----------------------------Original message----------------------------
     I have just had a great suggestion from a subscriber on another
list concerning the flood of commercial messages (greencard lawyers,
thigh-cream) on the internet.
 It is this:  can we legally play the capitalist game the way it
should be played?  Our subscribers are clearly a demographic group
desirable to advertisers.  We (list owner/moderators) are presumably
like the publishers of a paper and we can determine the value of our
subscribers.  Is there any reason why, if an advertiser like the
greencard lawyers can claim to make a profit from our lists, we
cannot?
 Therefore, I suggest we list owners post immediately our rates.
For Journet, I will invoice any unsolicited commercial posters  the
token sum of
     $5,000 (US -- cash up front, no 30-day net) per line,
 or,
as a discount for bulk advertising,
     $100,000 per 25-line screen.
 
     If other lists undercut my rate, well, that's free competition
and the ads can be posted there.
        Presuming there are something like 2,000 lists and newsgroups
of various kind, and presuming we list owners keep to a fairly uniform
price, that would cost the greencard lawyers
     $200,000,000 US for each
posting,  whichis, I submit, quite cheap for them considering the
quality of the people they are reaching .  Let's encourage them.  I am
getting my invoice forms printed up right now.
 
 
    Jan George Frajkor                      _!_
 School of Journalism, Carleton Univ.      --!--
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