Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!evan
From: evan@telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: EASYMONEYII (flame on!)
Message-ID: <257004FA.4BEB@telly.on.ca>
Date: 26 Nov 89 15:44:57 GMT
References: <18570@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> <24440@cup.portal.com>
Organization: Public Access Usenet, Brampton, Ontario
Lines: 52

We live in interesting times.

A Portal user bashes the commercial exploitation of Usenet...

In article <24440@cup.portal.com> Howard_Reed_Johnson@cup.portal.com writes:
>I would like to protest the exploitation of private and/or tax-
>supported resources for commercial gain as evidenced by the article
><18570@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> by Kale Kudlacek (KUDLACEK@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>.

The net is exploited for commercial frequently, though rarely as
blatently.

>For starters, distributing such a list (with the expectation of about
>$50,000 in 4-6 weeks) can legitimately be called a business, and as such,
>requires a license to do business, tax liabilities, etc. etc.

First of all, not every type of business requires a licence, as long as
you report your income properly. The only license my company has
required in three years of business is a sales tax licence to allow us
to buy wholesale and re-sell.

Second, so what? If it was legitimate, a licence would be just a business
expense.

>Second, distributing such lists over BBS's, etc. constitutes commercial
>advertising: something which is often restricted or forbidden by the
>organizations with the resources used to distribute this advertising.

Both Portal and a few of its users have done this kind of advertising
before. There ARE legitimate channels on the net for posting ads or
commercial announcements - they just aren't spread around as much as the
mainstream.

>Finally, I wouldn't want to make my home address made available to 50,000+
>recipients for reasons of privacy.  Most of the businesses which have my
>address have something to lose should they broadcast personal information
>to every shark with something to sell.

You mean like those businesses that buy and sell your name on mailing
lists. If you subscribe to any magazines, belong to any large user
groups, or get any commercial matter mailed to you on a regular basis,
you name (as part of a mailing list) has probably been in many more
places than you realize.

>This pyramid scheme can give me no such assurance.

Well, that's one reason not to participate. Can you think of any others?
-- 
  Evan Leibovitch, Telly Computing, located in beautiful Brampton, Ontario
                evan@telly.on.ca / uunet!attcan!telly!evan
European heaven: English police, French chefs, German engineers, Italian lovers
European hell:   German police, English chefs, Italian engineers, Swiss lovers