Re: [dvd-discuss] The power of a click

[microlenz(at)earthlink.net]

Scott A Crosby  wrote:

"By that same token, myself, as a computer scientist and  researcher, must face the fact that control and censorship  may come to what I do. Much like the right-to-read short  story. [3]"

What is being censored and what is being controled?  Secrets of Atomic weapons? POSSIBLE misuse by  UNKNOWN persons on UNKNOWN copyright works in  UNKNOWN ways Surprisingly the courts seem to miss the fact  that  If one applies the logic of the court in Felton, then   there no basis for a lawsuit for a lawsuit in 2600 becasue of a  lack of damages. 

BTW - I finished reading the opinion. Buried in there is the  assertion that the government has a compelling interest here  because they have to stop all that nasty unauthorized access

Date sent:      	Mon, 3 Dec 2001 01:10:20 -0500 (EST)
From:           	Scott A Crosby <crosby@qwes.math.cmu.edu>
To:             	Steve Stearns <sterno@bigbrother.net>
Copies to:      	<dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu>
Subject:        	Re: [dvd-discuss] The power of a click
Send reply to:  	dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu

> On Sun, 2 Dec 2001, Steve Stearns wrote:
> 
> > theater.  The legislature has realized that prosecuting everybody
> > who shares a file on Gnutella is completely beyond their
> > capabilities.  The
> 
> Oh, I don't know if I'd say this...
> 
> In 1997, there were about 700,000 marijuana arrests in the United
> States.[1]
> 
> Gnutella may have more than 700,000 users, but marijuana is merely one
> drug. I'd say tha the courts probably are up to dealing with a
> potential of a million possible cases/year. Also throw in [2], which
> shows that if you remove about 5% of the hosts in a gnutella network,
> 2/3 of what they consider their problem goes away.
> 
> The belief that the internet is whack-a-mole doesn't seem to be
> supported by the statistics accrured by the war on drugs.
> 
> Governments have historically done amazing things to millions of their
> own population; the last 50 years are full of examples. Look at
> Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, or Hitler's Holocaust.
> 
> By that same token, myself, as a computer scientist and researcher,
> must face the fact that control and censorship may come to what I do.
> Much like the right-to-read short story. [3]
> 
> 
> Scott
> 
> [1] http://www.mpp.org/arrests/prisoners.html
> [2] http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue5_10/adar/
> [3] http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
>