🚀 go-pugleaf

In <1991Jun21.074613.10883@agate.berkeley.edu> adam@soda.berkeley.edu
(Adam J. Richter) writes:

    "If you want to produce a copyrighted newsgroup, then please don't
     use a newsgroup in a hierarchy that is normally [propagated] over
     NSFNet and BARRNet, which prohibit most forms of commercial
     usage."

I disagree.  There is plenty of copyrighted software posted to the net
in the comp.* hierarchy, and nobody seems to mind.  It is a wrong
assumption that imposing a copyright on a Usenet posting is
incompatible with NSFnet etc.

    "...or if you could be prosecuted for whatever laws exist to make
     it illegal to make unauthorized use of other people's computer
     equipement (such as the NSFNet backbone)...."

The situation is actually quite symmetric.  Just as the NSFnet backbone
could complain about unauthorized use of its hardware by somebody
posting to Usenet, somebody posting to Usenet could complain about the
NSFnet's unauthorized transportation, by copying, of a copyrighted
article...

...But Usenet wouldn't be Usenet without complaints.

Usenet is an anarchy.  There are three basic corollaries to this.

a.  Once you post something to Usenet, you are implicitly granting
permission to everybody on the net to transport and store that
posting.

b.  Once your computer system becomes a part of Usenet, you are
implicitly granting permission to others to transmit their copyrighted
or non-copyrighted literary or non-literary works through your
equipment without being obliged to get your permission or pay you any
fee.

c.  Those disagreeing with all this are free to express their opinions
on Usenet, and chances are they will, many times over.
-- 
Rahul Dhesi <dhesi@cirrus.COM>
UUCP:  oliveb!cirrusl!dhesi