🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <790@im4u.UUCP> jsq@im4u.UUCP (John Quarterman) writes:
>Many people from IBM ... hand out business cards with USER@IBM.ARPA on them.

For what it is worth, is not this business usage of the ARPANET in direct
contradiction to the DDN guidelines for proper usage of the DDN network?

If these were DoD people's business cards, giving their own addresses on
the MILNET or ARPANET, that would be proper and OK. But for a business,
which happens to have ARPA access, to use the arpa-style electronic
address on its personnel's business cards seems to be in just about the
same category as posting "for sale" ads and product ads, in that it
encourages the usage of the network for business-related activities, not
necessarily related to the gov't contracts or research efforts for which
the ARPAnet is intended.

If these addresses were only given out to gov't or academic users who
were communicating with these IBM sites in a purchaser-vendor
relationship, though, I would say the usage was valid and proper.
Maybe it all depends who initiates the contact? 

Has this been specifically addressed and cleared by the DDN? Maybe, if
so, it is all up-and-up and there is no problem. It just gives the
appearance of conflict with what I have perceived as long-standing rules
of conduct.

Will Martin

UUCP/USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin   or   ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA