Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pacbell!att!chinet!patrick
From: patrick@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick A. Townson)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Protection Against Abuse of Messages
Message-ID: <7651@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 7 Feb 89 07:01:33 GMT
References: <2726@looking.UUCP>
Reply-To: patrick@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick A. Townson)
Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix
Lines: 43

Actually, I *sort of* agree with Brad's fears, if not his complete logic.
I don't think anyone involved with Usenet; either as moderator, sysadmin
of some site, backbone site, etc would set out to deliberatly steal or
mis-use the stuff posted here.

   *But I wouldn't trust a couple of the commercial networks at all*

And networks like Compuserve, Western Union's FYI, Source, and others
which get their $5-7 per hour from users reading data bases -- have for
some time been hostile toward Fidonet and Usenet for 'stealing' users
from them; people who have wised up to the fact that you don't have to
spend $6 an hour to have a good time with your terminal and modem.

If they came after [Telecom Digest] -- and I've been told Compuserve
would like to have it -- I know it would get me almighty P.O.'ed to do the
work every night and have them charge their bozos $6 per hour to read it.

Perhaps Brad's fears could be allayed by the establishment of a not-for-
profit corporation called the Usenet Cooperative Trust, Inc. or some
similar name. Have someone like Gene Spafford and one or two other
people as officers of the corporation and trustees.

*Let the corporation and/or the trustees of the Trust hold a compilation
copyright on the entire output each day.* Modify the news software so 
that each time a user goes 'rn', as part of the message identifying which
groups have unread messages, a message would play out saying that the
entire contents were compile-copyrighted by the Usenet Cooperative Trust;
that the data herein is for use by persons participating in Usenet and 
may not be exported without the consent of the trustees of the Trust.

People would continue doing pretty much as they do now, but at least such
a copyright would prevent the worst of the abuses that Brad fears. It
would prevent wholesale lifting of material by the commercial services;
and it would recognize the work people like Templeton, Spafford and others
do to keep things running smoothly. If some commercial organization or
commercial site re-selling Usenet wanted to participate, then they could
apply to the Trustees, and the matter be brought to everyone here for a
discussion and vote. Everyone would know when something like this 
occurred, and be permitted to decide yea or nay.
-- 
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