From declanm@netcom.com Thu Oct 12 06:57:26 1995 Return-Path: Received: from po8.andrew.cmu.edu by mail2.netcom.com (8.6.12/Netcom) id GAA27193; Thu, 12 Oct 1995 06:55:02 -0700 Received: (from postman@localhost) by po8.andrew.cmu.edu (8.6.12/8.6.12) id JAA04649; Thu, 12 Oct 1995 09:51:08 -0400 Received: via switchmail; Thu, 12 Oct 1995 09:51:05 -0400 (EDT) Received: from unix15.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Thu, 12 Oct 1995 09:49:39 -0400 (EDT) Received: from unix15.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Thu, 12 Oct 1995 09:49:25 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mms.4.60.Jan.26.1995.18.43.47.sun4c.411.EzMail.2.0.CUILIB.3.45.SNAP.NOT.LINKED.unix15.andrew.cmu.edu.sun4c.411 via MS.5.6.unix15.andrew.cmu.edu.sun4c_411; Thu, 12 Oct 1995 09:49:24 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <0kTFnYm00YUrA6UFQ9@andrew.cmu.edu> Date: Thu, 12 Oct 1995 09:49:24 -0400 (EDT) From: "Declan B. McCullagh" To: Fight Censorship Mailing List Subject: Marty Rimm's INFOBAHN Shopping Reply-To: fight-censorship+@andrew.cmu.edu Status: RO X-Status: The attached email is courtesy of Mike. INFOBAHN's Berch told me that he blew Marty off and forgot about him until the TIME cover: "I did write hime back for more info, but he seemed sort of reticent about details and I took him for a misguided academic who thought INFOBAHN was a journal or something, and just filed his messages in my 'closed' proposals/submissions file." Note that Marty anticipated "considerable interest" in his study *before* CMU's Usenet censorship brought him publicity by way of AP and TIME articles. He also seems a bit unclear about what INFOBAHN is. -Declan --- From mcb@GreatCircle.COM Mon Oct 17 17:24:15 1994 Return-Path: Received: from relay2.UU.NET by mail3.netcom.com (8.6.9/Netcom) id RAA11774; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 17:22:44 -0700 Received: from mycroft.GreatCircle.COM by relay2.UU.NET with SMTP id QQxmbp22147; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:25:03 -0400 Received: from po6.andrew.cmu.edu by mycroft.GreatCircle.COM (8.6.5/SMI-4.1/Brent-941015) id RAA00629; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 17:23:36 -0700 Received: (from postman@localhost) by po6.andrew.cmu.edu (8.6.9/8.6.9) id UAA21064 for submissions@infobahn.postmodern.com; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:23:58 -0400 Received: via switchmail; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:23:55 -0400 (EDT) Received: from po2.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:16:21 -0400 (EDT) Received: from pcs8.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:15:50 -0400 (EDT) Received: from pcs8.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:15:32 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mms.4.60.Nov..4.1993.10.47.44.sun4c.411.EzMail.PC.2.0.CUILIB.3.45.SNAP.NO T.LINKED.pcs8.andrew.cmu.edu.sun4c.411 via MS.5.6.pcs8.andrew.cmu.edu.sun4c_411; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:15:31 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <4iclCX_00WBM89R0wt@andrew.cmu.edu> Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:15:31 -0400 (EDT) From: Martin Rimm To: submissions@infobahn.postmodern.com Subject: Info Superhighway Porn Status: OR Michael, I am part of a research team at Carnegie Mellon University. We have undertaken a large, systematic study of pornography on the Information Superhighway. While we anticipate considerable interest, we are yet to settle upon a publication outlet. Our paper will be complete in two weeks and we would like to know if you are interested. Attached is an overview. Martin Rimm Carnegie Mellon University ...................................................................... As Americans become increasingly computer literate, they are discovering an unusual and exploding repertoire of sexual imagery on the Usenet portion of the Internet and on "adult" computer bulletin board services (BBS). Every time they log on, their transactions assist pornographers in compiling databases of information about their buying habits and sexual tastes. The more sophisticated pornographers are using these databases to develop mathematical models to determine which images they should try to market aggressively. They are paying close attention to all forms of paraphilia, including pedophile, bestiality, and urophilic images, believing these markets to be among the most lucrative. They are using the Usenet to advertise their products, and maintaining detailed records of which images are downloaded most frequently. Modem technology also enables researchers to use computers to acquire vast amounts of information about pornography on a scale hundreds of times larger than previously established methods. Because BBS pornographers rely primarily upon verbal descriptions to market their images, researchers can develop computer programs that classify these descriptions according to category (e.g. oral, anal, vaginal, lesbian, etc.). The descriptions may be sorted by frequency of downloads, size, and the date on which each image was first posted onto the bulletin boards. What is even more useful, the data can be easily reanalyzed under many different sets of definitions and assumptions. This multidimensional characteristic of digital pornography enables researchers to provide unbiased information to most, if not all, factions involved in the heated public policy debate. The research team at Carnegie Mellon University has undertaken the first systematic study of pornography on the Information Superhighway. The study is also the first to track detailed purchasing habits of consumers of sexually explicit materials. All prior studies have assumed that those surveyed about their sexual tastes would offer honest replies, while this study focuses entirely upon what people consume, not what they say they consume. This proved especially important when analyzing such taboo imagery as incest, bestiality, coprophilia, and urophilia. All available images from five popular Usenet boards were downloaded over a six month period. In addition, descriptive listings were obtained from 68 BBS located in 32 states. These lists described 450,620 pornographic images, animations, and text files which had been downloaded 6,432,297 times; (approximately) 75,000 for which only partial download information was available; and another 391,790 for which no download information was available. Finally, approximately 10,000 actual images were randomly downloaded or obtained via the Usenet or CD-ROM. These were used to verify the accuracy of the written descriptions provided in the listings. This interim report analyzes only the 450,620 images and descriptions for which complete download information was available. A brief survey of the remaining images and descriptions suggests no substantive differences between the two datasets. At least 36% of the images studied were identified as having been distributed by two or more "adult" BBS. These "duplicates" enable researchers to compare how similar imagery is consumed in different regions of the country. Parts IIa and IIb of the study outline the methods used to obtain and analyze the data. Two important aspects of reliability and validity were carefully considered: 1) How well do the verbal descriptions correspond to the categories? and 2) How well do the verbal descriptions correspond to the actual images? Part IIIa addresses three issues concerning pornography and obscenity on the Usenet: 1) the origins of such imagery; 2) the percentage of all images available on the Usenet that are pornographic; 3) the popularity of pornographic boards in comparison to non-pornographic boards. Part IIIb comprises the major portion of this report. It examines 1) the image portfolio and marketing strategies of the Amateur Action BBS; 2) the concentration of market leaders among "adult" BBS; 3) the availability and demand of hard-core, soft-core, paraphilic and pedophile imagery; 4) market forces common to all "adult" BBS. Part IVa offers a summary of the significant findings of this report; Part IVb offers suggestions for further research. Part V presents a more informal discussion of the data, including a) the appeal of digital pornography; b) the relationship between images and words; c) the importance of descriptive lists. Appendix A lists the categories of imagery according to the Dietz-Sears, DSM-IV, and Carnegie Mellon models. Appendix B offers the reader an indication of the power of the linguistic parsing software developed for this report. Appendix C provides graphs of the statistics discussed. It is assumed that the reader has a basic understanding of the Usenet and BBS. Only the technical aspects of BBS which relate to pornography will be explained in detail. >From mcb@GreatCircle.COM Mon Oct 17 17:26:31 1994 Return-Path: Received: from relay2.UU.NET by mail3.netcom.com (8.6.9/Netcom) id RAA12176; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 17:24:59 -0700 Received: from mycroft.GreatCircle.COM by relay2.UU.NET with SMTP id QQxmbp22606; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:27:26 -0400 Received: from po5.andrew.cmu.edu by mycroft.GreatCircle.COM (8.6.5/SMI-4.1/Brent-941015) id RAA00644; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 17:26:05 -0700 Received: (from postman@localhost) by po5.andrew.cmu.edu (8.6.9/8.6.9) id UAA15028 for submissions@infobahn.postmodern.com; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:26:35 -0400 Received: via switchmail; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:26:32 -0400 (EDT) Received: from pcs8.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:26:15 -0400 (EDT) Received: from pcs8.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:26:10 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mms.4.60.Nov..4.1993.10.47.44.sun4c.411.EzMail.PC.2.0.CUILIB.3.45.SNAP.NO T.LINKED.pcs8.andrew.cmu.edu.sun4c.411 via MS.5.6.pcs8.andrew.cmu.edu.sun4c_411; Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:26:09 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 20:26:09 -0400 (EDT) From: Martin Rimm To: submissions@infobahn.postmodern.com Subject: confirmation request Status: OR Our server indicated it did not recognize your address. Please confirm receipt of our Info Superhighway / Porn proposal. Thank you, Martin Rimm Carnegie Mellon University >From mcb Mon Oct 24 17:55:02 1994 From: mcb@netcom.com (Michael C. Berch) Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 17:55:03 PDT In-Reply-To: X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (7.2.5 10/14/92) To: Martin Rimm Subject: Re: confirmation request Bcc: pramsey@infobahn.postmodern.com Status: OR > I haven't heard from you regarding our Internet-Porn overview. Please be > in touch. Thanks for the followup. We are still putting together plans for the first issue of INFOBAHN, and getting through the backlog of queries and submissions from the original announcement in September. I guess part of Internet and e-mail culture is that people tend to expect responses much more quickly than with paper mail, but we are a print magazine with typically-long editorial advance time, so queries will still take a few weeks to be dealt with, and manuscripts undoubtedly longer. I am not quite sure how INFOBAHN could use the material on your Internet Pornography study. First of all, we are a consumer magazine, not a journal, and therefore could not formally publish the study in the customary academic manner (it would undoubtedly be way too long for that in any case). And running an overview and pointer to it (one assumes it will be online somewhere, yes?) does not meet our editorial goals. The most interesting thing I can think of would be to put together a story on the study itself, and the people and research effort behind it, what difficulties (practical and political) you encountered, etc. This would typically be accomplished by an interview, photographs and some graphics, a few exceprts from the study, and so forth. We are planning a feature on the Thomas (Amateur Action BBS) case but it may not be ready for the first issue, and this would be an obvious companion. In any case, if this is of interest let me know, as well as what your formal publication schedule is, and I will see if we can assign a writer and photographer. Best regards, -- Michael C. Berch Editor, INFOBAHN Postmodern Communications, Inc. mcb@infobahn.postmodern.com / mcb@netcom.com P.S. Thanks for the reference to Prof. Sirbu. I didn't get a chance to meet him personally, but I attended his talk on the NetBill project. >From mr6e+@andrew.cmu.edu Mon Oct 24 18:02:47 1994 Return-Path: Received: from andrew.cmu.edu by mail.netcom.com (8.6.9/Netcom) id SAA29895; Mon, 24 Oct 1994 18:02:44 -0700 Received: (from postman@localhost) by andrew.cmu.edu (8.6.9/8.6.9) id VAA00108 for mcb@netcom.com; Mon, 24 Oct 1994 21:05:35 -0400 Received: via switchmail; Mon, 24 Oct 1994 21:05:34 -0400 (EDT) Received: from pcs25.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 24 Oct 1994 21:05:00 -0400 (EDT) Received: from pcs25.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 24 Oct 1994 21:04:58 -0400 (EDT) Received: from mms.4.60.Nov..4.1993.10.47.44.sun4c.411.EzMail.PC.2.0.CUILIB.3.45.SNAP.NO T.LINKED.pcs25.andrew.cmu.edu.sun4c.411 via MS.5.6.pcs25.andrew.cmu.edu.sun4c_411; Mon, 24 Oct 1994 21:04:57 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 21:04:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Martin Rimm To: mcb@netcom.com (Michael C. Berch) Subject: Re: confirmation request Cc: In-Reply-To: <199410250055.RAA19918@netcom13.netcom.com> Status: OR Excerpts from mail: 24-Oct-94 Re: confirmation request by Michael C. Berch@netcom. > We are planning a feature on the Thomas (Amateur Action BBS) case but > it may not be ready for the first issue, and this would be an obvious > companion. We have included an extensive statistical analysis of the Amateur Action BBS and your writer may wish to consult with our study before completing the article. As soon as we have formal publication plans finalized, we'll let you know. Martin Rimm