Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ames-lm.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!houxz!vax135!floyd!cmcl2!seismo!hao!ames-lm!barry From: barry@ames-lm.UUCP (Kenn Barry) Newsgroups: net.legal,net.micro Subject: Re: Computer Bulletin Boards Must Be Confiscated! Message-ID: <305@ames-lm.UUCP> Date: Tue, 5-Jun-84 19:24:38 EDT Article-I.D.: ames-lm.305 Posted: Tue Jun 5 19:24:38 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 7-Jun-84 07:31:46 EDT References: <171@ssc-vax.UUCP>, <357@teldata.UUCP>, <531@cbdkc1.UUCP> Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA Lines: 36 [*************=8>:) (snort)] > C'mon gang, we are forgetting one of the more important facts about > the case. The BB in question maintained an UNDERGROUND board, where > this kind of posting (credit card nos, etc.) may be presumed to have > been either welcomed, or at least tolerated. The posting in question > had been in the board for a month. These two facts were probably the > reasons for the confiscation. The normal, well run BB would not be > guilty of "aiding and abetting". The "Pirates Cove" sleaze operations > are hereby put on notice. > Frank Webb Aren't you assuming rather a lot? You are taking a single word, "underground", and deciding that it must mean that this BBS was engaged in illegal activities. I'm not a sysop or a dedicated system gypsy, but I have logged on to dozens of BBS's over the last year or so, including some that have been characterized to me as "underground". And what did they offer? Mostly they were boards dedicated to passing around information on how to copy copy-protected disks. Some others were "sexually oriented", and seemed to mostly have dumb messages with lots of dirty words. Need I add that the above-mentioned activities are completely legal? Oh, I'm sure that the phone phreaks have their BBS's, too, but I don't think we have enough information to know if the BBS in question was that kind of operation. My impression (no hard facts) is that boards which feature sections for the phone phreaks put restricted access on those sections, in order to avoid the sort of thing that's happened to Mr. Tcimpidis (sp?). The (reported) fact that a phone company employee discovered illegal information on his board without needing any special authorization, suggests to me that he was running a legit operation, and was unaware of the illegal messages. I certainly have no reason to assume otherwise; do you? Kenn Barry NASA-Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electric Avenue: {dual,hao,menlo70,hplabs}!ames-lm!barry