From rich@c2.org Sat Jul  6 08:48:22 PDT 1996
Article: 48579 of alt.revisionism
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From: rich@c2.org (Rich Graves)
Newsgroups: alt.revisionism,alt.censorship
Subject: Re: BRADLEY SMITH'S WEBSITE IS allegedly SHUT DOWN, but might not have been
Date: 5 Jul 1996 23:33:34 -0700
Organization: Uncensored Internet, http://www.c2.org/uncensored/
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dmittleman@bpavms.bpa.arizona.edu (Danny Mittleman) writes:
>    This makes me think: wouldn't it be amusing if this whole episode was
>    simply an innocent snafu that occured because of the name change and
>    that a polite request to the system manager to check on it would clear
>    it all up on Monday?
>
>    I wonder if those arseholes went ballistic before considering the
>    obvious cause of the problem: domain name change screw-ups?

Possibly, but I think there's something to it, too. Unless they present
real evidence, though, I'm dubious that the "something" was "censorship."
There are several other possible explanations.

"White nationalist" Dennis Nix knew about the server name change on July
1st, according to his message to Stormfront. The "without warning"
allegation, at least, seems to be untrue.

ProtoSource's TOS says nothing about limitations on content. *If* Mr.
Smith was booted for reasons of content, then a contract has been
breached, and I'm sure Mr. Smith would have the full support of the net
community in biting their heads off.

The ProtoSource terms of service, which look pretty good to me, are at
http://www.psnw.com/support/terms.html

        1. The Protosource Network, a division of ProtoSource
            Corporation ("The Protosource Network") exercises no control
            whatsoever over the content of the information passing
            through The Protosource Network .
[...]
         2. The Protosource Network may only be used for lawful purposes.
            Transmission of any material in violation any U.S. or state
            regulation is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited
            to: copyrighted material, material legally judged to be
            threatening or obscene, or material material protected by
            trade secret. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The
            Protosource Network from any claims resulting from your use
            of the service which damages you or another party.
         3. The use of The Protosource Network to transmit certain kinds
            of information (including without limitation, computer
            software and other technical data) may violate export control
            laws and regulations of the United States, whether that
            information is received abroad or by foreign nationals within
            the United States. Since The Protosource Network exercises no
            control whatsoever over the content of information passing
            through The Protosource Network , the entire burden of
            complying with such laws and regulations rests with its
            customers. You agree to comply with such laws and regulations
            and to indemnify and hold The Protosource Network harmless
            from any damages it may suffer resulting from any violation
            of the export control laws of the United States.

Looks standard to me... nothing whatsoever about substantive content, and
even if something is "legally judged to be threatening or obscene" or in
violation of export controls (meaning strong crypto), all they talk about
is indemnity.

         4. Any access to other networks connected to The Protosource
            Network must comply with the rules appropriate for that other
            network. Use of The Protosource Network itself may be for any
            lawful purpose. Use of The Protosource Network for commercial
            purposes is permitted with the purchase of a business
            account. Commercial activity is prohibited with a personal
            account. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
            ^^^^^^^ 
I think it's most likely that Brad refused to pay the commercial rates. 
His site was clearly commercial in nature, but it was called ~brsmith,
not ~codoh.

It's interesting that Brad hasn't said a word -- only Richard Widmann. 
ProtoSource also bans sharing accounts, as CODOH obviously has. If CODOH
was trying to use a standard personal account for their level of disk
space and web service, then I'd say valleynet's failure to check http logs
for unusual hit rates was negligent, actually. Most ISPs meter http use
nowadays to ensure that people are paying their fair share. 

-rich
 http://www.c2.org/~rich/

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