Bruce Baugh wrote:
At 11:34 PM 5/24/96 -0700, tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May) wrote:
If I have compiled records, dossiers, etc., as I most assuredly have (got to fill up those MO disks with something), this is "my" information. Mine in the sense that others can't dictate to me what I do with it.
I don't see that this is necessarily true for information any more than it is property. Property can be bought, sold, traded, given away, made...but it can also be stolen.
I don't think this comparison is valid at all.
Just as I have a right to complain if you walk off with my couch without my permission, so if you walk off with data on my blood chemistry or credit history without my permission.
What if I just *see* your couch, and then back in my garage I use my couch replicator to make a couch just like yours, complete with fuzzballs and loose change between the cushions? Now I have your couch, in a sense. Are you still upset? When I walked off with your blood chemistry data, did you lose the use of it for your future purposes? And try this: I now am in posession of some information about you, specifically: * You subscribe to cypherpunks and are aware of (and possibly a sympathizer towards) a variety of wacko political ideas; * You believe in "strong" ownership rights over information (something handy if I'm on some legislative warpath and need supporters) What do you propose as to the obligations I should have to you as regards the disposition of this information? For example, what if I receive a phone call from somebody interested in any e-mail addresses of people I know who might be interested in supporting the new on-line copyright bill? I just might decide to sell him your address. ______c_____________________________________________________________________ Mike M Nally * Tiv^H^H^H IBM * Austin TX * pain is inevitable m5@tivoli.com * m101@io.com * <URL:http://www.io.com/~m101> * suffering is optional