>From: "David B. O'Donnell" >Date: Wed, 27 Apr 1994 11:33:32 -0400 Please respond to the S.F. AIDS Foundation either by phone or letter regarding this egregious action. Thank you. >From raemo@itsa.ucsf.EDU Ukn Apr 26 22:58:17 1994 Received: from well.sf.ca.us by itsa.ucsf.EDU (8.6.8/GSC4.22) id PAA53414; Tue, 26 Apr 1994 15:57:57 -0700 Received: from itsa.ucsf.EDU (itsa.ucsf.EDU [128.218.1.14]) by well.sf.ca.us (8.6.8/8.6.6) with ESMTP id PAA17077 for ; Tue, 26 Apr 1994 15:57:06 -0700 Received: by itsa.ucsf.EDU (8.6.8/GSC4.22) id PAA20631; Tue, 26 Apr 1994 15:57:45 -0700 Date: Tue, 26 Apr 1994 15:46:25 -800 (PDT) >From: Ray Russ Subject: San Francisco AIDS Corporation.. To: Ray Russ Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: RO X-Status: The following message was sent to an HIV-based information BBS in southern California by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. For those unfamiliar with the AEGIS BBS, it is a labor of love put together on a shoe-string budget by a group of nuns in San Juan Capistrano, CA. It is probably THE most comprehensive HIV-specific data base accessible in North America-and possibly the world. For those interested in seeing what shared information on the Internet SHOULD be like I encourage you to call-after you make your complaints known to the S.F. AIDS Foundation-AEGIS BBS @ 714-248-2836. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: 26 Apr 94 15:04:49 EDT >From: Tomas Fabregas <72714.2347@CompuServe.COM> To: raemo@well.sf.ca.us Subject: Aimee's Memo >From sfafag@sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu Mon Mar 14 04:25:37 1994 Received: from sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu by hivnet.amc.uva.nl with SMTP id AA09780 (5.67b/IDA-1.5 for ); Mon, 14 Mar 1994 04:25:34 +0100 Received: by sfsuvax1.sfsu.edu (5.57/Ultrix2.4-C) id AA02737; Sun, 13 Mar 94 19:30:06 -0800 Date: Sun, 13 Mar 1994 19:30:05 -0800 (PST) >From: Aimie Gresham Subject: Unauthorized BETA on HIVNET To: info@hivnet.org Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Dear Mr. Lewis: My name is Aimie Gresham and I represent the Treatment Publications Unit of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. We are currently formulating plans to distribute BETA (The Bulletin Of Experimental Treatment For AIDS) on the internet. We did not, however, issue authorization to HIVNET, or any other service to publish BETA on the internet. While I was happy to see that people are interested in receiving the information in BETA, the Editor-In-Chief of BETA, Ron Baker, has in the past stated that he was not yet in the position to index BETA in the manner in which he deemed fit for use on the information highway. Since HIVNET has stated that permission has been granted from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, I am curious who exactly from the AIDS Foundation granted HIVNET the authorization to do so. To the best of my knowledge it is not legal in the United States to distribute information without consent from the publisher. Regardless of the laws in your country, as the publisher of BETA, given the technical and legal responsibilites that go along with this information, we have to ensure our control of how this information is distributed to the general public. We therefore request that you discontinue your distribution of BETA on your gopher site. Thank you for your help in this matter. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at (415) 864-5855 x2720 in San Francisco, California. Sincerely, Aimie Gresham >From 72714.2347@CompuServe.COM Ukn Apr 26 19:07:19 1994 Received: from well.sf.ca.us by itsa.ucsf.EDU (8.6.8/GSC4.22) id MAA14958; Tue, 26 Apr 1994 12:07:15 -0700 Received: from dub-img-1.compuserve.com (dub-img-1.compuserve.com [198.4.9.1]) by well.sf.ca.us (8.6.8/8.6.6) with ESMTP id MAA19578 for ; Tue, 26 Apr 1994 12:06:26 -0700 Received: from localhost by dub-img-1.compuserve.com (8.6.4/5.930129sam) id PAA17966; Tue, 26 Apr 1994 15:05:52 -0400 Date: 26 Apr 94 15:02:46 EDT >From: Tomas Fabregas <72714.2347@CompuServe.COM> To: Subject: The Draft! Message-ID: <940426190246_72714.2347_FHP105-1@CompuServe.COM> Status: RO X-Status: The San Francisco AIDS Foundation ("SFAF"), a nonprofit public benefit corporation with a stated mission to "help individuals make informed choices about HIV-related concerns," publishes a quarterly treatment newsletter entitled BETA. A subscription to BETA currently costs $55.00 per year, chump change perhaps to the management and civic minded professionals on the Foundation's board of directors, but a significant expenditure to many persons living with HIV. AEGIS, a bulletin board in Southern California operated by the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, provides - free of charge to any caller - a comprehensive data base of HIV treatment information. For nearly three years, SFAF has repeatedly denied permission to post BETA on AEGIS, giving only vague promises that permission will be granted at some unspecified time in the future. HIVNET, a bulletin board operated in the Netherlands, has been posting BETA, without permission, and recently received a cease and desist notice from the Treatment Publications Unit at SFAF. Incredibly, by their insistence on (1) selling the information and (2) refusing to post it on bulletin board systems serving the HIV community around the world, access to critical treatment information is being restricted by the very organization which has taken the responsibility - and the grant money - for providing it. The decision of the management and board of directors of the nonprofit San Francisco AIDS Foundation to sell vital treatment information to people with AIDS and the providers who care for them is an outrageous betrayal of the public trust. They just don't seem to get it. With your help, maybe they will come to see the error of their ways. Please send your comments about this situation to: Mr. Vance Yoshida, President of the Board of Directors, and to Mr. Lance Henderson, Acting Executive Director, at mhs:lhenderson@sfaf On behalf of all people living with HIV and those of us who recognize the importance of access to treatment information, thanks for your help