Re: [ga] Old proposal

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

On Tue, Feb 06, 2001 at 08:51:46PM -0500, Dennis Schaefer wrote:
> Hi Marilyn --
> 
> Sorry about the misdirect.  I was sure I had hit to Reply to
> All. <G>
> 
> I can't disagree with you about the infrastructure consisting of privately
> owned facilities.  But the ether that holds that structure together is
> the public forum called the Internet -- which was built with taxpayer
> money. 

You are mistaken.  There is no such ether; the internet wasn't built
with taxpayer money.   The original research was done with taxpayer 
money, but that was quite some time ago.  

> So selling that public forum to private interests

You are deceived.  It looks like a public forum, but it is really a 
large number of privately owned forums.

> not beholden to
> constitutional matters of
> due process and free speech

I presume by "constitution" you mean the US constitution? The US
constitution only applies to government actions in the US.  It does not
apply to the Internet.  There is no guarantee of due process or free
speech on the Internet, none whatsoever.  You get free speech if your
ISP doesn't block you.  If you are a spammer, for example, your ISP may
very well shut down your free speech.  Your ISP can regulate your
content, or whatever else he wants to do.  The reason there is lots of
freedom on the Internet is because there is a market for freedom.  It
has nothing whatsoever to do with the Constitution. 

And jeez, do people think they could edit their messages before they 
reply.  This cascade of footers is ridiculous:

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-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Be good, and you will be
kent@songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain
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