Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: Editing? It's about accountability!
Author: Dave Rogers Posted: 9/12/2000; 12:54:51 PM Topic: Discuss by email? Msg #: 21262 (In response to 21258) Prev/Next: 21261 / 21263
I believe the specific legal issue you're referring to is libel and I'm not sure how libel would be dealt with in a forum like this.Presumably, libel took place in older print media where, once the document was printed and distributed, it was fixed and unchangeable. Each time someone read the document, the harm that is called libel, was committed again.
In a discussion group, where someone may post an intemperate remark, some number of people will read it. Presumably, some potential for libel exists in those initial views. If the poster later edits the offending text, new readers will not see the offending text and the libelous harm will not occur. Old readers who referred back to the text in question would observe that the author had amended his remarks, printed a retraction albeit without necessarily calling attention to the retracted text.
If someone were to have made an archival copy of the offending text and later reposted the offending text in another forum, with the knowledge that the text had been later edited to be inoffensive, then it's an interesting question who would be committing an offense at that point.
The new medium is more malleable than the old ones. New rules will have to be developed to reflect the characteristics of the new medium. But we're seeing that every day, no news there.
In most ways, I think Dave's feature is a good thing; it allows people to realize they may have been unkind or unfair, and change that. Everybody makes mistakes, now you can just correct them quicker.
This page was archived on 6/13/2001; 4:56:40 PM.
© Copyright 1998-2001 UserLand Software, Inc.