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From: Dr. Jonathan C. Enos
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 08:05:02 -0400
To: OCI, FPS
Subject: Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Programs

Dear Franklin Marshall Students:

Im writing to alert you to a change in policy regarding the use of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing programs on the Franklin Marshall network. As of September 1, 2007, we will no longer allow such traffic on the network. Let me explain the reasons for this change in policy.

Franklin Marshall invests significant resources to provide a robust, redundant and secure network infrastructure to allow students, faculty and professional staff to connect to resources and servers on campus and across the internet to support and enhance their academic and administrative collaborations. We provide this access, and the associated computing resources, in full compliance with all local, state and federal laws that pertain to copyright, security and intellectual property (see Responsible Computing at Franklin Marshall at http://computing.fandm.edu/policies/responsible.php ).

For a number of years we have used network tools to limit the type of traffic that is allowed on the network. For example, we only allow 5% of the capacity of the network to be used for P2P traffic. In spite of this restriction, we continue to see P2P traffic on the network and the overwhelming percentage of this traffic appears to be music and video file sharing. We send out annual messages about the dangers of sharing such files illegally and last semester you may remember a warning letter Dean Taber and I sent about new more aggressive tactics being adopted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to curtail illegal file sharing of copyrighted materials (see http://computing.fandm.edu/policies/notices/ ).

Unfortunately, we continue to receive numerous copyright infringement claims from the RIAA and others that take considerable staff time to comply with and, in the end, individuals identified are still held responsible for their behavior and remain at-risk of a lawsuit and loss of network privileges. In fact, this summer we received eleven pre-settlement letters from the RIAAs counsel that outline the minimum penalty of $750 per infringement (most had hundreds of songs identified) unless the claims are settled. This past weekend we received two more "copyright infringement notices".

Therefore, for above cited reasons and the difficulty identifying any legitimate use of P2P file sharing that is directly related to the academic mission of the College, we will begin to block all P2P traffic as of September 1, 2007. Please note the decision to block P2P does NOT effect instant messaging, iChat, iTunes or Skype traffic, as each will continue to be allowed on the network. Further, there will be an appeal mechanism in place if you feel you have a legitimate need to use P2P file sharing programs in order to complete your academic responsibilities or successfully do your job at the College. Please contact me directly at 717-291-4073 or jon.enos@fandm.edu to discuss your situation.

Jonathan Enos
Associate Provost and Chief Information Officer