[Rfu-barnraising] About webcasting WRFU

[Phil Stinard]

Hello,

While we were helping out with the IMC construction this morning, Ray, 
Burnell, Chris, and I got into a discussion about webcasting.  I can't speak 
for the others, but I'll give my impression of the discussion, because we 
raised some important and interesting points.  We pretty much concurred that 
we're in favor of webcasting WRFU.  Even though we are a community station, 
people outside Champaign/Urbana might be interested in our local viewpoint, 
whether it's former Urbanites who have moved away, people who might be 
interested in moving to the area, or just people websurfing to find out what 
things are like here.  We don't think that webcasting will cause us to lose 
our local flavor or cater to more cosmopolitan tastes.  It's just an extra 
tool to get our message out to more people.

However, if we webcast music, we think that it's important to abide by the 
DMCA regulations and pay the fees.  Chris told a few cautionary tales about 
how if someone is out to get you, they'll use any means necessary.  That is, 
if someone doesn't like UCIMC, they'll be watching us and looking out for 
rule violations.  It's not paranoia, it's just common sense.  We're not 
"just another community radio station" that people won't be paying attention 
to.  We're affiliated with a progressive news organization, UCIMC, that is a 
thorn in the side of neoconservatives, and there are some people that just 
don't like that.  I think that we should adopt the station regulations 
presented by Norman Stockwell for WORT in Madison.  That means that people 
need to abide by the DMCA regulations, and turn off webcasting for their 
program if it is in violation.  I strongly believe that we should not 
gratuitously violate the regulations.  Would anyone else like to weigh in on 
this?

--Phil