1.1 Usage of SPIDER is governed by the University Computer Regulations and the additional regulations outlined in the rest of this document. The relevant sections of the University Regulations are paraphrased below. The full document is available here.
http://www.its.strath.ac.uk/doc/policy/computing/#d.en.44947
All users will be required to sign an agreement to become a registered user of the University's computing facilities and resources and by so doing have understood and agreed to abide by the terms of this policy and other appropriate University regulations. Users must also comply with the provisions of any current UK or Scots law (see section 6 - Legal Framework) and will be held responsible for any and all activity on computing facilities which is initiated by their user ID. It is every users responsibility to act in a manner which will not cause damage to computing facilities or adversely affect the performance of any service available on these facilities. Users should not allow any other person access to their user ID or password; use another person's user ID or password; or modify or interfere with information belonging to another user without their permission.
The University of Strathclyde will not permit the use of its computer facilities and resources for the access to or transmission of information which is considered by the University to be unacceptable; illegal; in breach of University policies, such as those on Equal Opportunities and Harassment; wasteful of resources; or not commensurate with the provision of facilities for legitimate educational purposes.
Examples of such unacceptable use may include: accessing or displaying pornographic material; stating defamatory opinions or views concerning individuals or organisations; accessing or displaying discriminatory material or material which encourages discrimination; engaging in games or chain E-mail; publishing information which is intended to misinform and thereby cause anxiety or inconvenience in another; unauthorised use of University logos, titles etc.; spamming; corrupting or destroying other user's data; violating the privacy of other users; disrupting the work of others; using JANET in a way that denies service to others; misuse of networked resources such as the introduction of viruses.
The University may actively monitor usage of University computer facilities and resources which includes monitoring the access to, publication or receipt of any Internet materials by any user, and reserves the right to remove or require the immediate removal from the University systems of any material which, in the opinion of the Vice Principal or a depute to whom authority has been delegated is unacceptable (see section 4 - Definitions). It is University policy to provide information obtained by monitoring, when required to do so, to the UKERNA CERT team or other relevant agency.No user will by any wilful or deliberate act jeopardise the integrity of the computing equipment, communications network, systems programs or other stored information.
1.2 You undertake to keep secure from third parties the password issued to you automatically by SPIDER or from a SPIDER administrator
1.3 You acknowledge and accept that you bear sole responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content of all material posted to the site by your account.
1.4 Use of this site constitutes your acceptance of these terms and conditions which take effect on the date which you first use the site. You acknowledge and agree that your access to SPIDER, or a subset of its services can be removed should you fail to comply with these Terms and Conditions or any other guidelines and rules published by the University of Strathclyde. Any such termination of access shall be at an Administrator's discretion and may occur without any notice. Further action may be taken by the University if deemed necessary.
1.5 You agree not to attempt to penetrate security measures of the SPIDER servers, whether or not the intrusion results in corruption or loss of data.
2.1 The SPIDER system is intended to act as a tool to enrich teaching, learning, communication and administration in an online environment for the benefit of students and staff. In order to use SPIDER, users must have access to the World Wide Web and must navigate the Internet to http://spider.science.strath.ac.uk/ or another of the URLs associated with SPIDER. Registration for SPIDER is open to any registered student or member of staff at the University of Strathclyde with an active strath.ac.uk email address. Visitors who wish to make use of the system should contact spider-vle@strath.ac.uk
2.2 Students should only register using their registration number and hold ONE account on SPIDER. Any account belonging to a student which does not match an active 9-digit registration number will be removed from the system without warning. Not using your registration number for your account will result in you being unable to access data relating to your course and classes.
2.3 Staff users may use a username of their choosing (usually their DS username), but should only hold one account unless a further account is required in special circumstances
2.4 Always log out of a publicly accessible computer when you have finished using SPIDER. If you think someone has managed to impersonate you or "hack" your account, please email spider-vle@strath.ac.uk immediately.
3.1 The SPIDER system will keep a record of information relating to and/ or posted by you on the website in the system databases. This information will only be used within the University of Strathclyde, for administration, educational and research purposes relating to SPIDER, but will never be supplied to third parties without first obtaining your consent. The only time we may do so without consent is if we are obliged by law to disclose such information.
3.2 SPIDER stores data you have entered in relation to your personal details such as names, email, and system preferences alongside your registration number (students) or username (staff). It also stores any examination/ test results entered by staff, your quiz attempts/ results and information entered into your ePDP, chat, messaging and discussion forums, or any other area of SPIDER you are able to contribute to. This information is used to identify you to the system and to enable you to use SPIDER and access material posted on the system that relates to you and your courses and for staff users, administrative, research and teaching responsibilities requiring the use of this information on SPIDER.
3.3 In addition to data you enter, the system records all page visits and data posts in the SPIDER web and database logs. This is done as part of the normal functioning of the web and database systems. These logs are retained: so that we can accumulate general usage statistics; to allow the backup "mirror" server(s) to be continually updated, so that a backup server is always available if required; to enable the tracking and recovery of any data input or deleted from the system including (but not limited to) quiz attempts, chat, messaging & discussion postings, mySettings, examinations, class lists, administrative changes to users, content, systems and settings. Logs will be retained for a period of no less than 12 months, database transaction binary logs for 3 months, storage allowing.
4.1. You are expected to respect other users. Students and staff have access to the same chat and discussion areas. Staff and administrative users are able to identify users making use of nicknames in the discussions and chat.
4.2 Posting of unacceptable material will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to: unlawful, harassing, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, sectarian, racially offensive or otherwise objectionable material. This includes the use of swear words and the use of offensive nicknames. Spam, off topic postings, and other unacceptable material will be removed without warning.
4.3 Any posting or message deemed unacceptable will be removed from the system and the poster may be banned from the chat/ discussion or from logging in to the SPIDER system. Bans will prevent you from using the chat, discussion or site for a set period of time. Further action in line with the University's disciplinary procedures may be taken if deemed necessary.
4.4 If You Are Subject to Abuse or Harassment
If you wish to report abusive behaviour on any of SPIDER's systems, please email spider-vle@strath.ac.uk, giving as much information as possible (time, date, nicknames of offenders) which will enable the incident to be recovered from the system logs and appropriate action to be taken.
4.5 The accuracy and value of information in any posting cannot be guaranteed. Users are advised to carefully evaluate the source of any information and status of the poster before acting upon it.
5.1 You are responsible for adhering to University regulations with respect to the type and content of files you store on the SPIDER system. Any file you upload may be inspected by the system administrators and unacceptable material can be removed without warning. This includes, but is not limited to, myFiles, shares, group info pages, avatar images and any other media you are able to upload and store on SPIDER.
6.1 You should be aware that most material found on the internet is copyrighted and the property of the original author/ creator. If you are adding content to SPIDER be aware that if you did not originate the material yourself, then you should seek clearance from the copyright holder for use of the content on the internet. This includes images, multimedia, scans, text, and any other files or content in an electronic format. You are responsible for checking and gaining copyright clearance for any material that you upload, or pass to an editor or administrative level user to upload on your behalf.
6.2. The University's Scanning Service for e-learning at Strathclyde is run jointly by the Library and Learning Services. This service is currently free throughout session 2007-08. The service provides legally compliant scans to use for teaching purposes in Virtual Learning Environments. Principally items that meet the criteria of the CLA HE Trial Scanning Licence can be scanned. Items that fall outside the terms of the Licence are likely to attract a cost for copyright clearance. Strathclyde teaching staff can contact the Library for advice on digital e-learning items. For details of costs and Faculty funding arrangements contact Learning Services by email ls-scan@strath.ac.uk or telephone ext 2708. Scanning requests for non teaching items can be submitted directly to Learning Services by email or telephone ext 2708.