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Freedom of Speech (fwd)



Anyone who uses e-mail or reads newsgroups should read this message and 
consider the consequences of their lethargy.

**********Forwarded material********


 Simply put, a couple of senators have proposed a 
particularly heinous piece of legislation titled the "Communications
Decency Act of 1995"  (Senate Bill S. 314).  Basically, the
bill would subject all forms of electronic communication --
from public Internet postings to your most private email --
to government censorship.  The effects of the bill onto the
online industry would be devastating -- most colleges and 
private companies (AOL, Compuserve, etc.) would probably have
to shut down or greatly restrict access, since they would be
held criminally liable for the postings and email of private
users.
 
Obviously, this bill is designed to win votes for these senators
among those who are fearful of the internet and aren't big
fans of freedom of speech -- ie., those who are always trying to
censor "pornography" and dirty books and such.  Given the
political climate in this country, this bill might just pass
unless the computer community demonstrates its strength as a
committed political force to be reckoned with.  This, my friends,
is why I have filled your mailbox with this very long message.
 
A petition, to be sent to Congress, the President, and the media,
has begun spreading through the Internet.  It's easy to participate
and be heard -- to sign it, you simply follow the instructions
below -- which boil down to sending a quick email message to a
certain address.  That's all it takes to let your voice be heard.
(You know, if the Internet makes democracy this accessible to the
average citizen, is it any wonder Congress wants to censor it?)
  
Finally, PLEASE forward this message to all your friends online.
The more people sign the petition, the more the government will
get the message to back off the online community.  We've been doing
fine without censorship until now -- let's show them we don't plan on
allowing them to start now.  If you value your freedoms -- from
your right to publicly post a message on a worldwide forum to your
right to receive private email without the government censoring it --
you need to take action NOW.  It'll take fifteen minutes at the most,
a small sacrifice considering the issues at hand.  Remember, the age
of fighting for liberty with muskets and shells is most likely over;
the time has come where the keyboard and the phone line will prove
mightier than the sword -- or the Senate, in this case.
 
Yours in liberty,
         
            -don

>
> Here's what you have to do to sign the petition:
>
> send an e-mail message to:  S314-petition@netcom.com
> the message (NOT the subject heading) should read as follows:
> SIGNED <your online address> <your full name> <U.S. Citizen (y/n)>
> eg.  SIGNED lsewell@leland.Stanford.EDU  Laura Sewell  YES
>
> If you are interested in signing the petition, I would highly suggest
> investigating the details of the situation.  You can find out more on
> the Web at    http://www.wookie.net/~slowdog    or in the newsgroup
> comp.org.eff.talk
>









Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1993 08:39:47 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Updated CES Gopher list (fwd)

Forwarded message:
> 
> HI Everyone,
>  
> Can you believe how many gopher sites are available in Extension? WOW! Here's
> an updated listing and many thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier
> message.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Name:        COOPERATIVE EXTENSION GOPHERS
> Content:     A number of Cooperative Extension Systems manage Gopher
>              servers or provide access to Extension information through
>              a cooperating system. Following is a list of current sites.
>  
>              LOCATION                        HOST ADDRESS
>              =============================== ===========================
>              Extension Service,USDA..........Host=esusda.gov
>              Michigan State University.......Host=gopher.msu.edu
>              North Carolina State University.Host=gopher.ces.ncsu.edu
>              North Dakota State University...Under development
>              Purdue University...............Host=hermes.ecn.purdue.edu
>              Rutgers.........................Under development
>              Texas A&M University............Host=tamuts.tamu.edu
>              University of California-Davis..Host=gopher.ucdavis.edu
>              University of Delaware..........Host=bluehen.ags.udel.edu
>              University of Illinois..........Host=ilces.ag.uiuc.edu
>              University of Minnesota.........Host=tinman.mes.umn.edu
>              University of Missouri..........Host=bigcat.missouri.edu
>              University of Wisconsin.........Host=wissago.uwex.edu
>              Utah State University...........Host=extsparc.agsci.usu.edu
> Service:     Gopher
> Instruction: Access host=<address>, port=70 from your client or telnet
>              to a public gopher site.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Sincerely,
> Debbie Shaffer
> ES-USDA and Penn State University
> Address: 3086A Wyllys Place West Point, NY 10996
> Internet: Shafferd@psupen.psu.edu or DShaffer@esusda.gov
> 
>