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From: bcn@mit-eddie.UUCP (Clifford Neuman)
Newsgroups: net.news.stargate
Subject: Re: A solution(?) to the libel problem
Message-ID: <3571@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Feb-85 18:08:49 EST
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.3571
Posted: Tue Feb  5 18:08:49 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Feb-85 02:39:37 EST
References: <504@vortex.UUCP> <133@circadia.UUCP>
Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 22

Here's an idea for avoiding the potential for libel.  How about
making sure that everything that is sent out over stargate is
true.  Sound difficult?  Not really.  All you have to do is this.

Instead of broadcasing the message received, broadcast a message
which says "A message was received which apparently was sent by
so and so.  The contents of this message were as follow...".

When a message is received by a ground station, the local software can
do as it pleases with the message.  For instance, it could remove the
"header" I just described.  Of course removing the header would make
them liable for any damage that resulted from doing so, but the damage
would be limited to the people who saw it on the machine in question.  

I am not an attorney, so I really don't know if this would work,
but I always thought that truth was an absolute defense for libel.
Thus, by only transmitting the truth, we should be able to protect 
ourselves.

Clifford Neuman
bcn@mit-eddie.UUCP
bcn@mit-eddie.ARPA