Path: sparky!uunet!ukma!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!po.CWRU.Edu!dxc4
From: dx...@po.CWRU.Edu (David Condon)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Rusty & Edie's BBS raided by FBI
Date: 4 Feb 1993 00:43:40 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Lines: 66
Distribution: inet
Message-ID: <1kporsINNnpt@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
Reply-To: dx...@po.CWRU.Edu (David Condon)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu
Article 2447 of freenet.sysops.general:
Path: usenet.ins.cwru.edu!cleveland.Freenet.Edu!aa201
From: aa...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Doc White)
>Newsgroups: freenet.sysops.general
Subject: FBI Raids RUSTY and Edie's BBS
Date: 3 Feb 1993 21:17:10 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Lines: 46
Message-ID: <1kpcom...@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
Reply-To: aa...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Doc White)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu
By request of the SPA this PRESS RELEASE is being reposted
to this system.
OHIO BBS RAIDED BY FBI AGENTS
The FBI has raided a Boardman, Ohio, computer bulletin board system called
"Rusty & Edie's," accusing the operators of illegally distributing
copyrighted software.
The Software Publishers Association, which worked with the FBI in
investigating the case, said in a statement from Washington the agents
seized computers, hard disk drives and telecommunications equipment, as
well as financial and subscriber records during the raid last Saturday.
The SPA says the investigation started several months ago, "following the
receipt of complaints from a number of SPA members that their software was
being illegally distributed on the Rusty & Edie's BBS." The trade group
says that as part of the investigation, it downloaded copyrighted business
and entertainment programs from the BBS.
The system, established in 1987, was described as one of the largest private
BBSes in the country, with 124 nodes available to callers and more than
14,000 subscribers.
"To date, the board has logged in excess of 3.4 million phone calls, with
new calls coming in at the rate of over 4,000 per day," the SPA stated.
It included "over 19 gigabytes of storage housing over 100,000 files
available to subscribers for downloading."
The SPA said the BBS had subscribers in the United States and several
foreign countries, including Canada, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Finland,
the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
For a fee of $89 a year, "subscribers ... were given access to the board's
contents, including many popular copyrighted business and entertainment
packages," the SPA statement says.
--Charles Bowen
--
Doc White aa...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu doc....@PCOHIO.COM
__Primary Sysop:_____Cleveland Free-net's Science Fiction & Fantasy Sig___
Assistant Sysop: PC-Ohio (216) 381-3320 "The Best BBS in America!"
35 USR HST/DS Nodes, 1900+ Conferences, 27 Networks, 15 Gigabytes, Games...
--
It is my view that the idea of a cultured individual is merely relative,
that a person's worth should be judged by the warmth of his heart.
-- Franz Boas
Path: sparky!uunet!caen!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!
sol.ctr.columbia.edu!flash.pax.tpa.com.au!britt!dclunie
From: dcl...@pax.tpa.com.au (David Clunie)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Rusty & Edie's BBS raided by FBI
Date: 7 Feb 1993 08:39:59 GMT
Organization: Her Master's Voice
Lines: 33
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <1l2hsvINNrtv@flash.pax.tpa.com.au>
References: <1kporsINNnpt@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>
Reply-To: dcl...@pax.tpa.com.au
NNTP-Posting-Host: britt.pax.tpa.com.au
>The FBI has raided a Boardman, Ohio, computer bulletin board system called
>"Rusty & Edie's," accusing the operators of illegally distributing
>copyrighted software.
Which software are they accusing R&E's of having had on their system ? Last time
I used R&E's (when I lived in the US), it seemed like one of the better boards
around, and certainly not likely to do something like leave copyrighted commercial
software around to be downloaded.
Sounds like the usual heavy handed approach of the bastards in the SPA - hopefully
the FBI will get flogged by the first judge they come up against as in the last
case like this.
I dare say they will hang on to all the confiscated hardware until it is totally
obsolete though, also in their usual fashion.
Why do the FBI waste the taxpayers money with all this activity ? Don't they
have enough kidnappers and embezellers to spend their time on ?
Besides, all these debatable copyright issues should be dealt with in the civil
courts, if they have to be addressed at all. I dare say this doesn't satisfy the
bastards in the SPA though ... that would spread nearly so much fear and
intimidation.
What is the on-line world coming to when we have to contend with situations like
this ?
I presume someone who has the facts will presently appear to inform us about the
reality of the situation at R&E's.
---
David A. Clunie (dcl...@pax.tpa.com.au)