cameron@symcom.math.uiuc.EDU (04/13/88)
I started a discussion in "soc.net-people" recently; several people
kindly pointed out that that was not the appropriate forum for the
discussion, and suggested that I cross it over to this group, so
here it is.
The question: is it a violation of (a) law, (b) ethics/morals, and/or
(c) (n)etiquette to post to the net email that you have received?
I have received several responses to this question, almost all through
email, and I posted a summary in "soc.net-people". What follows is a
brief recap of what I've received so far, including some things that
have arrived since I posted the other summary.
(Since this mostly came through email, I will give no names or direct
quotations.)
There are (as I indicated above) three questions (at least) under
discussion.
(a) Is it legal to post email without the sender's permission?
So far the responses I have received are running about two-to-one
in the negative, usually citing some variant of the idea that
the recipient of a letter owns his particular copy of that letter,
but the sender retains copyright, hence publication without the
sender's consent is an infringement.
One person suggested that since a copyright protects the exact
words and not the whole idea of a message, an argument based on
copyright does not prohibit the recipient's publishing an edited
summary of the contents of mail he receives.
Another person suggested that the contents of a letter were more
closely analagous to an oral conversation than to the Great American
Novel, so that the idea of copyright doesn't apply, and the
letter is publishable unless some prior contract such as a
consultant/client or doctor/patient relationship exists to prohibit
it.
It seems to me that we don't need any more "in my opinion" postings
on this point of law, unless they originate with a lawyer (or someone
who has consulted one). An ounce of fact is worth a pound of opinion.
(b) Is it a violation of (n)etiquette to post email?
Responses are running about three-to-one in the affirmative.
However, the few who say that posting email is not a
misdemeanor seem about as certain as the many who say it is.
(c) Is it immoral/unethical to ... ?
I didn't even *ask* this variant in my original posting; my
original inquiry addressed only the legality and the etiquette,
but many (indeed, most!) respondents addressed the question as
an issue of ethics or morals. As you might expect, everyone who
introduced this element into his response said that it was a
wicked, wicked thing to reveal the contents of mail, electronic
or otherwise.
I would be interested to see more discussion on any of these
three aspects of the question, but let me forestall some repetition
by making a few points:
(1) Please don't send me any more email. I am interested in finding
out what the net consensus is; it seems to me that an open discussion
is the right way to assess that, and a bunch of email sent to me
doesn't meet that criterion.
(2) Please don't assume that because I have raised this question I must
be some sort of godless privacy-hating pervert. I have my own opinions
about the morality of publishing the letters one receives, but my
opinions (and, with all due respect, yours too!) about an issue of
right and wrong are irrelevant in a discussion of what is considered
illegal or what is considered rude. (Remember: what some people
consider wicked, others don't even call impolite.) In any case,
I didn't raise this issue to tell others my opinions, but to learn
the opinions of others. Don't make assumptions about my opinions,
and then attack me for those assumed opinions!
I'm not saying people shouldn't discuss the morality aspect of this
question; I'm just asking them not to make any more remarks like
"What kind of a creep are you to go publishing your mail?" For
the record, I have never published any private mail sent to me,
electronic or otherwise. Moralize if you want to, but please aim
it into the air and not at me personally.
(3) Don't say "go read news.announce.newusers". I read it when I first
got onto USENET; I have re-read (or at least re-skimmed) every article
in it in the last couple of days and I could find no discussions of
this question. (If you think it's there and I overlooked it; well,
that's possible of course, but then please cite chapter and verse.)
Now -- if the contents of my mbox over the last few days are any indication,
many netters have strong feelings about this issue. Perhaps threshing out
the pros and cons of this issue publicly will lead to a policy on this
matter being posted in "news.announce.newusers" or some other receptacle
of the standards of netiquette. Who knows, maybe your lucid, cogent and
well-reasoned remarks will be the ones to carry the issue!
--------
Cameron Smith
Symbolic Computation Lab "You knew the job was dangerous
Math Dept. when you took it, Fred!"
University of Illinois -- SuperChicken
Urbana IL 61801
(217) 333-4654 cameron@symcom.math.uiuc.edu