NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #1/NN_1993_1.iso/spool/alt/comp/acadfre/talk/3864

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-06 | 6.9 KB

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Newsgroups: alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,comp.org.eff.talk,comp.admin.policy,alt.censorship,soc.college
Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!eff!kadie
From: [e-mail] (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: Abstract of CAF-News 02.41
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Originator: [e-mail]
Sender: [e-mail] (NNTP News Poster)
Nntp-Posting-Host: eff.org
Organization: The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 02:01:45 GMT
Lines: 146

[See the end of this article for information about obtaining the full
CAF-News electronically and about CAF-News in general.]

Topics discussed in CAF-News 02.41:

   1-4    discuss the prohibition of the alt.sex.binaries newsgroup at Simon
               Fraser University
   5-6    consider various issues related to alt.binaries.pictures and
               whether passing "illegal materials" through it is good reason
               for shutting the newsgroup down
   7      replies to a statement alleging "computer porn" at the University
               of British Columbia
   8      reviews an Electronic Frontier Foundation forum regarding the
               future of NSFNet, the Internet's backbone

Abstract of CAF-News 02.41:
[Week ending August 23, 1992

========================== KEY ================================
The words after the numbers are a short PARAPHRASE of the
article, NOT AN OBJECTIVE SUMMARY and not necessarily my opinion.
===============================================================

  [We desperately need new guest (or regular) editors, for information
   send email to [e-mail].  - Carl]

Notes 1-4 discuss the prohibition of the alt.sex.binaries newsgroup
at Simon Fraser University.

1.  Simon Fraser's director of academic computer services is quoted
as saying, "It's the same as if somebody wants Playboy or
Penthouse.  We don't have them in the university library." When a
student notes that _Playboy_ *is* in the SFU library, another
poster replies: "The material that caused the problems in a.s.b are
hardly things that would be found in either magazine."
    <[e-mail]>

2.  Even so, "Students at state schools in the U.S. cannot legally
be punished for publishing material that is merely potentially
harmful."
    <[e-mail]>

3.  A recitation from the Canadian constitution (where Simon Fraser
is located): "Everyone has the following freedoms:" which includes
"freedom of thought,belief,opinion and expression,including
freedom of the press and other media of communication".
    <[e-mail]>

4.  To the rebuttal that Canada's legislature regularly bans
materials anyway, this reply: "The final arbiter is *still* the
Supreme Court of Canada - the constitution and charter of rights is
still the law of the land.[...] If a legislature passes such laws,
they are still subject to the Supreme Court striking down such laws
if they're too broad, or completely unreasonable. The situation is
no different than the US."
    <[e-mail]>

Notes 5-6 consider various issues related to alt.binaries.pictures and
whether passing "illegal materials" through it is good reason for
shutting the newsgroup down.

5.  "And to answer the question, alt.binaries.pictures.* accounts
for around 10% of of my total incoming news (in size, not in number
of articles, obviously). It takes up about 5% of my newsspool since
I expire it faster than everything else."
    <[e-mail]>

6.  "The person who used to keep the FAQ on alt.sex.pictures (I think his name
was Brian Reid) said that he once sent letters to Playboy, Penthouse and
Hustler asking them about thier feelings and intentions about things like
a.s.p. [...] The response, as far as I understand it was that if he became
moderator, they might consider sueing to stop a.s.p."
    <[e-mail]>

Note 7 replies to a statement alleging "computer porn" at the University
of British Columbia.

7.  "I read recently in UBC Reports that the UBC President has 'asked all UBC
units to ensure that university property is not being used to gain access to,
create, or store (such) pornographic material on university computing
equipment'. I am disturbed by the possibilities in this. [...] Given operator
privileges, it would be easy to write programs that  would scan users files
and mailboxes for keywords, according to some  particular scheme of sexual or
political censorship."
    <[e-mail]>

Note 8 reviews an Electronic Frontier Foundation forum regarding the
future of NSFNet, the Internet's backbone.

8.  "Two major themes emerged from the nearly six hours of discussion
[...]  First, there has been substantial lack of shared understanding
about some of the draft's key elements," namely many unexplained
technical terms and concepts of the new NSFNet.  Second, regarding the
bidding process to determine the vendor that will support NSFNet for
the next few years, "the draft has no guidelines to suggest how bids
will be evaluated," nor is there one word about NSFNet's relationship
to the next-generation federal National Research and Education
Network, which is eventually expected to displace it.  "The draft also
fails to illuminate how the NSF determines when a technology is no
longer 'experimental' and can be provided commercially without further
government funding."
    <[e-mail]>

- Aaron Barnhart]


About CAF-News:

The abstract is for the most recent "Computers and Academic Freedom News"
(CAF-News). The full CAF-News is available via anonymous ftp or by
email. For ftp access, do an anonymous ftp to ftp.eff.org
(192.88.144.4). Get file "pub/academic/news/cafv02n41".
The full CAF-News is also available via email. Send email to
[e-mail]. Include the line:

send caf-news cafv02n41


CAF-News is a weekly digest of notes from CAF-talk.

CAF-News is available as newsgroup alt.comp.acad-freedom.news or via
email. If you read newsgroups but your site doesn't get
alt.comp.acad-freedom.news, (politely) ask your sys admin to
subscribe. For info on email delivery, send email to
[e-mail]. Include the line

send acad-freedom caf

Back issues of CAF-News are available via anonymous ftp or via email.
Ftp to ftp.eff.org. The directory is pub/academic/news. For
information about email access to the archive, send an email note to
[e-mail]. Include the lines:

send acad-freedom README
help
index

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, John F. Nixon, Aaron Barnhart, 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.
 =[e-mail], [e-mail] =