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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site looking.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Newsgroups: net.mail,net.news.config,net.news.newsite,net.net-people
Subject: Re: Looking for Chicago Usenet Access
Message-ID: <663@looking.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 10-Sep-86 23:23:57 EDT
Article-I.D.: looking.663
Posted: Wed Sep 10 23:23:57 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 11-Sep-86 10:03:46 EDT
References: <964@hou2g.UUCP> <5082@cbrma.UUCP> <2531@cbosgd.UUCP>
Reply-To: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd. Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 32
Xref: watmath net.mail:1906 net.news.config:974 net.news.newsite:1062 net.net-people:1242
Summary: 

In article <2531@cbosgd.UUCP> mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) writes:
>
>The net is noncommercial, but that doesn't mean every host on it is
>noncommercial. 
>
>Similarly, a public access host like chinet or well might be a general
>purpose UNIX machine, run by a ``computer center'' like entity, which
>charges for access to the machine, and happens to have connections
>into Usenet and/or UUCP.  Chinet can't charge for the right to receive
>or send mail or news, but they can charge for the machine resources on
>chinet consumed by a user receiving or sending mail or news.

Actually, as far as I can see, there is nothing stopping any site from
charging for the right to receive or send mail and news.  Many sites already
have classes of users (sometimes based on how the accounting is done) some
of which can use net facilities and some of which can't.

This net *is* a commercial net, insofar as it is privately owned by the
owners of the equipment that support it.  The owners of the net have
no official organization, so it doesn't seem privately owned, but it is.

>Also, chinet doesn't have an exclusive
>franchise in Chicago to redistribute netnews, so if they charge an
>unreasonable fee, there's nothing to stop a user from finding someone
>else to connect in through instead.

And this is the only thing that stops somebody from charging for the mail
and news.  It's not very strong though, as nobody could do very well
providing free net use to people who don't like the prices down the
street.
-- 
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473