Re: Effects of S.314 (Communications Decency Act)

[slowdog <slowdog@wookie.net>]

On Thu, 9 Feb 1995, Robert Rothenburg Walking-Owl wrote:

> > prosecutins will stick. Arrests and prosecutions will take a financial 
> > toll on those targetted, and will create a chillinf effect in the online 
> > community, meaning sysops and BBS operators will start policing 
> > themselves too severely in an effort to avoid politcial or legal scrutiny.
> 
> Exactly. It's already happening. I've noticed on local BBS's they are afraid
> of conversation about controversial subjects or files having to do with
> things like do-it-yourself-birth control methods, drug legalization, or
> crypto... some of the networks like RIME are also jittery about certain
> topics like crypto or how telephones work.

Which might the time is ripe for a sort of user-to-user and 
sysop-to-sysop outreach effort, an attempt to create a sort of solidarity 
amongst users of the various extant networks to stand together in 
supporting the free exchange of information.

> > broadcast paradigm, while the online world operates within the network 
> > paradigm. There are no hours in which it is safe to broadcast because 
> > there is no "broadcast" in the tradition sense.
> 
> Yes, I was discussing broadcasting. Scary thought is that because networks
> are different they will try to outright ban everything.

I wonder though sometimes if it's even occurred to lawmakers that they 
can't apply the safe harbor notion for indency to computer networks.


- dog