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List:       firewalls-gc
Subject:    Re: DON'T DO THIS! (please!) Re: i'm sorry :)
From:       tpw0 () gte ! com
Date:       1997-01-30 10:03:52
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Chain letters are illegal because they often required the sender to
include money and threatened dire consequences if the recipient did
not participate. This made it a form of extortion, a crime under USA
law. In this particular chain e-mail message I see neither of these
two things so I doubt that any US law was broken.

As for the Internet, it was established initially as US Department
of defence project called the Arpanet using a protocol developed by
a US computer consulting firm, BBN. It was later turned over to
the US National Science Foundation to administer as a network
connecting institutions of higher education so it had originally
been a decidedly American institution.  Of course it has grown far
beyond the borders of the US and that I think is a very good thing.

Each country that now participates in the Internet I am sure tries
to apply it's own laws to its use and I can cite intances of this in
Great Britain and Germany. I expect Peru will do the same if it
hasn't already.  This is not a matter of US ruling anything. I
doubt that anyone can rule the Internet now. It is too big and too
diverse.  


> ---- Jim Harmon wrote ----
> > #1!   Chainletters are Illegal (snailmail) in the United States.  Why
> > should they be legal on the Internet?
> 
> And who said the Internet should be American-like?
> 
> I just guess The United States are not the rule in all things.
> 
> I agree with you on the basics of chainletters, though.
> 
> Enrique-
> -- 
> 
--
Tom Witt              |
GTE Laboratories, Inc |  "Let tomorrow take care of itself.
phone: (617) 466-2582 |   Today has trouble enough of its own."
email: twitt@gte.com  |                  
GTE Telemail: T.Witt  |                 Jesus of Nazareth

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