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From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (peter da silva)
Subject: Re: BITFTP grief!
Message-ID: <5HIB-48@xds13.ferranti.com>
Followup-To: misc.legal
Organization: Ferranti International Controls Corporation
References: <1991May16.224338.286@crom2.uucp> <1991May18.043931.7094@iguana.uucp> <1991May22.180529.21358@zardoz.eng.ohio-state.edu>
Date: Thu, 23 May 91 17:04:07 GMT

In article <1991May22.180529.21358@zardoz.eng.ohio-state.edu>, gaynor@agvax2.ag.ohio-state.edu writes:
> I've started seeing users who seem to believe that ...  if there is no rule
> stating explicitly that they cannot do such-and-such a thing, then they must
> be allowed to do it.

Users, hell! It's a general ethical problem in modern society... many people
see no limits other than the law. They believe that if something is legal,
there is no reason why anyone should be upset if they do it.

Common sense, enlightened self interest, and so on don't mean anything to
these people.

It's not necessarily a new problem... what is new is the acceptance of this
viewpoint. The idea that (for example) unless it can be shown that a member
of the legislature actually broke a law there is no reason he should suffer
for his action. The corresponding problem is that if something is illegal,
people assume it must therefore be wrong. They forget that laws are made by
people, and usually made after the fact.

> A sad state...

indeed.
-- 
Peter da Silva; Ferranti International Controls Corporation; +1 713 274 5180;
Sugar Land, TX  77487-5012;         `-_-' "Have you hugged your wolf, today?"