Path: utzoo!attcan!telly!evan
From: evan@telly.on.ca (Evan Leibovitch)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: The Rape of Usenet (an alternative to the alternative view)
Message-ID: <25923400.2AF5@telly.on.ca>
Date: 22 Dec 89 14:02:39 GMT
References: <946@crash.cts.com> <344@6sceng.UUCP>
Organization: Public Access Usenet, Brampton, Ontario
Lines: 29

In article <344@6sceng.UUCP> blm@6sceng.UUCP (Brian Matthews) writes:

>However, as far as I know, all of the sites that charge for connect time
>or are public access sites allow a two way flow of news.  Subscribers
>read news collected from Usenet, and can also contribute news back to
>Usenet.  This doesn't appear to be the case with the GEnie gateway.

I don't think there is much argument that Genie's not passing news/mail
back into Usenet is a Bad Thing. However, this "rape of Usenet" stuff
is being way overblown.

To me, Genie's offering reading but not posting will be a phenominal
tease to its users. It doesn't take much reading to see that Usenet is
a highly interactive medium.

Reading Usenet and choosing not to reply or followup is one thing. Not
being able to, will be very frustrating to many Genie users.

Certainly people reading Usenet on Genie will want to participate, to
contribute. Those users on Genie who really want to participate will
either pressure Genie to allow them to post/reply, or they will seek
out sites which can give them full Usenet privileges.

To me, the value of just watching Usenet like a ticker-tape is limited.

-- 
  Evan Leibovitch, Sound Software, located in beautiful Brampton, Ontario
          evan@telly.on.ca / uunet!attcan!telly!evan / (416)452-0504
   "That's the last time I buy aftershave at a gas station" - Sam Malone