Defense fund

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Posted-Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 12:50:50 -0400
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 09:38:42 -0500 (EDT)
From: Stephen Wolff <steve () nsf gov>
Subject: Defense fund
To: "Brock N. Meeks" <brock () well sf ca us>
Cc: com-priv () psi com
Mime-Version: 1.0


Brock -


As you said a week or two ago, if I could have contributed by doing
Alt-Shift-Cokebottle-F10 you'd have had my two bits worth in a heartbeat.
But when it comes to dealing with checkbook, envelope, and Finding a
Postage Stamp I'm as inept as they come and a world-class procrastinator
to boot.  But I wanted to let you know I'd done it (finally) because I
think there are three principles - two old and one new - at stake.


The new, or at least not-yet-generally-accepted, idea is that we've got to
stop thinking of the 'net as some unprecedented phenomenon, and start
treating it just like any other social object.  Waiting for neo-Mosaic
tablets to be passed down from some cyberMount in order to know how to
behave is IMHO pissing up the wrong fire hydrant; learning how to use in
netland the laws, customs, and codes of ethics and behavior human society
has been struggling to get right since forever, and incorporating the 'net
into our everyday collective body of consciousness, is a better use of
everybody's time.  Lawyers and lawsuits are part of our social fabric and
so need be accepted in cyberspace too; clearly your adversaries understand
this so they've got at least *something* right.


The two old principles that always need re-affirmation are that
journalists bear a special responsibility for our freedom and so deserve
our special concern, and that deep pockets should not mean an automatic
win in a court of law.


So my check's (really) in the mail.  Cheers,  -s