🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <18@mport.COM>, lee@mport.COM (Lee Crocker) writes:
> As a long time capitalist, I like the idea of paid moderators, though I
> admit it may be difficult for the academic-socialist-minded netfolk to
> come up with a good way to pay for it.

I think you may have it backwards.  I think it's the capitalistic spirit
that results in moderators being unpaid, i.e., if you can get something
valuable for nothing, take it!  In my experience, it's been in the academic
world that people are paid to perform a service that is of general good to
mankind, but no one would otherwise pay to have done.

> I think some major commercial site like uunet, apple, sun, etc., would
> gain a lot of goodwill by hiring someone to do just that.

I don't think any large company would do it for goodwill; remember, these are
capitalists ;-)

Hmm.  Now I'm starting to think...  Uunet is a very small, nonprofit entity,
but companies like Apple, Sun, Dec, Data General, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, etc.
might be interested if it gained them some exposure.  Perhaps if every posting
contained a message like "Provided as a public service by XXX Corporation",
(something like the way companies will pay big money to have a small decal on
a racing car).

> 
> How much?  Just so we have some figures to talk about, I make the following
> offer: For the cost of hardware and $36,000 a year, I'll become a full-
> time moderator of one or more groups.  I have been a professional 
> programmer for 10 years, and believe I have the expertise and temperament
> required for the job.

Me too!

				Jay Ts, Director
				Metran Technology
				uunet!pdn!tscs!metran!jay