Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!east!gonzoville!msmiller
From: msmiller@gonzoville.East.Sun.COM (Mark S. Miller)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: The Rape of Usenet
Keywords: The wholesale capturing of Usenet by GEnie
Message-ID: <1288@east.East.Sun.COM>
Date: 20 Dec 89 20:40:43 GMT
References: <946@crash.cts.com>
Sender: news@east.East.Sun.COM
Reply-To: msmiller@gonzoville.East.Sun.COM (Mark S. Miller)
Organization: Not much
Lines: 33

In article <946@crash.cts.com> canada@crash.cts.com (Diane Barlow Close) writes:
>
> [...]
>
>Is there anything (legal?) that we can do to stop this link?  In general,
>are there any ``net rules'' for this type of thing?  Is GEnie in any danger
>by uploading Usenet articles wholesale?

I'm not sure of the legalities involved, but the site from which GEnie
will tap UseNET certainly "owns" the data in their own spool area.
Heaven help them if their transfer procedure messed up and GEnie got
hold of some company-interal newgroups and broadcast such information
to their subscribers.

I can't see them uploading things blindly in vast quantities. Take it
from someone who has spent some significant time on GEnie - they
"filter" (*cough*) things quite a bit. Someone there will be checking
the UseNET articles for content and language. Alt.flame will never
have to worry about being uplinked - GEnie still fancies itself as a
"family" network when it comes to BBs.

The idea of them getting something from us (and the companies which
pay for UseNET with disk space and phone charges) for free, and then
charging for it sure doesn't seem proper. On the other hand, I can
think of a whole range of subversive things which UseNET folks could
do which could make the whole venture real inconvenient for GEnie.

        -MSM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark S. Miller      UUCP: msmiller@Sun.COM      "In a nation ruled by swine,
##################  GEnie: MSMILLER             all pigs are upward mobile."
######################################################  - Hunter S. Thompson