Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!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: <7672@chinet.chi.il.us>
Date: 10 Feb 89 00:59:46 GMT
References: <611@oresoft.uu.net>
Reply-To: patrick@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick A. Townson)
Distribution: na
Organization: Chinet - Public Access Unix
Lines: 52

In article <611@oresoft.uu.net> news@oresoft.uu.net (Randy Bush) writes:
>patrick@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick A. Townson) writes:
>>I suggest that "Usenet Cooperative Trust, Inc" could serve and protect us
>
>While my philosophical/legal side agrees with you completely, my social
>instincts and FidoNet experiences make me wary that this only provides a
>focus for flames.  Junk mail and map ripoff may be the lesser evils.

Your discussion of the origins of the International Fidonet Association is
generally correct. 

As for this place being a 'focus for flames', what else is old? Flames 
come, and flames go around here. What difference would one or two more
make?

If anything, maybe we could learn from history (of Fidonet) for a change,
and in establishing a legal entity here learn from the mistakes of Fidonet.
IFNA did make a lot of rules that people resented; and they still seem to
have a needless bureaucracy in many of their activities. I would keep it
a lot more simple. I'd ask each site for the princely sum of $5 per year
which would surely cover all expenses, and permit users to donate if they
wished to do so with no obligation of any kind.

Assuming around 10,000 sites, the $50,000 collected annually would be used
to compensate the trustees for out of pocket expenses in meeting with 
each other and sysadmins/moderators as required. It would pay their phone
bills for Usenet business; whatever fees would be required for corporate
filing costs, and goddess forbid, an occasional attorney consultation.

Some of it could be used to pay a single full time person to physically
manage the maps and software, diddling each as required from time to time;
send out the monthly corrections to the 'permanent postings for new users';
actually submit the required copyright forms; resolve technical problems
between sites to the best of their ability; maintain the list of moderators,
etc. Sort of a 'Postmaster General' to keep things smooth and report problems
to the trustees if neccessary.

To comply with corporate laws, I think there would have to be an annual
meeting of the members of the corporation, and the minutes posted, plus
an announcement of the annual meeting.

But I would keep it all short and sweet. No endless meetings; no committees
formed to bicker among themselves; no layer after layer of bureaucracy.
Usenet is not Fidonet after all. The main reason for the existence of the
Trust would be to keep our collective asses covered and prevent abusive 
behavior when possible without moderators, sysadmins, etc having to become
*personally* liable/obligated for anything.

-- 
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