Xref: utzoo news.admin:3550 news.sysadmin:1003 alt.flame:2749
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!unido!pcsbst!jkh
From: jkh@pcsbst.UUCP (Jordan K. Hubbard)
Newsgroups: news.admin,news.sysadmin,alt.flame
Subject: Re: A SERIOUS DILEMMA FOR THE NET
Message-ID: <359@pcsbst.UUCP>
Date: 26 Sep 88 13:56:15 GMT
References: <265@sulaco.UUCP> <1891@spdcc.COM> <593@ardent.UUCP>
Reply-To: pcsbst!jkh@pcsbst.UUCP (Jordan K. Hubbard)
Organization: PCS GmbH, Pfaelzer-Wald-Str. 36, 8000 Muenchen; West-Germany
Lines: 23


I must agree with Ken. It certainly is a problem when an entire
organization [Portal] practically encourages net.abuse and gives voice
to those who would probably be better off standing on a folding chair at
Speakers Corner. This form letter, however, seems to be little more than
a page torn from the same book. Granted, it's better written than the average
portal prose and was probably actually run through spell before posting [grin],
but it's still pretty dry reading after the 5th incarnation. Who are you
trying to punish, the portal people or the rest of the net?

Something most Americans don't realize (and I speak from experience) is that
a lot of this stuff goes all over the world. Us expatriate American folks
living abroad get a real kick out of being able to read the alt.stuff
and would be very unhappy if it got yanked because of a far-too-low SNR.
Once someone downstream yanks something, it's pretty hard to convince
them to put it back. The Germans are stubborn that way. So, please, flame
where flaming is due, but realize that every byte costs significant bucks
over-all. Why not send those form letters to postmaster@portal? It seems
to me that's where they'd do the most good. Better yet, talk to the sites
that feed them. Perhaps the possibility of total isolation would
serve as a more effective deterrent.

						Jordan