Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!scs!spl1!laidbak!att!chinet!mcdchg!clyde!bellcore!faline!thumper!ulysses!andante!mit-eddie!bu-cs!purdue!gatech!ncar!oddjo
From: barry@n0atp.UUCP
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Monitoring site output (formerly portal bashing)
Message-ID: <11@n0atp.UUCP>
Date: 3 Jun 88 05:33:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: n0atp.11
References: <2134@rtech.UUCP>
Reply-To: barry@n0atp.MN.ORG (Barry S. Berg)
Organization: N0ATP, Amateur Radio Packet Gateway, St. Paul, MN
Lines: 48

Followup-To:barry@n0atp.MN.ORG

In article <2134@rtech.UUCP> daveb@rtech.UUCP (It takes a clear mind to make it) writes:
>There is discussion of site responsibility for postings, particularly
>from commercial USENET service providers like Portal and the Well.  Many
      ^^^^^^^^^^
Why is everyone bashing Portal and the Well because they charge their users.
Most Tax supported schools computer centers are supported by the taxpayers
at large, and by a certain amount of operating capital (ie read tuition).
Because these guys ask the users to pay for the use directly is not a
crime.  One might argue that companies who invest personnel time (ie time
spent in admin of the news, and the time spent reading it) reduce the
productivity of the total throughput of the company, and therefore increase
the operating costs.  Thus, the employees as a whole are charged for USENET
access by a reduction in profits (due to a theoretical drop in productivity)
and thus have a lower profit sharing or 401K etc. :-) :-) :-).  

Seriously though, I doubt if at $120/user/yr they make very much profit.
Have you priced a phone line recently, and I believe that they have 16 of
them (around here that's $400 per month in phone charges alone)

>people would agree that these sites have a greater moral obligation to
>the net because of the perceived lack of skill/knowledge of their user
>base.

Why?? Do you feel that the freshman rush in the fall adds any greater
level of skill or knowlege to the general user base.  Should every
university dedicate an administrator to moderate their postings, until
in his/her opinion they "make sense."  Don't bash them because they
don't have the prestige (sp??) of a University, or Fortune 500 R&D
site to subscribe to.

>Discussion?

My opinion Follows:

I have read alot of users Howling when the feel their "Freedom of Speech..."
was being impaired.  Personally, I feel that the only obscenities are
Censorship and Predjudice.  What most of the Portal bashing seems to be
is a need to restrict and censor those who do not have the appropriate
status.  I believe that the NET needs more public access not less.  It
is the mark of an intelegent (sp?? -- sorry no spell at this site) 
civilization that brings divergent views from as many sources as possible
into any discussion. I think we need more Portals and Wells. 

-- 
Barry S. Berg                  	  DOMAIN: barry@n0atp.N0ATP.MN.ORG
N0ATP Packet Radio Gateway        UUCP: {...}amdahl!bungia!n0atp!barry
"Speech is civilization itself--it is silence which isolates." --Thomas Mann
"Moderation in all things, most especially moderation." --Author as yet unknown.