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Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaero!pesnta!amdcad!amdahl!gam
From: gam@amdahl.UUCP (gam)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Re: message control at individual sites
Message-ID: <1036@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 25-Jan-85 00:17:20 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.1036
Posted: Fri Jan 25 00:17:20 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Jan-85 07:17:35 EST
References: <521@vortex.UUCP>
Organization: Blue Mouse Trailer Resort, Hellmouth, CA
Lines: 26

> = Lauren

>             While it is unfortunate when "ad hoc" message removals
> occur, it is clearly the responsibility of each site's operational
> staff to determine what materials they feel are appropriate to
> be on their system.  Nobody on conventional Usenet today is under
> any specific obligation to allow their facilities to be used 
> for the storage and/or forwarding of materials they do not feel
> are appropriate.

While I agree that no one on Usenet is obliged to forward materials
that they do not feel are appropriate, I would like to distinguish
between the erasure and termination (non-transmittal) of
"inapppropriate" (slanderous, libelous, or otherwise illegal)
articles and outright censorship of an individual or their articles
because the Usenet administrator disagrees with them.

I propose that the Net-Etiquette should also point out the
unethical nature of this sort of censorship.

I must concede that any Usenet administrator has the right to
remove articles from their machine for whatever reason, but to
affect the transmission of traffic in this manner (censorship)
is, to my mind, a grave moral offense.
-- 
Gordon A. Moffett		...!{ihnp4,hplabs,sun}!amdahl!gam