Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!eniac.seas.upenn.edu!chip
From: chip@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Charles H. Buchholtz)
Newsgroups: comp.admin.policy
Subject: Community Standards (was Re: Possibly nefarious users)
Message-ID: <44640@netnews.upenn.edu>
Date: 14 Jun 91 14:29:21 GMT
References: <1991Jun7.184025.25010@eng.umd.edu>
Sender: news@netnews.upenn.edu
Reply-To: chip@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Charles H. Buchholtz)
Organization: University of Pennsylvania
Lines: 44
Nntp-Posting-Host: eniac.seas.upenn.edu

russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) writes:
>Oh, and if you made a habit of leaving your car unlocked with the keys in the
>ignition, and people came by and took it for a spin now and then, I suspect
>the cops would just laugh at you for being such an idiot if you tried to 
>prosecute them.

I know people who *always* leave their car unlocked with the keys in
it.  What if one of the kids has an accident, and the baby-sitter's
car won't start?  Of course, this is in rural Kansas, where the chance
of your car being stolen is much less than in urban Philadelphia.

There are neighborhoods where people don't lock their cars, bikes,
houses, or anything.  And the people there would get pretty pissed if
you started "borrowing" their cars and bikes or breaking in to their
homes.  "Used to be, this was a good neighborhood, you could trust
people."

Suppose you're walking down the street, and it started raining very
hard.  Would you try a door, and if it was unlocked, go in out of the
rain?  Does it make a difference if the building was a private home, a
church, or a fast-food restaurant?  How do you tell a private home
from a church or a restaurant?

There is no simple rule about access to unlocked resources.  We learn
a set of cues which tell us what's appropriate and what isn't.  In the
Internet community, these standards are forming and are not completely
understood.  In a sense, we're discussing whether we want to live in
rural Kansas or urban Philadelphia.

So, when Anne walks uninvited into Bob's home, are you going to tell
Anne that she should respect people's privacy, or tell Bob that he was
stupid for not locking his house?  Or mind your own business?  What
sort of community do you want to live in?

I am posting as an individual, not as a representative of U. of P.

      Charles H. Buchholtz            chip@eniac.seas.upenn.edu
      Systems Programmer              School of Engineering
		     University of Pennsylvania.
--
Charles H. Buchholtz                           chip@ee.upenn.edu
Systems Programmer                             (215) 898-2284
Department of Electrical Engineering           200 S. 33rd St, rm 328
University of Pennsylvania                     Philadelphia, PA 19104