cpmlist@AMSAA.ARPA (Dave Towson, info-cpm-request) (11/19/85)
Fellow CP/Mers - Occasional postings of messages offering or announcing items for sale have caused some flurries of (sometimes) heated debate concerning "proper use" of the Defense Data Network, through which INFO-CPM is distrib- uted. I believe that most subscribers to this list honestly wish to adhere to the "network rules" and not jeopardize INFO-CPM's use of the DDN. But although the policy regarding personal "for sale" messages has been clearly stated many times (they're not allowed), it has become quite obvious that the lack of a clearly stated policy concerning new product announcements is causing much frustration to those who wish to post such information while still "playing by the rules". Therefore, this message states my interpretation of the regulations, and presents a resulting policy to which I, as INFO-CPM list maintainer, ask all DDN subscribers to adhere. I also ask that contributors to "NET.MICRO.CPM" on USENET voluntarily cooperate so that the mutually bene- ficial news gateway between INFO-CPM and NET.MICRO.CPM is not threatened. The June 1984 issue of the "DDN Directory" gives on page 12 the following statement concerning use of the network: "The DDN is an operational DoD network and is not intended to compete with comparable commercial service. It is intended to be used solely for the conduct of or in support of official U.S. Government business." It is the vagueness of the term "official U.S. Government business" that forces a local interpretation to be made, and that is the reason for this message. Briefly stated, my policy is this: 1. I offer to act as a clearinghouse for all new product announcements posted by persons having remunerative interests in the products. Persons wishing to post such announcements are asked to send them to INFO-CPM-REQUEST@AMSAA.ARPA for forwarding to the list. Please note that this applies ONLY to "remunerative interest postings". Readers having no such interests are always welcome to send comments about products, new or old, directly to INFO-CPM. 2. Messages offering personal items for sale must not be posted. This policy is explained in more detail below. PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS: I feel that the information value of a product announcement must be weighed against possible personal rewards when making a decision about use of the network. There are many government-owned computers running CP/M, and on which serious government work is being done. Several years ago, the DARCOM Microcomputer Software Support System (DMSSS) project was instituted, with one of its aspects to provide a repository of public domain software on the net. INFO-CPM was sponsored as the official vehicle for announcements of the status of the collections, and to promote the inter- change of user information on the use of CP/M and the programs which run under it. This is why INFO-CPM is "in support of official U.S. Government business". New products that provide improvements to the CP/M operating system, to associated utility programs or to the machines on which these programs run offer productivity increases to government users. Therefore, it is in the government interest to distribute factual information concerning such products. Still, when an individual having a personal monetary interest in a product posts an announcement concerning that product, it raises questions about "commercial use of the network". Therefore, as I have no involvement with any provider of CP/M-related products or services, I offer to act as a "clearinghouse" for all new product announcements being submitted by persons having remunerative interests in these products. I ask that all individuals wishing to post such announcements via INFO-CPM send them to INFO-CPM-REQUEST@AMSAA.ARPA. My requirements for relaying such messages to the list are: 1. They must be of general interest to the "CP/M community". Products that address specific subsets of this community, such as those which operate with or on an "XYZ machine running CP/M 2.2" meet this requirement. 2. They must be brief and factual, listing the salient features of the products, and giving brief explanations of the techniques used to achieve improved performance (if applicable). In short, they must be INFORMATIVE. 3. They must be free of advertising hype - no superlatives. Compar- ative words such as "better" and "improved" are OK provided brief explanations are given as stated above. 4. They should include the name and netmail address of a person to whom requests for additional informaton can be directed, or a statement that no additional information is available if that is the case. I will not attempt to present here an all-inclusive, "iron-clad" set of rules, as I do not believe it can be done; and if it can, I don't know how. Please send any questions regarding this matter to INFO-CPM-REQUEST@AMSAA.ARPA, and NOT to the entire list. If further clarifications seem necessary, I will update and resend this message. PERSONAL "FOR SALE" MESSAGES: I think there is a very significant difference between product announcements and personal "for sale" messages. Products that are offered to the public which provide new capabilities, or which improve the performance of existing systems offer these same benefits to government users. But personal deals are "one-on-one", and unless the buyer is a government user (which I consider an extremely remote possibility considering the "red-tape" associated with procurement), no benefit can accrue to the government. Therefore, personal small-volume offerings violate the intent of the rules and should not be posted. REPLIES TO POSTINGS: Please make intelligent decisions regarding replies to product announcements. If such a reply is of general interest, then feel free to send it to INFO-CPM@AMSAA.ARPA (i.e., to the entire list). I will include with each posting the address of a person to contact for additional information (or a statement that no further information is available, if that is the case). Please send non-general-interest replies PRIVATELY to the person listed, and NOT to the entire list. If a personal "for sale" message does appear in INFO-CPM and you wish to respond to it, please do so PRIVATELY and not to the entire list. If your mailer can't send private replies, then DO NOT REPLY at all. I would like to thank Jeff Edelheit, Frank Wancho, Bridger Mitchell and Jim Guyton, as well as several local BRL people who do not read INFO-CPM for their participation in a "behind-the-scenes" discussion of this subject. We had a spirited but fruitful argument that helped greatly in clarifying the issues and in arriving at the above policy, which I believe is responsible and responsive to the rules for network use. The above policy has been coordinated with the Army Ballistic Research Laboratory personnel responsible for monitoring BRL's network access, through which INFO-CPM is delivered to the DDN. This message will be repeated period- ically for the information of new readers, and to refresh the memories of others. Your cooperation will help to insure the continued existence of the INFO-CPM newsgroup. Dave Towson <info-cpm-request@amsaa.arpa> INFO-CPM list maintainer