[Sussex] RIPA

[Geoffrey Teale]

Andrew Guard wrote:
>
> Not going to read it as no matter what it says it just dumb!  Thought 
> it was dumb years ago and still do today.  Nothing change in my mind.
>
> That my 512 bytes worth.
Andrew,

Please take this message in the spirit in which it is intended - I want 
to give you some helpful advice, but it may not be pleasant. 

I find your posting very frustrating.  

I know you have good intentions, but making the assertions you make and 
then finishing your e-mail with the above comment is ridiculous.   To be 
clear what I'm saying is that you've made some very strong negative 
assertions about some proposed legislation, and then signed off your 
e-mail with an admission that you haven't even read the documentation 
your making those assertions about.  Congratulations you've just 
committed libel and admitted guilt in the same e-mail!

If you wish to fight bad legislation you do that by arming yourself with 
knowledge.  Hard facts.  The misinformed gut reactions, and Chinese 
whispers you're presenting merely serve to make you look like a crackpot 
- which just makes it all the easier for people to write off any 
worthwhile points you're making.   That's a shame because the community 
of people who understand the issues involved is small, and we need every 
shoulder to the wheel if we're to get anywhere.

Instead of make trite statement here:

  1. Read and understand the act.
  2. Formulate well thought through responses to specific problems in 
that document
  3. Get involved with an organisation like the FSF or the association 
for free software and help them do something about it.  OR lobby your MP 
about it.

One final point.  Whenever I interview someone one of the first things I 
do is google for them.   Mailing lists like this are all over those 
searches and posts like yours would give me very serious concerns about 
how you would behave in a workplace debate.

--
G. J. Teale
Free Software Foundation
<tealeg at member.fsf.org>