Anonymous postings

[Jerry Callen]

[I'm reluctant to step into this issue because it's unrelated to
 Linux, and because it has a low flash point, with an accompanying
 high risk of flamage. If the anonymous poster wishes to continue the
 discussion privately, I promise to keep his/her identity confidential.
 In any case, I intend for this to be my *only* posting on this topic.

 -- Jerry Callen (not Jerry Feldman)]

Anonymous writes:

   each mailing list is different, some small & private groups of friends,
   some like David Farber's "Interesting-People" where people agree not to
   retransmit the copyrighted articles, some large traffic mailing-lists
   where sharing articles is verboten

It doesn't matter if the mailing list is small, private, cozy, or
downright chummy. Redistribution of copyrighted material without
permission is illegal. 

   i am a human being who respects individual mailing-list community
   policies and respond if asked politely.

I don't doubt that at all. However, anonymous remailers make it
impossible to do the *most* polite thing, which is to send private
email, rather than forcing the entire mailing list to bevome involved.
Under the circumstances, I felt that Jerry Feldman's reaction was very
reasonable. He *did* mention that the article was interesting...

-- Jerry Callen
   jcallen at world.std.com

   "The best lack conviction, given some time to think,
    and the worst are full of passion without mercy."
        -- Joni Mitchell (borrowing from W.B. Yeats)