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From: taylor@hplabsc.UUCP (Dave Taylor)
Newsgroups: net.news.sa,net.news.adm,net.wanted
Subject: Re: Looking for information on PUBLIC ACCESS USENET sites ...
Message-ID: <493@hplabsc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 23-Jul-86 10:52:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: hplabsc.493
Posted: Wed Jul 23 10:52:17 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Jul-86 03:26:46 EDT
References: <867@mit-trillian.MIT.EDU> <935@tekig5.UUCP>
Reply-To: taylor@hplabsc.UUCP (Dave Taylor)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Labs, Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 40
Summary: They're better, not worse!
Xref: mnetor net.news.sa:252 net.news.adm:599 net.wanted:3501

Pete Lancashire  writes:
>
>Now I even have to question the future of USENET, what do the big sites
>think of public access ? I as a paying customer at Tektronix and soon at
>home (not only a node but as one who will be feeding at least 4 other
>sites) just can't feel at ease with the local cbbs type junk that could
>end up on the net, it's bad enough now.

Sorry Pete, but I don't think you understand what is meant by a public 
access site...

	First off, there is no 'law' that people who turn out to be drips
	can't be tossed off.  In fact, the peer pressure of the rest of the
	community (i.e. us) should be enough to force people to exhibit at
	least SOME socially acceptable behaviours.  IT seems oddly common
	that people associate public access with complete anarchy.  It's
	not.

	Secondly, in my experience, public access systems are VERY GOOD for
	the net - it gives us a wider cross-section of the population (right
	now we only see postings from people who LIKE computers, who WORK
	with computers, who SPEND MONEY on computers, etc etc).  The more
	different and diverse views we can have on the system, even at the
	price of increased traffic, the better!

	Thirdly, I've also found that the public access machines have far
	more interesting internal conferences than the usenet - for example,
	on the Well there is a conference on Computer Books, and among the
	active participants are three top-selling authors, a columnist,
	a couple of regular writers for various 'rags, and a publisher.
	The quality of the discussion is amazing.  Especially when compare
	to such dreck as 'net.legal'.

My conclusion then, is that I STRONGLY support free systems as a way of
diversifying the network and enriching all of us.  Let's hear it for the
non computer types!!

						--- Dave Taylor

	moderator: mod.comp-soc  and  mod.conferences