🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Oct1.024913.14347@news.iastate.edu> spam@iastate.edu (mike begley) writes:
>A "senior
>official" personally told me that "the [ISU] computation center
>administration had no business in making legal decisions because they
>have no legal expertise".
>Michael Begley 

This is the central point by which I object to ALL censorship by computer
centre staff (and others) of material distributed via Netnews.  They make a
decision based on hearsay, rumor and a occasional personal observation mixed
together with their own beliefs and then place a blanket ban on the group. 

This extends to censorship of email and posting to groups - if you take on
the responsibility of deciding what is and is not `legal' without the
necessary background you can end up with real legal problems of your own.

Common carriers like the post office and its officials are not
responsible(*) for the possibly illegal contents of letters and packages and
make no attempt to check.  Why should netnews or email be any different.  

(*) This may not be true absolutely everywhere.


-- 
Geoff. Lane. | Internet: zzassgl@uts.mcc.ac.uk | Janet: zzassgl@uk.ac.mcc.uts
UTS Sys Admin,  Manchester Computing Centre,  Oxford Rd,  Manchester, M13 9PL
"The Royal Family must think the entire world smells of wet paint."