4.0668 Searching & Copyright; Email betrayal; Epson (3/69)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Wed, 31 Oct 90 23:03:30 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0668. Wednesday, 31 Oct 1990.
(1) Date: Wed, 31 Oct 90 08:49:39 -0800 (37 lines)
From: Malcolm Brown <mbb@jessica.stanford.edu>
Subject: Remote searching and copyright
(2) Date: Tue, 30 Oct 90 18:54:08 -0800 (14 lines)
From: Mary WhitlockBlundell <mwb@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Computer Ethics
(3) Date: Tuesday, 30 October 1990 2241-EST (18 lines)
From: KRAFT@PENNDRLS
Subject: Courtcase: Privacy of Electronic Mail
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 31 Oct 90 08:49:39 -0800
From: Malcolm Brown <mbb@jessica.stanford.edu>
Subject: Remote searching and copyright
James O'Donnell wrote in a recent HUMANIST posting:
> In the absence of copyright permission, does it violate
> the author's and/or publisher's rights to provide
> facilities to others to do word searches via TELNET
> from remote locations?
This is exactly what ARTFUL does, so I would assume that
either there's no copyright difficulty or that
it is somehow minor in nature. It also is analogous to
the kind of access you get to books in the library: you
don't get to keep the book, but you can hunt around in it.
Indeed, at Stanford we have a search/retrieval/analysis
tool that works over the net; anyone with our
front end and access to internet can access our
text holdings. Unfortunately, we're not in a position
to support the volume of such access, nor are we set
up to take subscriptions as ARTFL does.
It seems to me, however, that James' suggestion has great
merit: if there was a general search system available
on a national or international level, it would permit
at least some level to access to electronic texts that
otherwise would be impossible.
Question for Bob Hollander and Marianne Gaunt: did
the Rutgers/Princeton proposal to the NEH include
such a facility? I don't recall.
Malcolm Brown
Stanford
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------25----
Date: Tue, 30 Oct 90 18:54:08 -0800
From: Mary WhitlockBlundell <mwb@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Computer Ethics
An interesting case is described in "The strange case of the electronic lover"
by Lindsy van Gelder in Ms. magazine for October 1985. It's about a man who
uses the on-line persona of a disabled woman to create friendships and sexual
relationships (supposedly lesbian) via electronic mail, and the sense of
betrayal among on-line women and disabled people that results when he is
unmasked.
Mary Whitlock Blundell
mwb@u.washington.edu
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------25----
Date: Tuesday, 30 October 1990 2241-EST
From: KRAFT@PENNDRLS
Subject: Courtcase: Privacy of Electronic Mail
Epson America Inc. is being sued by a former employee,
Alana Shoars, in a class action suit on behalf of all
Epson employees at the Torrance CA site, because
Epson allegedly monitored/intercepted/read all
e-mail that entered or left that facility as a matter
of policy, although employees had not been informed
of that policy (they have subsequently been informed!).
My information comes from InfoWorld 12.43 (22 Oct 1990)
58-66. Doubtless many of us will now find ourselves
on committees to determine the policy of our various
institutions and facilities. What precedents already
exist (policy statements, etc.) in the experience of
HUMANIST members?
Bob Kraft, U Penn