Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!hao!husc6!m2c!ulowell!page
From: page@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page)
Newsgroups: comp.org.usenix
Subject: Is USENIX selling attendee lists?
Message-ID: <5536@swan.ulowell.edu>
Date: 17 Mar 88 22:50:04 GMT
Reply-To: page@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Lowell, Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 32

I recently got some marketing poop from "Information Builders Inc"
about a product called FOCUS.

The cover letter, bearing the suspicious mark "(100271 UN)" in the
lower right, starts:

  Thank you for allowing us the opportunity  to demonstrate FOCUS to
  you at the recent USENIX Technical Conference

Oh yeah?  I don't remember seeing any vendors at USENIX, or talking to
anybody from Information Builders Inc, or even getting a demonstration
of something called FOCUS, which looks like something I would not have
any interest in.  Naturally, their local sales rep will call me in the
next few days, just to make sure I got the info and did I have any
questions?

So how did they get my name?  Did USENIX sell the attendee list?  Am I
going to be deluged with ads and phone calls, begging me to buy UNIX
report writers, UNIX spreadsheets, UNIX terminals, and all kinds of
other things that my UNIX system Can't Afford To Be Without?

Nowhere on the conference registration was there a box that said
"check here if you don't want us to sell your name to vendors."  If
that's what's implied by the box for attendee list, it should clearly
say so.  I'd like others in the UNIX community to know how to get in
touch with me, but as for vendors ...

Is this just me, or did others get this demonstration too?

..Bob
-- 
Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept.  page@swan.ulowell.edu  ulowell!page
		"Nicaragua" is Spanish for "Vietnam."