The Butt Ugly Weblog

I agree with the sentiment, but when you write "What freedom is it when people are allowed to say whatever they want, as long as it conforms to standards?" I immediately ask myself: "Which standards?" I do think that blogs are a form of publishing, and that there is an incredible body of legal information that ordinary people are suddenly facing. I'm not sure what to do about it. Simplify the law? (I had to take down a pointer to a suspected Swiss wiki spammer because he was threatening legal action...)

--Alex Schroeder, 15-Dec-2005

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I have no ideas whatsoever what standards Mr. White was talking about, but I would presume that these are the same standards...

The internet is not above the law, and at least in Finland the law makes no difference whether you are publishing online or offline. You can get a libel lawsuit if you are slandering someone in a newspaper, in a blog, or in a public pub.

There are already standards, which are called laws. Within these laws, people should be allowed to say whatever they want, without having to conform to some higher ideal of a "standard".

--JanneJalkanen, 15-Dec-2005

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...unless they voluntarily choose to conform. That's the idea of journalist's code of ethics.

--Kari Haakana, 15-Dec-2005

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Well, yes, it's all about the ability to make personal choices, isn't it...? :)

--JanneJalkanen, 16-Dec-2005

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