A normative testing ground.

Term papers and finals have—as they always do—snuck up on us. That means a lot of feverish writing sessions, printing problem sets, and checking Courseworks. It also means a lot of time in computer labs. So when you’re in line at the Lerner printer, waiting for a Mac to free up, or just typing away at that paper, follow this etiquette guide—if everybody does, we’ll all be happier. Call us grumpy old geezers, but really, when one person is nice to another, both feel better!

Printers – “Look before you leap”

  • Don’t use both printers at the same time in any computer lab. (You’d think this would go without saying…)
  • If you’ve got a really large document to print and there’s somebody behind you, ask if they have a short one! And let them go.
  • Recognize that you are not the only person in a rush.
  • If you can, print multiple items at once by holding shift and highlighting them. If you’re going to do this though, check in with the person behind you. They might have shorter docs to print.

General Computing – “Don’t be that guy”

  • Don’t have really loud, obnoxious conversations in the lab.
  • Keep your headphone volume at such a level that others can’t hear it. There is a simple test for this. Take off your headphones. If you can still hear music coming out, it’s too loud.
  • Do move your things aside if somebody sits down next to you and you’re too spread out.
  • Don’t stay logged into one of the big computers, have nothing on that screen, and work solely on your laptop.
  • If you’re on Facebook, at least have some work up in the background.
  • If you’ve had your headphones in for a while, periodically take them out to check that you’re not breathing heavily, toe-tapping, or audibly farting.

NoCo Computers – “With great power, comes great responsibility.”

  • If you’re on one of the scanner-endowed computers, and somebody asks you to switch because they need it, do it!
  • If you’re not going to be using a computer, don’t take that seat.
  • Realize that a lot of computers in NoCo have specialized engineering and mathematics software that can’t be found on other computers around campus. If all you need is Microsoft Word and an Internet connection…think about going elsewhere!