Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1992 11:19:17 EST
From: "Charles Purwin, Systems, purwinc@woods.ulowell.edu"@UNKNOWN.DOMAIN
Subject: File 1--Reader Reply--Don't "Say YES! to Business Rates." (CuD 4.11)

I have to object to Michael ecE. Marotta's article in CUD #4.11, where
he seems to take the stand that BBS's operators should pay business
lines.

His two views are both limited in scope and understanding of the issue
at hand.  Some of the items he speaks about in his "Home Data Center"
are not really the informational tools he alludes them to actually be.
Camcorders nor copiers are informational tools, they can be viewed as
tools for capture and duplication of information but are not in
themselves informational tools.  TV's are at best a nominal
information distributer, the tripe heavily outweighs the 6 o'clock
news.  Books, magazines and newspapers definitely are decent ways to
get across information, but tend to be found densely in a home than a
TV.  Again in the same paragraph he states that "EVERY BBS USER IS A
SYSOP."  Now I don't know if Mr. Marotta has ever seen or used a BBS,
but that statement leads me to believe that he has not.  I associate
with BBS operators and I see first hand the work and time they put in
to keep a BBS running.  If every user was a sysop then we would truely
either have a few excellent bbs's or many that are simply run to the
verge of anarchy.  No average user, excluding obviously other sysops,
can be alluded to being a sysop that is impossible.  It is true that
data travels from home to home, but what is voice? Last time I looked
it is data also.

In his following statements on "The Home Treasury", Mr. Marotta feels
that "anyone can build a car; most people choose not to."  PLEASE!  I
know many people that would not have a clue on how to put two pieces
of wood together, never mind a car.  That type of senseless comparison
is not endearing to anyone.  I think most people know that your
checkbook is your general ledger that is usually a common thing.  I
don't see what a dishwasher or adding machine have to do with your
phone rate!  There is no comparision here.  The basis for a phone rate
should lie more so in the fact it being either commercial/private
/public/non-profit and not if you have a dishwasher.

Well most businesses can afford a commercial phone number.  But they
are in the market to make money, where as a BBS IS NOT.  Now I know
there are exceptions to the rule, BUT 90% do not ask for money up
front as a requirement, as a business would do.  They just ask that
you help them if you can, a donation or whatever you want to call it.

I can't make heads or tails of the last paragraph, I guess my english
is just not refined enough.  In closing, BBS operators do not deserve
to be charged commercial rates, because in fact they are not a
business in the classical sense.  Now I see no reason that the telco
could not come to an agreement on a rate that would reflect the usage
a line would be getting because of BBS usage.

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