Dear U of C NSIT,
So I was minding my business a couple days ago, NSIT--checking my email, reading the news, looking up an article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed, when suddenly, SUDDENLY, I received a horrible and unexpected message from the U of C proxy server after inputing my login information. I believe it read, "Deny." Yes, DENY. The proxy server no longer recognizes my login. I thought maybe this was just some weird network glitch, and I consulted with Julia about this tragedy:
me: question
Julia: answer
me: can you log into jstor w/ your cnet id?
Julia: hold on
i'll check
NO!
me: deny?
Julia: omg omg omg
deny
me: NOOOOOOO
Julia: NOOOOO
What could this mean, other than that YOU had removed me from the system, NSIT? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME??? Do you know what that proxy server meant to me? I used it every day for my job! I used it for fun! I was using it to look up articles for grad school when you abruptly and cruelly cut me off like you were some sort of religious zealot and I your wayward daughter who got knocked up at 14. What have I done to deserve this?
Julia, in a state of denial, surmised that it could just be a temporary network error that you, NSIT, would swiftly repair. But I was far too charitable in believing that you would ever be so gracious, conniving NSIT. I checked again yesterday, and what did I get? DENY. You are crushing me, NSIT!
Now what am I supposed to do, NSIT? How can I look up the very articles that will help me get into grad school so I can renew my networking privileges if you block my access? Do you even realize the cruel cycle you're perpetuating here, NSIT? By preventing me from doing research now, you are foreclosing my ability to do research in the future--you are effectively crushing my academic career before it begins, EVIL NSIT GNOMES.
Ok, I know that I don't actually go to the U of C anymore and so I don't strictly deserve network access. But don't my four years of tuition payments cover the miniscule marginal cost of retaining my proxy access? What is that, about five cents a year? Less? Seriously. You can take my email and my home page and my log-in at the library NSIT, but leave me my electronic databases! Even my $5 annual donation to my alma mater would cover that. And think of the huge service you could do me, stingy NSIT twerps. Maybe one day, I would even donate $6, and earmark it for your usage. But now you will never see such a boon.
Anyway, NSIT, I just wanted to let you know that I hate you, and if I ever go back to Chicago, I will make it a point to leave freshly chewed gum outside your door so that you get it all over your shoes on your way out.
No love,
Miss Self-Important
Thursday, November 06, 2008
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11 comments:
Your employer doesn't have it? I find that astonishing.
I think all G'town alumni get lifetime JSTOR and EBSCO.
No, my employer does not. Newspaper industry FAIL.
FYI: In the dark ages, I had an account through the Math then CS dept. When it got turned off after I bailed out of grad school, I just sent an email and they turned it back on. You could just ask.
Actually their licensing costs are based on a contractual obligation to show all users are actively affiliated with the University. If they don't do this then they face serious fines or a cancellation of their contract from the various data providers.
Even if they decided to cover alumni, the cost per year per user for JSTOR/OED/all the other databases is going to be much higher than $5.
I feel your pain. I had nice access to all kinds of stuff when I worked for Stanford, but about 15 minutes after I stopped working for them I was cut off.
I also feel your pain. My postdoc institution also cut me off when the postdoc ended. Fortunately, by then I was already an adjunct at Factory U, with new database access.
I think I've passed the denial stage and, like you, I've now progressed to anger. EVIL NSIT GNOMES.
Factory U has always been known to be classy.
I've been getting daily e-mails from NSIT for weeks warning me of my imminent loss of all electronic privileges, when I'd been under the impression that they didn't expire. So there's apparently something systematic going on.
Angela: Tried, failed.
Brian: How could it possibly cost that much? They have at least 40,000 people who have network access at any given time. If they're paying an annual subscription fee for these databases, what's the marginal cost of including one more person?
Hardlyb, Withy, Julia: Seriously. SUCKS.
JT Levy: Maybe they decided now is the time to purge everyone from the last 3 years? According to their policy, they should start shutting down your account within about 3 months of your leaving, but I've been fully connected for 18 months and other people for much longer, so apparently they got backlogged.
Ah, but their contract specifies that people with access MUST be actively affiliated with the university. That's the only reason the site license is priced affordably. The marginal cost of including one more person might be an audit, a sternly worded letter from JSTOR coporate counsel, and a substantial settlement check to avoid legal action.
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