Digital BW, The Print

Bear with me here, I'm trying to get a few things clear in my mind. 
(The following applies to ANY group, not just this one, and not 
directed at any individual.)

1.  Yahoo has a history of tromping all over their user's/member's privacy.
2. Yahoo is presently providing these groups as a FREE service.
3. Yahoo's true primary business is the collection of email addresses 
and the resale of address lists.

First, I agree that Yahoo has done a whole bunch of underhanded 
things lately. I'm sure there are more to come.  But then, they do 
have a history, so why is it such a surprise?

So,  all these group members are going to send petitions, write 
letters, mail rotten tomatoes, whatever in order to force Yahoo to 
continue to provide a free service yet not allow them to use your 
information as a means of generating income.  Also opposed is the 
concept of actually paying for group membership.

Maybe the fundamental question might be:  Is the information provided 
by this group worth enough to me that I would pay some fee to receive 
it?  Is it worth $1.00/month?  Is it worth $12.00/year?(Same money 
but it sounds worse) Is it worth $20.00/year?  What would the list 
membership be if members were required to pay ANYTHING to receive it?

Is the information on this or any other group worth more than what is 
presently being paid?
If so, there are lots of options and all of them are more or less 
spam-free and ad-free.
If not, live with it as you are getting what you paid for.

Robbe Gibson
www.robbepp.com



>Attached please find an e-mail message I sent to my own EPSON user group
>earlier this evening..  The user community needs to stick together on
>these issues, elsewise YAHOO! will divide the groups and marginalize the
>groups they consider truculent..
>
>
>[Keith]

---SNIP(you can read it in another post)

All the best,

Robbe