Date : Tue, 19 Nov 1985 13:43:49 EST
From : Dave Towson (info-cpm-request) <cpmlist@AMSAA.ARPA>
Subject: "For sale" and "product announcement" postings:
Fellow CP/Mers - Occasional postings of messages offering or announcing items
for sale have caused some flurries of (sometimes) heated debate concerning
"proper use" of the Defense Data Network, through which INFO-CPM is distrib-
uted. I believe that most subscribers to this list honestly wish to adhere
to the "network rules" and not jeopardize INFO-CPM's use of the DDN. But
although the policy regarding personal "for sale" messages has been clearly
stated many times (they're not allowed), it has become quite obvious that the
lack of a clearly stated policy concerning new product announcements is causing
much frustration to those who wish to post such information while still
"playing by the rules". Therefore, this message states my interpretation of
the regulations, and presents a resulting policy to which I, as INFO-CPM list
maintainer, ask all DDN subscribers to adhere. I also ask that contributors
to "NET.MICRO.CPM" on USENET voluntarily cooperate so that the mutually bene-
ficial news gateway between INFO-CPM and NET.MICRO.CPM is not threatened.
The June 1984 issue of the "DDN Directory" gives on page 12 the following
statement concerning use of the network:
"The DDN is an operational DoD network and is not intended
to compete with comparable commercial service. It is intended
to be used solely for the conduct of or in support of official
U.S. Government business."
It is the vagueness of the term "official U.S. Government business" that forces
a local interpretation to be made, and that is the reason for this message.
Briefly stated, my policy is this:
1. I offer to act as a clearinghouse for all new product announcements
posted by persons having remunerative interests in the products.
Persons wishing to post such announcements are asked to send them to
INFO-CPM-REQUEST@AMSAA.ARPA for forwarding to the list. Please note
that this applies ONLY to "remunerative interest postings". Readers
having no such interests are always welcome to send comments about
products, new or old, directly to INFO-CPM.
2. Messages offering personal items for sale must not be posted.
This policy is explained in more detail below.
PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS: I feel that the information value of a product
announcement must be weighed against possible personal rewards when making a
decision about use of the network. There are many government-owned computers
running CP/M, and on which serious government work is being done. Several
years ago, the DARCOM Microcomputer Software Support System (DMSSS) project
was instituted, with one of its aspects to provide a repository of public
domain software on the net. INFO-CPM was sponsored as the official vehicle
for announcements of the status of the collections, and to promote the inter-
change of user information on the use of CP/M and the programs which run under
it. This is why INFO-CPM is "in support of official U.S. Government business".
New products that provide improvements to the CP/M operating system, to
associated utility programs or to the machines on which these programs run
offer productivity increases to government users. Therefore, it is in the
government interest to distribute factual information concerning such products.
Still, when an individual having a personal monetary interest in a product
posts an announcement concerning that product, it raises questions about
"commercial use of the network".
Therefore, as I have no involvement with any provider of CP/M-related
products or services, I offer to act as a "clearinghouse" for all new product
announcements being submitted by persons having remunerative interests in
these products. I ask that all individuals wishing to post such announcements
via INFO-CPM send them to INFO-CPM-REQUEST@AMSAA.ARPA. My requirements for
relaying such messages to the list are:
1. They must be of general interest to the "CP/M community". Products
that address specific subsets of this community, such as those
which operate with or on an "XYZ machine running CP/M 2.2" meet
this requirement.
2. They must be brief and factual, listing the salient features of
the products, and giving brief explanations of the techniques used
to achieve improved performance (if applicable). In short, they
must be INFORMATIVE.
3. They must be free of advertising hype - no superlatives. Compar-
ative words such as "better" and "improved" are OK provided brief
explanations are given as stated above.
4. They should include the name and netmail address of a person to whom
requests for additional informaton can be directed, or a statement
that no additional information is available if that is the case.
I will not attempt to present here an all-inclusive, "iron-clad" set of rules,
as I do not believe it can be done; and if it can, I don't know how. Please
send any questions regarding this matter to INFO-CPM-REQUEST@AMSAA.ARPA, and
NOT to the entire list. If further clarifications seem necessary, I will
update and resend this message.
PERSONAL "FOR SALE" MESSAGES: I think there is a very significant
difference between product announcements and personal "for sale" messages.
Products that are offered to the public which provide new capabilities, or
which improve the performance of existing systems offer these same benefits to
government users. But personal deals are "one-on-one", and unless the buyer is
a government user (which I consider an extremely remote possibility considering
the "red-tape" associated with procurement), no benefit can accrue to the
government. Therefore, personal small-volume offerings violate the intent
of the rules and should not be posted.
REPLIES TO POSTINGS: Please make intelligent decisions regarding replies
to product announcements. If such a reply is of general interest, then feel
free to send it to INFO-CPM@AMSAA.ARPA (i.e., to the entire list). I will
include with each posting the address of a person to contact for additional
information (or a statement that no further information is available, if that
is the case). Please send non-general-interest replies PRIVATELY to the person
listed, and NOT to the entire list.
If a personal "for sale" message does appear in INFO-CPM and you wish to
respond to it, please do so PRIVATELY and not to the entire list. If your
mailer can't send private replies, then DO NOT REPLY at all.
I would like to thank Jeff Edelheit, Frank Wancho, Bridger Mitchell and
Jim Guyton, as well as several local BRL people who do not read INFO-CPM for
their participation in a "behind-the-scenes" discussion of this subject. We
had a spirited but fruitful argument that helped greatly in clarifying the
issues and in arriving at the above policy, which I believe is responsible and
responsive to the rules for network use.
The above policy has been coordinated with the Army Ballistic Research
Laboratory personnel responsible for monitoring BRL's network access, through
which INFO-CPM is delivered to the DDN. This message will be repeated period-
ically for the information of new readers, and to refresh the memories of
others. Your cooperation will help to insure the continued existence of the
INFO-CPM newsgroup.
Dave Towson <info-cpm-request@amsaa.arpa>
INFO-CPM list maintainer