Newsgroups: uw.campus-news
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!gazette
From: gazette@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca (Chris Redmond)
Subject: Advisory Committee on Network News
Message-ID: <1991Jun17.183807.16829@watserv1.waterloo.edu>
Sender: gazette@watserv1.waterloo.edu (Chris Redmond)
Organization: University of Waterloo
Distribution: uw
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1991 18:38:07 GMT
Approved: gazette@watserv1
Lines: 42

The final report of the Advisory Committee on Network News
was made public today (Monday) by the associate provost
(computing and information systems). He says in a covering
memo: "I would like to hear from the University community
before taking action. Comments and/or concerns should be
expressed to me in writing by August 15, 1991."

Among the committee's recommendations are these:

  -- "The University of Waterloo adopt and widely publicize
  the principle that, in sending E-mail or in posting an
  article to a newsgroup, it is the user and not the
  University who assumes responsibility for its contents."

  -- "The University's primary news-server continue to receive
  all newsgroups generated internally and all newsgroups
  which arrive over the networks to which the University is
  connected.  The contents of these newsgroups continue to be
  made available to all lower-level servers."

  -- A person at UW be appointed to help users here find "a
  suitable authority at a remote site to whom a request for
  action might be addressed" if objectionable material from
  elsewhere is received here, and to help users elsewhere find
  the right authority at UW complain to if objectionable
  material originates here.

  -- Complaints within UW about objectionable postings be 
  handled through the usual procedures, such as grievances
  under the ethics policy.

I regret that this document just hit my desk this afternoon, too late
to be reflected in this week's Gazette.  It will be reported in full
next week, by which time I hope I will be able to get comment from 
appropriate officials on exactly what it means.

I am trying to obtain the full document in machine-readable form.
If I manage to do so and can make it available electronically, an
announcement about its location will be posted here.



