gsmith@BOSCO.BERKELEY.EDU (01/01/70)
In article <2869@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes: >In article <1466@chinet.UUCP> rhonda@chinet.UUCP (Rhonda Scribner) writes: >>In article <2694@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes: >>>Of course, for serious creative work, like writing or programming, at least >>>a few drug experiences of the psychedelic type are almost mandatory. >Can you read, Rhonda? >Seriously, Rhonda dear, what kind of barn were you raised in? >During college, I was a relatively heavy druggie. I frequently >did acid every weekend, and I was stoned many more days than >not. >Since entering industry, I have been almost too successful >(being a semi-rich communist is a pain) in a profession that >requires heavy brain work, computer programming, while >continuing to do drugs, albeit less so than when I was in >college from ages sixteen to twenty. Here is a question for any legal scholars out there in net-land to debate. We have the following (true, alas) situation: (1) The party of the first part, to wit Tim Maroney, complains to the site of the party of the second part, Matthew Wiener. The nature of his complaint is that Matthew Wiener, by calling Mr. Maroney awful names like "Captain Carnage" and "the red-nosed poster", was being too insulting. At first he threatened the department here with legal action. The result is that Matthew Wiener was kicked off our machines, and hence his work on his thesis has been delayed. (2) As we see above, Timothy "YOU LIE!!!" (yes, he said that) Maroney is himself a notoriously abusive and insulting poster. (3) As we see above, Tim Maroney is an impassioned advocate of illegal drug use. (4) As we see above (all from the same article, guys!) Tim Maroney claims to be a communist. (5) In other postings, Maroney has claimed to be a follower of a religious group which has often (albeit rather unfairly) been considered and described as a Satanic cult--Aleister Crowley's group. Crowley was a heroin addict who introduced others to the drug, incidently. (6) Tim Maroney in other postings has indicated he is into sado-masochism. (7) Tim Maroney has described Israel as "the most genocidal country on the face of the earth." Given the above seven points and any others that might occur to you, what would you say Mr. Maroney's chances of winning a libel suit against the University of California might be? (I think we can fairly assume the Univeristy could afford to hire an agressive lawyer who would be sure to bring this sort of thing up in court.) On the other hand, what of Mr. Wiener's chances against: (1) Tim Maroney? (2) The Univeristy of California? (3) Laura Creighton and John Gilmore? Is there *any* behavior which is or should be unacceptable on the net? Is Mr. Maroney's behavior in the acceptable range, or not? ucbvax!brahms!gsmith Gene Ward Smith/Brahms Gang/Berkeley CA 94720 Logicians are apt to call this an *argumentum ad hominem*. Quite so: .. I am addressing *humans*. I am addressing neither dogs nor logicians.