Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!gatech!mcdchg!chinet!patrick
From: patrick@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick A. Townson)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Introduction to REC.HUMOR.FUNNY -- Monthly Posting
Message-ID: <7652@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 7 Feb 89 07:17:29 GMT
References: <2712@looking.UUCP> <1449@papaya.bbn.com> <2944@stiatl.UUCP> <363@magnus.UUCP> <2724@looking.UUCP> <839@splut.UUCP>
Reply-To: patrick@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick A. Townson)
Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix
Lines: 33

In article <839@splut.UUCP> jay@splut.UUCP (Jay "you ignorant splut!" Maynard) writes:
>To those who would destroy rec.humor.funny and Brad Templeton, I
>challenge you to come up with an alternate solution that addresses his
>problems and yours as well. I suspect that you will have a very
>difficult time coming up with an acceptable solution.

Not so. See my other message this date; probably just before/after this one.
Compilation-copyright does protect us all, but it should not be used by any
of us (Usenetters) against others of us.

Fidonet in its early days formed the "International Fidonet Association"
for the purpose primarily of holding the network address matrix in trust,
and enforcing network technical standards, etc.

I suggest that "Usenet Cooperative Trust, Inc" could serve and protect us
all, by holding a copyright on the maps, to prevent scoundrels from abusing
them; by holding a copyright on other inter-network routing information, 
again to prevent those who would dump commercial junk mail on us all; and
by holding a compilation-copyright on the collective intellectual works
each day. Such a copyright would be renewed daily, just as the newspapers
copyright each edition of the paper each day, the sole purpose being to
prevent wholesale ripoffs by commercial sites and commercial networks.

In other words, compilation-copyright is a great idea if it is a sort of
'meta-copyright' on the whole thing, held by persons accountable to the
net and appointed by the net; persons we already trust and respect to
do the right thing.


-- 
Patrick Townson 
  patrick@chinet.chi.il.us / US Mail: 60690-1570 (personal zip code)
  FIDO: 115/743 / AT&T Mail: 529-6378 (!ptownson) /  MCI Mail: 222-4956