Policy On Commercial Postings (COMPOST) for Alt.Sup****t.Stop-Smoking
1. Preamble:
Recognizing that Usenet, the newsgroup arm of the Internet, has lost much
of
its purity as its population skyrockets and books instructing people how
to
spam for commercial purposes are published, we have to likewise recognize
that "Netiquette" is breached every day. Nonetheless, we strive to
maintain
a sup****t group to which people who are seeking freedom from nicotine
addiction and tobacco use can come, lurk, and post freely, without feeling
restricted by the presence of a moderator, or preyed upon by those seeking
to profit at their expense.
We find the conducting of commercial enterprise on a Usenet group,
particularly when done under cover of being helpful, to be the most severe
and despicable form of "net abuse," and for that reason we have formed a
policy to which we ask people to adhere. Failure to do so will result in
one
or more complaints being made to the offending poster's postmaster. These
complaints can lead, and have led, to the cancellation of offenders'
Internet accounts.
2. The Policy:
It is simply this: if you have a technique or have used a product for
smoking cessation, feel free to post about that technique or product in
full, as long as IT WILL NOT COST A SINGLE SUBSCRIBER TO
alt.sup****t.stop-smoking A SINGLE PENNY, CENTIME, PENCE, ETC., AT ANY
TIME.
That means you may not offer to send, provide, or point to any material of
any sort for any fee whatsoever, including photocopying charges or postage
costs. It also means you may not make a post which offers free information
which *leads* to the vending of any idea, technique, or product designed
to
help a person to quit smoking.
In addition, please follow these guidelines in determining whether your
post
is appropriate. If you cannot satisfy *each* of these conditions, do not
post! :
a) You should first make sure your post does not violate any aspect of
this
policy;
b) You should be able to reveal everything you know by posting to the
group,
*not* through e-mail;
c) The product or technique should be available *in stores*, preferably
world-wide, or, in the case of software or electronic media, available
without cost or fee over the Internet;
d) You should have no beneficiary connection to the product or technique
whatsoever, except that:
e) You yourself should be an ex-smoker who has actually used the product
or
technique to quit, or alternatively, make clear where you heard of the
product or technique.
3. Good Intentions
No one will be exempted from this policy because of a pure heart or good
intentions, even if your technique or product will wipe tobacco use off
the
face of the earth. In such a case, we suggest you contact a patent lawyer
and learn about your other marketing options, such as retail, mail order -
even a commercial Web page. You could make a fortune, and you would
deserve
to! But alt.sup****t.stop-smoking is a sup****t group, not a store, and
we're
not here to go shopping.
4. Action Taken Against Violators of this Policy
It is likely that one or more readers will re****t your violation of
"netiquette" to your postmaster or systems administrator and ask him or
her
to take action.
After a complaint has been lodged, you can expect your postmaster or
systems
administrator to warn you that posting commercial messages to a SUP****T
newsgroup is considered UNETHICAL.
Be advised that IT IS NOT UNCOMMON TO HAVE ONE'S ACCOUNT TERMINATED or
INTERNET ACCESS REVOKED for unethical behavior on the net.
5. Other Commercial Posts
Any commercial post appearing on alt.sup****t.stop-smoking will be dealt
with
as above, even if it is not for something related to smoking cessation.
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