daveb@geac.UUCP (10/28/87)
In article <1191@randvax.UUCP> edhall@rand.ORG (Ed Hall) writes: >... Of course, I think we generally agree that legal action >would likely kill netnews, win or lose--in all probability, ``lose''. No, Ed, *you* believe that legal action will kill Usenet news. It does not follow that everyone agrees with you. (Please! That would be a silly claim). I, for example, believe something quite different: 1) No-one has suffered sufficiently from usenet, and has sufficient funding, to respond with an action before the courts (small claims courts excepted). 2) The case would probably fail due to an inability to produce a preponderance of evidence and/or evidence the court could follow. (Usenet is **subtle**). 3) An individual site involved in a legal action might close down, especially if it was a leaf node or a public-access system. Conversely, a large or ARPANET site might respond by funding countersuits and aggressive legal action toward the suit-using sufferer. I suggest that the last point is the significant one, and that this discussion belongs in misc.legal. --dave -- David Collier-Brown. {mnetor|yetti|utgpu}!geac!daveb Geac Computers International Inc., | Computer Science loses its 350 Steelcase Road,Markham, Ontario, | memory (if not its mind) CANADA, L3R 1B3 (416) 475-0525 x3279 | every 6 months.