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From: dricej@drilex
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: Re: Reading other peoples' mail
Message-ID: <128@drilex>
Date: Sat, 26-Apr-86 07:59:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: drilex.128
Posted: Sat Apr 26 07:59:00 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 13-May-86 01:12:50 EDT
References: <1400@ecsvax>
Lines: 25


This whole discussion about reading other peoples' mail has been raging because
some important distinctions between rights and courtesies are being missed.

1. The owner of a computer has the right to control the uses to which that
computer is put.  This means that the owner, or the owner's agent (the system
administrator) has the right to look through any file on the system.  Some
owners may enter into contracts which relinquish this right, promising 
file security for the user.  This does not apply to inter-system mail, though,
because:

2. Unix mail is transmitted as a matter of courtesy, not a matter of contract.
Although we all transmit it, it is in a spirit of cooperation, not because we
were paid to do so.  Therefore, there is no formal obligation of privacy
for intersystem mail.

3. Nonetheless, we transmit mail out of courtesy.  Another aspect of courtesy
is the expectation of reasonably privacy for that mail transmission.  For
a system administrator to look through mail routinely, in search of 
competitive secrets for example, is very discourteous.  But he or she still
has the right to do it (as delegated by the owner of the computer).
-- 
Craig Jackson
UUCP: {harvard,linus}!axiom!drilex!dricej
BIX:  cjackson