Re: VERY TRUE Can You Go to Prison for Lying to a Web Site?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Brock N. Meeks [bmeeks () cox net]
Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 1:04 AM
To: David Farber; patrick () ianai net
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:  VERY TRUE Can You Go to Prison for Lying to a Web Site?

Patrick writes: "There is also no law against yelling "fire" _outside_ a
crowded  place." Actually, there is no law stopping you from yelling "FIRE"
in a crowded place either.

During many panels on free speech, to make a point, I've suddenly jumped
from my seat, pointed at the back of the room and yelled "Fire!!" at the top
of my voice.

And then I sat down without a word, the audience looked bewildered and
probably a little embarrassed for me.  I just waited for the audience to
absorb the object lesson.

The legal ramifications kick in only if a riot or stampede ensued after I
shouted fire.

And some have argued that yelling "fire" when the person knows there to be
no fire with the sole intent to create a riot is an issue of fraud, not free
speech.


On 1/9/08 11:38 AM, "David Farber" <dave () farber net> wrote:

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: "Patrick W. Gilmore" <patrick () ianai net>
> Date: January 9, 2008 11:04:49 AM EST
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: "Patrick W. Gilmore" <patrick () ianai net>, Andrew Burnette <acb () acb net
> > , Frode Hegland <frode () hyperwords net>
> Subject: Re: [IP] VERY TRUE Can You Go to Prison for Lying to a Web
> Site?
>
> On Jan 9, 2008, at 3:58 AM, David Farber wrote:
>
> > ________________________________________
> > From: Frode Hegland [frode () hyperwords net]
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 3:45 AM
> > To: David Farber; acb () acb net
> > Subject: Re: [IP] Re:  Can You Go to Prison for Lying to a Web Site?
> >
> > Yes.
> >
> > The sooner we realize that the internet is not some separate,
> > parallel, 'second life' but a communications media part of our
> > 'real' world, the better we will all be.
>
> One of us is confused.
>
> If I walked up to you and said "I'm a dog", no prosecutor in the
> country would dream of prosecuting me for fraud.  It is not fraud "in
> real life", has never been fraud, and should not be fraud on the
> Internet.
>
> There is also no law against yelling "fire" _outside_ a crowded
> place.  And last time I checked, my e-mail inbox was not crowded.
> (Well, not in that way. :)
>
> Yes, the Internet is just another means of communication.  Different,
> not better or worse.  Stop trying to make words somehow magically
> different just because they are in an e-mail.
>
> Putting this into perspective of the current thread, if I go to a bar
> and tell the lady on the next bar stool I am a CEO or Astronaut or
> whatever, and she finds out the next morning I lied, no prosecutor in
> the country would dream of prosecuting me for fraud.
>
> And if she asked to go home with me because I am an astronaut, but
> instead of accepting her offer I stood up on the bar and screamed to
> her entire collection of friends assembled: "The world would be a
> better place without you!", again, no one would dream of prosecuting
> me for fraud, harassment, or anything else.  Even if she went into the
> toilet and hung herself.
>
> Nor should they.


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