User: wlf

Re:This has nothing to do with free speech

On: Oxford Yanks Student Page Over Spoof DeCSS

It's their network, they say what goes on and what comes off, end of story.

Obviously, 'some random MPAA lawyer' is not identical to Oxford university, so has no rights at all to make or enforce any decisions about students' pages over there (in theory, not in practice). Just because I have a right to do certain things doesn't automatically ensure that all my actions based on that right are indeed 'the right thing' to do or that I must not be critized by people who might not agree with me.

Furthermore, it is _NOT_ the job of Universities to defend some random student's pet cause.

Defending some american corporations' right to prevent people from naming their programs in ways said corporation doesn't like is of course exactly what network admins at universities are paid for.

I, like the rest of UK taxpayers, pay Oxford and other universities to educate people, hopefully in a broad way, hopefully including such issues as will help them generally in later life.

Like 'shut up and mind your own business whenever someone bigger than you doesn't like what you did, regardless of how irrational or far fetched his reasons might seem'? A very useful standpoint. Regarding a couple of centuries of European history, its outcomes were often less than appealing, though probably profitable most of the time. "You have the right to free speech, unless you're not dumb enough to actually try it." (The Clash).