response 25 of 45:

Feb 17 09:05 UTC 1996

I don't consider a falsehood superior to a technicality.

response 27 of 45:

Feb 20 08:36 UTC 1996

have our users been reminded lately about that arrangement?

response 29 of 45:

Feb 21 05:47 UTC 1996

(prompted by #15)
 
i'm the owner of api, the account with the .plan that has s-word in
it. i apologize if i offended anyone, but i didn't even know what a
.plan was when newuser inquired about my interests.  if i did type the
word sex it was intended to be a lighthearted response to newuser
asking me what my interests were.  had i even imagined this response
would have been used to characterize me i certainly would not have
responded in that manner.
 
as for the commercial value of api.  yeah, like i'm a big high rise
building with a parking lot like a mall.  just so you are aware, there
is no legal entity known as api.  it's a login name, that's it.  it
was originally created by me when i was responding to an advertisement
for a position closely related to where i am currently providing
services. api was my alias.  i have requested that api be maintained
here because there are other instances where i wanted to keep a low
profile in my search for new opportunities.
 
on my business use of grex:  my combination of letters are
inappropriate compared to non-commerical words?  i really don't mean
to be a dickweed here but i just don't understand.  maybe i really
don't have a clue what grex is.
 
here's what i figured.  if i'm way off, then i'm just ignorant.  i
thought grex was a entity that represented a bunch of people that
liked to hangout online.  the idea of opening it to the public was, at
some level, to help offset the cost of operation.  so then, the idea
was to find people that were in one of two groups: group #1: more
grex'ers  #2: other financially supportive members.
 
even though i buy t-shirts, old hardware from grex at swap meets and i
pay dues, i will likely never meet at gallup park nor will i attend
any of the other social functions.  therefore, i assign myself to
group #2.
 
so what makes a group #2 member (or any human for that matter)
something to avoid?  someone that intentionally consumes more than
they provide.  whether this is someone on the end of a modem, CSU/DSU
or uncle barney visiting from toledo-- moochers need to be kicked
squarely and sharply and then cut off.
 
so now why are commercial users so bad?  someone gave the example of a
person taking web space or launching truckloads of mail to promote a
pyramid gimmick... this was a *moocher*.  commercial never entered the
picture.  commercial involves money.  he didn't give you any; he
probably made the same on his grex-based venture.
 
i think you should be asking, what is our policy when it comes to
dealing with digital moochers?  these are the people (generously put)
that make you strike your keyboards with five times the required
pressure.  ban the slimy dogs that knowingly consume more than they
provide.
 
so what makes api so bad?  because i confided to newuser that sex is
something that interests me?  it wasn't like the prompt was, "what do
you think about more every 5 minutes?", "what business would you like
to be in if you didn't have a regular job?", "tell me the one thing
more important, right now, than oxygen."  i need some slack cut here.
i've never even visited an R-rated chat room on AOL.  i cancelled my
subscription to Playboy *and* tossed 15 years of back issues because i
wanted to set an example for my then four-year-old.  my point is that
what's in a .plan should not be something on which you based the value
of a member.
 
what *should* make me a bad user?  being a maker of junk mail, someone
that's into chain letters and wanting to ftp you an archive of borland
c...  you can check my account.  my email is picked up automatically
about four times per day.  average connect is under two minutes.  i
compose off-line.  this monster, for example, took less than a few
minutes of your bandwidth this evening.
 
here's my suggestion:  if you think someone is a commercial user, then
ask em how you might be able to get some additional cash from them
without a proportionate increase in resource consumption.  (i have an
idea if you're interested)  if you think someone is mooching, then
give em the heave-ho and move on.
 
or ...
 
you have a way of knowing how much mail they send, receive, how much
disk space they use, how often they login and stay connected.  set up
some automated process, monitor some form of their usage and send them
a bill. if they don't pay, then erase the freeloaders.
 
[i normally don't rant like this.  i've been trying to give up
caffeinated beverages.  you know what that's like.]
 
in conclusion: (finally)
 
like most users, i'm willing to pay for my usage while abiding by your
rules.  (i've even rm'd my .plan as a show of respect for robh's
delicate disposition.  sorry rob, you earned that one.)  even though
slow-and-cheap.org might be a more fitting title, i think grex is a
cool place to hang out and i hope you decide commercial non-moochers
like me can remain.

response 31 of 45:

Feb 21 10:30 UTC 1996

Hey, pal, don't go blaming me for your poor choice of interests.

response 33 of 45:

Feb 21 20:53 UTC 1996

I don't really think this item is about api.  I didn't have the feeling that
the board or staff were particularly upset about api, just that they thought
it raised some issues that we need to think about.  Given that Kase does
apparantly support Grex, I have no problem with him doing light-weight
business here, and I don't think he needs to pay for multiple accounts.  It's
great that he pays at all, and I wouldn't be very upset if he didn't.

On the other hand, I don't think Grex is really a very satisfactory business
address, and I can't imagine any but the most indigent businesses prefering
it to the many alternatives.

response 35 of 45:

Feb 22 09:12 UTC 1996

mdw spoke well in #34.

response 37 of 45:

Feb 22 15:51 UTC 1996

What Marcus said. If we intend to stay out of users private lives,
how they use Grex is none of our business unless it impacts the system
adversely. This goes for both "indecent" and "business", as well as
"personal" transactions.

response 39 of 45:

Mar 1 09:26 UTC 1996

it gets easier ... welcome to the fray ...

response 41 of 45:

Apr 2 05:58 UTC 1996

But that's one of the big points of grex: that it doesn't *charge* for 
anything.  It is free, open, and public.  I agree with Marcus.

response 43 of 45:

Apr 2 08:46 UTC 1996

me too.

response 45 of 45:

Apr 2 22:14 UTC 1996

I agree with Marcus, too.