🚀 go-pugleaf

Chris Farrell (chrisf@mcs.com) wrote:
: In article <3v74jm$3ap@Venus.mcs.com>, karl@MCS.COM (Karl Denninger) wrote:

: Some responce to the following quote which I found to be unclear. (It
: could just be me due to the late hour.)

: > >So you will carry these groups due to copywrite concerns? If every
: > >major provider (ie. Netcom, AOL, etc etc) can carry these with no
: > >problems and or legal repercussions why can't we? Just curious I
: > >guess.


: What exactly is alt.*warez*? Is it like the alt.binaries.erotica stuff?

"alt.*warez*" means any newsgroup that begins with "alt." and has "warez"
somewhere following in the name of the news group.  This does not cut out
alt.binaries.erotica.whatever-your-fetish-is, but it does cut out
alt.binaries.warez and the like.

"warez" is a common term to specifically denote pirated software.  You may
view it as philosophical, but it is the same argument as not carrying a 
newsgroup called alt.stolen.cars.for.sale or alt.prostitution.sales.
The whole point is that the name of the news group blatently calls out
"illegal activities".

Not carrying a news group based on the name is not the same as censoring out
specific messages. The provider is just cutting out obvious potential for
problems.  If you specifically want pirated software, don't expect companies
with much to lose to help you.  Maybe AOL carries such groups due to 
oversight or ignorance, who knows.

: should be able to decide what material is proper for me to view. As to the

It is not as much "what material is proper for their users to view" as 
"what material the provider is willing to knowingly provide".

: copyright infringement occurs on virtually EVERY group; if not in the form
: of pictures, then in the form of the printed word or pirated software.

Hardly!  Have you ventured into many of the groups?  Nowhere near "virtually
EVERY group" has copyright infringements.  Most groups don't deal with
pictures and programs.  Most people who quote in news groups do so by 
(correctly) citing the author.  I don't see very much copyright infringement
in the news groups I read.

: as I understand it, once you as a provider begin to edit the content of
: any of your newsgroups, 

This is not editing the content of a news group, it is not carrying 
specific subjects.

----------------------------------------------------------
Chris A. Rodgers       Software Engineer       car@idm.com
"My opinions are just my own."                 car@wwa.com