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From: rcd@opus.UUCP (Dick Dunn)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Censorship: A Case History (followup to TC Wheeler)
Message-ID: <492@opus.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 19-May-84 02:42:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: opus.492
Posted: Sat May 19 02:42:03 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 21-May-84 03:27:30 EDT
References: <761@pyuxa.UUCP>
Organization: NBI, Boulder
Lines: 50

I think TC Wheeler made some good points, but I'd like to take issue with a
few...
>Censorship is one thing, however, the blatent disregard for the edicts
>of my employer are another, be they good or bad...
I couldn't convince mysewlf that Tim wasn't just trying to figure out how
far out of line he was and what he could do to get back to a reasonable
situation.  TCW's point that we can't tell much about the real people on
either side of the issue is a good one - I apply it in this case and I
can't decide if Tim is one of these pain-in-the-ass people who deserved
to get the sack or whether he got caught on the bad side of some people who
decided to make an example out of him and make his life difficult.

>Some of Tim's later messages to his employer were, in my mind, bordering
>on insubordination.  I can't think of any organization that would allow
>a person to continue their presence very long under Tim's attack.  
I saw problems on both sides here.  I wouldn't work for an organization
that would impose restrictions or penalties on me without the decency of a
clear and fair explanation of what I'd done wrong.  Of course, I've got my
degree and experience; I'm eminently employable, so all this is too easy
for me to say.

>Some of the netters out there seem to think that Tim's rights were
>being curtailed.  Wrong.  Access to the net is nothing more than a
>privilege granted by the powers from rug row.  The priviledge can be
>revoked at any time by the reserved parking spacers.  This is how
>it works out here in the working community...
>...if you step over their mythical line, you are going to get your
>head handed to you on a platter...
True enough, BUT  (1) Just because there are lots of organizations that
will put the screws to their people for arbitrary reasons and without
explanation, that doesn't make it right.  (2)  If you get zinged by (what
you see as) an arbitrary or capricious reaction, and you have a public
forum available in which to present your case, that's fair.  That's what
Tim seems to be doing (regardless of whether he's right about it).

Look, there's a large company in our area that requires its employees to submit
to polygraph tests on request as a condition of employment (meaning they
can summarily fire you if you ever refuse to take one).  Now, I think that
sucks something I can't even say in ROT13, and I'm glad that there are
people from that company who have complained publicly to tell us about it.

>As to the remarks about the staff and faculty at UNC, why don't some
>of you people wait and find out what happened from their side of things?
Agree, and we're waiting to hear from them.  Hello, over there?
>I don't think calling them agents of the USSR is at all fair...
Right - a few people have been pretty quick to judge harshly on half the
evidence.
-- 
...A friend of the devil is a friend of mine.		Dick Dunn
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd				(303) 444-5710 x3086