to buy, sell, solicit, advertise, as a soapbox on just about any conceivable issue (this is a university), or indeed as an instant messaging replacement for people who couldn't be bothered to type in several names and instead hit "reply all", or the sysadmin send us emails to tell us that the email system and/or internet is/was down... again.
Not a single part of this post is an exaggeration or fabrication. I've gotten all this and more. I imagine it's the same everywhere else.
Re:Mass mailing (Score:5, Informative)
While UBC/UCE* is indeed spam, I'd say that the chain letter is INDEED SPAM as well.
Google's [google.com] list of definitions.
Unsolicited Email, like electronic junk mail ... ...
Unwanted, usually advertisement email. Spam are usually sent in bulk and the recipient addresses are obtained by illegal means (eg by tapping the network communication).
Spam is the term widely used for unsolicited e-mail; spam is also referred to as junk mail. Spam is usually sent indiscriminately to hundreds or even hundreds of thousands of inbox's simultaneously.
Spamming is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages.
A collection of unsolicited bulk electronic messages; Any undesired electronic content automatically-generated for commercial purposes; (rare) An unsolicited electronic message sent in bulk, usually by email or newsgroups; Alternative form of SPAM; : To send spam (i.e. unsolicited electronic
An obnoxious practice of mass advertising to clients through e-mail, IRC, a browser, or any other communication device.
Basically, UBC is SPAM, but SPAM isn't necessarily UBC.
*Unsolicited Commercial Email
Re:Mass mailing (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Mass mailing (Score:3, Informative)
If you had email back in the day, then by definition that wasn't back in the day.
Re:Mass mailing (Score:3, Informative)
I'm not qualified as a doctor. My opinion on whether someone is alive or not might not carry legal weight and I would have no authority to sign a death certificate.
However, if I observed that someone had been decapitated, my opinion that he was in a non-viable state would be correct.
Holding a qualification or being appointed to a position are neither necessary nor sufficient conditions to having the right answer. Shame on you.
Re:That's stupid. (Score:1, Informative)
How is that insightful?
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail that "One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty."
I've never heard him called blubbering, and he didn't "whine bitch and moan about the consequences" either.
Judging from civil rights history, I'd say the guy knew what he was talking about.
Re:Mass mailing (Score:5, Informative)
Not quite [spamhaus.org]:
Chain letters are absolutely spam. If I didn't ask for it, and I don't want it, and there's nothing specifically relevant to me in the email, then it is spam. What do I care if it's commercial or not? It still takes the same amount of space in my inbox, and the same amount of effort to get rid of.
Re:Mass mailing (Score:3, Informative)
If you read the disciplinary notice linked in the article, you'll see that the Acceptable Use Policy of this particular school indeed forbid Unsolicited, Bulk emailing (which the school calls "spam").
Per the school policy, what she did was forbidden.
Her defense is not about her interpretation of the policy (she knows what she did is a violation of the policy), but about the fact that this policy should be illegal.
Re:Mass mailing (Score:5, Informative)
Appropriate response in this case would simply be a warning 'email' and a remedial course in the schools acceptable use 'guidelines' and policies.
Actually, the netadmin sent her an e-mail saying something to the effect of "this is against the rules, please stop", and her response was (again paraphrasing) "no, I'll do it again if I want to, and I dare you to do anything about it". Well, guess what... he did something. She tried to be a hero, despite being in the wrong, and it didn't turn out well.
Re:Mass mailing (Score:3, Informative)
Guidelines Regarding Bulk E-mailing by Internal Users on MSUnet [msu.edu]
Computer System and Network Abuse at Michigan State University [msu.edu]
The policy in itself utterly fails as it most improperly fails to ascribe particular levels of punishments for the degree of infringement.
Really?
From: Michigan State University Acceptable Use of Computing Systems, Software, and the University Digital Network [msu.edu]
V. Enforcement and Adjudication
1. The principal responsibility for investigation of suspected non-compliance with the provisions of this ruling rests with System Sponsors. At their discretion, they may delegate it to System Managers and/or Facility Staff.
2. Subject to the non-discrimination provisions herein, faculty members acting as System Sponsors for computing systems or local networks established with their own research grant funds may change, suspend, or revoke User privileges in the best interests of the research being conducted.
3. When an instance of non-compliance is suspected or discovered in a computing system or network established by a department, college or other administrative unit, a unit administrator (typically the System Sponsor) shall proceed in accord with Section 5.6.3 of Academic Freedom for Students at Michigan State University.
Approved: