AU will discontinue Ruckus, a music and movie downloading program offered last spring, after a survey of 398 students conducted in April revealed many didn't support the service during its free trial period. The university is still considering several other legal file sharing programs with input from students, including the Residence Hall Association, which announced on Sunday it will recommend Napster.
About one-third of respondents, 36 percent, said Ruckus should not be offered for the 2005-'06 academic year. Nearly half, 41 percent, said their use of the program declined during the semester. The same number said the service, which would cost $18 per semester, should be offered, but on a conditional basis.
Many students said it should be offered only if a subscription is optional, if Mac users could access the service - which they unable to do in the spring - or if the music could be moved to mp3 players or CDs.
The University is looking into other music and movie downloading programs, according to Julie Weber, director of Housing and Dining, even though surveyed students were almost evenly split over whether it is important for AU to offer the service.
While 43 percent of respondents said providing the program is "not important" or "somewhat important," 47 percent thought it was "important" or "very important." Ten percent were undecided.
About half of students surveyed, 47 percent, didn't use the program during the free trial. Weber said the participation level at AU was about the same as at George Washington University, which performed a similar trial using Napster last fall.
"I personally think fifty percent is pretty good," Weber said. "Getting fifty percent of our students to do anything is pretty good."
A handful of student leaders have been testing other downloading programs, including Napster, Cdigix and Rhapsody. Next week Weber will meet with them to discuss the trials and the possibility of trying another service.
Kyle Taylor, president of Student Government, is trying Cdigix and Napster. He said he favors Napster for its music selection and usability.
"Napster ... in my opinion, it's phenomenal compared to Ruckus and Cdigix," he said.
Taylor asked his friends to name the most obscure bands they could, and he looked up each of them on Napster. He found all the bands but one. The software is as easy to use as the familiar version of Napster many students used before it became illegal, he said.
RHA released a memo yesterday endorsing Napster, according to President Will Mount. The endorsement cited Napster's ease of use, music selection and low cost. The program would cost $10 per semester.
RHA recommended Mac users, who cannot access Napster, should be able to opt out of the service fee.
"To require resident hall students to pay for a program, regardless of the program, they must have some ability to use the program," according to the memo.
During trials last spring many students complained that Ruckus' music selection was small and the program is not compatible with Macs. Some thought it was unfair that every student would have to pay for the service in their housing fee, whether or not they chose to take advantage of the program or used a Mac.
None of the other programs now being tested by students is compatible with Macs, either. About 12 percent of AU students use Macs, according to a report by the Faculty Senate's Information Services Committee.
The University also made the decision to not keep Audible Magic, a program that blocks illegal peer-to-peer file sharing. An anonymous donor, who provided the funding for the Ruckus trial, also paid for a trial of the Audible Magic software last spring.
Audible Magic blocked certain types of file transfers in the dorms and in parts of Mary Graydon Center, but users could circumvent the program by logging on from other campus buildings or from outside.
The University will constantly reevaluate the need for a music and movie downloading service, according to Weber.
"Every decision that we make is going to be looked at every year," she said.
