Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!looking!brad From: brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton) Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Re: Publication analogy for electronic communication/Defamation? Message-ID: <1991Jan09.173447.5922@looking.on.ca> Date: 9 Jan 91 17:34:47 GMT References: Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd. Lines: 24 Well, I wrote a longer article on this theme some time ago, but I will rehash. I defined four classes of possible system, ranging from anonymous free-for-all to a full blown publication like Prodigy. The two middle classes were the non-anonymous but unmonitored system and the non-anonymous but semi-monitored system. I think it is likely that the best we could hope for is to have the law accept the concept of open forums as a new discussion medium. If you don't verify who users are, you will have to take responsibility for their postings if you distribute them, I suspect. I doubt the law will ever allow the existence of systems that distribute harmful information without any path back to the author. What we need is to get the law to recognize systems where the author is verified (not necessarily revealed without a court order, but verified) and the author takes some or all responsibility for postings. This would be a good thing for the EFF to lobby for, in my opinion. -- Brad Templeton, ClariNet Communications Corp. -- Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473