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Archive-name: support/stop-smoking/compost/part1
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P o l i c y O n C o m m e r c i a l P o s t i n g s
f o r
A l t . S u p p o r t . S t o p - S m o k i n g (A.S.S-S)
Updated July 30, 1995
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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 support 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.support.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 hel
p 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 pa
ge. You could make a fortune, and you would deserve to! But
alt.support.stop-smoking is a support 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 report 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 SUPPORT
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.support.stop-smoking will be dealt with as
above, even if it is not for something related to smoking cessation.
User Contributions:
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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:12 PM
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