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               ATTENTION ALL USERS:                                          
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     We have a new problem.  Everyone knows that lately there has            
been a crackdown on Bulletin Boards which carry pornography,                 
pirated software, etc.  There is, however, a new and much more               
powerful threat which is threatening to stop all privately run               
BBS's.                                                                       
                                                                             
     The Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)             
is currently in the process of setting itself up to regulate                 
Public bulletin boards.  They want to make it an offense to run a            
BBS without a CRTC license.  If licensing comes into effect, the             
BBS scene will quite literally shrivel up and die.                           
                                                                             
     Consider the example of radio in the 40's and 50's.  Before             
the CRTC was formed, anyone could broadcast radio signals legally            
from their home on any bandwidth.  Fearing obscenity and extreme             
access to information, the CRTC was formed to sell licenses to               
broadcasters.  Without such a license, you could be prosecuted               
for broadcasting.  The result of this action can be seen today:              
the only radio stations we see are totally mainstream and are                
hell-bent on making profit, not pleasing listeners or informing              
the public.                                                                  
                                                                             
     We all know that the bulletin board systems are a great way             
to get alternative information.  We can get information on the               
Paul Teele / Karla Homolka trials.  We can get new insights as to            
what is really happening in the former Yugoslavia through the                
giant Internet.  We currently have access to multitudes of                   
information that isn't available through the mainstream media.               
                                                                             
     If licensing comes into affect, we will LOSE this access.               
Not only will the pirate boards be hunted down and exterminated,             
but all currently LEGAL PUBLIC DOMAIN BBS's will also be made                
illegal unless they can afford a license.  And who do you think              
will get licenses?  Only those willing to follow the CRTC                    
guidelines for radio and television.  Corporations and rich                  
executives.  The BBS world, our underground paradise (if you                 
will) is in great danger of becoming a commercial hell like the              
rest of today's media.                                                       
                                                                             
     We don't yet know what the proposed licensing fee will be,              
but it could anywhere in the area of $300-$5,000.  This could                
also depend on the size of the BBS.  However, most BBS's will                
simply close up shop if the government wants a license.  The                 
government will simply weed out all the little guys and support              
the big guys.                                                                
                                                                             
     This WILL HAPPEN, and sooner than you think!  The U.S.                  
Government has already started doing this, with the new                      
Information SuperHighway being the flag-ship of government                   
regulated systems.  The Canadian government is going farther, and            
must be stopped now.                                                         
                                                                             
     Before I go into my plan of action, I want to tell you that             
if licensing comes into effect, if will be basically impossible              
to beat the system.  All pirate radio stations in North America              
have been crushed by the government in a matter of months.                   
Imagine how easy it will be to crush pirate bulletin board                   
systems (and by that I simply mean BBS's without a license) with             
traceable phone numbers.  Bell Canada would be sure to help the              
CRTC bust those boards.  And the RCMP would have a real easy time            
busting any boards with illegal software, because those boards               
would not have licenses.  The CRTC finds the board through Bell,             
arrests the sysop for running a board without a license, then                
informs the RCMP that this sysop was allowing copyrighted                    
material to be transferred through his/her bbs.  That sysop, for             
the first time in his/her life, is suddenly looking at a possible            
jail term.                                                                   
                                                                             
                                                                             
     COULD YOU IMAGINE GOING TO JAIL FOR RUNNING A BBS????????               
                                                                             
That, I admit, is the extreme case, but it is looking more and               
more likely as time goes on.  If you're as pissed off about this             
as I am, then keep reading, because I have a plan of                         
action/protest to stop this from happening.                                  
                                                                             
     WE are the only people out there who can stop this from                 
transpiring.  Only the extremely computer literate, those of us              
who know the ins and outs of the BBS scene and computers                     
generally, will be able to generate an argument strong enough to             
counter the argument of the government and the CRTC.                         
                                                                             
     I've been a user in different parts of Ontario for about six            
years.  I currently go to York University for Computer Science               
and my plan is to organize a campaign of users who will be                   
willing to petition the government to stop this craziness.  My               
sister is a lawyer and also an occasional user of the boards.                
She would be willing to confront the CRTC on legal grounds if we             
have enough support from YOU.  I have to hear from you.  In order            
to force the CRTC to at least seriously listen to our argument,              
we need a lot of names, and a lot of letters to your local MP and            
to the CRTC.                                                                 
                                                                             
     If I have enough support, I will set up a BBS which is                  
dedicated to keeping you informed.  I will keep up to date as to             
what the CRTC is doing and open up discussion concerning what we             
should do about it.  I would also print out all the messages on              
the board and send them off to the prime minister, the CRTC and              
our local MP's.  At the same time, my sister and I will prepare a            
legal argument to present to the government and the CRTC.  IF we             
have the support of your names and your letters behind us, the               
CRTC will be forced to stop.                                                 
                                                                             
OUR GOAL:  To stop the CRTC from requiring the licensing of                  
bulletin board systems and get it written into the law books that            
private, home run bbs's are totally legal and should never be                
regulated, in the interests of free information.                             
                                                                             
                                                                             
     PLEASE send me E-mail or letter mail with your thoughts.  I             
WILL set up the bbs and get this ball rolling if we have enough              
support!  Please send this file to other BBS's and get this                  
information out.  Contact me if you want to be involved.  We need            
all your support!                                                            
                                                                             
       Support USERS AGAINST THE LICENSING OF BBS's (UALBBS).                
                                                                             
                    KEEP PRIVATE BBS's LEGAL!                                
                                                                             
                                             LORD QORTHON                    
                                            Jeff A. Heyens                   
                                          876 Palmerston Ave                 
                                           Toronto, M6G 2S2.                 
                                                                             

