Xref: utzoo comp.org.eff.talk:2326 alt.privacy:538 alt.censorship:2198
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!mips!news.cs.indiana.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!gardner
From: gardner@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Mike Gardner)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk,alt.privacy,alt.censorship
Subject: Re: Prodigy charged with invading users' privacy (was Re: Lifestyle Information ( was Re: Safeway Stores to Accept Charge)
Message-ID: <1991May4.183801.5498@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 4 May 91 18:38:01 GMT
References: <1991Apr30.184714.4675@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> <1991Apr30.185752.4913@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> <57M001546bv800@amdahl.uts.amdahl.com> <1991May04.030521.13471@vpnet.chi.il.us>
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Lines: 42

louisg@vpnet.chi.il.us (Louis Giliberto) writes:

>Prodigy reserves the right to review and edit any material submitted for
>display or placed on the PRODIGY service, excluding private electronic
>messages.

>[In bold] Messaging.
>Prodigy will not intentionally [ha!] inspect the contents of private electronic
>messages sent by one member to an identified addressee, or disclose such
>contents to other than the sender or an intended recipient, without the consent
>of the sender or of the intended recipient, unless required to do so by law.

>So if those guys were sending bulk junk mail to other users, how would
>Prodigy know without looking at it?  And, if they use some form of electronic
>sentry to sniff out key words such as "bomb," is that not an inspection?

Notice that Prodigy says "sent by one member to AN identified ADDRESSEE".
That's one person.  The mail could still be reasonably private, but forwarding
programs could flag and hold mail that was broadcast to a MANY people or
placed in public areas without examining the contents of any message or
violating their agreement.  Anything you put on the outside of an envelope
(mail headers) is not under the same protection as what is inside.

>Does anyone else see this, or am I looking at things sideways?

mmmmm About 45 degrees to the right...

I think Prodigy bungled their email policy and I don't like what they did
either, but if you join the club, you play by their rules.  There
are better places to get better service.
mgg
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