Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!gatech!cbosgd!mark
From: mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton)
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: Looking for Chicago Usenet Access
Message-ID: <2545@cbosgd.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 14-Sep-86 00:42:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.2545
Posted: Sun Sep 14 00:42:40 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 14-Sep-86 10:59:04 EDT
References: <964@hou2g.UUCP> <5082@cbrma.UUCP> <2531@cbosgd.UUCP> <20848@styx.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus, Oh
Lines: 23

In article <20848@styx.UUCP> mcb@styx.UUCP (Michael C. Berch) writes:
>In article <2531@cbosgd.UUCP> mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) writes:
>> 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
>  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>I don't understand. Suppose a site decided to charge by the number of mail 
>messages sent or received, or the number of bytes or lines of news read or 
>posted. Or charged $X for a plain account and $X+N for an account with
>mail/new privileges? Why is this "forbidden", and by whom? Mark's exposition
>is a good one, but I don't follow the distinction that he makes.

Chinet can't charge for the right to access Usenet, as I said.
However, they can charge for the right to *use the chinet machine
to access Usenet*.  Similarly, in the United States, nobody can
charge me for the right to receive NBC TV, which is a public broadcast
station.  However, they have no obligation to furnish me with a TV
set to pick it up, and every right to charge me if I want to use their
TV set.  Of course, I am free to provide my own TV set (at my expense)
and incur no further charges.

	Mark