Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!mcnc!ecsvax!bch
From: bch@ecsvax.UUCP (Byron C. Howes)
Newsgroups: news.sysadmin
Subject: Re: Larry Lippman vs. Mark Ethan Smith
Message-ID: <3995@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 7-Oct-87 16:21:14 EDT
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.3995
Posted: Wed Oct  7 16:21:14 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Oct-87 10:38:11 EDT
References: <1939@midas.TEK.COM> <1514@dasys1.UUCP> <7070@eddie.MIT.EDU> <7078@eddie.MIT.EDU> <2074@kitty.UUCP> <995@maynard.BSW.COM>
Reply-To: bch@ecsvax.UUCP (Byron C. Howes)
Organization: UNC Educational Computing Service
Lines: 23

Can we get this drivel out of news.sysadmin.  While wearing other of my hats
I might be interested in it, but I find its leaking into one of the newsgroups
I must read as part of my work to be a royal pain.  As long as I'm here...

If anyone called me and tried to get me to yank one of my users ids on the
basis of the remarks similar to those attributed to Mark Ethan Smith I would
(1) laugh because I'd think it was someone putting me on and (2) hang up
once I discovered it was serious.

Speaking to one of the few salient points in this brouhaha, however, I
suspect that my responsibility for postings on the machine I administer
begins and ends with articles posted by me and -- if my director insists --
those persons who are also employed by my organization.  I also suspect
that if it were determined legally that sites were responsible for all
postings that issued forth from them that usenet as we know it would die
very quickly.  Most system administrators (Mr. Lippman seems to be the
exception) do not have time to read and evaluate all articles posted by
the users of their sites.  Most of us have more important fires to fight.

-- 

  	  Byron Howes
usenet/bitnet address:  bch@ecsvax