Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!bbncca!rrizzo
From: rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: Communication and NET.MOTSS
Message-ID: <1528@bbncca.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 15-Aug-85 09:58:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: bbncca.1528
Posted: Thu Aug 15 09:58:56 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 18-Aug-85 02:00:46 EDT
References: <656@sfmag.UUCP>
Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 40

I was glad to see Owen Rowley's encouragement to contribute.  My guess
is that hundreds (thousands?) of people read net.motss, and that many
are heterosexual.  Here at BBN quite a few straight employees read it
regularly, & some even contribute occasionally.  Because of its topic,
net.motss probably generates more curiosity than a lot of other Usenet
newsgroups.

In a cooperative open enterprise like Usenet, what results is only the
sum of participants' contributions.  If no one posts, nothing happens.
If Owen wants to see the level of discussion improved in some way, he
should by all means start an exchange of the kind he wants.

I have to disagree with Owen's opinion of the Jason postings.  I think 
they're substantive and address very real issues in a productive way
(they're also funny).  Long ago I disparaged the first Jason posting, 
mainly because of how I thought it would affect others' perception of
net.motss.  Now I think I was completely wrong in my judgment then, &
consider the attitude of others toward something like net.motss to be
a consideration almost not worth taking into account (or as an aged'
quean once said to me, "Now, honey, if you waited for other people's
approval before you did anything, you wouldn't have done some of the
most worthwhile things you have, would you?").

(BTW, Ray, I've tried to send you mail, but my butter-fingers have
never managed to type a valid pathway to you.)

One last point: working in a homophobic environment poses a real
problem for many potential posters.  True, they can post anonymously
through another Usenetter, & many large corporations like DEC and
AT&T (I believe) have anti-discrimination clauses; but there's still
some risk: upper management may be tolerant, but not one's coworkers
and supervisors.  And even if the objective risks are slight, over-
coming the psychological barrier of the occupational closet is not
easy, especially when it involves one's daily bread.


					Regards,
					Ron Rizzo

"U.S. out of my pants!"