X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: f996b,8d35f38e6ea9545a X-Google-Attributes: gidf996b,public From: spam_block@mymail.com Subject: Re: Moderate this group? (was: SPAMMINGS: ARGH!) Date: 1997/07/13 Message-ID: <33d0513c.8626160@nntp.netcruiser>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 256535543 References: <5q5bel$jti$1@news.uni-c.dk> <33C64A5D.1C2A@wing.rug.nl> <33C51842.6ECF@math.fsu.edu> <5q92f8$skk@ds2.acs.ucalgary.ca> Organization: Netcom Canada X-NETCOM-Date: Sat Jul 12 11:54:37 PM EDT 1997 Reply-To: spam_block@mymail.com Newsgroups: alt.ascii-art On Sat, 12 Jul 1997 17:01:16 -0600, Nana wrote: >Communications decency act for a reason, if we want total freedom in our >posts, we need to put up with the crap that clogs the bandwidth, it's just >a simple fact. Best thing to do is go through the headers of any spam, >send them to the postmaster, and let them take care of it. Failing that, And it will fail most of the time (in fact, lately, all of the time) because the headers are doctored. >just whack the "next" key on your browser and ignore the junk. No, not good enough. When the big boys start playing because we at least appear to have decided that it is acceptable, you will then have a newsgroup of 25 on topic messages and 500 junk spams. There is simply no such thing as total freedom. We all must be bound by laws and by an inner sense of right and wrong. When somebody refuses to abide by the rules, we censure them in a court of law. When they refuse to act decently, even when it is within the 'law' so to speak, it has to be our right to censure them socially. If that means wiping their lack of decency off the system, then so be it. Unfortunately, as much as I would like to agree with you, it is as inevitable as history, that ignoring the evil does NOT make it go away. It merely allows it to fester and grow. I'm all for a moderated newsgroup. Though I would like to see some sort of accountability if possible (maybe a posted list of deleted subject lines from time to time or some such thing) because I too fear exactly what you fear. The only difference between us is that you feel that ignoring it will not have a deleterious effect, and I am absolutely convinced that it will. Alan My real address is alanp @ netcom.ca (without spaces) but I'm sick of email spam.