From: Theodore Ts'o <tytso@Athena.MIT.EDU>
Date: Fri, 5 Mar 93 15:37:17 PST
To: kelly@netcom.com
Subject: Re: ANON POLICY: was I`m not
In-Reply-To: <9303052249.AA26423@netcom.netcom.com>
Message-ID: <9303052335.AA02332@SOS>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


   From: kelly@netcom.com (Kelly Goen)
   Date: Fri, 5 Mar 93 14:49:20 PST

    Fortunately... Libel is a totally ineffectual law for attempting
   to impose the kinds of censorship that Ted seems to be espousing.
   Libel and slander laws are OFTEN used by the powers that be
   (governmental, corporate etc) to silence the oppostion in
   matters of human rights, ecology etc...

There's a good reason for that.  The reason why Libel exists is not to
impose censorship!  

The powers that be may *abuse* libel and slander laws in attempt to
silence The Opposition, but the mere potential for abuse isn't grounds
to say that those laws shouldn't exist.  If you do make that argument,
then by the same token, *remailers* shouldn't exist because of their
potential for abuse.  :-)

						- Ted