From: kadie@eff.org (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Abstract of CAF-News 02.35
Originator: kadie@eff.org
Organization: The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 19:47:13 GMT

This is an abstract for the most recent "Computers and Academic
Freedom News" (CAF-News). Information about CAF-News follows the
abstract. The full CAF-News is available via anonymous ftp or by
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The full CAF-News is also available via email. Send email to
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--- begin abstract ---
[Week ending July 19, 1992

========================== KEY ================================
The words after the numbers are a short PARAPHRASES of the
articles, or QUOTES from them, NOT AN OBJECTIVE SUMMARY and
not necessarily my opinion.
===============================================================

    [The editor of this issue is Adam C. Gross, ag3j+@andrew.cmu.edu.]

Notes 1-3 are about the economic considerations of carrying alt.sex

1.  "A quick look at the Arbitron stats'll show that alt.sex is one of
the most popular groups on usenet... .Know what'd happen to my site's
disk-space if alt.sex was killed, assuming that I'm the only person
reading it?  Nothing.  I could, can, and will find a way to gate the
newsfeed into my e-mail. "
    <BAGCHI.92Jul12190204@dip.eecs.umich.edu>

2. "You seem to think that sites are being forced to pay for the newsgroups
you object to.  This is not the case.  Remember, Usenet is not an
official organization, but rather an informal congregation of sites that
share newsfeeds between each other."
    <1992Jul13.001349.12315@nntp.uoregon.edu>

3. "If one want to keep the good stuff in alt.sex, and weed out the
offensive stuff, someone's gonna have to read everything and expire said
articles -- this person doesn't work for free."
    <1992Jul13.133949.8564@hubcap.clemson.edu>

Notes 4 & 5 are about carrying alt.sex feeds across international boundaries.

4.  A user objects to the idea that what should be permisable should be
determined by recognizing guidlines imposed by  countries other than the
US. "Using this formula, the limits of what can be posted to USENET
would be the limits imposed by the strictest country who participates in
the net."
    <1992Jul13.142103.15845@spdcc.com>

5.  A Candian user argues that alt.sex is permisable by Candian law. 
"Under the Charter this expression is protected, and has as much
right to access to the medium as discussions of neutrino emmision or
neural networks..."
    <BrC0sz.Gu8@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu>

Notes 6-8 are about the limits of free expression in .plan files

6.  "I recently put the lyrics to "Cop Killer" by Ice-T in my .plan file so
that it shows up when someone else does "finger jbw@cs.bu.edu".
Two people have complained to my department's chair... .He asked
me informally to remove it.  I told him I would not do so voluntarily."
    <JBW.92Jul16195814@bigbird.bu.edu>

7. "You do have the right to personal expression as delineated in the
First Amendment to the U.S.  Constitution.  You *do not* have the right
to demand that someone else supply you a venue for that expression. 
Your .plan file resides on University owned equipment."
    <1992Jul17.212641.18596@rice.edu>

8. "I believe academic freedom requires freedom of personal expression
because otherwise someone else gets to decide that my "academic
expression" is really just "personal expression".  That would seriously
harm academic freedom."
    <JBW.92Jul17231548@bigbird.bu.edu>

Note 9 is about the policy of charging user fees for access to the Internet.

9. A user in Chile: " Recently, all users of the Internet, including
universities, were notified that starting July 1st, there will be
a minimum monthly rate plus a charge per megabyte of international
traffic, with 18% sales tax on top."
    <9207152134.AA18513@jester.usask.ca>
]

--- end   abstract ---

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Disclaimer: This CAF-News abstract was compiled by a guest editor or a
regular editor (Paul Joslin, Elizabeth M. Reid, Adam C. Gross, Mark C.
Sheehan or Carl M. Kadie). It is not an EFF publication. The views an
editor expresses and editorial decisions he or she makes are his or
her own.

-- 
Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me.
 =kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu =
Newsgroups: alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,comp.org.eff.talk,comp.admin.policy,alt.censorship,soc.college