lenny,
Chris is generally on target about CIS and GEnie.  I can't
officially speak for either.  However I am the individual
feeding the News to GEnie's ferret topic.  This is sort of
an experiment for us.  GEnie's been quite good about issues
of ownership and censorship.
 
Once the folks reading the news are comfortable and the folks
managing the topics involving ferrets are comfortable, then
I'll start the next step.  It was a big thing for CIS to open up
an Internet mail feed, and I'm sure GEnie is considering a similar
move.  For now, we all are making the best of things.
 
Rest assured, though that the GEnie ferret folks, and I'm sure the
CIS ferret folks appreciate the opportunity to receive the feed.
It is a good suggestion and perhaps sometime we'll be able to be
better contributors.  Thanks.
 
And Chris, thank you.  -Jeb Weisman [log in to unmask]
 
[You're welcome.
 
It might be worth while stating my position a little clearer:
The Ferret Mailing List is something I do in my spare time, as
a service to the ferret-owning(/interested) community.  It is being
made available to anyone that is interested.  Until recently,
it has been sent only to the USENET/Internet community, but now
we're seeing two pay-for-use networks (GEnie and CIS) with a
"gateway".  Which, to a certain and indirect extent, permits
a commercial enterprise to use the Ferret Mailing List to increase
the value of their profit-making service.
 
Therefore, since GEnie/CIS is obtaining something of value (tho,
perhaps not staggering from a balance sheet perspective ;-) from
the efforts of volunteers, I think it's only fair that CIS and
GEnie reciprocate.  As in, quid-pro-quo.  We're giving you ours,
why not yours?
 
I'm not going to withdraw permission to gateway the Ferret Mailing
List into GEnie or CIS if they don't offer to reciprocate.  Even
if they did, depending on the amount of effort I'd have to put in,
I might not want to forward their stuff.  But I do expect an offer.
Eventually.
 
Incidentally, I'm pondering a manual bidirectional gateway of ferret
articles between this list and rec.pets on USENET.  Anybody have
any objections?]
                                                                          
[Posted in FML 0150]