werner@utastro.UUCP (Werner Uhrig) (05/14/88)
< in follow-up to dougie@its63b.ed.ac.uk (Dougie Nisbet @ Medical Statistics Unit, University of Edinburgh) > Jamie's reaction is perhaps excessive, but understandable. The incredibly > overwhelming impression I receive of American's not realising that their > posting permiate all over the world is probably felt by many others. A proper solution to such concerns would be not to transmit and distribute AUTOMATICALLY (i.e. without a human first approving) large articles and/or certain groups across expensive or otherwise (politically?) sensitive channels. Relying on the large number of net-participants to act in the best interest of everyone else (if such a thing were possible) is plain folly. Not to think of someone coming along with the (why unthinkable?) intention or interest to destroy the net by attacking its weak points ... its openess and trust that noone will come along and intentionally try to overload the system and thus inflict large telephone bills on many before they'd ever get a chance to realize what was going on....