Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!midway!linac!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!agate!ucbvax!AESD.dnet.ge.com!IAGDGP
From: IAGDGP@AESD.dnet.ge.com
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: re: censorship on the nets, was something longer
Message-ID: <9011151338.AA25144@crdgw1.ge.com>
Date: 15 Nov 90 13:38:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 22


	We've heard alot about the censorship on Prodigy here. One of the
repercussions in the industry is that GEnie lowered their rates and attracted
alot of the disgruntled Prodigy users. Well now GEnie is doing some rather
interesting censorship of its own. They can't keep up with the new traffic
and are attempting to force users to only discuss topics in specific places.
The science fiction area has taken the most heat. What bureaucrats at both
companies dont see is that these networks are new little communities, the
21st century village! This new way of communicaticating and the free speech
implications are going to be with us mutating and growing for a long time.
Companies whose only interest is profit margin and users that feel their
"rights" are being abused are going to buck heads continually.

I do applaud GEnie though. The decision to prune the sfrt generated alot
of debate ( and flames). On Prodigy, from what I gather, it would have been
squelched!

Doug Prosser
GE/aesd
Utica, NY

D.PROSSER1 on GEnie