"Third, the council's plan is unenforceable. Even today, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom have not enacted a right of reply for traditional media, and it's a good bet that they won't for the Internet, either. A Euroblogger who wished to cloak his identity could set up an account in one of those countries--or in the United States."
He is factually wrong about Portugal, at least. This is law and custom for as long as I can remember. I think he is getting everything else wrong, but that is another matter.
These laws aren't about anonymous bloggers, but about those who really have the power to hurt a reputation: the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Bild, El Pais.
This is requirement for all professional media in many countries. However, is is meant to protect individuals from false statements damaging to their reputation, is is not a tool for corporations to use against citizens.
This is a lot of self-regulation involved in these issues. Newspapers have a lot of latitude in accepting replies, and can reject them if they think that the reply is outside the set guidelines. In my country citizens can complain to a Media Authority if they think their rights are disrespected, and the Media Authority will instruct the newspaper to publish the response it that is the case. I'm not sure if there are any legal consequences if they don't obey their veredict.
So all this specutation about personal web pages and blogs is really irrelevant to this issue, this doesn't afect personal publications, and nothing is automatic, an editor can safely ignore frivolous use of the law.
The only chilling effect that these laws have is on hasty and baseless journalism. A newspaper will look bad if it constantly has to print rebuttals.
I must say that I always regarded this as a fact of life, and was surprised to know that there aren't such laws in the USA, and even more surprised with the reaction of the American readers here. We really are very different...
Understanding the value of the freedom that OSS gives to users is a good thing.
The next step should be to understand that they are free to program their computers.
Most computer users are good candidates for casual programming, but they have no idea how easy it is to write simple scripts to fit the needs of their daily tasks.
Slashdot Mirror
Greeks? Romans?
> try bathing!
Is that FDA approved?
He is factually wrong about Portugal, at least. This is law and custom for as long as I can remember. I think he is getting everything else wrong, but that is another matter.
These laws aren't about anonymous bloggers, but about those who really have the power to hurt a reputation: the Sun, the Daily Mail, the Bild, El Pais.
This is a lot of self-regulation involved in these issues. Newspapers have a lot of latitude in accepting replies, and can reject them if they think that the reply is outside the set guidelines. In my country citizens can complain to a Media Authority if they think their rights are disrespected, and the Media Authority will instruct the newspaper to publish the response it that is the case. I'm not sure if there are any legal consequences if they don't obey their veredict.
So all this specutation about personal web pages and blogs is really irrelevant to this issue, this doesn't afect personal publications, and nothing is automatic, an editor can safely ignore frivolous use of the law.
The only chilling effect that these laws have is on hasty and baseless journalism. A newspaper will look bad if it constantly has to print rebuttals.
I must say that I always regarded this as a fact of life, and was surprised to know that there aren't such laws in the USA, and even more surprised with the reaction of the American readers here. We really are very different...
> SCO then bought Caldera,
Wrong, it was the other way around.
The birth of Santa? I thought it was someone else's birthday...
attempting to convert all of the home users in the region.
Tell me again why it is the job of the government to tell you what operating system to use?
Home users pay Microsoft. Money goes out of the country. USA gets richer and buys more weapons.
Do you get it now?
Understanding the value of the freedom that OSS gives to users is a good thing.
The next step should be to understand that they are free to program their computers.
Most computer users are good candidates for casual programming, but they have no idea how easy it is to write simple scripts to fit the needs of their daily tasks.
Make sure you include ActiveState Batteries Included distribution of Tcl/Tk and make sure that your users run the demos. It can be a revelation for them. It was for me.
--
They have no problems with being social engineered, what they don't want is to be social engineered in front of the media...
Have they used that logo before? It looks like NextStep logo stamped over the Apple...
I supported 200 users in two different locations. Until today. Today I quit.
Isn't it a 16 ton weight?