Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!pyramid!pesnta!hplabs!qantel!lll-lcc!lll-crg!seismo!mcvax!ukc!dcl-cs!jam
From: jam@dcl-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.rumor,net.news.adm
Subject: Reading other people's mail
Message-ID: <117@comp.lancs.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 22-Apr-86 04:05:38 EST
Article-I.D.: comp.117
Posted: Tue Apr 22 04:05:38 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 26-Apr-86 05:59:06 EST
References: <703@frog.UUCP> <12400018@uiucdcs> <2410@jhunix.UUCP> <168@proper.UUCP> <132@fai.UUCP> <11414@amdcad.UUCP>
Reply-To: jam@comp.lancs.ac.uk (John A. Mariani)
Organization: Department of Computing at Lancaster University, UK.
Lines: 42
Xref: watmath net.rumor:2039 net.news.adm:641

In article <11414@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
>In article <132@fai.UUCP> ronc@fai.UUCP (Ronald O. Christian) writes:
>>How do the rest of you system administrators feel?  Is it within your
>>rights to open other people's mail?
>
>I'm supposed to keep the system running without looking at the files?

I've been following this discussion (none too closely, I admit) and
I think some people are making a fundamental equation which just
doesn't hold up;

e-mail ==  ordinary paper mail (or snail mail!)

Perhaps a better equation would be

e-mail == telephone communication

Now, hey, I'm pretty paranoid but I'm not talking about telephone tapping etc.
There may well be good reasons for the operator/telephone engineer to
overhear (part of) a telephone conversation (although I can't think of
one now!). They may have to listen in to ensure the correct functioning of
the telephone system (no?). I think SAs find themselves in much the same
situation.

Maybe the rule should be "we can't talk about this on the phone"
(substitute e-mail). Why not use encryption (oops -- that *could* be
illegal, I guess!).

Basically, I think the "e-mail == paper mail" concept is *all* wrong!

This issue has further ramifications : unfriendly users reading your own
files etc.



-- 
"You see me now a veteran of a thousand psychic wars...."

UUCP:  ...!seismo!mcvax!ukc!dcl-cs!jam 
DARPA: jam%lancs.comp@ucl-cs	| Post: University of Lancaster,
JANET: jam@uk.ac.lancs.comp	|	Department of Computing,
Phone: +44 524 65201 ext 4467	|	Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4YR, UK.