From: paul@hsh.com
Newsgroups: alt.bbs.allsysop,alt.bbs
Subject: Nintendo to Apologize, sez PCBoard
Date: 13 Nov 92 22:49:05 GMT
Organization: HSH Associates

The following messages were posted on Salt Air BBS, which is the support board 
for Clark Development Co (PCBoard):


To: HSH ASSOCIATES                Refer#: NONE
From: FRED CLARK                      Read: NO
Subj: NINTENDO NEWSLETTER           Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE
Conf: SUPPORT (1)                Read Type: MAIL FOR YOU (+)
 
Dear PCBoard Customer,
 
We have discovered that Nintendo of America has issued a press release
to all of our customers concerning legal action against a BBS operator
in the Washington DC area.  If you have not already received a copy of
the newsletter, I suspect you will shortly.
 
I would like to take this opportunity of explaining our position on
the newsletter.  First, we *STRONGLY* object to the method in which
the law firm of Arter & Hadden obtained our mailing list and also
to their use of that mailing list in distributing their press release.
We do not condone the actions on the part of the law firm and we are
agressively working with our legal consul to investigate and resolve
the matter satisfactorily.  We did not knowingly make our customer list
available to Nintendo.
 
Second, we at Clark Development are not a party in any way to the
legal actions indicated in the Nintendo press release.
 
I want to personally apologize for any concerns or inconvenience the
news release may have caused you.  As soon as I get additional
information about the resolution of this matter, I will pass it along.
 
If you have any specific questions on the newsletter, please give
our office a call.
 
Sincerely,
Fred Clark
 
Date: 11-10-92 (17:25)              Number: 111264 of 111621
  To: HSH ASSOCIATES                Refer#: NONE
From: FRED CLARK                      Read: NO
Subj: ARTER & HADDEN STATEMENT      Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE
Conf: SUPPORT (1)                Read Type: MAIL FOR YOU (+)
 
Our attorney has reached an agreement with Arter & Hadden concerning
the recet press release which you have received.  Before passing
along their comments, I want to clarify a number of points:
 
   1.  We were not aware of the intended use of the mailing list which
       was obtained from our office by a third party.  We have in the
       past made our mailing list available to third parties who have
       a program or other package which could be of benefit to some
       of our users.
 
   2.  However, due to the way in which our list was obtained under
       the present circumstances, we will now offer all our customers
       the option of being placed on an 'internal mailing list' only
       which will insure you only receive information from our office.
 
   3.  If you do NOT wish your name to be provided to ANY third party
       individuals in the future, even those who may have an offering
       you might be interested in, please leave us a message on the
       board indicating such or call our office.
 
   4.  We, like you, fully support the efforts of all individuals and
       organizations to put an end to software piracy.  However, in
       this instance, we feel that the actions taken by Arter & Hadden
       were not in the best interests of either you our customers or
       the industry as a whole.  As a result, Arter & Hadden has
       issued the following statement, a copy of which will be mailed
       to you by Arter & Hadden within the next few ys:
 
**********************************************************************
     Statement of Clarification from Arter & Hadden - 11/10/92
**********************************************************************
 
The News Release you received from Nintendo of America was provided
for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.  No response is required.  You were
selected to receive this News Release only because you are a person
who is interested in or involved with bulletin boards.  The fact that
you received this News Release does not mean that you or the BBS you
operate are under investigation.  Moreover, Nintendo of America has
not singled out for investigation users of PCBoard software. The
single civil lawsuit that was the subject of the News Release was
filed against the APL BBS in Baltimore, MD.  The APL BBS was strictly
a pirate board, and the system operator encouraged APL users to upload
and download large amounts of illegal software.  CLARK DEVELOPMENT
COMPANY, INC. WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THIS LAWSUIT AND DID NOT SEE THE
NEWS RELEASE IN ADVANCE OF ITS DISTRIBUTION.  We recognize that there
are many legitimate bulletin boards and many honest system operators
who support the ethical use of software.  Unless you have questions
about the action taken against the APL BBS, however, please do not
call Clark Development, Nintendo or Nintendo's attorneys.
 
Please be aware that after this clarification has been mailed to all
customers of Clark Development, the customer list which was used for
the original mailing of the News Release will be promptly returned
to Clark Development and no copies will be retained.
 
Please pass this message on to anyone you know who received the
News Release.
 
**********************************************************************
 
We are extremely sorry for any concerns this press release may have
caused you.  I can assure you that a policy is now in place which
will insure, if you so decide, that your name will only be provided
third party authors and developers who have a product or service
which may be of interest or benefit to you.  As I mentioned above,
if you do NOT want to receive even that information, please let us
know.
 
Additionally, I want to assure you that the list in question is being
returned to our attention and no further use of the list will be made by
Arter & Hadden or any other parties related to their lawsuit.
 
Again, my apologies for this unpleasant situation. I can assure you
that everyone at Clark Development will continue to make every effort
to earn your confidence and support in the future.
 
Sincerely,
 
Fred Clark
President/CEO


------

 Paul Havemann, VP          HSH Associates            (201) 838-3330 
 Internet: paul@hsh.com     Compuserve: 70410,3507    AOL: HSH Assoc
 "Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the company."
  
"He walks again by night!  Out of the fog, into the smog -- doggedly 
[barking sound FX], relentlessly, ruthlessly [I wonder where Ruth is], 
toward his weekly meeting with The Unknown..."