geoff@fernwood.mpk.ca.us (the terminal of Geoff Goodfellow) (07/14/89)
ANTERIOR TECHNOLOGY TO OFFER NEW COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SERVICES
MENLO PARK, Calif. -- June 5, 1989 -- Anterior Technology today
introduced the IN MODERATION NETWORK(TM) and related communications services.
The IN MODERATION NETWORK offers a moderated, filtered, and cleaned-up
information flow of USENET netnews groups and Internet mailing lists.
"Our networked discussion streams have become veritable Love Canals,"
said Geoffrey S. Goodfellow, President of Anterior Technology and founder of
the IN MODERATION NETWORK. "Our network discussions all too often spark flame
fests where participants take shots and blasts at one another. The shrapnel
and debris have been driving main line contributors and readers away.
Researchers and developers no longer have the time or inclination to wade
through the toxic waste of included text, personal attacks, over stuffed
armchair postulations, conjectures and speculations. The IN MODERATION
NETWORK will function as a sewage treatment plant for the network discussion
forums in the Internet and USENET netnews communities. IN MODERATION NETWORK
moderators will cull the raw message flow for the precious metals and jewels.
Only contributions of value will be passed on to subscriber sites of the IN
MODERATION NETWORK."
Anterior Technology will be offering the IN MODERATION NETWORK as a value
added service in support of the research and development communities of the
Internet and USENET networks.
Goodfellow comments, "The Internet links the greatest collection of
researchers, developers and computer resources in the world. One is working
to interface a microprocessor controlled toaster with TCP/IP just for fun;
others are developing advanced supercomputer applications and exchanging
research results with colleagues around the world. Our network discussion
forums have increased in volume and decreased in the number of valuable
contributions. The networked discussion forums of the Internet and USENET
have lost intrinsic value as a result. The on-line forums started out with
the high-quality material that the network users want to see -- the current
trends downward need to be reversed."
The Internet provides worldwide interconnection of more than 700 local
and wide area networks, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network (ARPANET), Defense Data Network (MILNET), National Science
Foundation Network (NSFNET), Computer Science Net (CSNET/BITNET) and others.
Many universities, research centers and government agencies are interconnected
via the Internet. AT&T, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, Hewlett Packard,
SUN Microsystems and other companies engaged in R&D are on the Internet. It
is estimated the Internet connects over 100,000 computers that interoperate
with each other via the suite of protocols known as TCP/IP. The Internet's
component computer systems range in size from PCs and workstations, to
mainframes and supercomputers.
USENET is an international information network, primarily composed of
computers running the UNIX(TM) and MS-DOS operating systems. USENET systems
exchange information on a dial-up basis with UUCP (the UNIX-to-UNIX system
Copy Protocol) and via the Internet with the Network News Transfer Protocol
(NNTP). The Internet and USENET networks provide research, technical, and
recreational discussion forums that are valuable sources of information and
help. USENET's discussion news groups alone, called "netnews," exchange
information at the rate of approximately six million characters a day.
There are an estimated 572,000 USENET readers and contributors worldwide.
Goodfellow is currently in the process of signing up group moderators and
experts for the IN MODERATION NETWORK. Moderators will act as editors and
filterers, and will provide moderation for discussions. Moderators will also
call on experts in particular topic areas to make contributions to ongoing
discussions.
IN MODERATION NETWORK member sites will have the right to participate in
the value added IN MODERATION NETWORK hierarchy of netnews groups and mailing
lists. The cost to participate in the moderated network initially is $720
annually per site. The IN MODERATION NETWORK and Communication Services will
be fully operational on July 5th, 1989.
To receive IN MODERATION NETWORK material, a member company or
institution can arrange a feed from an existing IN MODERATION NETWORK member.
Alternatively, Anterior Technology also offers subscriptions to its
Communications Services, whereby new member sites connect directly with
Anterior Technology in Menlo Park, California for $35/month and $3/hour. A
dedicated MIPS-M/1000 computer system, a high throughput, 10 million
instructions per second RISC-based computing engine serves as the nexus for
the In Moderation Network and communications services. The system can
communicate with member sites via the Internet with TCP/IP or on a dial-up
basis with UUCP at 19,200, 2400, or 1200 bps.
The IN MODERATION NETWORK is in the process of making additional
arrangements with commercial timesharing and information service providers to
market its news streams to end users via other electronic networks.
Anterior Technology has created an advisory board for the IN MODERATION
NETWORK. The advisory board includes network community luminaries
VINTON G. CERF, Vice-President of the Corporation for National Research
Initiatives, inventor of TCP/IP, Principle Scientist at DARPA-IPTO, and
developer of MCI-Mail; DAVID J. FARBER, Professor of Computer and Information
Science and Electrical Engineering - University of Pennsylvania, a founder of
CSNET, Chairman of the National Science Foundation Policy Advisory Board's
Networking Subcommittee; DANIEL C. LYNCH, President and founder of Advanced
Computing Environments, operator of the Interop conferences; JOHN ROMKEY of
Epilogue Technology, founder of FTP Software, author of PC/TCP; and
EINAR STEFFERUD, President and founder of Network Management Associates.
Geoffrey S. Goodfellow is a former member of the Senior Research Staff of
the Computer Science Laboratory at SRI International, Menlo Park, California.
He was a Principal Investigator of computer security and networking projects
at SRI from 1974-1986. In 1988 he ended a 2 year sabbatical to found Anterior
Technology. Goodfellow co-authored the "Hackers Dictionary, A Guide To The
World of Computer Wizards" with Richard M. Stallman, Guy L. Steele Jr., et al.
Additional information about Anterior Technology's IN MODERATION NETWORK and
Communications Services may be obtained by calling or sending mail to:
UUCP fernwood!imn-request Anterior Technology
Internet imn-request@Fernwood.MPK.CA.US P.O. Box 1206
MCI Mail Geoff Menlo Park, CA 94026-1206
Telex 65 01 03 73 91 (415) 328-5615
IN MODERATION NETWORK is a trademark of Anterior Technology.
UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories.