Re: Newsgroup?

[Brett Dikeman <quattro@arthur.malebolge.com>]

>While I do not surf the 'net much, I have never come across a better
>automotive [or other type for that matter] list than the one we have
>here.  There is tremendous volume, and I assume there is a cost
>associated with it.  What is better for us, a subscription to C&D
>[will never happen here] or a subscription to this list?
>
>Just a thought [maybe a bad one?]
Not to sound ungrateful(I'm not in the slightest,) but yes, a bad one.
Charging for the list would:

a)disourage people from joining
b)alienate existing members
c)cause everyone to move to a new, free qlist hosted by someone else

The Internet is a community, and quite a bit of it is free; the world wide
web is 98% free, easily accessable(ok, maybe not :) pages.  It's a place to
get software(freeware, shareware, trialware, etc.)  It's a place to get
advice, humor, information...all free.  It used to be that the Internet was
a collection of universities and government insitutions linked up(it still
is, to a small extent; now it's major telecommunications companies like
MCI, Sprint, GTE(bbn), etc.)

To charge for admission would be against the whole (if not slightly
idealistic) principle the internet was built on; you host something for
others, and others put up things for you.

However, I think it would not be unreasonable to _ask_ for donations; if
each member contributed on an honor system in an amount of their
choosing(probably between $1-$5) a year, this would give funds for hardware
upgrades, maybe even a seperate connection at a host ISP so Dan doesn't get
flak from ANS about the traffic(though I don't know how much you do, Dan,
correct me if I'm wrong.)  Figuring 50% feel like contributing $5, that's
still roughly $1700(5x700x.5) a year.

What is most important in any case is that we recognize the service Dan and
ANS provide for us, which I believe most people who stick around for more
than a few months do.  It is also important to realize the service from
fellow listers; there is a regular group of very experienced people that
provide, on a very regular basis, excellent advice, solutions and
suggestions.

Here's to free collaboration.

Brett

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Brett Dikeman
brett@pdikeman.ne.mediaone.net
~)-|
Hostes alienigeni me abduxerunt.  Qui annus est?
Te audire non possum.  Musa sapientum fixa est in aure.
Ita, scio hunc 'sig file' veterem fieri.
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