Reply-to: dallomo@gpnet.it
X-Confirm-Reading-To: dallomo@gpnet.it
X-pmrqc: 1
Priority: normal
X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v2.42a)
Sender: owner-online-news@marketplace.com
Precedence: bulk
Status: RO
X-Status: 

Jeff Tindall wrote: 

> My understanding is that ASCII text published on USENET is in the public
> domain.  I'm not at all sure about mailing  lists, "public" or otherwise.
> Seems to me if the only requirement for membership to a mail list is sending
> a subscribe command, that's pretty public.
> It's the equivelent of standing on the streetcorner and thumpin'
> a bible or whatever. It's a public forum, just like a courtroom is. If
> you spoke up in a courtroom and what you said was quoted in the
> newspaper the next day, you wouldn't go cryin' about how they didn't ask
> permission first. You pays your money and you takes your chances. 
> BTW, does "express permission" mean you'll give it really really fast?

My two cents.
There is a deep difference between Usenet and Listserv. In the former 
case you speak to all the people in the Internet, so it is clear your 
intention to have your opinion in the "public domain". Moreover 
Usenet is a public Internet service.
In the latter, because of your "subscribe" command to be inscribed in 
a list (that as a rule is private) you don't clearly express the 
intention to be in the "public domain", but you clearly express the 
intention to be in the domain of the subscribers.
As a consequence, only all subscribers can use for themselves the texts
they receive in their own e-mail boxes, but cannot spread the content 
without the express permission of the author.
The Netiquette (on e-mailing) is clear on this matter. A Listserv is 
only an extension of a one-to-one communication, that is to say 
one2a-limited-group of subscribers.
At the end, is a matter of style.

Sergio

  
----------
dott. Sergio Maria Dall'Omo
new media & new techs senior editor
----------
IL GAZZETTINO
via Torino 110,
30172 Mestre (Venice)
ITALY
voice 0039,41,665409
fax 0039,41,665389

----------------------------------------------------------------
"Through IT, the publishers abolished the typographers,
"through the Internet, the journalists may abolish the publishers,
"But, through the Internet, people may abolish the journalists"
                                               Myself
----------------------------------------------------------------
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
This message was posted to ONLINE-NEWS. http://www.planetarynews.com/o-n.html

From owner-online-news@marketplace.com Thu Aug 29 22:29:55 1996
Received: from marketplace.com (majordom@marketplace.com [206.168.5.232]) by cnj.digex.net (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id WAA17892 ; for ; Thu, 29 Aug 1996 22:29:54 -0400
Received: (from majordom@localhost) by marketplace.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id RAA11889 for online-news-outgoing; Thu, 29 Aug 1996 17:35:32 -0600
Received: from server.indra.com (server.indra.com [204.144.142.2]) by marketplace.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id RAA11868 for ; Thu, 29 Aug 1996 17:35:23 -0600
Received: from indra.com by server.indra.com (8.7.4/Spike-8-1.0)
	id RAA01710; Thu, 29 Aug 1996 17:25:04 -0600 (MDT)
Received: from netcom16.netcom.com by indra.com (8.7.4/Spike-8-1.0)
	id RAA02054; Thu, 29 Aug 1996 17:24:58 -0600 (MDT)
Received: (from joeshea@localhost) by netcom16.netcom.com (8.6.13/Netcom)
	id MAA25492; Thu, 29 Aug 1996 12:47:12 -0700