At the end of the day it is going to have to be the responsibility of the subscriber to avoid these topics. There are simply too many potentially "problematic" topics to manage proactively in a practical or foolproof way. Especially in this environment.
This patent discussion is a perfect example. The fact that it was an issue for some members of the community wasn't even understood until it was probably too late. And as we've seen above accidents also happen. What process would have prevented that? If having an email in your inbox is problematic then it would seem that the best way to avoid exposure is to never receive it. And how do you do that on an open list? Does tagging a problematic email with a "problematic topic" tag in the header make it any better? How many tags will we need? Where does it end? And finally, would you bet your legal health on my listserv tagging diligence? If you think liability or exposure is limited to IP or patents, think again. In my personal experience things as innocuous as unsolicited resumes, job postings and even current events have been legally problematic topics for me. In some cases I could reasonably control my exposure in others I had to make difficult choices, such as unsubscribing from this list for a period of time. Frankly, it never occurred to me to ask the community to act on my behalf. However, if someone asked me to avoid discussing a topic in an open forum because it might cause them harm, I probably would as a matter of common courtesy. On the other hand I would also accept, albeit grumbling under my breath, someone else's decision not to. Mark. On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 6:50 AM, Todd Zaki Warfel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > This way IxDA doesn't have to get involved and those who want to avoid it > can avoid it and we all display some professional coutesy. ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
