> >good ones, yes. this one, no. and this wasn't an April Fool's joke..
> >those happen on April 1st.
Correct. The other reason it is NOT funny, is because such suits
happen -- one of my content providers is being suied just that way, in
what seems an attempt to force him to spend more money than he has, to
defend his right to quote scientific material not flattering to a
corporation. (An MLM company selling super blue green algae, which is not
even an algae, but the same bacteria responsible for Red Tide that kills
fish, manatees, and humans.) The suit has no apparent merit, but he has to
appear in another state, argue the point in court, etc. Or fork over
everything he owns. And I am on the verge of being included in that suit.
Your "joke" is all too real.
> >> it is my personal opinion that such a lawsuit is not merely
> >> frivolous, but an attempt to make free speech subservient to
> >> corporate interests. the Microsoft corporation pays millions
Exactly, but when you have to shell out several thousand dollars to
attempt to prove you have that right, it is a form of corporate
harassment. And I am being threatened by someone who has not even READ
the material that I host! They cite things that are not even on the
pages! They don't care. The American blue green algae lawyers have
forced similar doccuments off the net in Austrailia, and other parts of
the world, just by sheer threats.
> >> i personally believe in the power of the internet, and the
> >> ability of its citizens to make their opinions known when they
> >> so choose. this isn't starry-eyed idealism, it's the result of
Not if more corporations take the route of sending threatening legal
notices!
> >> online community, as a test case in how much we're all willing
> >> to be pushed around in the name of corporate interest. i, for
> >> one, would like to take the opportunity to set an example for
> >> future corporations to note, and to remember.
When responding to a suit, even one without merit, costs you thousands
of dollars, keeps you up worrying night after night, then the corporate
interests are winning. As these SOB's have with site after site, forcing
legitimate scientific information off the net. It is MY money, my career
at risk! And that of a lot of others, too!
> >> instead, i advocate the simple premise that more speech is
> >> better. i don't want everyone writing to Microsoft, or the
> >> DOJ, or their congressman, or anyone else 'official' to
> >> complain.. i want everyone to write to each other. i want
I think it probable that many have complained. I know I was ready to
mention this sick joke in a lot of letters. This goes way beyond bad
taste. It inspires damaging actions and paranoid fears. And it was not
just April first, it started before that, violating the principles of an
April Fool's joke.
I am not laughing because I am caught up in exactly what your joke
outlined, except that my content provider's problem, and mine, is very
real! Corporations DO act this way. And we either roll over and let them
screw us, or risk losing everything we ever owned.
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