Today 1997 There is no escape from scares about the perils of the Internet or from the responsibility it places on colleges offering access to it. There seems no escape from the scare about access to undesirable material. Real are these are, the risks are broader than this.
Electronic mail is mentioned less, but here is a fertile medium for another kind of harassment.
Using it students have sent unpleasant messages, misled or tried to extract money from others - while innocent but clumsily worded messages have caused upset. Poison pen letters these may be but here is a convenient poison pen that can send mail anonymously and use the college e-mail address. While explaining words like 'responsibility' will help here, some problems are easier to deal with. Till recently, admin and curriculum computers were kept separate but now colleges are combining them into 'Intranets' or local editions of the Internet. The downside to access is the security issue where the wrong people find confidential records or put themselves on the college payroll.