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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!decwrl!sun!gnu
From: gnu@sun.uucp (John Gilmore)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Need for Stargate screening?
Message-ID: <1917@sun.uucp>
Date: Sun, 6-Jan-85 06:12:14 EST
Article-I.D.: sun.1917
Posted: Sun Jan  6 06:12:14 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 8-Jan-85 02:48:28 EST
References: <494@vortex.UUCP>
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Lines: 17

Lauren, why are you trying to make a perfectly good Usenet distribution
service into an electronic Time Magazine?  If Time Magazine was good
enough for us, we'd buy it at a newsstand, or have them mail it to us.
Reread "Bug Jack Barron" by Norman Spinrad for an example of a live
public-access nationwide video "issues discussion" and how tempting it
is to exercise covert control.  Look at the Washington Times for a
low-tech example.

I certainly appreciate the technical and liason work you're doing, but
I really dislike your efforts to tie it to "forced moderation".  Please
let the net decide what it wants to send over this medium.  If the
case for forced moderation is good enough, it will stand on its own
merits.

Is there anyone at Turner Broadcasting (or whatever subsidiary we are
dealing with) who sees any of this discussion?  Will any of them be at
Usenix?