Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton)
Subject: Re: Rich $alz is still alive ??!!!??!!
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd.
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 90 21:08:51 GMT
Message-ID: <1990Nov29.210851.12111@looking.on.ca>
References: <1990Nov24.163906.19793@chinet.chi.il.us> <971@iiasa.UUCP> <1990Nov28.020040.5518@looking.on.ca> <1990Nov29.175030.18506@cbnews.att.com>

My suggestion may be fine, but there are enough people who disagree with it
that it is unlikely to work.  Which is either good or sad depending on your
viewpoint.

USENET has enough people that each would only have to contribute a miniscule
amount to get things like good software or full time moderators.  But there is
not, and won't be -- and perhaps shouldn't be -- a mechanism to do that.

The alternative, of collecting a non-miniscule amount from a smaller amount
of people, isn't likely to work, whether you give it out to everybody or just
those who pay.

Don't get me wrong, I like the anarchy of usenet.  There are just some things
it can't do that would be nice to see.

People like Rick Adams and myself have taken other approaches.  We have
businesses selling definite services that are adjunct to USENET, but we
end up giving things away in order to generate good will.  Perhaps that is
an eventual, partial solution.   However, good will is only worth a certain
amount -- you can't give away the farm for it.
-- 
Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473