Posted by Mark H. on August 2, 2001, at 21:35:38
In reply to Re: Civility and Supportiveness? » Mark H. , posted by medlib on August 2, 2001, at 0:25:01
Thank you for your kind response. I suppose I should clarify for those who don't know me that I support and agree with the way Dr. Bob has handled this, including asking "boB" to remain blocked. My comments were limited to uncharacteristic name-calling and hostility that were based on past interactions.
The "guy who used to be down the block," Larry Lessig, is arguably the best informed legal scholar on Internet law and policy in the United States. His wonderful book (Code), though dry at times (as any legal explanation for us laypeople must be), is a fascinating must-read for anyone interested in Internet development.
I think Dr. Bob's new policy is as close to perfect as we're likely to get for awhile. I have mixed feelings about re-posting complete articles or other material that is copyrighted. As a consumer of information, the redundancy not only increases the likelihood of my finding it in the first place, but also helps to insure my access (as for instance when I recently was searching for a copy of the Beck depression inventory for a colleague at work, and another in which I was looking for the article "296 vs. 314," which apparently was removed from the site where it was originally posted). On the other hand, I work in a field that has struggled with the necessity of combating pirating of copyrighted programs in other countries, both to protect the property rights of the original producers and to insure the political legitimacy and independence of private broadcasters.
I see two trends in Internet usage in this area that I think are healthy. First, more people are asking for and receiving permission to reprint with credit to the original site and author. Second, some sites now post borrowed material with a fair use disclaimer, stating that they believe the material to be republished within the meaning of fair use, but that if the rights holder has any objection, they will immediately remove the material if requested. Absent legal guidelines that are more clear than we currently have, these trends seem to be a matter of good manners and mutual respect.
Where you and I may disagree (and I'm glad we remain friends even when we do) is that I still see good coming from interactions that are sometimes painful, as happened with this thread. I'm as tempted to resort to name-calling and hostility as anybody, even though they are contrary to what I believe is right. If we're never tested, how are we to know whether we've grown? It's the person we find irritating who teaches us real compassion and shows us where we need to work on ourselves.
I'll be traveling and off-line for the next three weeks, but I'll return as a regular lurker after that.
Best wishes,
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:1598
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20010718/msgs/1704.html