Thanks for your thoughts, Bryan. I'm getting a copy of the current
ELIST stuff tonight to check and see if there are any changes. One of
the problems is that it's a grey area. If a post is made to a
particular message, and it says
"You can find a solution to your problem on a CD-ROM we market named
XXXXX. A file listing is available at www.xxxxx.com"
it's technically in the clear with respect to the echo rules.
But a post that says
"You can find solutions to your problems on a CD-ROM we market named
XXXXX. A file listing is available at www.xxxxx.com"
is an advertisement because it's not directed at a particular message
or person.
In reality, they're identical. And they both require the same amount
of bandwidth. So, what's the difference in their effect? Probably none.
BS ->2.  He must "pay" for each posting by also posting, at the same time, a
->UUENCODED version of some small, useful, and new item from his latest
->CD-ROM.  That way, everyone benefits from his commercial presence here,
->whether they buy or not.  And we get to sample the quality of his wares.  
f
->he posts something useless, we assume his whole disk is useless.  But if he
->posts something good, people may buy his disk.
Since UUENCODED messages are limited to 125 lines, I don't know  how
much there'd be to offer, other than a couple of object file patches.
And at the same time, the "white space" of a UUENCODED message is
almost non-existent, resulting in a much higher utilization of
bandwidth.
I'd like to see a post slightly more substantive, like a listing of new
files this month, or something similar.
How's that strike you?
Raymond Pesek
 * 1st 2.00 #2448 * Moderator - Clipper Echo
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