jef@unisoft.uucp (Jef Poskanzer) (07/25/87)
[Note that I've directed followups to news.misc.] In the referenced article, gorin@media-lab.UUCP (Amy Gorin) told of a disgusting message she recently received. She once again raised the issue of posting personal mail. Amusingly, the message in question totally missed the point about what kind of legal action could be taken if it was posted: >The content of this reply, both in part and in whole, is PRIVATE. >Reading any part or all of this reply will considered as a binding >agreement between parties that it will remain private. >Should any part or the entirety of this email be reposted, legal >action will be sought. Since the message was slanderous and abusive, suing because of breach of privacy would get Jay-El laughed out of court and whapped with a counter-suit and/or criminal charges. No, if Jay-El were to sue, he would have to *deny* that he wrote the message at all, and charge defamation of character. My view is that you should feel free to post insulting personal mail, *but* preface it with a big warning that due to the inherently insecure nature of e-mail, you have no way of verifying who actually sent the message. Note the possibility that it could be from a third party attempting to defame the apparent sender. Encourage the apparent sender to publicly deny that he sent the message. Note that for non-insulting personal mail, privacy still applies. As for Jay-El's credibility, I'm pretty good at spotting assholes (some would say it takes one to spot one), and I had him pegged from his first posting. No matter how nasty the message was, credibility can't go below zero... --- Jef Jef Poskanzer unisoft!jef@ucbvax.Berkeley.Edu ...ucbvax!unisoft!jef "I know a life of crime led me to this sorry fate."