Cluster Facility Policies

Food, Drink, and Smoking

Eating, drinking, and smoking are expressly forbidden in the clusters. This includes both open and closed containers. Users should step out of the cluster if they need to eat, drink, or smoke.

This policy is in place due to past incidents that have caused damage to computing facilities as well as chairs and carpets.

Smoking, by law, is expressly forbidden in the cluster rooms.

Games

Game playing is discouraged in the clusters. A game player may be asked to give up his or her computer to someone needing to do work, even if there are other computers available.

Manual, equipment, and scratch disk check-out

Manuals, scratch disks (Zip, Jaz, and regular floppy disks), and some equipment (headphones, microphones, and so on) are available for check-out to users. These items must be exchanged for a user's ID, and must not leave the cluster. No exceptions. Information on scratch disks may be erased at any time. Other items such as staplers, tape dispensers and the C-Book, are available for use only in the cluster by the CCon desk and must not leave the cluster.

Hard Drives

Users may save data on the User or /tmp partition of a hard drive (or in User Files in the case of a Macintosh). Information on these drives may be erased at any time. Some programs on the Mac may require an unlocked partition to run. They may also be copied to the User partition. Material in the other partitions should not be deleted or changed; doing so constitutes a violation of University Policy.

Telephone Usage

No off-campus calls can be made on cluster phones unless they are Computing Services work-related. Public pay phones are located near each cluster. A CCon can point them out to you. Most clusters have public phones (distinguished from the Consultant's phone). Users are allowed to use this phone for any calls. This keeps the consultant line open for questions and problems.

In all other clusters, users are allowed to receive calls, but are urged to keep the calls brief.

xlocking

Abandonment of cluster workstations for periods longer than 10 minutes, results in the users' loss of right to use the machine if another wishes to "take over." Be aware and courteous during peak times. 

Bikes, skates and wheeled transport

Bikes are forbidden in clusters. They should be locked up outside. Users are not allowed to wear rollerskates, rollerblades, or any other wheeled transport (excluding wheelchairs) in the clusters.