Rated N for Noise (perhaps much to the consternation of Tim). At 11:18 AM 1/25/96 -0800, Timothy C. May wrote:
(Note that the MPAA movie rating system is _not_ run by the government, nor is it even "suggested" by government...though I don't deny that the movie theater owners adopted the MPAA ratings to forestall talked-of government actions. But of course movies pass through the chokepoint of distribution, and time usually exists to rate them. Usenet posts would of course not fit this model.)
I don't know the particulars of how the movie rating system came into being, but I know about the last few years' government flack about "unsuitable" material on TV. A couple years back, Senator Paul Simon (D-Illinois) warned that Congress would use the law to compel the entertainment industry if it did not voluntarily adjust television content. He said, "If there is not some sort of positive response by the industry, we are headed for some sort of legislative response." Amusingly enough, he also admitted that he would prefer industry restrictions on artistic freedoms because legally mandated limits to free speech would probably be ruled unconstitutional. Claiming that such "voluntary compliance" crap is not censorship is ridiculous. Not that you were implying that, Tim--I just want people to understand that this is the same thing as a mugger claiming that, since he didn't actually shoot his victim, the wallet he received was a gift rather than stolen goods. Corey Bridges Security Documentation Netscape Communications Corporation home.netscape.com/people/corey 415-528-2978