[Techtalk] cups

[Daniel Pittman]

Wolf Rising <wolfrising at gmail.com> writes:

> We have a color network printer running on cups to a bunch of linux
> workstations.  We unfortunately have one user who is abusing his print
> privileges.

You have a social problem, not a technical problem, and technical
solutions will not avail you in this case, I expect.

> Is there a way to easily either prevent the user or the workstation he
> sits at from being able to access this printer but still access the
> black and white printers?

You identified that.  Now, have you also made sure that the user can't
submit their print jobs directly to the colour printer, that there is no
one else who will print colour for them, and that they don't have access
to any other accounts to use?


Technical solutions to this problem will enter you into an arms race
with the "bad" user, in which they can try to work around your technical
solutions, you can counter with more technical issues, and so forth.

Can't you address this at a social level, by billing the user for their
excess use, or posting information so it is apparent to *everyone* that
the user is abusing the service?

If you do that, generally speaking, people will suddenly regulate their
own behaviour and do the right thing because the cost — either cash, or
in social disapproval — is too high for the benefit they receive.

Regards,
        Daniel