[183] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
a plea for sanity in our troubled times.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (stev@ftp.com)
Tue Nov 20 18:32:10 1990
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 90 13:55:09 -0500
To: com-priv@psi.com
From: stev@ftp.com
> I think what most of us are objecting to is that Steve Wolff has singled
> out sexually oriented material and told various universities that it
> violates NSF policy to allow access to it over the network. This is
> material which is no more or less in violation of the published NSF
> policies than thousands of other items on the network which Steve has
> chosen to ignore.
ok, first, a disclaimer. i have never met steve wolff. never been to a
farrnet or whatever meeting. i have been watching this list since its
inception, and have had my share of comments appear on it.
OK.
one thing for you folks to consider is that steve wolff may be trying to
save all our cans rather than trying to restrict our usage. there are *ALOT*
of narrow minded people out there. one thing you note is that the NSF
reports to congress. incase you have had your head stuck somewhere in the
last few years, congress *loves* protecting us from ourselves, espically
where *pornography* is concerned. is it possible that the reason so much
attention is paid to keeping the porno down is that the people who fund the
NSF are concerned about it? i got news for you, campers. *THEY*ARE*. maybe
the reason other things are being *ignored* is that they are not fashionable
to chase. now, be honest, if you can, for a moment. i have seen steve
wolff's postings around for along time. i even have asked what some people
considered rudely blunt questions (at least, that is what others who saw the
mail commented.) i found his answers to these "rude" questions to be to the
point, and addressed the *QUESTION* i asked, not the one he may have wanted
to answer, as i see people do all the time. all in all, i think that he feels
he has better things to do than worry about what bits are on the oxide on
some random MIT machine he has never heard about before. i also think that
he doesnt care what is being stored on the machines. i can relate, though,
to the desire to have the people above him *STOP* *WHINING* *AT* *HIM*.
i go through that with people around me, as i am sure we all do. but, to be
honest, alot of you just sit there and keep *WHINING*. "fix this!!!" people
yell. the people trying to offer well thought out, constructive suggestions
are getting *totally* lost in all the blathering going on. this list would
generate 1/20 of the traffic it currently does if there was a filter to
throw out anything that was not constructive, and several of the bigger
players on this list would never be heard from again.
now, if you think the last sentance applied to you, and are going to get mad
at me, i dont really care. i would suggest, though, that you stop and think
*why* it would ever occour to you that it might be aimed at you.
along time ago i learned the golden rule (back in virginia, when i was but a
wee lad):
He who has the gold, makes the rules.
now, think about who *really* decides how this gold is spent. and then think
about who gets stuck keeping them happy.
thanx, steve wolff, for putting up with behavior i would consider firing an
employee for. i remeber the old ARPAnet. that was a good place to be. the
NSFnet *IS* a better place to be. Too soon we forget the past, it seems . .
.
