Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!uw-beaver!fluke!ssc-vax!coy
From: coy@ssc-vax.UUCP (Stephen B Coy)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: The Rape of Usenet (an alternative view)
Keywords: The wholesale capturing of Usenet by GEnie
Message-ID: <3086@ssc-vax.UUCP>
Date: 22 Dec 89 21:20:30 GMT
References: <946@crash.cts.com> <6576@brspyr1.BRS.Com> <1989Dec21.174239.19794@athena.mit.edu>
Organization: Boeing Aerospace & Electronics, Seattle WA
Lines: 26

In article <1989Dec21.174239.19794@athena.mit.edu>, jik@athena.mit.edu (Jonathan I. Kamens) writes:
>   GEnie profits from News and doesn't give ANYTHING back to the people
> who wrote the Nws from which they are profiting.  It is this to which
> I, and other people, object.

Considering the average noise ratio of the most popular groups maybe
GEnie is doing usenet a great favor by making the connection
one-way.  In general the usenet population tends to be well educated
professionals.  Even so, the ranting often dominates.  (witness
this posting :-)  If GEnie wants usenet postings they will have to
spend a considerable amount of time editing.  Why not let them get
paid for their time?  The people who subscribe to GEnie will soon
enough learn about usenet and public access unix sites.  Then it
will be their choice, do they want to pay for an edited, read-only
version or take the plunge and become a full fledged member of the
information age's (mostly) unacknowleged child, usenet.

> Jonathan Kamens			              USnail:
> MIT Project Athena				11 Ashford Terrace
> jik@Athena.MIT.EDU				Allston, MA  02134
> Office: 617-253-8495			      Home: 617-782-0710

Stephen Coy
uw-beaver!ssc-vax!coy

		Pynchon's back, let's get paranoid!