[11724] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: In the matter of advertisements and lawsuits
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Seth Ross)
Fri Apr 15 16:05:08 1994
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 94 18:33:02 -0700
From: seth@albion.com (Seth Ross)
To: Paul Robinson <PAUL@tdr.com>
Cc: com-priv@psi.com, ms.netiquette@albion.com
Reply-To: seth@albion.com
Paul Robinson writes:
> This is an instance where the service provider is
> unilaterally denying service to a customer because of
> complaints about the content of messages sent out by the
> customer, where the customer's conduct is merely
> offensive to some people who are not even customers of the
> provider, and where the activity isn't even violating
> the law.
The message in question seems harmless enough, so this may not be a good
test case. But I don't think service providers and sysadmins must wait for
a user to break the law before pulling the plug. Since the Internet is an
unregulated environment, I would argue that service providers and
sysadmins have an _obligation_ to enforce the rules of Netiquette and
decent behavior and thereby maintain cyberspace as a commons for all to
enjoy. If they don't do it, who will? If the Kelly Gibbs of the world have
their way, it will be the government or a corporate "parent." I'd rather
risk a few cases of unfair punishment/censorhip, meted out by overzealous
service providers, than a widespread crackdown on Internet communications.
It may be crude, but this type of frontier justice represents the major
barrier between delicious anarchy and complete chaos.
A\ Seth Ross
A A\ Albion Books, seth@albion.com
A A\ "Keeping the frontier open"
