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Computing Services strongly discourages the use of Skype. Skype is a free Internet telephony
product that uses peer-to-peer (P2P) networking protocols to make free
Internet-based phone calls and instant messaging.
We strongly discourage the use of Skype on the College’s network for two
primary reasons:
- Skype uses excessive network resources.
- The Skype User Agreement makes the user agree to provide services to Skype
for resources owned by the College. Individual users are not empowered to give
such consent. See
Allocation of Resources, which is part of the Dartmouth
College Information Technology Policy.
One characteristic of Skype is that it assigns computers as supernodes
without explicit consent from the user. Supernodes will be blocked from the
College network.
Options
Telephone calls made from the College should use the College telephone
system. Local and non-international long distance calls made through the
College system are not billed.
For instant messaging, please work with your department's computing
consultant. They will recommend alternatives, including Jabber and Google Talk.
Please read any user agreement and/or privacy policy carefully.
Using Skype
We know that individuals use Skype for activities such as free international
phone calls. If you have no alternative, please use Skype in the following
manner:
- Only launch the application when you need to use it. If you are expecting
an incoming call, coordinate it through other means. (e.g., e-mail, instant
messaging, etc.).
- Keep your calls to a reasonable length.
- When the call is finished, turn the application off.
Closing the Skype application window is not enough. On the Windows operating
system, the background application must be turned off as well.
- Look for an icon in your system tray (down by the clock) that looks similar
to the one below:
- To turn it off, right-click on this icon; a menu will
be displayed:
- Select Quit.
Having Skype active only when it is in use will prevent it from becoming a
supernode, and routing other phone calls and using excessive network
resources.
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