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From: mcb@lll-tis.arpa (Michael C. Berch)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Responsibility for postings.
Message-ID: <21790@lll-tis.arpa>
Date: Wed, 21-Oct-87 16:49:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: lll-tis.21790
Posted: Wed Oct 21 16:49:31 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Oct-87 06:30:46 EDT
References: <4611@videovax.Tek.COM> <2294@umn-cs.UUCP> <1606@dasys1.UUCP> <4626@videovax.Tek.COM> <168@ut-emx.UUCP> <8499@sri-unix.ARPA>
Reply-To: mcb@lll-tis.arpa (Michael C. Berch)
Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore CA
Lines: 33
Summary: "Tempest in a teapot?"

In article <8499@sri-unix.ARPA> maslak@sri-unix.UUCP (Valerie Maslak) writes:
> [Re Lippman/Smith debacle...]
>
> So, net gods, lest you think that this is a tempest in a teapot,
> it's not. But the issue is not whether Lippmann was libeled but
> rather whether being an unconventional woman is net.death.
> 
> Valerie Maslak

Actually, it IS a tempest in a teapot, and some of us are trying our
level best to KEEP it in a teapot, and out of lawyers' offices, 
departmental/managerial conferences, and the courts.

The merits of the case ("being an unconventional woman"; "the value of
pornography"; "X libeled me"; "My rights are being denied") are irrelevant.
Personally, I think both Larry Lippman and Mark Ethan Smith are WAY out 
of line, and I have no interest in defending the viewpoints of either.
I can sympathize with both of them -- Lippman for being unwarrantedly
flamed by Smith (hey; it's happened to me too, for some sort of twaddle 
about "diminutive pronouns" that was totally unrelated to the matter at 
hand); Smith for having to worry about people trying to take her
account(s) away -- certainly a legitimate concern.  But this isn't the issue.

Clearly our network can survive any amount of internal dissention,
flamage, and controversy.  This has been proven repeatedly over the
years.  But its vulnerability to EXTERNAL pressure is unknown, and 
I don't want to see a situation where the ability of people to participate 
in Usenet might be curtailed because various persons couldn't resolve
their personal problems without trying to bring down the whole show.

Michael C. Berch 
ARPA: mcb@lll-tis.arpa
UUCP: {ames,ihnp4,lll-crg,lll-lcc,mordor}!lll-tis!mcb