Date: Wed, 1 Mar 1995 17:21:02 -1000
From: David Crippen, MD 
To: Multiple recipients of list CCM-L 
Subject: Message of Interest

A matter has come to my attention that is of the utmost importance to all
of us online.

Simply put, a couple of senators have proposed a particularly
heinous piece of legislation titled the "Communications
Decency Act of 1995"  (Senate Bill S. 314).  Basically, the
bill would subject all forms of electronic communication --
from public Internet postings to your most private email --
to government censorship.  The effects of the bill onto the
online industry would be devastating -- most colleges and
private companies (AOL, Compuserve, etc.) would probably have
to shut down or greatly restrict access, since they would be
held criminally liable for the postings and email of private
users.

Obviously, this bill is designed to win votes for these senators
among those who are fearful of the internet and aren't big
fans of freedom of speech -- ie., those who are always trying to
censor "pornography" and dirty books and such.  Given the
political climate in this country, this bill might just pass
unless the computer community demonstrates its strength as a
committed political force to be reckoned with.  This, my friends,
is why I have filled your mailbox with this very long message.
A petition, to be sent to Congress, the President, and the media,
has begun spreading through the Internet.  It's easy to participate
and be heard -- to sign it, you simply follow the instructions below
-- which boil down to sending a quick email message to a certain
address.  That's all it takes to let your voice be heard. (You know,
if the Internet makes democracy this accessible to the average
citizen, is it any wonder Congress wants to censor it?)

Finally, PLEASE forward this message to all your friends online.
The more people sign the petition, the more the government will
get the message to back off the online community.  We've been doing
fine without censorship until now -- let's show them we don't plan on
allowing them to start now.  If you value your freedoms -- from
your right to publicly post a message on a worldwide forum to your
right to receive private email without the government censoring it --
you need to take action NOW.  It'll take fifteen minutes at the most,
a small sacrifice considering the issues at hand.  Remember, the age
of fighting for liberty with muskets and shells is most likely over;
the time has come where the keyboard and the phone line will prove
mightier than the sword -- or the Senate, in this case.


Here's what you have to do to sign the petition:

send an e-mail message to:  S314-petition@netcom.com

the message (NOT the subject heading) should read as follows:
SIGNED      (y/n)
eg.  SIGNED lsewell@leland.Stanford.EDU  Laura Sewell  YES

If you are interested in signing the petition, I would highly suggest
investigating the details of the situation.  You can find out more on
the Web at    http://www.wookie.net/~slowdog    or in the newsgroup
comp.org.eff.talk

***** NOTES from Jeff Guinzburg (JEFF @ ISI) at 2/22/95 10:51 PM
Sorry if this is off-topic or too long for you, but I wanted to ensure a
wide distribution for this message, which I feel has a high degree of
importance for those of us who value the privacy of our electronic
communications.  I encourage its wide distribution.  I'm planning to sign
the petition.

Best Regards,  Jeff.  [full sig on request]