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IP: Re: good comments re Major University to Be Asked to Review F.B.I.'s 'Carnivore'
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2000 17:00:15 -0400
Well said Spaf!!!! djf
X-Sender: >X-Sender: spaf@128.10.241.20 Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 21:49:37 -0500 To: farber () cis upenn edu From: Gene Spafford <spaf () cerias purdue edu> Subject: Re: IP: good comments re Major University to Be Asked to Review F.B.I.'s 'Carnivore' Cc: ip-sub-1 () majordomo pobox com At 10:09 PM -0400 8/10/00, Jim Warren wrote:It would be a lot MORE interesting to see: 1. Why a team of well-known top technologists, widely known and well-reputed on the NET, and also KNOWN FOR THEIR INDEPENDENCE FROM THE GOVT, wasn't chosen.Maybe because they aren't going to pay consultant's rates? Universities tend to work more cheaply.2. How much military and federal money is funneled into said university -- before, during and after their "study."I'm not sure what you are trying to say here, Jim. But as someone at a university that is often asked to evaluate items -- some controversial -- I am offended by some of the implications of your statement. Do you think any CS faculty in the university setting are here for the *money*? Do you think if a university gets more funding, any faculty see it in their take-home pay? If so, you don't know how things really work! Some of us prize the independence that tenure and the university allow us. Our reputations are important to us. That's why so many people from government, industry, and the private sector turn to us for tasks such as this -- and trust the results. There are mechanisms and controls in place at reputable universities to avoid conflicts of interest -- the university's reputation is important; and in the personal arena, the chance of ruining one's professional credibility for life is an extremely strong control. In this regard, university groups are probably more neutral than well-known individuals who are "independent" from the government, probably because they are always critical of it.3. Who gets to review -- and censor -- the findings of the "team [players]" before they are released to the public.This is always a concern.
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- IP: Re: good comments re Major University to Be Asked to Review F.B.I.'s 'Carnivore' Dave Farber (Aug 15)