[lac-discuss-en] FW: Free Speech vs. ???

[Cintra Sooknanan]

My only comments are that in the case of the campaign fliers you know the
purpose and the general source of the document, which adds legitimacy to
it's value. The actual writer of the content is then just a collateral
issue. Similarly I believe the recommendation for Whois data having a last
verified date would also encourage this.

Also campaign fliers have a defined limited purpose and expiry date, which
is not the case of Whois. There have been concerns in the past of Whois data
being used for purposes not intended (eg. harvested by spammers), which
should be balanced with concerns that Whois contacts should always be up to
date and be accessible for investigations 24/7.

Stepping away from the Whois issues, I agree with the article that for blogs
and anonymous comments there is no context or verification, so the actual
writer of these becomes important in serious circumstances. However this
should be balanced with the reasonableness of the situation and the common
sense of the reader should also be taken into account...  *"false and
defamatory speech openly published will provoke counter speech and lead to
correction; the truth will ultimately prevail. (Justice Louis Brandeis:
“Sunshine is the best disinfectant.”)" **   *
Due to the vastness of the Internet though it may take an unacceptable
amount of time for this truth to prevail.

Regards
Cintra


On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 7:56 PM, Carlton Samuels
<carlton.samuels at gmail.com>wrote:

> ....hmmmmmm, some ideas that might shine a light on the continuing WHOIS
> debate....perhaps....
>
>
> http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/anonymity-and-the-dark-side-of-the-internet/?hp
>
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