A few simple but, it seems to me, obvious points emerge from the Rusty and Edie mess: 1. Anyone clever enough to lure some 15,000 members in at $85 a pop ought to be clever enough to know it's illegal to distribute copyrighted software on a BBS ÄÄ whether from an upload directory or any other directory. And such a clever couple should also realize that with that many members roaming around their board for as long as they've been operating somebody sooner or later was going to blow the whistle on them. ------------------------------------------------------------- " Clever or just good at what they did. Just a FRIENDLY and OPEN BBS with a lot of Files. Exec-Pc Ads tout 190,000 files, Rusty & Edie's just said 19 gigabytes. I ask HOW do you monitor 126 lines 24 hours a day with maybe 4-7 people?" ------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Their argument, as someone has mentioned, that they "can't screen every upload that comes to the board" doesn't wash. Exec-PC has far more members and indeed does get an occasional upload of copyrighted software. But you'd better be on the board and get it when it hits the top of the list because you can bet your bottom dollar it won't be there for long. -------------------------------------------------------------- "No they can't screen every upload when you get between 500 and 1000 files everyday." The pirates that signon the bbs use a handle, upload a file then signoff. How Do You Stop This? By asking for a real name...... Are they going to use their real names! Exec-Pc Tags every File uploaded to its BBS with a Real Name so that person is the responsable for the leagality of the file. ------------------------------------------------------------- Fifteen thousand members at an annual subscription rate of $85 translates to an annual gross of about $1,275,000. With that kind of change they could easily have afforded to at least hire a high school kid to screen the uploads. The kid probably would have stolen any of it he wanted but that sort of petty larceny would have been far better for Rusty and Edie than the wholesale availability of such material to the entire board's membership. And it's highly unlikely they'd be in the trouble they're in now. ------------------------------------------------------------- Not all the subscribers paid 85.00 many have anywhere for 40.00 to over 100.00 depending on use, and for a term of 3-12 months. Has anyone figured the cost of equipment, power, phonelines, and other costs that it takes to run a BBS with 126 lines? ------------------------------------------------------------- 3. And, assuming this couple isn't really as dim-witted as they appear (and I think we must assume that), they could have done the one thing that would have insured that copyrighted material never ever became available for download: Just have all uploads sent to a non-public directory and place them on the board only after they'd been screened (and most likely copied) by the high school kid. ------------------------------------------------------------- You may be right, but their policy being Friendly and Open has cost them. But they TRUSTED people to not damage the board. They DID NOT Knowingly or Willfully Distribute copyrighted material on their BBS. ------------------------------------------------------------- 4. I think any jury would have to conclude that the possibility of downloading some pricey commercial programs would provide a real incentive for paying $85 to join a BBS and that Rusty and Edie knew this and allowed it to become an unspoken plus of membership on the board. And while they may not have profited directly from the exchange of copyrighted material, they surely benefited from any memberships they gained because of it. It would be hard to speculate on just how many members joined primarily for this reason, since it seems to me their main draw was a lot of adult files. But who knows ÄÄ maybe the commercial stuff was really a major factor. ------------------------------------------------------------- Your writing this sounds like you don't like anyone who works hard to make a profit. You sound like "DAMM LIBERAL" that likes to punish anyone who gets ahead. The FEDS went after the wrong people, The SPA went after the wrong people. -------------------------------------------------------------- 5. While Rusty and Edie must be a clever couple, you'd have to conclude that they were pretty silly in at least one area: You've got to be dirt dumb to screw up a sweet deal like they had over a few hot games. --------------------------------------------------------------- The Pirates are the clever ones, The Real Criminals didn't get caught yet. -------------------------------------------------------------- ÄÄ Henry Baker --------------------------------------------- My Name is Taged to This file On Exec-Pc ---------------------------------------------