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On Wed, 19 Oct 1994, Oded Feingold wrote:

Oded, It's great to hear from you again.  I haven't emailed with you 
since the days of Don Black and the net.politics crowd.

> I don't understand how Patricia Steward serves to facilitate systems
> receiving the alt feeds.

Remember the days when the backbone wanted to drop the net.politics and 
net.singles groups back in 1986?  Back then there were only 20,000 users 
on the internet.  Today, there are 20,000,000 users and there is more 
commercial use.  Patricia's reminders of appropriate use of the net 
reduces the risk that some "Don Black type", will pull the plug on the 
alt.* groups because they are "dens of prostitution and immorality".  All 
we need is some "Moral Majority" activist to start advocating censorship 
of the internet.
 
> Please explain (if it's convenient and finite).

I don't know that I can be finite.  The internet has long had members of 
every group who will gently remind new posters of some of the 
consequences to system administrators when someone cross-posts a gif to 5 
newsgroups.

Anonymous postings have an appropriate use.  They keep strange men and 
women from showing up at strange hours of the day or night seeking "fun 
and adventure" without a preliminary invitation.  I've been on one or two 
net initiated dates with anonymous posters.

Using an anonyomous handle to expose someone elses anonymous handle is 
rude.  Using it to flame net users and advocate removing someone from the 
net is hypocritical.  As you may recall, I used to post some very 
interesting material from a company e-mail account in soc.singles and 
soc.women.  There were men at my workplace who were sufficiently offended 
that it cost me a promotion.  I respect the anonymity others.

> Thanks,
> Oded

	Rex Ballard


From rballard@cnj.digex.net Thu Oct 20 15:45:47 1994