[PLUG-TALK] University and comm college policies that encourage trolls...

[plug_0 at robinson-west.com]

If you're a PCC student this term, whether you like it or not you
were a given an email account as part of the new MyPCC system.

Trying to limit email sources for my MyPCC account to PCC alone, 
I have yet to accomplish this.  Blocking email addresses and
perhaps at most a whole domain at a time is one way to fight a
troll, but it arguably isn't a very efficient one.  There are
how many sources of free, no questions asked, email accounts on
the planet?  I've complained about this to PCC, but I'm afraid 
that my complaints are falling on deaf ears.  I consider MyPCC 
email an abuse of student speech, you have to right to determine 
your own associations.  The way MyPCC email has been set up, 
the right to assemble as you deem fit when you receive one of 
these accounts is severely impaired.  Having to listen to an
email troll is a violation of the freedom of association 
portion of the 1st amendment.  Any half intelligent troll
is going to be very hard to block in the MyPCC system, they'll 
just change the source email address they use until they're
not blocked.

Maybe it's time for legislation to force saner policies at 
Community Colleges and Universities.  It makes me angry that
I have to accept a worldwide accessible email account on
a system I don't believe in because someone decided that 
this is a good idea for PCC students.  If you ask PCC
students what they think of MyPCC email, I bet a lot of
them willl say that they don't use it.  A few might even 
have the same complaints that I do about not being able 
to limit the email sources to PCC itself.

A worldwide accessible email account on a system you don't
like, this should not be part of becoming a student at any 
Community College or University in Oregon.  They didn't 
give every PCC student an email account historically,
which was a good thing.  PCC students can acquire their 
own email accounts.  This is a good, not a bad thing.
It's sad that I was never asked about the switch to 
MyPCC from the old system.

     --  Michael C. Robinson

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