question: published on the internet
now I'm just asking for opinions, it is sort of academic trolling, because i have my opinion, but i don't think i'm going to argue, i just want to see the plurality of opinions. when is something published on the internet? does publishing something on the internet make it public? does making something public necessarily make it not private? can private information be published and thus be made public? -- jeremy hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech www.tmttlt.com () ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.stswiki.org/ sts wiki http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. -Pablo Picasso
A few thoughts while I try and get caffeinated this morning. --- rick On Jul 8, 2011, at 05:53 , Jeremy hunsinger wrote:
when is something published on the internet?
By 'published' do you mean intentionally and knowingly published by the creator/owner or disclosed and thus made publicly available w/o the permission of the creator/owner? Under the latter, you could argue that Anonymous/Lolzsec/Wikileaks/cybersecurity researchers are "publishers".
does publishing something on the internet make it public?
In a technical sense, I would argue that it makes the information public, yes. But that does not make it "public information" per se. (Which then brings up the question of "what is your working definition of a) 'publishing' , b) 'public information', and c) 'private information'?)
does making something public necessarily make it not private?
If you do it intentionally and knowingly, I'd say yes. To wit -- if you post (publish?) a "public" tweet or blog post you should assume that anyone anywhere will be able to read it. However, if you publish personally identifiable information (PII) such as health history, credit records, other bits of "owned" or "private" information, etc .... those still are "private" bits of information that somehow were made public......but I would not consider it "public information" even though it might be freely accessible to the public. It might become "public knowledge", though. Again, it comes back to the working definitions of these things.
can private information be published and thus be made public?
See my comments to #1-3 above. I suspect the underlying, or more fundamental issue you're trolling for is trying to define concepts of information ownership and the various states that information can exist. Renee Marlin-Bennett discusses this in 'Knowledge Power: Intellectual Property, Information, and Privacy' (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004) which may be of help to you. -- rick
jeremy, please clarify: what do you mean by "the internet"? --u At 10:53 Uhr +0100 8.7.2011, Jeremy hunsinger wrote:
now I'm just asking for opinions, it is sort of academic trolling, because i have my opinion, but i don't think i'm going to argue, i just want to see the plurality of opinions.
when is something published on the internet?
does publishing something on the internet make it public?
does making something public necessarily make it not private?
can private information be published and thus be made public?
-- jeremy hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech www.tmttlt.com
() ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.stswiki.org/ sts wiki http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. -Pablo Picasso _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
-- Ulf-Dietrich Reips, Ph.D., habil. Ikerbasque Research Professor Facultad de Psicología y Educación Universidad de Deusto Apartado 1, 48080 Bilbao, España Secretary & Fax: +34 944 139 085 http://iscience.deusto.es/
by the internet i mean anything attached to the network of networks with a locatable address, etc. so i meant, content on the 'internet'
so, in the widest sense. very well. imho answers to your questions need to take into account that there are degrees of 'public' and 'private' (and 'published' and even 'internet'). public to one person using one type of service in one bit of the internet will not be public to many others etc. same for the other terms, even internet, ask my connected fridge whose content may be private and unpublished At 22:10 Uhr +0100 8.7.2011, jeremy hunsinger wrote:
by the internet i mean anything attached to the network of networks with a locatable address, etc. so i meant, content on the 'internet'
I suspect the subjective interpretation becomes moot, but i said i'd not comment. On Jul 8, 2011, at 10:20 PM, Ulf-Dietrich Reips wrote:
so, in the widest sense. very well. imho answers to your questions need to take into account that there are degrees of 'public' and 'private' (and 'published' and even 'internet'). public to one person using one type of service in one bit of the internet will not be public to many others etc. same for the other terms, even internet, ask my connected fridge whose content may be private and unpublished
At 22:10 Uhr +0100 8.7.2011, jeremy hunsinger wrote:
by the internet i mean anything attached to the network of networks with a locatable address, etc. so i meant, content on the 'internet'
Jeremy Hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech http://www.tmttlt.com Whoever ceases to be a student has never been a student. -George Iles
so you couldn't help it and take a look? At 22:24 Uhr +0100 8.7.2011, jeremy hunsinger wrote:
I suspect the subjective interpretation becomes moot, but i said i'd not comment. On Jul 8, 2011, at 10:20 PM, Ulf-Dietrich Reips wrote:
so, in the widest sense. very well. imho answers to your questions need to take into account that there are degrees of 'public' and 'private' (and 'published' and even 'internet'). public to one person using one type of service in one bit of the internet will not be public to many others etc. same for the other terms, even internet, ask my connected fridge whose content may be private and unpublished
At 22:10 Uhr +0100 8.7.2011, jeremy hunsinger wrote:
by the internet i mean anything attached to the network of networks with a locatable address, etc. so i meant, content on the 'internet'
Jeremy Hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech
Whoever ceases to be a student has never been a student. -George Iles
as an unknown jazz musician once stated in an FM station promo ... "music. once you play it. it's in the air. gone forever."
I think the other necessary clarification is what is meant by "published" -- that choice of term is seems loaded, presuming a purposeful action by a knowing agent. Is something made visible due to a security hole "published"? Something leaked? Something hacked? A confidence betrayed? -- Michael Zimmer, PhD Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies Co-Director, Center for Information Policy Research University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee e: zimmerm@uwm.edu w: www.michaelzimmer.org On Jul 8, 2011, at 4:05 PM, Ulf-Dietrich Reips wrote:
jeremy, please clarify: what do you mean by "the internet"? --u
At 10:53 Uhr +0100 8.7.2011, Jeremy hunsinger wrote:
now I'm just asking for opinions, it is sort of academic trolling, because i have my opinion, but i don't think i'm going to argue, i just want to see the plurality of opinions.
when is something published on the internet?
does publishing something on the internet make it public?
does making something public necessarily make it not private?
can private information be published and thus be made public?
-- jeremy hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech www.tmttlt.com
() ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.stswiki.org/ sts wiki http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. -Pablo Picasso _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
-- Ulf-Dietrich Reips, Ph.D., habil. Ikerbasque Research Professor Facultad de Psicología y Educación Universidad de Deusto Apartado 1, 48080 Bilbao, España
Secretary & Fax: +34 944 139 085 http://iscience.deusto.es/ _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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And is the "published" item posted to the open web for all comers or reserved behind some password/portal for a select audience with specific policy agreements or even contained within a commercial licensed data source where each access is expected to be transactional. The first case carries much more "liberal" rights for all comers if indeed it is intentionally "published," but as Dr. Zimmer asks below, is it unintentionally on the open web in which case other ethics and factors may well apply. Best Regards, Mark Goldstein, President International Research Center Voice & Fax: 602-470-0389, Skype: mark.goldstein LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markgoldstein E-Mail: markg@researchedge.com, IRC: http://www.researchedge.com/ Harnessing Global Information Resources for Informed Decision Making -----Original Message----- From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org [mailto:air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Michael Zimmer Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2011 7:22 PM To: aoir list Subject: Re: [Air-L] question: published on the internet I think the other necessary clarification is what is meant by "published" -- that choice of term is seems loaded, presuming a purposeful action by a knowing agent. Is something made visible due to a security hole "published"? Something leaked? Something hacked? A confidence betrayed? -- Michael Zimmer, PhD Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies Co-Director, Center for Information Policy Research University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee e: zimmerm@uwm.edu w: www.michaelzimmer.org On Jul 8, 2011, at 4:05 PM, Ulf-Dietrich Reips wrote:
jeremy, please clarify: what do you mean by "the internet"? --u
At 10:53 Uhr +0100 8.7.2011, Jeremy hunsinger wrote:
now I'm just asking for opinions, it is sort of academic trolling, because i have my opinion, but i don't think i'm going to argue, i just want to see the plurality of opinions.
when is something published on the internet?
does publishing something on the internet make it public?
does making something public necessarily make it not private?
can private information be published and thus be made public?
-- jeremy hunsinger Center for Digital Discourse and Culture Virginia Tech www.tmttlt.com
() ascii ribbon campaign - against html mail /\ - against microsoft attachments http://www.stswiki.org/ sts wiki http://transdisciplinarystudies.tmttlt.com/ Transdisciplinary Studies:the book series
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. -Pablo Picasso _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
-- Ulf-Dietrich Reips, Ph.D., habil. Ikerbasque Research Professor Facultad de Psicología y Educación Universidad de Deusto Apartado 1, 48080 Bilbao, España
Secretary & Fax: +34 944 139 085 http://iscience.deusto.es/ _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
as for the debate about the definition publishing... I would tend to start with a definition: and that really is the question: what are the operational definitions of publish? there are minimal definitions that just require dissemination, and there are maximal definitions that define two whom it must be disseminated to. here is the one from dictionary on my computer: publish |ˈpəbli sh | verb [ trans. ] 1 (of an author or company) prepare and issue (a book, journal, piece of music, or other work) for public sale : we publish practical reference books | [ intrans. ] the pressures on researchers to publish. • print (something) in a book or journal so as to make it generally known : we pay $10 for every letter we publish. • [usu. as adj. ] ( published) prepare and issue the works of (a particular writer) : a published author. • formally announce or read (an edict or marriage banns). See note at announce . 2 Law communicate (a libel) to a third party. and here is merriam-webster ub·lish verb \ˈpə-blish\ Definition of PUBLISH transitive verb 1 a : to make generally known b : to make public announcement of 2 a : to disseminate to the public b : to produce or release for distribution; specifically : print 2c c : to issue the work of (an author) intransitive verb 1 : to put out an edition 2 : to have one's work accepted for publication two me there are three concepts in both of these there is the publisher (who takes the act of publishing) there is the work(that which is published) and there is the audience (that which it is published to) now.... from audience we have 'public' in both definitions, but not public just 'third party' in the third, which Alex Halavais pointed out, skews it; but regular dictionaries are terribly bad at legal definitions sometime, so we'll wait for someone else to consider that. so if we take the most basic definition of publishing to be either 'to make generally known' or 'to disseminate to the public', in the first, we have the problem of generally and in the latter we have the problem of dissemination. both of which are rife with possibility for construing that a document is not published. so I return to the original questions: when is something published on the internet? does publishing something on the internet make it public? does making something public necessarily make it not private? can private information be published and thus be made public?
anyway, someday, i'll learn proofread these when i type them before morning coffee.... maybe.
participants (7)
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Jeremy hunsinger -
jeremy hunsinger -
Mark Goldstein -
Michael Zimmer -
Richard Forno -
Stephen J Cavrak Jr -
Ulf-Dietrich Reips