As far as people I’d trust to not just make shit up, I’d say Librarian, aka, professional fucking researcher is high on the list.
Comment on Has ethernet become illegitimate? A librarian flipped out after spotting me using ethernet
wahming@monyet.cc 6 months ago“Do you have ethernet or wired internet?” is actually a common library question and the response from whoever works the front desk will likely tell you everything you need to know.
Would you trust the reply somebody like the librarian in the OP gave you? Seems like the sort of person who would refuse to admit to any lack of knowledge and just bluster.
CyberSeeker@discuss.tchncs.de 6 months ago
wahming@monyet.cc 6 months ago
That pretty much depends on where in the world you are, FYI. Librarian == professional fucking researcher is not a thing in Asia.
PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Would you trust the reply somebody like the librarian in the OP gave you?
I mean, if the answer is “no” would you just go around plugging into random Ethernet ports until you found one that works? Just because you don’t “trust” the librarian who gave you the answer? That sounds like a fast track to getting trespassed (or at least banned from using their public internet altogether) for abuse of services.
The library isn’t required to provide free Ethernet. They aren’t even required to provide free wifi. But they choose to do so because they recognize that wifi is a big reason people will come to a library to spend time. Which is sort of the whole point of the library. So providing free wifi goes hand-in-hand with the library’s ultimate mission.
But that wifi is provided on an as-is basis, because they can’t guarantee things like 100% uptime, good speeds, or any kind of troubleshooting. And any potential ethernet connection would also be as-is. And in this case, “as-is” could easily translate to “not available to the public at all.” Because again, the library isn’t required to provide any of it.
Album@lemmy.ca 6 months ago
It’s kind of all that matters though. We don’t need to trust her - we need her acceptance of the act for which she is the gatekeeper of. If we don’t have it - trust over what she said is irrelevant since we don’t even have the basic trust over the act.
jeeva@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Yes, because it seems in this instance the answer to the question is “no, please don’t plug into the ports you find.”
EssentialCoffee@midwest.social 6 months ago
Do you trust every one-sided story to be entirely accurate of all details?
And what does trust have to do with it? Can we use Ethernet here? If the person says no, would you just walk around the building until you found a port and plugged in?
wahming@monyet.cc 6 months ago
No, but for the sake of discussion in this thread, that is the scenario we’re all going by. We’re not rendering a legal judgement here, we’re discussing the situation as described.
In a public library, I would fully expect public-facing ethernet ports, especially in sitting / working areas, to be available for public use. I’m not sure why they would be there otherwise. And if they’re no longer meant for public use, it would be on the library IT staff to have disabled those ports.
Because I don’t trust non-IT-savvy people to even properly understand the question
Album@lemmy.ca 6 months ago
If the LIBRARIAN doesn’t understand this as a service the library offers - then they don’t offer it - or if you think they’re wrong you need to have an adult conversation that they do and that it should be ok. It’s weird to just assume you can go around sticking your cat5e into other peoples ethernet ports like that.
acastcandream@beehaw.org 6 months ago
If you don’t trust it to be entirely accurate then it is ridiculous to act like it is “for the sake of discussion.” Healthy skepticism is absolutely warranted
wahming@monyet.cc 6 months ago
We could discuss all sorts of hypotheticals, including where there’s a secret supervillain base under the library and they’re about to assassinate OP for jacking into their network. It’s pointless because we’re not discussing an event we have any way of obtaining any other information about other than what OP has provided.
coffeeClean@infosec.pub 6 months ago
I think they mean trust in the librarian to know the policy and what should work. They tend not to in this case because ethernet has become obscure enough to be an uncommon question, if ever.
Another library had ethernet ports all down the wall next to desks. They were dead and no one used them. It was obvious that the librarian had no clue about whether the ports were even supposed to function. When I said they are dead and asked to turn them on or find out what’s wrong, they then figured that if the ports don’t work, it must be intentional. So the librarian’s understanding of the policy was derived from the fact that they were broken. Of course if they were intended to work but needed service, ethernet users are hosed because the librarian’s understanding of policy is guesswork. There is no proper support mechanism.
I asked a librarian at another library: I need to use Tor. Is it blocked? I need to know before I buy a membership. Librarian had no idea. They just wing it. They said test it. Basically, if it works, then it’s acceptable. The functionality becomes the source of policy.
Since ethernet has been phased out, modern devices no longer include an ethernet NIC, and there are places to plug into A/C with no ethernet nearby, the librarians and the public are both conditioned to be unaware of ethernet. So the answer will only be either: no or test and see.
acastcandream@beehaw.org 6 months ago
Dude ffs grow up and just ask in the future. This whole post and defensive posture is so childish.
borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 months ago
OP also wanted to know before “buying a membership”. In what world do you buy a membership to a library?