Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version VT1.00C 11/1/84; site vortex.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!decvax!vortex!lauren
From: lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: message control at individual sites
Message-ID: <521@vortex.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 22-Jan-85 05:40:27 EST
Article-I.D.: vortex.521
Posted: Tue Jan 22 05:40:27 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Jan-85 21:24:34 EST
Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles
Lines: 34

The recent mention of someone who removed certain messages from the
netnews systems under their control reminds me of something rather
important.  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.  As the phone-based net continues to grow, there
will probably be increasing numbers of cases where messages
are posted which some administrators feel are in bad taste or that
might subject them to internal or external company/legal sanctions.
The increase in this sort of situation would appear inevitable, given
the public posting nature of Usenet.  Also, there have been recent court
cases where computer bulletin board operators have been held potentially
liable for unscreened messages on their systems.  It is natural that
people would be getting increasingly concerned.
 
One major advantage to the sort of carefully worked out and organized
moderation system proposed for Stargate would be the availability
of clearly spelled out criteria for message screening.  Given the
participation of the network in designing such a system (and the
ongoing monitoring of such a system by the net) the necessity of "ad hoc"
filtering of messages by individual sites and administrators
would hopefully be greatly reduced, at least for traffic coming
over Stargate.  This would, to my mind, be a substantial improvement.

--Lauren--

P.S.  Please note that I may be unable to reply to messages for
a few days while I'm in Dallas.  I'll see some of you there, 
I assume....

--LW--