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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!edelheit@MITRE.ARPA
From: edelheit@MITRE.ARPA (Jeff Edelheit)
Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm
Subject: Re: want ads in mailing lists
Message-ID: <1734@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 26-Sep-85 07:34:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.1734
Posted: Thu Sep 26 07:34:39 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Oct-85 08:24:45 EDT
Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA
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Jack - I really agree with you and have raised the issue with Dave Towson
(the super-helpful administrator of info-cpm).  

The bottom line is this:  virtually all of these advertisements are coming
from the USENET side of the internet, not the ARPA/MILNET side.  It appears
that not only does usenet approve of this activity, but they even have a
specialized distribution list just for selling stuff.  I applaud the 
restraint of the ARPA/MILNET users have shown in not abusing the net with
advertisements of their own.  (I would really hate to see "our" side of the
net affected by some whistle-blower complaining about the mis-use of 
DoD facilites, etc.)  

They only way to stop these messages would be to drop the gateway between
USENET and ARPA/MILNET.  I, for one, feel that the help and information
I receive from our USENET friends is worth the trouble of the for sale
notes.  My opinion is based on seeing only a few for sale notes every
week; if we really started getting a bunch of them, then I might have
to rethink my stand.

One possible approach is that if USENET has a specialized distribution
list just for advertisements, then they somehow try to insure that all
adverts appear just on that list and not on info-cpm or any of the
other lists.

Anyone else have an opinion on the subject?

Jeff Edelheit
(edelheit@mitre.arpa)