Comments Policy

I'm not sure we have ever stated a "comments policy."

Angus and I each police our own posts.  We delete comments that are spam.  Examples include links to URLs that are commercial (drugs, male enhancement, etc) and have no relation to the subject of the post.

Other than that, we use our judgment.  I don't think I have ever deleted a comment just because the person was offensive, because by that standard I'd have to delete most of my own posts.

But the "policy" is that this is our blog.  If we feel like deleting a comment, for any reason or for no reason at all, we can do that, without explanation.  If that's a problem, you can post whatever you want on YOUR blog.

Angus, anything to add?

UPDATE:  In response to a suggestion in a comment (ironically), the policy statement is amended to "It's our blog and we'll delete comments if we want to.  You would have, too, if it happened to you." Since the policy is intended to be legalistic, and lawsuits about comments have been specifically mentioned, I'm not sure why sounding "lawyerly" is a drawback.  But, fair enough.  This one is much more perky.

wait...What?

I don't think I understand this enough to know if it's a bad thing, or a really bad thing.

Excerpt:

On Monday, the World Trade Organization granted the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda the ability to suspend “certain concessions and obligations it has under international law to the United States in respect of intellectual property rights,” as the result of an ongoing dispute between Washington and Saint John’s. In other words, Antigua and Barbuda will now be allowed to open up its own, internationally-blessed, “pirate” site, undoubtedly full of American films, TV shows, music, and software.

The roots of this disagreement, like many feuds, center on money. The 81,000-person nation has long argued it should be allowed to compete, through its offshore gambling sites, in the United States, where gambling is highly regulated. In a statement released Monday, the tiny country’s finance minister said Antigua and Barbuda’s economy has been “devastated” as a result of American action.

The country claims the sector once employed more than 4,000 people (around five percent of the entire country) and has since fallen to 500. And proceeds from the industry “helped fund public education, healthcare, and the country’s infrastructure, and the income boosted consumer spending and other economic activity associated with a vibrant, high-tech industry.”

“These aggressive efforts to shut down the remote gaming industry in Antigua has resulted in the loss of thousands of good paying jobs and seizure by the Americans of billions of dollars belonging to gaming operators and their customers in financial institutions across the world,” Harold Lovell, Antigua’s Finance Minister, said in a statement.

I'm a fan of property rights.  But the U.S. has asserted rights over the internet that are restrictive and imperialistic. But....well, you tell me.

With a nod to Tim C.

German Miracle From No Copyrights?

Was Germany's phenomenal growth partly caused by an absence of copyrights and patents?

Der Spiegel thinks so.

I'd paste it here, but it's copyrighted!

If Public, ALWAYS Public?

Once something is public domain, is it always public domain?

Not if the Supreme Court says it's not.

Argument for decision:  reciprocity.  Presumably, easier to get other countries to recognize our copyrights if we recognize theirs.

Argument against:  WTF?  The only reason to grant a monopoly is to encourage new works.  These are all old works, by definition.

(Nod to BC, who has sharp eyes for a cool issue)