"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
Searching for something about a speaker I can across a forum type web
site which purports to be American and yet has OUR messages on it! Does
anyone know anymore about this?
Sacha has emailed the webmaster to ask if he /she has permission

I mean to say, did you all know that your names were flying around the
US gardening sites....


I've had a look at their site. I wasn't sure at first what I thought but I
think this sums it up:

1. I can see no significant difference in putting a link to URG which would
open in the user's mail program, and a reproduction of the group which can
be viewed through a web browser. The first wouldn't bother me so why should
the second?

2. URG is not 'our newsgroup'. It is open to everyone. As far as I'm
concerned, anything I post can be read by anyone anywhere in the world so
why bother whether they read it direct from URG or second hand from
somewhere else? I also know we have an abc for newcomers which has 'rules'
of behaviour but they really are just voluntary to show courtesy to other
users. It's not in 'our' power to enforce anything and that's how it should
be. I also appreciate that a lot of it isn't entirely relevant to the US
because of climate differences, but it is linked as a UK section so anyone
coming in should know what to expect.

3. The site has adverts at the top of the page but it's not as bad as people
who post them direct to URG. At least it's only their customers who see them
and not us.

4. Maybe we should look at this more as a third-party site with obvious
quantities of traffic who is advertising URG for free on their site?

5. I guess the same goes for GardenBanter et al. If you just think of them
as alternative news readers then where's the problem?

Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm