[Raymond Pist]

Originally Posted by Emily Johnson

Hey Raymond,

Why no responses to posts 8 and 36?

Post 8: Shows these Boards are Private Property.

"Property" is an elusive concept in cyberspace. Can you really "own" a message board, which is chock full of ideas that aren't your own? Indeed, some of the thought, ideas, and keystrokes on that board do in fact belong to ME.

Post 36: Shows how carrying out your threat against RC would endanger free speech on the 'net.

I disagree. I am IN FAVOR of free speech on the internet. Putting people on notice that if they go around censoring people, they themselves may be asked to suffer the same fate, should, in a rational world, have the net effect of INCREASING freedom of speech. Saying "If someone punches me in the nose, I'm going to hit them back" at first glance looks like the net effect is twice as much violence as taking the "turn the other cheek" approache to being punched in the nose. But in reality, the net effect is less violence, because someone who knows they themselves could be punched in the nose BECAUSE they punched someone in the nose, is enough to deter most rational people from initiating violence in the first place.

--Ray