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From: peter@taronga.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: More on BBSs and Phone Rates
Message-ID: <72154@bu.edu.bu.edu>
Date: 12 Jan 91 15:26:31 GMT
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In article <15944@accuvax.nwu.edu>, TELECOM Moderator, in responding
to Mike Godwin writes:

> fantasy sex over the phone switch to residential rates. After all,
> they have the same old callers day after day, as do the non-sexual
> chat lines. Those tend to be virtual communities also.

I suspect that the chat lines qualify as "virtual communities", but not
the dial-a-porn. How can you call it a community if none of the "members"
know each other?

I think this is a specious argument, but you are going a bit overboard
here.

In article <15946@accuvax.nwu.edu>, TELECOM Moderator responds to 
peter@taronga.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva):

> [Moderator's Note:  I don't think you should pay business rates...

> I assume your operation -- for friends only! -- is not advertised.
> You do not encourage strangers to call. You do not run sixteen lines
> and you do not have total strangers (to you) linked in chat with other
> strangers.

Good, we've established a base at which a BBS is not a business. Now,
let's go on from there ... a friend of mine is running an eight-line
system, but he doesn't advertise. Five of the lines have modems that
are compatible with Teletext services, so U.S. Videotel customers (and
old Sourceline customers) can call. Most of the users are people he
knows from U.S.Videotel, or from other BBSes, but he doesn't validate.
This system is not to my knowledge (or his) advertised anywhere, but
it does have chat and games and the lines are in use a considerable
portion of the time. Very few (if any) of the users are total
strangers to him, though we don't all know each other.

This person is by nature fairly solitary, so the BBS is a large part of
his social life. Is it a business?


(peter@taronga.uucp.ferranti.com)


[Moderator's Note: Probably it should not be treated as a business
since there is at least some connection between himself and the
callers. As you pointed out, 'few if any are total strangers'. He does
not really solicit the public, or invite electronic strangers to call
and make use of his facilities. I never said some of these situations
would not be close calls, and this one is certainly such a case. My
feeling would be that in cases where things are *so gray* that no real
decision can be made, the benefit of the doubt should go to the
subscriber.  PAT]