comparc@twwells.uucp (comp.archives) (11/10/88)
In article <44436@beno.seismo.CSS.GOV> rick@seismo.CSS.GOV (Rick Adams) writes:
: > : Consider first contacting the archive maintainer. Archives are generally
: > : a free public service (not so for UUCP-UUNET, where it's what people
: > : pay for) and public lambastings will make folks very gun-shy about being
: > : nice any more...
:
: Note that the uunet archive ARE free. We charge for access to the machine,
: not the archives. If you think its a petty distinction, the Internet folks
: can (and do) ftp all they want at no charge. It is analogous to paying
: a distribution fee for a tape that has "free" software on it.
Also, as per my stated intentions, I don't care whether the archive
site charges for access or not. All that I care about is whether the
archived material is freely distributable. So I have no problems
accepting archive entries for uunet.
Of course, they will only be listed as an ftp accessible archive,
since that is the only way (that I know of) that one can access their
archives without registering with them.
Should uunet send in a site description, they can, and I think they
should, mention that their archive is available through uucp, if one
pays the access charges. Like I said, I don't care if the archive
site charges for access.
I might add one qualification to that: if an archive site charges for
anything other than the access to the archive, or charges for access
on a for-profit basis, they don't get listed. That makes the archive
a commercial enterprise as far as I am concerned, and my understanding
of Usenet tells me that posting such would not be proper.
---
Bill
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