Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ogicse!oregon!jmeissen
From: jmeissen@oregon.oacis.org ( Staff OACIS)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: internet
Message-ID: <38@oregon.oacis.org>
Date: 22 Oct 90 16:23:37 GMT
References: <5162@crash.cts.com>
Organization: Oregon Advanced Computing Institute (OACIS)
Lines: 51

In article <5162@crash.cts.com> mlyons@pro-truckstop.cts.com (Handles, SysOp) writes:
>
>Attention all InterNet users; Sour Grapes.
>
  [bitter comments about being denied a news feed deleted]
>
>I was told that other systems get the feeds because they donate moneys
>and equipment to this university, so we give them access to the feeds. I 
>was told there so called super computer can't be bothered with feeds to 
>a small system for free. I thought the internet was free.

Internet is not free. It costs thousands of dollars per year. Less for
academic institutions than commercial organizations, but still thousands
(I believe the last figure was >$50,000 per year for a commercial org.).

I believe you are confusing Internet (which is a NSF funded high-speed
digital network) with usenet (a loose, informal network of computers,
where each node feeds other nodes on an informal basis, often by phone
lines).

Because of the convenience, Internet now carries much of the usenet
traffic. But even in the case of local phone feeds, the connection
costs time, money, and resources. Providing a news feed at 2400 baud
requires an account, account maintenance, and ties up a phone line
for quite some time. It doesn't take many such feeds to completely
monopolize a dial-up line. The university has to pay the phone company
for these lines, and while they are tied up giving feeds they can't be
used for legitimate business.

There is a growing trend to only provide feeds to sites that can support
9600 or 19.2K modems.

There is no requirement for a site to provide arbitrary feeds. The protocol
is to contact sites downstream from them until you can find one that can
support another feed.

>So as a show of support for my cause, call USF TECH support, ..........

Please don't.

>
>Bitter; Any Comments? 

yeah...quitcherbitchin.


-- 
John Meissen .............................. Oregon Advanced Computing Institute
jmeissen@oacis.org        (Internet) | "That's the remarkable thing about life;
..!sequent!oacis!jmeissen (UUCP)     |  things are never so bad that they can't
jmeissen                  (BIX)      |  get worse." - Calvin & Hobbes