These are the messages I have received so far on the subject of whether
or not to delete the Snuffit magazine from etext.archive.umich.edu.
(This is NOT all the mail I've received complaining about their email
spam, just the mail regarding whether it should still be available for
access via anonymous ftp).
At current rate, I am inclined to let it be, and it appears that most
(of an admittedly small sample) agree with that decision. I very much
doubt that my decision will influence CoE's possible future spamming
attacks either way (and I furthermore doubt that their decision to spam
the net had any basis in the fact that I agreed to provide archive space
for it to begin with).
--
Paul Southworth
ETEXT Archivist
[email protected]
Each message separated by "-----".
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I don't think there is any justification for removing "snuffit" from
etext.. I appreciate that etext carries a wide range of materials.
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The SnuffIt folks were wrong to do mass unsolicited emailings. I was the
"victim" of one such act, and it made me angry. However, I also think these
people are entitled to make one big net.mistake. They've received their
reprimand (from their cancelled accounts and the hostility they have
generated on the net). Declining to carry their material is pointless,
unless they keep up the unsolicited mailings.
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I don't mean to sound flipant or angry at you, but why do you give this
person safe haven for his ftp docs? I know that the internet is supposed
to be freely axcessable by everyone, but why should we help this person
who appears to only be hateful?
Thanks. Just inquiring about something that upsets me!!!
-----
Good for you. Don't censor the SnuffIt stuff, but maybe you can stop the
e-mailing spam, huh?
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These people may be fanatics, but they are not lunatics. Even if they were
lunatics, they have as much right to space on an FTP/gopher site as anyone
else; even if every single member of the church were on death row for murder,
that should not be a reason to obliterate their presence from the net. If
indeed their internet access has been taken away, then the only impact they can
have on the net, and the lives of the 20 million internet users, is through
their remaining writing: a single issue of Snuffit.
In the past I have found that your FTP site has done a commendable job at
upholding First Ammendment rights, giving an uncensorred outlet for
alternative literature....
Now I may have to re-think this assumption. Your README file is an invitation
for people to complain about the writings of the Church of Euthanasia, and it
almost suggests that you do not wish to archive their zine. I am fully aware
that you are donating your hardware and processing cycles to the free spread
of information, whether or not you personally agree with its content. However,
your position on the Church of Euthanasia seems contrary to the ethical
standard which you have upheld until now.
I urge you not the remove their material from your site, and to treat it with
the same respect as any other publication in your archives. (remove the
README from their directory). Your etext archives are a refreshing
alternative to USA Today and other mainstream media. If you were to impose
any form of censorship, it would be a huge blow to the already shaky
constitutional status of independant electronic publishing.
-----
please leave these materials in the archive. this stuff might
be tasteless and insensitive, but it is also thoughtful.
-----
I believe that anyone who send unsolicited mass e-mailings
should not be supported or encouraged in that effort. These
people are using MY resources to advertise something to me
that I do NOT want. I think you should remove these materials
from the archive. Thank you.
-----
I am one of those thousands who got the e-mail from the Snuffit folks. I
can't say that I agree with their position, but I do believe they have a
right to express it. I am an information junky and a firm advocate of
free speech so that position is not surprising. My position is that I am
much better off knowing that these kinds of positions are out there, than
I would be if I were protected form knowing about it. I am on of those
people who is fed up with the government and the news media lying to us
and hiding the facts from our tender ears. I certainly keeps the powerful
in power but it obviously doesn't lead to valid decission making. Many of
these decissions effect the lives of generations as yet unborn, and to me
that is a sicker crime than anything this Snuffit group has done. Please
leave their material available for all to see. I know that there are many
others out there that feel as I do.
-----
First, many thanks for maintaining your archive site!
It is an extremely valuable Net resource!
As to Snuffit magazine, I received their e-mail, and was
*not* offended. It was funny, silly, and intelligent
(I mean the style, not necessarily the content), and
contained a nice ascii-art.
The magazine itself is pretty good, too--lots of ecological
info that we really *should* be aware of (this is clearly
the group's motivation), and the encounter with the police
is priceless!
I guess you might be concerned about the explicit suicide
instructions--going out into the woods, etc. If so, you
could edit that part out.
But please keep the rest, and carry their future issues
(if they still have an account left to mail them from :^).
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You asked for any opinions so here's mine:
Isn't there enough wierdos on the net without promoting those sending
out unsolicited trash which you are archiving in "snuffit"? My "vote"
is: delete it!
-----
In the matter of the Zine SnuffIt, while I didn't much appreciate
the unsolicited mail, I hardly think it justifies removal of this
material. And unread, I would say that there is no content, no
idea, no words that should ever be denied expression, if only to
serve as a warning to us all...
-----
I read your note the README
gopher://locust.cic.net/00/Zines/Snuffit/Readme. I think that you
should definitely remove the snuffit materials from your archive. Aside
from my opinion that this stuff is pure, unadulterated trash, why
encourage idiots who misuse the net (mass mailings) by providing them
with a forum ? Without a forum for their ideas, they are nothing...
Thanks for listening to my opinion on the subject.
-----
I find the unsolicited email message I've received from
[email protected] offensive. Please remove their material
from your ftp site.
-----
