From: kadie@cs.uiuc.edu (Carl M. Kadie)
Subject: [news.admin.policy]  Re: Groups used to distribute illegal material
Originator: daemon@eff.org
Organization: EFF mail-news gateway
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 08:26:35 GMT


From: werner@cs.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig)
Newsgroups: news.admin.policy
Subject:  Re: Groups used to distribute illegal material
Date: 13 Aug 1992 12:56:26 -0500



	illegal and "not to my liking" or "without merit" are two different
	things completely.

	As a news site, you are free to only import those newsgroup which
	you are interested in and which your management considers to be
	of merit.  What is not to your taste or liking, you are free to
	ignore (and avoid importing and/or redistributing).

	The problem of what to do about articles which might be considered
	of "questionable legality" (innocent until proven guilty?) is a
	completely different matter.  In real life, most people only call
	their lawyers or the police when their personal interest are
	"under attack"; of course, we also are concerned when we are
	watching a "crime in progress", but we probably won't call the
	cops when someone is jay-walking or not keeping his dog on the
	leash... and who would call the cops when watching someone
	making photo-copies of (surely copyrighted) books and such,
	or nailing pictures from sex (obscene?) magazines on neighbor-
	hood trees?

	What remains is the question of "complicity" if the tree or
	wall that "illegal" material is nailed to is mine....

	heck, I'd rip it down from MY tree and fence, I'd do whatever
	possible to prevent that MY tree is used for this again,
	and I may go as far as suggesting to "the author" to reconsider
	what s/he is doing;  but I'd not be likely to consider FORMALLY
	raising "the legal question" (and, anyway, the analogy between
	"real life" and CyberSpace ends, as news-distribution isn't
	done in a way analogeous to someone abusing my tree or fence,
	but more like people sending me junkmail and ringing my doorbell
	and phone for "solicitation"...  though by hooking up to the
	net, you are actually better off as you can filter out (most)
	of what you don't care for by not importing certain newsgroups.
	still there always be articles you may object to in newsgroups
	you generally care for...  oh, well..)

	the problem of avoiding that people post "objectionable" material
	from your site (or send it by email or make it available for FTP)
	is a "completely different animal" (which you'll have to handle
	administratively under considerations of "privacy" and "freedom
	of speech" and "criminal liability"); when it comes to people
	FTPing (or receiving in email) "objectionable material" to your
	site, the question of "privacy" becomes even stronger (as the
	case to be made that you are criminally liable or that your
	reputation suffers (also) when "objectionable material" emanates
	from your site versus when someone receives it, is significantly
	different)

	Simply ignore those people who posted follow-up "flaming you"
	for expressing publically your concerns and thoughts; some
	people simply don't know to make an effort to understand others
	and thus are best simply ignored; we all disagree sometimes,
	but one learns to simply not pay attention to certain newsgroups
	and certain posters, as one identifies the contents to be
	mostly "without merit"...

				Cheers,		---Werner
-- 
  werner@cs.utexas.edu |  ..!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!werner | werner@UTXVM.bitnet

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