I'm curious about this. Let's say that the forces of stoopiditee prevail
and this bill goes through. My ISP is not my SMTP server. I'm running
(surprahz surprahz) Linux and, in fact, I have my system configured so
that I'm using my own sendmail server as my delivery agent. My ISP never
even sees my outgoing mail unless I mail something to him. How would a
bill like this account for all the mail that doesn't go through an ISP?
I wonder if this would encourage more people to run Linux... hmmm
--
-Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like a banana. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-Stranger things have happened but none stranger than this. Steven W. Orr-
Does your driver's license say Organ Donor?Black holes are where God \
-------divided by zero. Listen to me! We are all individuals!---------
On Fri, 15 Sep 2000, Lori Hitchcock wrote:
=>WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!!!!
=>
=>************************************
=>VOTE NO ON Bill 602P!!!!
=>I guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P 5-cents per E-mail
=>It figures! No more free E-mail! We knew this was coming!
=>
=>Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent
=>charge on every delivered E-mail. Please read the following carefully
=>if you intend o stay on-line and continue using E-mail.
=>
=>The last few months have revealed an alarming trend in the
=>Government of the United States attempting to quietly push through
=>legislation that will affect our use of the Internet.
=>
=>Under proposed legislation, the US Postal Service will be
=>attempting to bill E-mail users out of "alternative postage fees".
=>
=>Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent
=>surcharge on every E-mail delivered, by billing Internet Service
=>Providers at
=>the source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP.
=>
=>Washington DC lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to prevent
=>this legislation from becoming law. The US Postal Service is claiming
=>lost revenue, due to the proliferation of E-mail, is costing nearly
=>$230,000,000 in revenue per year. You may have noticed their recent ad
=>campaign: "There is nothing like a letter."
=>
=>Through E-mail people can keep in touch with those they may not normally
=>send a letter to or contact otherwise!
=>
=>Since the average person received about 10 pieces of E-mail per day
=>in 1998, the cost of the typical individual would be an additional $0.50
=>(cents) a day - or over $180 per year - above and beyond their regular
=>Internet costs.
=>
=>Note that this would be money paid directly to the US Postal Service for
=>a service they do not even provide. The whole point of the Internet
=>is democracy and noninterference. You are already paying an exorbitant
=>price for snail mail because of bureaucratic efficiency. It currently
=>takes up to 6 days for a letter to be delivered from coast to coast.
=>
=>If the US Postal Service is allowed to tinker with E-mail, it will
=>mark the end of the "free" Internet in the United States. Congressional
=>Representative, Tony Schnell (r) has even suggested a "$20-$40 per month
=>surcharge on all Internet service above and beyond the government's
=>proposed E-mail charges.
=>
=>Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored the story - the
=>only exception being the Washingtonian - which called the idea of E-mail
=>surcharge "a useful concept who's time has come" - Mar 6th, 1999
=>-Editorial.
=>
=>Do not sit by and watch your freedom erode away! Send this E-mail to
=>EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and relatives to
=>write their congressional representative and say "NO" to Bill 602P. It
=>will only take a few moments of your time and could very well be
=>instrumental
=>in killing a bill we do not want.
=>Please forward!
=>Thank you!!!
=>
=>**********************************************************
=>To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to
=>[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the following text in the
=>*body* (*not* the subject line) of the letter:
=>unsubscribe gnhlug
=>**********************************************************
=>
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