Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version VT1.00C 11/1/84; site vortex.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!vortex!lauren From: lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) Newsgroups: net.news,net.news.stargate,net.followup Subject: STARGATE (READ THIS!) Message-ID: <504@vortex.UUCP> Date: Wed, 16-Jan-85 20:32:41 EST Article-I.D.: vortex.504 Posted: Wed Jan 16 20:32:41 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 18-Jan-85 02:20:26 EST Organization: Vortex Technology, Los Angeles Lines: 192 Xref: watmath net.news:2981 net.news.stargate:21 net.followup:4342 I am including the text of the threatening message from "hercules" below. Some of you will have already seen it. But I want to make sure that everyone interested in the project (one way or another) sees this particular message. I've had several people already suggest to me that I or Usenix should take legal action against the author of the message, under one or more of several strong legal grounds. However, my own inclination is not to hassle with such things whenever possible. I'll say this though. If the hassle level about this stuff continues to rise, I will pull out and I will recommend to the satellite carrier that they pull out as well. In that respect, our friend at hercules may get his way--and then you can all personally thank him for the results, one way or another. I'm not going to go over all the issues again. They've been discussed ad naseum in net.news and net.news.stargate, quite openly. If you haven't seen them, I recommend that you dig up the archives and look them over. I'm not going to point out the factual errors in the author's message, they have been discussed already in previous messages. My own impression is that the clear issue bothering the message author is that he wants to make sure that EVERYONE is forced, forever, to pay for and receive EVERYTHING that ANYONE ever posts on Usenet. Only in that way can he be sure to keep getting all his free goodies, even though he's forcing other people to pay for things they might not want, and to spend their time wading through the muck. But if that's the way most people want it, that's fine by me. The ONLY way stargate can work is through moderation. Not vicious censorship--but considered moderation. Nothing forces people to drop landline netnews feeds other than their own costs and interests. Right now they are held captive by the technology of the net. I was hoping to give people some choice. But I can live quite nicely, thank you, without threats and intimidation over a damn volunteer project. I am *this close* to pulling my support from the project and recommending that the satellite carrier refuse to provide facilities. Some of the satellite people are going to be at Usenix, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let them get insulted, even if only by a few people. I don't need this kind of sh** in my life. Within the next 24 hours I'll probably decide if I'm going to proceed at all. I know that there are many people out there who support the project, and I have appreciated your messages of encouragement. But I hope that you'll understand, after reading the message below, why I may be forced to recommend that this entire matter be terminated. And if that happens, you'll have the author below, and a relatively few people like him, to thank. I have my own life to live and I'm not ready to put up with this sort of stuff indefinitely. I hope you all understand. --Lauren-- [MESSAGE FOLLOWS] Received: by vortex.UUCP (VT1.00C) from decvax with UUCP; Wed, 16-Jan-85 16:39:15 PST Relay-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decvax.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site hercules.UUCP Path: decvax!tektronix!teklds!hercules!franka From: franka@hercules.UUCP (Frank Adrian) Newsgroups: net.cooks,net.crypt,net.cse,net.cycle,net.flame,net.followup,net.games,net.games.emp Subject: WARNING Message-ID: <387@hercules.UUCP> Date: Wed, 16-Jan-85 00:59:34 EST Article-I.D.: hercules.387 Posted: Wed Jan 16 00:59:34 1985 Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR Lines: 119 First of all, let me apologize for the multiple post- ings, posting to groups where I am not allowed (net.women.only), and, in general, making a mess of the net. Also, let me say that ALL RESPONSES to this should either use net.news or private mail to me. Again I apologize for the inconvenience, but in this case, due to this mes- sage's importance, I feel this is justified. Also, the opinions posted here are my own and in no way reflect those of my employer or any of its other employees. Primarily, the message is that, unless something is done shortly, this newsgroup may not exist a year or two from now. To understand why requires a bit of history. The USENET was at first a very small net. Being a very small network, the news software was written as an unmo- derated bulletin board system, where anyone could post items thought to be of interest to all. As time went on, the suc- cess of this concept became evident, as shown by the increased number of machines on the news network and the corresponding increased volume of news items. In fact, the volume of news items increased so much that some of the backbone sites were finding it hard to justify the cost of news forwarding over long distance phone lines. A few months ago, a group of network administrators got together and decided to fund a project called "STARGATE". Basicly, this was a sound idea. News sources would be routed to the STARGATE transmitter which would beam the mes- sages to a satellite which would, in turn, relay the mes- sages to more localized network hubs, thus alleviating the need for as many long distance calls. A satellite carrier was found and the plans for designing hardware and software put into motion. Unfortunately, the people who have promoted this scheme could not leave well enough alone. They felt that the volume of "garbage" flowing through the net was too high. They felt that the carrier of these messages might be able to be sued for possibly libelous messages. They felt that this was their chance to play God and they took it. In short, the new network will have no unmoderated news. Any message that is to be transmitted through STARGATE will be screened by a moderator for "suitability of con- tent", "possibility of libel", and other vague criteria which only he moderators will know. You won't be able to protest a bounced message, because the moderator is the only person with a right to relay your message to the STARGATE. If your article is bounced or edited beyond recognition you won't be able to defend yourself - how are you going to get a message past the moderator? In short, you can call it moderation, but it's still a euphemism for censorship. "Fine," you say, "We'll just post it in groups that don't go through the STARGATE." Well, I wish that were pos- sible. Unfortunately, the backbone sites have decided that since they have STARGATE, and all of the "important" groups are there, they don't have to forward news articles in other "less popular" groups. The net, except for STARGATE ser- vice, has effectively been destroyed. The only people for whom the net exists freely is the moderators. The modera- tors decide what are "acceptable" topics for the net. They have the power to say what you can say. The new people in power bleat, "We're saving the net. Without this the backbone sites will desert, anyway." What good is saving the net if only the people in power can enjoy it? If they cared about the net (and not just their cozy little portion of it) they'd fight in their institutions to save it. The news network, as it stands now, is something unique and should not be drastically altered. What can we do about this? I really can't think of much. The net has always been voluntary. One thing is cer- tain, though. As soon as STARGATE goes into effect, the chances for a free network surviving is nil. The institu- tions involved can point to STARGATE and say that there's a perfectly good network right there. There will be very lit- tle chance to start a new network at that time. So the only thing I can suggest is to try to stop STARGATE in any way possible. Let the people who conceived of this know that it is not appreciated. E-Mail bomb them. Flame them until they drop. If you see them in public, spit on them. Hide dog turds in their desks. Disrupt the next USENIX meeting. Check with your local ACLU to see if there are any legal means to stop this. Harass them in any way possible. In the mean time, organize. Let your institution know that you appreciate this service they provide to you. Let them know that any change in the posting criteria of one of the last free bulletin board systems is not appreciated. Set up an alternative network to take this net's place when it folds. Hopefully, there will be a place for unmoderated news posting when this is over. The organizers have been less than honest with you. They hide in net.news (and net.news.stargate), discussing these things which will alter your news service, without generally informing the public. The first you would have heard about it is when backbone sites would have said, "We're not transmitting anything but moderated groups from now on." You wouldn't have been able to stop them. Goodbye, net.women. Goodbye, net.motss. Goodbye, net.singles. Goodbye, net.rec.*. Goodbye, net.flame. Goodbye, every news group that doesn't relate directly with what you do at work, is politically unpopular, or that your administrator just doesn't like. It looks as if a great experiment is coming to an end. But it doesn't have to be this way, if we work together. Save the net. Stop the STARGATE. Don't let them take away a unique and wonderful resource from us. Together, we can stop them. Stop the STARGATE, Frank Adrian