Social Lab

The computer science lab in King 135, home to a dozen or so computers mostly named after Lord of the Rings characters, the DFA Ball, and a very injokey whiteboard. The antipode of the Quiet Lab. Traditionally, this is where Games Night takes place. The Social Lab is also home to the CSta Couch.

Facilities

All of the Social Lab and Quiet Lab computers, most of them Pentium IIIs, are terminals from which students can access OCCS, the eponymous Oberlin College Computer Science server. This grants lab users access to a variety of compilers and interpreters, an email address, an eclectic variety of useful tools (including password crackers, circuit board simulators, and 3D rendering software), some code libraries, some custom scripts, and, perhaps most importantly, the cookie file. There's also a decent amount of other useful software on OCCS, most of it installed by Ned in response to student request. The lab computers can dual boot in Linux or Windows, although most of the department's programming tools are only installed on Linux. OCCS itself runs Unix on Solaris.

There's a fridge in the corner for storing cold drinks. No one remembers where it came from, but we are thankful for its presence.

Culture

The lab is usually pretty laid back, with fits of occasional hysteria. Computer science majors typically spend far too much time here, and many failures to launch continue to hang out here after they graduate. At best it is a tight-knit, screaming, arguing, laughing community of lovable eccentrics--at worst it's a room full of immature monkeys.

Guests are generally welcome, and in fact some non-majors are known to drop by regularly. That said, the lab is not public, and guests are generally expected to be respectful of the lab's use as a work environment. It may also be wise to avoid the lab on the night an assignment is due, as it gets to be like a train teetering at the edge of a cliff.

DotA Controversy

Many CS majors kill time playing computer games here, and unfortunately this has given the lab a reputation as a permanent LAN party. This image is not in fact accurate--most CS majors with any intention to graduate will spend more time working in the CS lab than playing games--and the majority of people who spend all their time playing WarCraft III:DotA in the lab are not CS majors. By lab policy they are not permitted to be there at all, but due to a period of relative glasnot on the part of CSMC, this policy is rarely enforced. For the first couple years it happened, no one really cared, but when the number of DotA players ballooned, the resources available to students wishing to do legitimate coursework in the lab would occasionally become very scarce. The topic of whether or not this policy should be enforced is a matter of continuing debate; currently, if you want to play games in the lab and not piss anyone off, the best strategy is to be invited by a CS major, come in on a Friday or Saturday night, and engage in friendly conversation with people already there. This is also a good way to be invited to more games in the future.