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On Mon, 5 Jun 1995, James Moody wrote:

> If I remember correctly, and it's been some time now, the plaintiff was very
> vociferous about the accusations, even publically vociferous on Prodigy 
> itself.  If I remember the story, and it's been some time, Prodigy barred him
> from access to the forum in which the accusation was posted, but I ould 
> be wrong about that.  

This has always been a big OOPS.  If Prodigy prevented him from responding
to accusations made in a public forum by denying him access, this is
substantially different from killing the "f**k you" type postings that
sometimes come up when a knee-jerk reaction isn't well thought out.

> I think one of the things that will work against Prodigy in court is the
> fact that they showed no hesitation in "censoring" or removing other 
> material that they found offensive.  

The question is, offensive to whom?  I have had several pro internet
postings "purged", especially the ones where I suggest they get a SLIP
account with netcom :-).  I also find that postings that are not
complimentary to Microsoft usually "dissappear" within a few hours.

On the other hand, I have seen "factual" comparisons of Window 3.1 to
Unix SvR4 that gave Windows an overwhelming endorsement (He obviously
wasn't using X11R4, Motif, or OpenLook) that seem to persist like the
4 Gospels.

Prodigy bulletin boards are the Worst source of reliable, accurate, unbiased
information.  But at least you won't see any dirty words.

> This was the focus of a nasty charge
> and countercharge between some Prodigy subscribers and the service a few 
> years back.

Prodigy tilts it's bulletin boards toward it's parent companies (Sears and
IBM).  When there is pro OS/2 posting it live forever.  When there is a
pro Unix/con OS/2 posting, it lives for about 4 hours.  In no case have
they ever explained why my postings were inappropriate.

> All in all, there is going to be some law made here soon.

I really hope NOT!  Prodigy is one of the most biased and rumor-filled
boards in the business, but they never claimed to be otherwise.  There
are moderated newsgroups which have incredibly biased views as well.

As much as I dislike Microsoft (in terms of it's business practices),
I would hope that Steve would give them an opportunity to respond if
they chose to.  If they choose not to respond, it is still the personal
opinions of a hand-full of posters, not an authoritative study intended
to represent the results of a criminal investigation.

> Jim Moody			| "I will touch things and things an

	Rex Ballard
	Personal Posting



From rballard@cnj.digex.net Sun Jun 11 18:15:12 1995
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