[h2o-discuss] leaky theories

["Jon Garfunkel" <jgarfunk@bellatlantic.net>]

>since this list discusses H2O and property law and
>the public domain, perhaps this is pertinent?

>
>>From New Scientist 7 Aug 1999, Feedback column

>[please do not resend without the attribution]

I'm going to venture that the Shetland wool was pulled pver your eyes. As
for "attribution," where did they source this story from-- some unnamed
user? It's one thing to believe the line about bottled water "expiring" and
needing to be properly "disposed" of... it's another thing to try and
stretch it to have some meaning for Eldred vs. Reno.

I'm still hoping for something better to come out of this h2o list.

There was an inspired point a week ago from Barbara Blake Hannah:
"I cannot wholeheartedly accept that my printed work should cease to earn me
income if and when someone scans the pages and reproduces them on an
Internet site as 'a service to humanity'."

There is enough muddled rhetoric on this list that had inspired Barbara to
state this case. What of it? Is her point so obvious that no one should
contend it, or even recognize it?

As for the issue of water in Scotland, I don't care if someone gives me
proof either way about its truth. There is just another pseudo-event (Daniel
Boorstin's term, though I could one from any postmodernist), where the
reality is simply fabricated to become news. I'm rejecting it altogether.

Well, it wouldn't be an h2o post if I didn't cite another news item about an
online copyright case. Ticketmaster is suing someone because of
deep-linking, _again_. Apparently they are quite miffed about an outside
comapny once again offering links directly to ticket sales (and it's
oh-so-tough to stay in business when you're only making $5.50 surcharge per
ticket sale, when you could be making so much more by ad-clickthroughs.)

I'm of the "architecture-based" camp, but understand I know nothing about
software law:

1. The architecture of the web facilitates linking to any page on any site.
2. Nobody is forcing Ticketmaster to meet the standard of this architecture.
 They can adopt part of this architecture. It fact it is very simple, worthy
of a courtroom demonstration, to code a standard web CGI program to
discriminate users based the site they had previous linked from.

Though I recall that Prof. Lessig was none-too-happy about embedding values
into the PICS architecture.

Jon