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From: vnend@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (D. W. James)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,news.groups,news.admin
Subject: Re: USSR International Computer Club (was: Information on the ICC)
Keywords: illegal activities
Message-ID: <5735@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 23 Jan 89 17:39:55 GMT
References: <10127@well.UUCP> <1315@orion.cf.uci.edu> <810@afit-ab.arpa> <10870@umn-cs.CS.UMN.EDU> <824@afit-ab.arpa> <1560@cps3xx.UUCP> <825@afit-ab.arpa> <24302@apple.Apple.COM> <2393@cuuxb.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: vnend@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (D. W. James)
Organization: Princeton University, NJ
Lines: 49

In article <2393@cuuxb.ATT.COM> dlm@cuuxb.UUCP (Dennis L. Mumaugh) writes:
)The tone of some people's posting on the subject is that there is
)no problem with the use of USENET and that posting of various
)material can pose no legal problems.

	Correct, and the limits of liability of System Admins and
corporations owning the machines in question is still *very* much
in the air.  And with the current stats from UUNET showing traffic
of nearly 55meg this last two *weeks* the question of screening
the material continues to recede from the realm of practicality.

	Some of you have seen my paper on liability for libel on
the net, now probably very out of date.  Things were scary then,
and I havn't seen anything to make me feel that they are better now.
And the question of how to cope with the problem is even thornier,
to the point where, short of a (literal) act of congress there *is*
no solution.

 
)This attitude is most dangerous.  In fact should this sort of
)activity continue, it is possible the we have an incident that
)could can serious harm to USENET and computer communications.

	You said a mouthful.  One person, with a reasonably
hot flame in hand and more money than sense, could do a terrible
amount of damage to the net as it exists today.  I know *I* would
hate to see that happen, there is a huge potential here for a 
benefit to society.  But I also know that there are people out there
who disagree...

 
)[Not that it is true but much of alt.sex is illegal and considered 
)obscene by several states.]

	Can you provide evidence to back this up, both parts?  I just
recently looked into alt.sex for the first time since its creation,
and havn't seen anything that would be either (though the obscene
part is admittedly *very* much open to debate.)  But I haven't seen
anything that could be construed as illegal per se...

 
)=Dennis L. Mumaugh


-- 
Later Y'all,  Vnend                       Ignorance is the mother of adventure.   
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