[10137] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: Internet Letter story on Encyclopedia B.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Marvin Sirbu)
Tue Feb 8 17:21:36 1994
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 1994 17:05:57 -0500 (EST)
From: Marvin Sirbu <ms6b+@andrew.cmu.edu>
To: com-priv@psi.com
Cc: com-priv@psi.com (compriv)
In-Reply-To: <m0pTxrt-0008RLC@oldcolo.com>
> > The company has "no plans for distribution beyond the academic
> >community at this time," Esposito said. As for access by individual
> >Internet users, Esposito said, "Our research suggests that a very large
> >proportion of Internet users do in fact have university affiliations, so
> >I'm not sure if this is a major roadblock [for individuals]."
> Boy, is Esposito out to lunch on this one. The inability of
> individuals NOT affiliated with 'universities' being unable to
> access the online EB is a short sighted, stupid decision which just
> angers me in its myopia, or hidden 'other' economic agenda,
> whichever. Is Esposito dissembling on that observation, or does he
> really believe it?
The explanation for this stance appears elsewhere in the article.
Apparently Britannica's plan is to site license access to
Universities--probably using IP address as
a screen. This minimizes their transaction and billing costs. My guess
is he would be pleased to open access to individuals just as soon as he
figures out how to bill them.
Marvin Sirbu
