Date: Fri, 20 May 1994 17:53:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Glee Harrah Cady
Subject:
Dear Fellow Network Providers and other interested parties.
NETCOM On-Line Communications has taken the step of
cancelling the service of Laurence Canter of Canter and
Siegel, the lawyer commonly referred to as the "Green
Card Lawyer". Mr. Canter had been a customer of NETCOM
in the past. He had been cautioned for what we consider
abuse of NETCOM's system resources and his systematic and
willful actions that do not comply with the codes of
behavior of USENET.
Mr. Canter has been widely quoted in the print and
on-line media about his intention to continue his
practice of advertising the services of his law firm
using USENET newsgroups. He has also widely posted his
intention to sell his services to advertise for others
using the newsgroups. We do not choose to be the
provider that will carry his messages.
NETCOM believes that we can and will refuse service to
people who have demonstrated that they do not respect the
guidelines preventing posting advertisements to
inappropriate USENET newsgroups. As a commercial
Internet service provider, NETCOM encourages commercial
activity on the Internet and believes it to be an
important part of a complete service. However, NETCOM
also believes that commercial activities need to be
undertaken in an orderly and thoughtful manner, with
attention to appropriate usage and sensitivity to the
cooperative culture of the Internet community.
Our position is that NETCOM can be compared to a public
restaurant where a customer may be refused service if the
customer is not wearing shoes. For the health of the
other customers and the good of the restaurant, that
customer may be turned away. NETCOM believes that being
a responsible provider entails refusing service to
customers who would endanger the health of the community.
Customers, commercial or not, who will contribute to the
health of the community, respect the laws of the land,
and the rights of others, will be welcome.
With best regards for a expanded Internet community, I am
John Whalen,
President, NETCOM On-Line
Communication Services
===
PIPELINE
From: gleick@pipeline.com (James Gleick)
Newsgroups: alt.current-events.net-abuse,alt.stop.spamming,news.admin.policy
Subject: The Pipeline and Canter & Siegel
Date: 31 May 1994 12:25:41 -0400
Organization: The Pipeline
Lines: 22
An item in Power PC News, as well as articles in this
newsgroup, have reported at face value an assertion by
Canter & Siegel that our site will permit them to abuse
Usenet with their commercial postings.
This is absolutely false. We wish that Power PC News had
checked with us before publishing such a thing.
On the contrary, as the New York Times reported
correctly, Canter abused his Pipeline account once and
was warned (long before the public furor) that if he ever
again used it to post commercial messages to Usenet the
account would be terminated.
Our policy is clear, and it's available for perusal in
our gopher (pipeline.com). Canter & Siegal will *not* be
permitted to abuse the Internet from our site.
James Gleick
Chairman
The Pipeline
====
From the Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, June 22, 1994
Phoenix Lawyers Irk Internet Users Again By Broadcasting Ad
* * *
Company Providing Service Threatens to Pull Firm Off In
`Cease and Desist' Order
by Jared Sandberg, Staff Reporter of the Wall Street
Journal
A controversial law firm has riled Internet users
again by broadcasting an ad for its services, leading to
a threat to yank the firm off the global network unless
it stops the practice.
Phoenix attorneys Lawrence A. Canter and Martha S.
Siegel posted a new message to more than 1,000 electronic
bulletin boards late last week, offering their services
to help immigrants participate in the federal
government's ``green card lottery''. The husband-wife
team brought in about $100,000 in business since their
first ad was posted on the Internet in April, said Ms.
Siegel.
Although Internet users don't object to ads posted in
certain areas, they loathe widely broadcast messages to
unrelated bulletin boards.
Earlier this week, the lawyers' new ad -- beamed to
thousands of users despite fierce opposition -- prompted
the company that provides the firm with access to
Internet to order the lawyers to ``cease and desist''.
Performance Systems International Inc., an Internet
access provider in Herndon, Va., told the lawyers they
must stop such ads or risk losing their account.
Martin Schoffstall, vice president at Performance
Systems, said the lawyers' actions violate acceptable use
of the network, ``and that's actionable.''
Mr. Schoffstall said many Internet users have sent
his company angry electronic mail messages for providing
the lawyers with access. Four other companies that had
also linked the lawyers up with Internet have either
restricted them from posting or have taken away their
access altogether for violating ``netiquette'', loosely
established rules of behavior on the network.
Responses from critics have been anything but polite.
Ms. Siegel said she has received obscene phone calls and
``car-loads'' of magazines to which she never subscribed.
``This is a down and dirty bunch of irresponsible''
miscreants, she said, yet, they ``are being characterized
as warm and fuzzy innocents.''