Hi all Some thoughts on the nature of expressions sent to the Internet: 1. Anyone who is sending bits of information to the Internet should be aware that this action is a *public* statement to a more or lesser degree, just as in the case of standing somewhere speaking. Technology and type of setup of the service used will determine *how* public the expression will be, like speaking while sitting on your own balcony versus standing on a box in a corner of Hyde Park versus giving an interview to a TV station. 2. Despite the somewhat predictable dissemination of your expression, the publicity nature of your expression can change remarkably - beyond your intention and control. This doesn't happen often, but it is your own responsibility to know that there is a certain chance that it may happen on the Internet, just as when somebody records what you are saying on your own balcony and sends it to a radio station (ask VIPs, if you don't believe these things happen). One reason may be that someone reposts your expression, another one may be that someone invents a service like Deja or Google that makes it much easier to stumble upon what you once posted. Even if you posted it in a moment that you would consider being an untypical state of your mind and mood... ;-) 3. To a degree, the good news is that there is also a certain chance that records of public statements may be fake. As a reader, I can only assume that the message below really comes from Kevin - with the help of my world knowledge about differing base rates of false postings that in turn depend on a variety of criteria like the message content and the security features and credibility of the service used. In conclusion: a sender bears resonsibility for knowing that any expression on the Internet is public and may be widely disseminated and stored forever. A reader bears resonsibility for knowing that the sender may (naïvely) not have intended to see a statement disseminated as widely and for knowing that the sender may not be the one who is said to be the sender. Cheers, --u At 19:32 Uhr +1000 20.5.2004, Kevin Tharp wrote:
I have used part of a posting to this group in my dissertation. The way that I handled the ethical questions, was that I contacted that person regarding my intention and included the text I was intending to use. I included the text to seek that person's feedback and to compare my perception with their intent.
I would not always handle Internet postings in this way. However, in this case, we are communicating indirectly with our peers, and the world is potentially watching. The person I am quoting from this list also shows up in my list of references from other sources.
Kevin W. Tharp Community Informatics Officer Senior Research Officer Faculty of Informatics & Communication Central Queensland University Rockhampton, Queensland Australia 07 4923 2566 k.tharp@cqu.edu.au http://infocom.cqu.edu.au/Staff/Kevin_Tharp/
_______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l@aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l
-- ---------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Ulf-Dietrich Reips Universität Zürich ICQ: 16739325 Psychologisches Institut Rämistr. 62 CH-8001 Zürich, Switzerland http://www.psychologie.unizh.ch/sowi/reips/reipspers.html