Last week, a student at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pennsylvania was given detention for using Firefox on a school computer. Quoted below is the key explanation from the official detention writeup: Posted on 12/17/2007 11:41:53 AM PST by twntaipan
Last week, a student at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pennsylvania was given detention for using Firefox on a school computer. Quoted below is the key explanation from the official detention writeup:
“Today in class [name] had a program launched called Foxfire.exe. I had told [name] to close the program and to resume work but he told me that is was just a different browser and that he was doing his work. I had given him two warnings but he insisted that it was just a ‘better’ browser and he wasn’t doing anything wrong. I had then issued his detention.”
I’m sure whether I should laugh or cry. It says so much about the state of technical education, respect for authority, what passes for civil disobedience and–of course–the all-consuming corporate hegemony of Microsoft. We live in a strange world.
Once again, hat tip to my buddy Lizard for the heads up.
The goverment requires me to use internet explorer in the office...but the minute I get home...its firefox all the way.
In our school district, that would probably get you suspended, but just because we don’t install FireFox, and students are not allowed to install software on the systems. So the suspension would not be for using Firefox per se, but for installing unauthorized software on a district computer.
The sysadmin may have an IE-only policy. That would be his prerogative.
Perhaps the school had a rule against installing non-authorized software on school computers. In a virus crazy world this would not be an unreasonable request. (I am not opining on MIE vs. Firefox - I think the best browser is the one you enjoy using the most.)
If the kid downloaded and installed Firefox on a school computer, he may have violated the district’s computer use policy. More facts needed.
This comment brought to you via Firefox.
How did Firefox get on the machine?
I use Firefox for most purposes and think this teacher probably overreacted. However, all institutions and enterprises have their standards. If you run unauthorized software in some companies it is cause for disciplinary action.
They probably think that “Mandrake” is a gay porn search engine.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
That attitude will get him fired in the corporate world.
Not sure.Perhaps this kid...or another kid.If it was an administrator or teacher you might have an entirely different story.
This isn’t anything new, back in the 80s, I was teaching the teachers routinely that were teaching the programming and computer classes.
By the time I was in those classes I was already doing 6502 assembly and playing around with hardware and software interrupts, while their training was based on a few courses in Apple II basic.
I wouldn’t say its gotten any worse, just not any better.
The kid did not get detention for using Firefox, he got detention for talking back to the teacher.
Or is that only true if the kid talks back about wearing his Che tshirt?
Had the lad gone to the school’s IT department (most likely run by kids) with the Firefox license info and EULA and gotten permission first, he would not have been punished.
Where I am currently, I can’t load anything unauthorized like Spyware Blaster, or anything with a “for personal use only-no commercial use” license. GNU seems to be OK. I have been given permission to load several things, but a check with IT first is advisable since their job is to manage the whole system. I could fire up something that may destabilize the setup.
I don’t see where Microsoft comes into it unless the school has a Microsoft Only policy.
I’m still using Netscape because that’s what I started out with when I wasn’t even sure what a ‘puter was in 1997.
I use Netscape 7.2, and older version, but it’s the only one w/Netscape Composer on it, and I like Netscape’s bookmark toolbar at the top of the page.
There are a few things I need IE for, and since you cannot even buy a PC w/o IE on it, I just switch to IE when I get stuck using Netscape. Lotta people tell me Firefox is really Netscape w/a new name—I dunno.
What a moron. When Firefox is outlawed only outlaws will have a good browser. (Posted from Firefox. Come and get me, coppers!)
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