Reducing Usenet Bandwidth

Sat Feb 9 01:32:49 UTC 2002

>I would argue that what USENET needs is a way for the cost of
>publication to be incurred by the publisher; storing the data in=
 your
>own repository (or repositories) while pointers get flooded=
 through
>the USENET distribution system would give publishers an=
 incentive to
>do garbage collection that they do not have today.

=09Like many Internet settlement schemes, this seems to not make=
 much sense. If 
a person reads USENET for many years enjoying all of its wisdom,=
 why should 
he get a free ride? And why should the people who supply that=
 wisdom have to 
pay to do so? A USENET transaction is presumed to benefit both=
 parties, or 
else they wouldn't have configured their computers to make that=
 transaction.

=09Does it make sense for the New York Times to pay me to read it?=
 But perhaps 
it does for the Weekly Advertiser.

=09The reason that automated schemes such as "publisher pays" will=
 fail is 
because determining who "should" pay is too complex for automated=
 schemes. 
You will just push around who takes advantage of who.

=09If you ask a question, you should pay. If I provide you with=
 useful help, 
you should pay. If I suggest a commercial solution to your=
 problem, who 
should pay? If I harass you for not knowing the answer to the=
 question, I 
should pay.

=09DS