 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group CPU (Club President's Update) Stan Johnstone stanj@melbpc.org.au |
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Last month I reported that Bill Gates was coming to Melbourne, but did not have time available to officially open our offices.
After that I was able to obtain a limited number of tickets for his presentation at The Glasshouse and these were spread throughout our members as widely as possible. As I write this, the presentation is still more than a week away.
Litigation
Last November I told of the serving of a writ on Melb PC originating in the UK. Unfortunately as the matter was sub-judice at that time, it was essential that I had to be very cautious about what was said.
The matter arose from a posting in an international newsgroup by one of our members, and the litigant issued a writ claiming Pounds50,000 in damages for defamation. A similar claim was made against Melb PC on the basis that we were acting as a "publisher" in our role as an Internet Service Provider (ISP). As Australia has reciprocal rights with UK courts we were in no position to ignore the matter, and we were forced to decide whether to fight or settle.
This case had the potential of becoming a landmark case for ISPs worldwide, as the determination of whether an ISP is a "publisher" is an area that has not been tested in the courts until now. After discussion with the full committee we decided, as a matter of principle, we should fight the case. Many members who rang me at the time wholeheartedly supported our adoption of this stance.
We were confident of winning the case as an ISP, however we are a volunteer organisation and not really in a position to speculate with our members' money fighting an action in the UK courts. As we prepared to fight we were advised that it would cost at least $250,000, with no certainty of recovering these costs even if we were successful.
Consequently, five months later we accepted the plaintiff's offer of Pounds5,500 in full settlement of all claims including his legal costs. The settlement did not have any confidentiality clause or any admission of liability.
We believe the plaintiff is presently in litigation on similar matters involving a Toronto newspaper and a New Zealand government entity arising out of postings by their subscribers. Both these ISPs must have deeper pockets than ourselves, and we will watch what develops there, as will the rest of the Internet community. We were dragged into this action because UK law fails to clearly recognise that an ISP carries a vast amount of Internet traffic and cannot be reasonably expected to act as a moderator between Internet users.
Regular readers of newsgroups will be aware that the standard of messaging varies widely between newsgroups, both moderated and unmoderated. What could be seen as vigorous debate in one newsgroup could be seen as flaming in another, or as common abuse in a third. Or possibly even, as in this particular case, be considered by another contributor as grounds for defamation.
Some users have a mistaken belief in their freedom of speech, usually based on reading too many US-based remarks. The range of disputes that could arise between Internet users around the world is endless, and no ISP can or should be held responsible for preventing them.
Melb PC is in the position where it does not and cannot monitor e-mail or news traffic. Presently we could have 300,000 individual messages passing uncensored through our system each hour! We do try to make our users aware of general netiquette and Internet culture with Web site pointers and articles in this magazine. We encourage good behaviour but are in no position to police our members' activities. However problems can arise, and an administrator's first knowledge of a potential problem usually comes from an external complaint after the event.
Regrettably, under the terms of our Internet Application Agreement, we are obliged to take legal action against our member to recover costs and expenses Melb PC incurred responding to the UK writ.
Melb PC publications
Occasionally the Committee is criticised for not allowing some particular material on our Web site, or even a link to a site elsewhere. We are concerned about such matters as copyright infringement, and we would be foolhardy if we didn't continue to minimise potential problems in our official communications.
Our administration team receives information and examples of Internet abuse on an almost daily basis, through which they become painfully aware of potential risks to our service.
Internet service
George Skarbek kindly stepped in and helped me by taking over the coordination of the Internet team. At the first meeting with George we bounced around a few ideas for adding to the Internet service, and a few of these ideas were put to a straw poll of members at the last monthly meeting.
Amongst these ideas was one for an increased daily access for a small additional charge. At the moment cost comparisons are being made between a number of scenarios, and hopefully by next month it should be possible to apply for additional access. In the meantime, please continue to renew your subscription normally as it falls due. A pro-rata system of adjustment will be made as soon as plans and equipment are in place.
Despite the success of peering, traffic costs continue to rise and we are looking at taking a second feed from a separate provider. New equipment recently installed continues to improve our redundancy position in the event of downtime either at our provider or internally. With due modesty we can claim to have an exceptional record in this regard, and we are determined to keep it that way.
Do you know anything about Internet Relay Chat and RealAudio? To be frank the subject bores me, however many of our members enjoy this use of the net. We need someone who is prepared to help others in the Dial Help area on these subjects. If you can help please e-mail me at stanj@melbpc.org.au and we will add you to the list of members who generously help in this way.
Volunteers
While on the subject of volunteers - last month I asked for someone to help co-ordinate the trainers and the training facilities. The response was most rewarding, and I have still to respond to some of the members who offered their services. As you can see from the panel below we do not have the normal training calendar pages again this month. By next month I hope this will be straightened out and back to normal.
In the meantime we are always looking for for volunteers, particularly in those fields we may not be covering adequately. Should you feel that there is some area in Melb PC where you could help, I would be only too pleased to try and accommodate you.
Unfortunately, there have been times when offers have not been taken up. I remember one member who offered his services last year to assist with maintaining the Internet modems, but it was right at the time of the move and much confusion, and the contact was lost. Someone with practical skills in this area would be most welcome - after all you don't need to know much, as even I have been able to do it for some time.
And, once again, we need someone with plenty of spare time and Internet experience to assist John Morris with connecting new Internet subscribers. We cannot provide much in the way of training for this job as it is a hands-on learn-on-the-job exercise, with almost every call introducing another aspect to test your diagnostic skills and experience.
Home Assist
One of the most rewarding new schemes introduced last year was Home Assist, co-ordinated by Ian Felsenthal. It is aimed at those who are unable to travel far. Ian tries to match those needing help with a volunteers willing to share their knowledge and experience to help others on their computers at home.
This is not intended to replace the training courses, neither is it available for those who are young and fit. However, if you need assistance of this type from someone who is your peer, or if are able to provide this type of help, please ring Ian Felsenthal at the number on the Dial Help sheet, or contact him at imf@melbpc.org.au.
I can assure you, it is a rewarding experience for both parties.
Orientation Day
The March orientation day was a great success - it was the first held in the new offices since the original open day. The next will be on Saturday 11 April 1998 at 27 Dorcas Street, starting at 10 am. I hope to answer all your questions before we finish at 12 noon.
As usual there is an open invitation to bring a non-member friend, but please phone the office on (03) 9699 6222 to make a reservation, as seating is limited.
Seminar Night
The March seminar night was on the topic "Internet Utilities - Tips and Tricks" and introduced many new aspects of the Internet such as Ping, Telnet, etc.
As Lynn Pollock expected, we should have named it "Part 1". The subject is so broad and interesting that there were many topics that could not be covered due to the lack of time. Part 2 will be held on Friday 17 April 1998 starting at 6.30 pm. Running for three hours at the very nominal cost of $20, it is no wonder these nights are so popular.
Held in the SIG Room at 27 Dorcas Street, phone bookings are essential through the office on (03) 9699 6222.
Until next month
Now that the litigation matter has been settled I feel greatly relieved. It has been a worrying matter hanging over our heads for the past months. By winning such a landmark case, Melb PC would have earned enormous recognition and respect; however in the long run, it all gets down to a matter of our responsibility for our members' money.
Now with that matter out of the way, we can now get on with all those other exciting things the committee is waiting to bring to you.
Reprinted from the April 1998 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
