[TriLUG] On Topic - trusted computing vs Linux usability (was OT : Don't let Cheney hide)

[Mike M]

On Thu, Oct 07, 2004 at 12:51:45PM -0400, Tanner Lovelace wrote:
> On Thu, 7 Oct 2004 10:58:51 -0400, Mike M
> <no-linux-support at earthlink.net> wrote:
> > FWIW, this is a public forum sponsered by an organization that has
> > claimed certain priviledges under the US tax code.  The
> > first amendment of the US Constitution upholds one's right to make
> > comments on this list because it is a public list.  If someone is bent
> > on using this list as a political soapbox it cannot be stopped.  If you
> > do not like the politics, ignore the offending email and don't respond.
> > 
> > (ref. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment01/)
> 
> Mike, that is pure bullsh*t.  There's nothing that says TriLUG has to
> let their servers be used for any purpose.  

Did you say bullshit?  :-)

Given that TriLUG is incorporated as a 501(c)3 educational non-profit
that may not have purposes or activities that are illegal or violate
fundamental public policy, I would think that running a public
discussion forum and suppressing OT posts might be unwise.

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=123299,00.html

The public does have a right to expect certain things from 501(c)(3)
organizations because they are tax-exempt.

> If you were to follow that
> reasoning to the extreme then someone hacking into our servers 
> and doing a DOS from them to the <insert whatever political party
> you hate> party to protest something could be thought of as "free speech".

Hacking and posting are not the same thing.  Hacking is illegal. 
Posting on an open list is protected by the First Amendment.

> Um, no.  Not even.  If you don't like that, then by all means, feel
> free to setup your own server and say whatever you want to, but
> this is NOT, and I repeat NOT an appropriate forum for general
> political postings.  Postings that are on topic and also include
> political aspects to them are perfectly fine, but dammit Jim(tm),
> this is a Linux and FOSS list, not a politics one.  If you want a
> list where politcs is on topic, go over to Internetworkers (which,
> btw, is a very fine list and my comments are not meant to
> disparage them at all).

I agree this is not an appropriate forum for
general political discussion.  The point is that you cannot stop
someone from making OT statements in an open forum.  You can
ignore them and you can disuade them but you cannot stop them.

Anyone that has read extensively on Linux and FOSS understands
that there are political issues surrounding these topics.  Related
political issues naturally lead to general political issues.

2004-11-02 will come and go and we'll be done with politics for the
time being.

-- 
Mike

Moving forward in pushing back the envelope of the corporate paradigm.