Re: [Bug-gne]the problem of illegal content vs. freedom

[Bob Dodd]

Hi Jean-Daniel, 

> As for issue 7 "full acceptance of local/national laws where GNE is",
> I
> don't agree.
> You wouldn't be allowed to talk about the extermination of Armenians
> in
> Turkey, not allowed to talk about early versions of the Coran in most
> Islamic countries, etc.
> I would be in favor of net democracy to decide.

I added number (7) for a reason...  There are both legal and moral
problems when you encourage others to break the law, the only person
you have the right to encouage to break the law is yourself, because it
would be you who will get the 4 years in a labor camp (or worse...). It
is morally wrong to encourage others to put their life and liberty on
the line, when those risks do not apply to you.

That doesn't mean that GNE should reject material written in Turkey,
China, or Iran, but we shouldd never ask people in those contries to
write controversial material, or to ask them to contribute to the
development and maintenance of the GNE code base.

As I said, we're law-abiding folks, even when we don't agree with the
laws in question. There are brave people in this world who have a
strong commitment to freedom of speech and freedom to access knowledge,
but who live uder repressive regimes. If they choose to contribute to
GNE, despite the risks to themselves, I would feel honored and proud,
and I would support them 100%. But I would never ask them to do so,
that's what rule 7 is about.

/Bob Dodd


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