Tex Texin wrote as follows. > Marion, It is very easy to start your own list at http://www.yahoogroups.com > > You can create lists for 3166, as well as for hiberno-english etc. > > Other Unicode folks have created specialized lists for their own purposes.
A feature of Yahoo groups is the Yahoo rules about intellectual property rights regarding postings and also the indemnity rules. As regards intellectual property rights, if someone posts then if later he or she wishes to publish a book and the publisher asks if any person or company owns any intellectual property rights in relation to the material in the book, then the answer might properly be, yes, Yahoo. That then may mean that exclusive rights cannot be assigned to a publisher and then the publisher cannot make a claim against anyone for infringement of copyright because the publisher does not have exclusive rights. I am not a lawyer, yet I do urge caution as to what intellectual property rights problems may be caused if one posts in a Yahoo group, which do not occur if one posts in this forum. There is also the indemnity rule. It appears that if someone posts in a Yahoo group and someone somewhere claims against Yahoo, then the poster and maybe the person who started the group are liable to Yahoo for expenses, including lawyers fees. There appears to be a danger that if someone made even a wild, spurious claim in a court and Yahoo needed nevertheless to defend it lest it win by not being answered, then the person who starts the Yahoo group could be liable for the cost of Yahoo's lawyers. William Overington 5 June 2003
