To supporters of freedom of speech - please read, act and share this as your conscience dictates: Unofficially excerpted from Infoworld 3/7/94 Brian Livingston's Window Manager column. "Can CompuServe succeed in silencing Windows dissenters? Having your electronic mail account cut off is the modern equivalent of solitary confinement. Many services I use, such as Microsoft Windows forums, exist exclusively on systems such as the CompuServe Information Service. There is no other place for information. "That's why I took notice when CompuServe threatened to cut off a subscriber's account if he even mentioned on-line a lawsuit that the company filed against him. "Compuserve filed suit January 31 in Federal District Court in Ohio against Richard S. Patterson, the developer of a shareware program called Windows Navigator (WinNAV), which he has distributed on Compuserve for several years. This suit came about after Patterson complained on a Compuserve forum last December that the company's plans to release a product called Windows Navigator infringed upon his trademarks. "Prior to initiating the suit, Compuserve modified the name of its product to CompuServe Navigator, Windows Version. It asks the court to find that Patterson has "no trademark rights" that it has infringed, and for an unspecified monetary penalty. "I don't know who will prevail in this suit. But what really bothers me is this threat in a letter to Patterson dated January 31, from Kevin J. Osterkamp, Compuserve's attorney in the firm of Roetzel and Andress, of Columbus, Ohio; "I am as legal counsel for Compuserve compelled to advise you that it is Compuserves position that you will be terminated if you mention, discuss, or comment upon the lawsuit or the issues related thereto as a part of the CompuServe Information Service. Termination will also result from any other disparagment of Compuserve, its management, employees, or business practices. "I've never met Mr. Patterson, but I know him tangentially from his other software, Zip Tools, which appears in Windows Gizmos. "My columns have promoted CompuServe many times, so I asked for it's position. The gist of the reply I received from Mr. Oster- kamp was this: "Regarding the case of Compuserve vs. Patterson, my ethical obligations (and Mr. Patterson's) prohibit me from commenting directly on the case. I can, however, assure you that our request that Mr. Patterson stop using Compuserve's online services to disparage the company is simply good, old-fashioned common sense. After all, why should CompuServe - or any online service - allow a disgruntled party the opportunity to bad- mouth the company in its own forum? "Why, indeed? It's called "a free exchange of ideas." It is much sought after by people around the world. "If AT&T could cut off my phone because I criticized them while using long distance, we would be in very serious danger of losing our freedom. "It is unclear whether electronic services are "common carriers" (like AT&T) that must carry all communications, or "publishers" (like magazines) that are legally responsible for the words they choose to print. "But Compuserve knows which it prefers to be. In separate cases, it has been sued by the National Music Publishers Association and Cubby Inc. for distributing material uploaded by subscribers. Compuserve argues that it should be free from any liability because "it is a distributor and not a publisher." "Our future "information highway" will inevitably center on just five or six giant corporations. That's why it's so important that access not be denied to someone whom these entities don't like. "Because children read forums, I agree that obscene language should be banned. But I've read the forum messages, and Patterson is not guilty of that. "Do me a favor. Sit down right now and tap out a message to Mauryve Cox, the CEO of Compuserve. His I.D. number is 70003,1550. Tell him how important it is to you that no one be denied access to Compuserve forums. Send me a copy, if my account still works after this column appears. (Brian Livingston is the author of "Windows 3.1 Secrets" and "More Windows Secrets", and co-author of "Windows Gizmos." Send tips to Compuserve: 70053,2035; or fax: (206) 282-1248.)