Xref: utzoo news.misc:1072 news.config:377
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!pcrat!rick
From: rick@pcrat.UUCP (Rick Richardson)
Newsgroups: news.misc,news.config
Subject: Re: The USENET Backbone (Last changed: 10 December 1987)
Message-ID: <444@pcrat.UUCP>
Date: 4 Jan 88 13:38:02 GMT
References: <2802@arthur.cs.purdue.edu> <14191@oddjob.UChicago.EDU> <2844@arthur.cs.purdue.edu> <443@pcrat.UUCP> <1846@s.cc.purdue.edu>
Reply-To: rick@pcrat.UUCP (Rick Richardson)
Organization: PC Research, Inc., Tinton Falls, NJ
Lines: 33

In article <1846@s.cc.purdue.edu> rsk@s.cc.purdue.edu.UUCP (Frozen Wombat) writes:
>In article <443@pcrat.UUCP> rick@pcrat.UUCP (Rick Richardson) writes:
>>No, this is the infamous "Backbone Flame".  Despite what many think,
>>USENET will survive without the generous censorship of "The Backbone".
>>
>>seismo!uunet!pcrat!rick
>
>Ah, but you won't be getting much mail without "The Backbone", since your
>return route goes through a backbone site. :-)

UUCP mail is not a part of USENET.  In fact, I'll continue to get mail
no matter what happens to USENET itself.  AT&T provides uucp access
with the "attmail" service.

>Seriously, though, this is a really stupid remark.  I've been around Usenet
>since about 1980, and have yet to see any evidence of "censorship" on the
>part of the backbone.  No, I'm not blind; yes, I have a liberal definition
>of censorship; and yes, I'm very well aware of what the backbone does.

Just try to create a newsgroup without "Backbone" support.  It'll
be deleted.  Yet, ARPA "inet" newsgroups get converted to USENET groups
with nary a vote.  How about net.jokes?  I believe that group
was victimized by censorship at a backbone site around 1982.

>Would those or you (like Rick) who find it so distasteful kindly go
>somewhere else with your ill-informed speculations?

I've already gone somewhere ... to UUNET.  "We don't like your views,
so please leave" - hmm, smacks of censorship to me.
-- 
	Rick Richardson, President, PC Research, Inc.
(201) 542-3734 (voice, nights)   OR   (201) 834-1378 (voice, days)
		seismo!uunet!pcrat!rick