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From: doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee)
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.rumor,net.news.group
Subject: Re: The elimination of certain non-technical newsgroups by so called "powers-that-be"
Message-ID: <1176@terak.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 9-May-86 13:52:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: terak.1176
Posted: Fri May  9 13:52:26 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 13-May-86 03:05:41 EDT
References: <588@jade.BERKELEY.EDU> <183@brl-sem.ARPA> <2697@jhunix.UUCP> <517@polaris.UUCP>
Reply-To: doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee)
Organization: Calcomp Display Products Division, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
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Xref: watmath net.followup:6256 net.rumor:2287 net.news.group:5540

>as for fairness, it is us who have been getting the free lunch for the
>past 4 years.  if the backbone sites say no more netnews unless someone
>else pays, NO-ONE can force them to do otherwise.

I'd like to add to this...

The "backbone" is *not* some kind of monopoly.  There is no reason that
other sites couldn't set up their own "backbone" which would carry all
the newsgroups that they want.

Except *that* would cost them real *money*, instead of being able to
take advantage of the generosity of the current backbone sites.

The only reason that there's only 1 backbone is because everybody else
is too dang cheap to develop, maintain, and pay the phone bills for
alternate connections.

So to all the gripers out there, I say: If you don't like the way the
current backbone sites run their operations, develop your own net
backbone.  Or else accept whatever freebies that the current backbone
sites provide with some degree of appreciation and grace, eh?
-- 
Doug Pardee -- CalComp -- {elrond,seismo,decvax,ihnp4}!terak!doug