Discussion of all things related to Public Domain

[tom poe <tompoe AT amihost.com>]

Hello:  Open Studios, a 501(c)(3) organization located in Reno, Nevada,
attempted to post an invitation to the FOLKDJL mailing list of the
University of Pennsylvania, and the moderators refused to permit the
posting.  Interestingly, it related to our organization's mission to
"replenish our precious Public Domain".

As you know, there is an assault on our public domain, lead by the
Recording Industry Artists Association, or RIAA.  Open Studios is
initiating a nonprofit project to compete directly with the RIAA by
setting up a parallel system that benefits the public, college radio
stations, public radio stations, and most importantly, stimulates and
encourages the young and talented artists to consider careers in music
outside the control of the RIAA.

The moderators would not post the invitation, nor would they extend the
courtesy of notifying me that no posts would be accepted beyond the two
initial posts of October 10, and 11 (not related to this topic).

The University of Pennsylvania, by virtue of the FOLKDJL mail list, has
an opportunity to lead the world with encouraging all efforts to address
the copyright issues in constructive and positive ways.  Censorship by
one of your institution's mailing lists of Open Studios does not prevent
our moving forward, but certainly reflects poorly on what your
institution considers appropriate behavior of its students.  I hope you
will take the time to visit our web site, learn a little about what we
are doing (as I'm sure the moderators did prior to excluding any further
posts by Open Studios), and, if you want, I will discuss our interest in
sharing an invitation that your students censored, using the lame excuse
that it was "> Usually we don't respond with an explicit rejection,
mostly due to time
> constraints, but simply don't approve a posting. Most of the time when
> they're not approved, it's because they're either off-topic, outside
the
> posting guidelines (e.g., tour schedules or announcements of local
events)
> or clearly meant as private replies. I don't have a list of items
approved
> and not approved, but I seem to remember seeing several of your
postings
> that did get to the list.
> 
> Peace,
> Paul"

It would be worth noting that a review of postings to the list
demonstrates they do not follow the guidelines quoted above.
Respectfully,
Tom Poe
Open Studios
Reno, NV
http://www.studioforrecording.org/