Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!epimass!jbuck
From: jbuck@epimass.EPI.COM (Joe Buck)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Changes to the monthly postings (for rec.humor.funny)
Keywords: administivia
Message-ID: <2844@epimass.EPI.COM>
Date: 2 Feb 89 17:20:38 GMT
References: <2706@looking.UUCP>
Reply-To: jbuck@epimass.EPI.COM (Joe Buck)
Organization: Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 43

I sent this in mail to Brad Templeton, but it seems appropriate here as
well.

In article <2706@looking.UUCP> you write:
>	The licence to transmit the group over USENET has changed slightly.
...

>	In general, I now require all sites which derive
>	income particularly from selling USENET access to ask permission.
>	Most sites don't have to ask.  Computer centers that are mainly in
>	the business of selling general computing don't have to ask.
>	Pay-to-use BBS systems and people who sell network access as a
>	major feature have to ask.  I think Portal had better contact me
>	real soon now.

Brad, what's all this stuff about "license to transmit this group?"
You are the moderator.  You do not have some of the ownership rights you
are claiming, and as a long-time news administrator I do not recognize
the right you are claiming to prevent uunet from receiving rec.humor.funny
unless you say it's OK (guess what they sell as a major feature?) -- or
anyone else.  By agreeing to moderate a net-wide group, you implicitly
agreed to transmit it net-wide, under the existing terms of the way Usenet
operates.  If you're going to start causing major trouble for us admins
by requiring us to consult our lawyers every week, we'll just have to can
you.  You're doing exactly what you accuse others of doing -- attempting
to restrict the free flow of discussion and humor.  Knock it off.  You're
turning into almost as much of a pain in the ass as JEDR.

If you attempt to cut off Portal or the Well or anybody else, we'll just
laugh in your face and ignore you.

>The problem with censorship is that it desensitizes people to violence.
>Censorship IS violence.

So is extortion.  Exactly what do you want the Portal people to do so
you'll agree to send them rec.humor.funny?  Give you a cut of their income?


-- 
- Joe Buck	jbuck@epimass.epi.com, or uunet!epimass.epi.com!jbuck,
		or jbuck%epimass.epi.com@uunet.uu.net for old Arpa sites

Life is not a dress rehearsal.