>So what's the problem with profit?

In general, for-profit advertising has a history of being discouraged
on the Net. This stems from its origins as a government-funded
project which in the beginning forbade its use in that manner.
It has become part of the culture.

That culture is beginning to change, but there are still concerns
in many parts of netdom about it. Largely it stems from the
fact that the bulk of the cost of running the net is picked up
by companies (mostly high-tech), universities, government organizations,
etc. There are now commercial entities which carry much traffic,
but the local guy you pay to hook up ain't one of them. We're
all being subsidized by the good-will of all these various
entities.

It won't last forever, that seems certain.

If the ratio of advertising to "real stuff" on the net were to
reach the ratio you see in your mailbox of direct mail vs.
your own mail, I think you can see this might hasten the
most likely inevitable change in the net.

Does this have anything to do with a few scattered ads on
tweeters? Not in practice, just philosophy. You'll find
that most "marketplace" etc type groups (like rec.photo.marketplace)
are strictly for personal sales. Business stuff gets its own
"biz" hierarchy, which entities can choose to delete.

I don't have strong feelings in regard to tweeters, but in
general the philosophy exists for a sound reason.


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <donb at rational.com>