brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (03/28/89)
(This posting goes in a different direction from the recent, hopefully finished debate on RHF.) I had said that It is my opinion that principle of USENET is that commercial *use* is ok, and that commercial *abuse* is what people refer to when they talk of a non-commercial usenet. As I have been involved in commercial use, I feel it is worth discussing (calmly) what this issue revolves around. To my mind, all principles of usenet come from this one: "If it benefits the readers more than it costs to read and send around, it's worth having on usenet. To suggest that we worry about whether the author, moderator UUNET or AT&T might be makign money from it is merely a dog-in-the-manger attitude." With this is mind, let me offer my opinion of what sort of things I think are commercial uses of usenet that are good for usenet. Naturally, my own are included. I would be a hypocrite not to include them. The higher up a thing is on my list, the more tolerated it is in my opinion. Things in the top couple of groups can even be advertised on usenet, I would say, so long as it doesn't get bulky or repetitive. To top off my list, I include commercial stuff directly related to the operation of usenet. That includes the discussion, support and even reasonable promotion of network related tools, such as: UUCP software, HBD and Unix networking tools TCP/IP packages Commercial or shareware news processing tools such as UFGATE, Vortex's uucp and other future tools. Modems and compression software, ARC Usenet feeds and communications services (such as Stargate, UUNET) In the middle of my list I put stuff aimed directly at USENET people, or deriving from the net, but not a part of it: Free charging net sites Books about usenet or designed for netters. (Yes, jokebooks...) Promotions of related networks, like biz.* net. Distribution centers for net software or archives of net material, even fee-charging ones. Truly free usable samples of commercial information products given in exchange for promotion, submissions or good will Other nets and email services with usenet connections. Next we have general stuff relating to usenet people as part of a wider audience: Popular products with net users, such as SCO Xenix, various brands of workstations and computers, MKS tools and other related unix tools. Anything that relates directly to a popular usenet newsgroup. Posted shareware of use to net users. Getting lower, we have: General product annoucements, usually from net companies. Help wanted ads (net companies) Job wanted ads At the bottom of my list I have: Help wanted ads from non-net companies General classified ads for small volume merchandise. Queries for help in people's work Here are some things that I would probably put in the abuse category: Hype-style, information-poor ads of any sort. Promotions repeated with annoying frequency. Classified ads (misc.forsale) posted for non-net people Announcements or ads for products for which net-people are not a special audience. Cripped shareware or unusable demo programs. There is probably more to add to each category -- there is a tremendous amount of commercial traffic on the net -- but I think this covers the main areas. Comments? (I mean sane, rational ones that don't attack me as a person) -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473
jim@tiamat.fsc.com (Jim O'Connor) (03/29/89)
In article <3012@looking.UUCP>, brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) writes: > > I had said that It is my opinion that principle of USENET is that commercial > *use* is ok, and that commercial *abuse* is what people refer to when they > talk of a non-commercial usenet. I agree, also. Some commercial use is OK. As a matter of fact, I recently purchased a disk controller from a company (to remain nameless) which advertised the controller on the net (in one of the biz.* groups, if I recall correctly) in a tastefully posted article. > To my mind, all principles of usenet come from this one: "If it benefits > the readers more than it costs to read and send around, it's worth having > on usenet. To suggest that we worry about whether the author, moderator > UUNET or AT&T might be makign money from it is merely a dog-in-the-manger > attitude." Amen. There are some things I would actually like to see more of, e.g. price lists. I seem to have the hardest time just getting generic price lists out of vendors. I'm basically a catalog shopper. i.e. I have a certain amount budgetted, but I don't know what I want, so I go looking for something that meets the price and functionality needs. With sometheing like the biz.* groups available (which are intended as a commercial forum), it's a pity that vendors don't take more advantage of them. I am 100 times more likely to buy something from a vendor who is an active net participant and who I can communicate with via e-mail (telephone tag is real high on my pain-in-the-neck list). IMHO, a person and/or company is welcome to "make money off the net" as long as they are providing some service which will end up benefitting the net. ------------- James B. O'Connor jim@tiamat.fsc.com Filtration Sciences Corporation 615/821-4022 x. 651 *** Altos users unite! mail to "info-altos-request@tiamat.fsc.com" ***